A Short History of Amphetamines

From: "Drugs and the Brain" by Solomon H Snyder

Ephedrine was discovered by K. K. Chen, who was looking for a substitute for Adrenalin as an antiathsmatic. Chen was curious about Chinese herbal medicine, in particular ma huang. He and other Lilly chemists quickly isolated ephedrine, and verified that it widened bronchial passages. Since Adrenalin couldn't be taken orally, and had a hell of a side-effect ephedrine seemed vastly preferable. The rarity of ma huang quickly sent chemists scrambling for a synthetic ephedrine, and sometime in the 30's, one of them stumbled on Amphetamine.

Amphetamine was also a bronchiodilator, and could be inhaled directly, delivering the relief within seconds. It was marketed under the name Benzedrine and quickly became a legal, over the counter, recreational drug.

..from a 1937 Journal of the American Medical Association

"Benzedrine Tablets were used at the department for Psychology at the University of Minnesota to study ... effects on human thought. It was found that the substance increased alertness... Apparently, the effectiveness of the drug in delaying the onset of sleep has induced many University of Minnesota students so seek the drug in local Pharmacies."

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