Amphetamines: The Drug That Works Too Well?

Developed to allow soldiers to continue fighting without sleeping; now mostly used for treating ADHD, amphetamines run the gamut from methamphetamines (potent, addictive), to non-methylated amphetamines (e.g. ADHD meds such as Adderall, Vyvanse, etc), as well as drugs generally considered quite different, like MDMA (“Ecstasy”).

So, what’s helpful and what’s dangerous?

Let’s get up to speed

In few words:

• How it works: it raises dopamine (motivation, excitement) and noradrenaline (alertness, focus); with these, it creates a state of “flow”, and also suppresses hunger, fatigue, and distractions.
• How it lasts: effects last 4–14 hours, longer than cocaine or most other stimulants.
• How it’s used: ADHD is the main reason people take it; off-label and illegal use is common in competitive fields and among college students for performance—especially amongst medical students who not only study famously long hours, but are also most likely to turn to medications to ease their problems.
• How it goes wrong: in the short term, problems can include hyperfocusing on the wrong tasks, anxiety, panic, irritability, dehydration, and insomnia, as well as crashes in mood and energy afterward. In the long term, regular use can result in tolerance (i.e., a higher dose is needed for the same effect), and it can can make users feel unable to function without it. There are some possible severe side effects, namely psychosis (hallucinations, paranoia, potential schizophrenia), and cardiovascular damage (high blood pressure, heart strain, strokes, heart attacks), but these are incredibly unlikely in someone with ADHD (where the medication was merely raising neurotransmitters to “normal” levels), still very unlikely in occasional use in someone with a “normal” brain, and most likely to cause problems in someone predisposed to psychosis, mania, etc.

In fewer words: amphetamines can enable productivity in the moment but don’t build lasting benefits; they’re a tool with noteworthy trade-offs. In terms of safety, low-dose medical use for ADHD appears safe; heavy or long-term use in others can cause problems. And if you are prone to psychosis and/or mania, then these are absolutely not good drugs for you.

For more on all of this, enjoy:

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Want to learn more?

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Wakefulness, Cognitive Enhancement, AND Improved Mood? ← this is about modafinil, which a) is usually prescribed for sleep disorders, though it enjoys widespread gray market off-label use, and b) works on the same systems as amphetamines, but purely as a reuptake inhibitor, giving it a much better safety profile, since it is less about increasing your neurotransmitter levels as high as possible, and more about not letting them sink beneath a certain level.

Take care!