All other amphetamines are made in illegal laboratories. Pure amphetamines are white, odourless, bitter-tasting crystalline powders. Illicitly prepared amphetamines vary in purity. They may be whitish with traces of gray or pink and may be a coarse powder, or in crystals or chunks. Methamphetamine resembles shaved glass slivers or clear rock salt.
When amphetamines were easy to get, many people used them to stay awake and to have more energy. Truck drivers, students and athletes were especially likely to abuse amphetamines. Even recently, soldiers have been given amphetamines for endurance in battle. People with eating disorders may use these drugs to try to lose weight.
In a survey of Ontario students in grades 7 to 12, about two percent of students reported non-medical use of ADHD stimulant drugs in the past year. In children who are hyperactive, however, amphetamines and related drugs, in the correct doses, can have a calming effect.
Amphetamines reduce hunger and increase breathing, heart rate and blood pressure. Larger doses may cause fever, sweating, headache, nausea, blurred vision, very fast or irregular heartbeat, tremors, loss of co-ordination and collapse.
The initial rush after injecting or smoking lasts only a minute. With some types of amphetamines, the stimulant effects can last up to 12 hours.
Some people may use amphetamines repeatedly over a period of several days to try to stay high. When taken as prescribed, amphetamines and related drugs do not cause addiction. However, these drugs can cause addiction if they are misused. Methylphenidate is less likely to cause addiction than other amphetamines.
They proposed a 6-month use of the drug to help people who have not responded to other treatment to improve their diet and increase exercise levels. This, they say, could help curb obesity and related complications, such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease. From the s, amphetamine was used to treat affective disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder OCD , and schizophrenia.
However, in the s and s, amid growing concern about its adverse effects, it was replaced by newly available antidepressants. In rare cases, amphetamines are used alongside standard antidepressants to treat some types of depression that do not respond to other treatments, especially in people who also experience fatigue and apathy. Physical side effects include :. People who follow the prescribed, therapeutic dose are unlikely to experience severe adverse effects.
There have been fears that long-term use of amphetamines for ADHD could affect brain development, prevent physical growth, and increase the risk of drug abuse later in life. However, animal studies have suggested that this is unlikely.
There is evidence that amphetamine use to treat ADHD could slow growth in children. Minor effects on the cardiovascular system, including a rise in heart rate and blood pressure , may have long-term effects. Amphetamine is used as a recreational drug. People take it to boost libido, increase wakefulness, improve cognitive control, enhance sociability, and induce euphoria.
When amphetamines are used at higher doses and through routes that are not prescribed by a doctor, they can have severe adverse effects. Dopamine levels in the brain can rise quickly, and to a great extent. People who crush and inject a tablet may have blockages in their small blood vessels, as some of the components do not break down.
Other street drugs that are based on the structure of amphetamine include methamphetamine, cathinone, ephedrine, MDMA ecstasy , and 2,5-Dimethoxymethylamphetamine DOM. These drugs can have a wide variety of overlapping effects that broadly fit into three categories:. These drugs are made illegally, and there is no control over their contents. Once you decide you want to do something about your drug use, the next step is to get help and support. Treatment programs use behavior change techniques through counseling talk therapy.
The goal is to help you understand your behaviors and why you use amphetamines. Involving family and friends during counseling can help support you and keep you from going back to using relapsing.
If you have severe withdrawal symptoms, you may need to stay at a live-in treatment program. There, your health and safety can be monitored as you recover. At this time, there is no medicine that can help reduce the use of amphetamines by blocking their effects.
But, scientists are researching such medicines. Call for an appointment with your health care provider if you or someone you know is addicted to amphetamines and needs help to stop using. Also call if you are having withdrawal symptoms that concern you. Kowalchuk A, Reed BC. Substance use disorders. Textbook of Family Medicine. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; chap National Institute on Drug Abuse website. Updated October Accessed June 26, Weiss RD. Drugs of abuse. Goldman-Cecil Medicine.
By the s, listing of amphetamine as a restricted drug, first by the US government and then the rest of the world, led to an increase in illicit manufacture. Amphetamines are now highly controlled, prescription-only medicines used to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder ADHD and narcolepsy a sleep disorder , and sometimes depression and obesity. In Australia, dexamphetamine sulphate is registered by the Therapeutic Goods Administration for the treatment of narcolepsy and of hyperkinetic behaviour disorders in children aged over three years.
It is a Schedule 8 medicine controlled drug.
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