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Amphetamines ( a lpha- m ethyl - ph en et hyl amine ), are highly addictive central nervous system stimulants that can be injected, snorted, smoked, or ingested orally. Amphetamines have limited medical uses for the treatment of narcolepsy, attention deficit disorders, and obesity. They are also used recreationally and for performance enhancement.
Amphetamine itself is a colorless liquid with a bitter taste and a faint odor. The most widely used preparation of the drug is amphetamine sulfate (synthesized from phenylpropanolamine) which marketed under the name Benzedrine.
The following are all described as amphetamines:
Their chemical properties and actions are so alike that even experienced users have trouble differentiating between the different forms of amphetamines
Speed, Meth, Ice, Crystal, Shards, Chalk, Crank, Base, Tweak, Uppers, Black Beauties, Glass, Bikers Coffee, Methlies Quick, Poor Man's Cocaine, Chicken Feed, Shabu, Crystal Meth, Stove Top, Trash, Go-Fast, Yaba, and Yellow Bam
Methamphetamine, more potent and easier to make than amphetamine, was discovered in Japan in 1919. The crystalline powder was soluble in water, making it a perfect candidate for injection. It is still legally produced in the U.S., sold under the trade name Desoxyn.
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Amphetamines release stores of norepinephrine and dopamine from nerve endings by converting the respective molecular transporters into open channels. Amphetamine also releases stores of serotonin from synaptic vesicles . Like methylphenidate ( Ritalin ), amphetamines also prevent the monoamine transporters for dopamine and norepinephrine from recycling them (called reuptake inhibition), which leads to increased amounts of dopamine and norepinephrine in synaptic clefts .
These combined effects rapidly increase the concentrations of the respective neurotransmitters in the synaptic cleft , which promotes nerve impulse transmission in neurons that have those receptors.
1887 - Romanian pharmacologist Lazar Edeleanu first synthesized amphetamines at the University of Berlin. Nothing much was done with the drug, from its discovery (synthesis) until the late 1920's, when it was investigated as a cure or treatment against a variety of illnesses and maladies and was introduced as Benzedrine.
1893 - Methamphetamine was first synthesized from ephedrine in Japan by chemist Nagayoshi Nagai
1919 - Crystallized methamphetamine was synthesized by Akira Ogata via reduction of ephedrine using red phosphorus and iodine.
1927 - Amphetamines were found to raise blood pressure, enlarge nasal and bronchial passages, and stimulate the central nervous system. It was investigated as a cure or treatment against a variety of illnesses and maladies. These included epilepsy, schizophrenia, alcoholism, opiate addiction, migraine, head injuries, and irradiation sickness, among many others.
- Gordon Alles, a researcher self-administered amphetamine and found that when it was inhaled or taken orally it reduced fatigue, increased alertness, and caused a sense of euphoria
1932 - Amphetamines were marketed as Benzedrine became available in an over-the-counter inhaler to treat nasal congestion (for asthmatics, hay fever sufferers, and people with colds).
1935 - Physicians successfully used it to treat narcolepsy (a condition characterized by brief attacks of deep sleep that can occur at anytime of the day).
1937 - Amphetamines were found to have a positive effect on some children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). People with ADHD have difficulty concentrating.
- Amphetamine was available by prescription in tablet form. .
1938 - Amphetamines were classified as prescription drugs by the FDA
1939-45 - During the Second World War amphetamines were used by the German military to reduce fatigue. Soldiers on amphetamines were able to walk for longer distances and able to run longer, to the point of exhaustion.
1940s - Professional football players started using amphetamines
1957 - The American Medical Association condemned the use of amphetamines for performance enhancement
1965 - All amphetamines became illegal in the U.S. unless a person had a doctors prescription.
1967 - Close to 31 million prescriptions were written for anorexiants (diet pills)
1969 - Over 13% of American college students had used amphetamines at least once. Throughout the 1960s amphetamines were widely available and were used for weight control.
1970 - The Controlled Substances Act severely restricted the legal production of amphetamine.
1971 - There were 31 amphetamine preparations being distributed by 15 pharmaceutical companies. Legal production was over 12 billion pills a year.
- All potent amphetamine nasal inhalers were taken off the market
As a powerful stimulant, amphetamine, even in small doses, can increase wakefulness and physical activity and decrease appetite. A brief, intense sensation, or rush, is reported by those who smoke or inject amphetamines when the drug is initially take. Oral ingestion or snorting produces a long-lasting high instead of a rush.. Both the rush and the high are believed to result from the release of very high levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine into areas of the brain that regulate feelings of pleasure. The effects of amphetamine can last from 20 minutes to 12 hours.
Amphetamines have toxic effects. In animals, a single high dose of the drug has been shown to damage nerve terminals in the dopamine-containing regions of the brain. The large release of dopamine produced by amphetamine is thought to contribute to the drug's toxic effects on nerve terminals in the brain. High doses can elevate body temperature to dangerous, sometimes lethal, levels, as well as cause convulsions.
Researchers have reported that as much as 50 percent of the dopamine-producing cells in the brain can be damaged after prolonged exposure to relatively low levels of methamphetamine. Researchers also have found that serotonin-containing nerve cells may be damaged even more extensively.
The way a person takes 'speed' over a long time can also cause some problems.
Anyone can develop a 'tolerance' to speed. Tolerance means that you must take more of the drug to feel the same effects experienced with lower amounts. 'Dependence' on speed means that it takes up a lot of your thoughts, emotions and activities.
Dependence on speed can lead to a variety of health, money, legal, work and relationship problems.With chronic use, tolerance for methamphetamine can develop. In an effort to intensify the desired effects, users may take higher doses of the drug, take it more frequently, or change their method of drug intake. In some cases, abusers forego food and sleep while indulging in a form of binging known as a “run,” injecting as much as a gram of the drug every 2 to 3 hours over several days until the user runs out of the drug or is too disorganized to continue. Chronic abuse can lead to psychotic behavior, characterized by intense paranoia, visual and auditory hallucinations, and out-of-control rages that can be coupled with extremely violent behavior.
Amphetamine (beta-phenylisopropylamine) is a potent sympathomimetic amine of a simple structure with a multiplicity of biological effects that include hyperthermic, anorectic, cardiovascular and central nervous system stimulant actions. Since the 1930s a large number of drugs have been developed from systematic, chemical modifications of the basic amphetamine molecule to emphasize some of the properties of amphetamines and to eliminate or diminish others. These chemical manipulations have resulted in the synthesis of a variety of more selectively acting sympathomimetics. These altered molecules include CNS stimulants, potent psychomimetics (hallucinogens), anorectic agents, and vasoconstrictors that all have the basic beta-phenylisopropylamine skeleton. Reports of the consequences of abuse and addiction followed rather closely the development of these agents: manufacture, distribution and use continue to the present day. Both legitimate and illicit production account for a significant level of use of CNS stimulants. CNS stimulants are perhaps the most reinforcing drugs known to man. For this reason alone they will persist as drugs of choice among a variety of personalities.
The New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center, Westchester Division, White Plains.
Suggested readings:
Pharmacology and Toxicology of Amphetamine and Related Designer Drugs - http://www.nida.nih.gov/pdf/monographs/94.pdf
Pharmacokinetic and clinical studies on amphetamine dependent subjects - http://www.springerlink.com/content/lt533333526355w1/