Amphetamine, METHAMPHETAMINE, and related compounds have relatively brief abuse histories, dating from the 1930s and 1940s. Similar to the other major PSYCHOMOTOR STIMULANT of abuse, CO-CAINE, the amphetamines are addictive, and a number of cycles of epidemic use have occurred in the United States and in othercountries. Unlike cocaine, however, the amphetamines do not occur in nature and can only be synthesized in a laboratory—a distinction that significantly influences the manufacture, distribution, and abuse patterns of the drugs.

Early Use in the United States

Amphetamines were initially synthesized in 1887, with methamphetamine being developed approximately thirty years later. The rise in the popularity of the amphetamines parallels that experienced during the introduction of cocaine. Exaggerated publicity and fallacious claims about amphetamines, combined with medical optimism concerning potential uses and a lack of understanding of abuse, contributed to a dramatic increase in public interest in amphetamines. In...