On the history of speed: from Benzedrine to Ritalin and Adderall
I recently wrote about the history of speed and study drugs for The Daily. Click the picture to read.
Are amphetamines only used as study drugs?
Until 1971, when Nixon reclassified amphetamines a Schedule II (highly regulated) narcotic, amphetamines were primarily prescribed for dieting and depression. The euphoria induced by the drug has always been its biggest asset. The number of students now on the drug is something new, but they’ve long been popular with the creative classes. Despairing writers, actresses and politicians have a history of dependence.
Euphoria! Are adderall and ritalin OK for you?
Not really.
Huh. Tell me more.
There’s a bunch of alarming research out there. In 1999, a Yale team that had monkeys drink amphetamine for 6 to 12 weeks found their working memories (essentially the short term memory that determines scores on intelligence tests) impaired for over three years afterwards. 2003 studies at Harvard and Texas Southwestern found that rats that took doses of Ritalin comparable to those given children were more anxious and depressed as adults. But why?
Stimulants work by inhibiting the reuptake of dopamine in the brain. Dopamine is the neurotransmitter responsible for reward-driven learning, motivation, desire, and pleasure. In 2009 neuroscientists at Rockefeller found that those treated with methylphenidate (a.k.a. ritalin) had an increased density of extensions, or “spines”, at the end of their neurons with dopamine receptors. This suggests that stimulant use alters the chemical and physical structure of the brain. To put it very, very crudely: the brain reacts to the increase in dopamine stimulated by drugs like ritalin by growing more little vacuums to suck it up. Without the drug, you’ve still got the spines.
Source: Benzedrine advertisements, 1943 and 1944Journal of the American Medical Association, Vol. 123, No. 10; Vol. 124, No. 12.
