What are Amphetamines and Methamphetamine?
Amphetamines are part of a class of drugs called stimulants, which can profoundly alter brain and body functions. They can produce feelings of euphoria, increase alertness and arousal as well as blood pressure and heart rate, and they decrease appetite. They are Schedule II medications, which means they have a high potential for abuse and are available only through a prescription. There are only a few accepted medical indications for their use, such as the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and narcolepsy (a sleep disorder). Methamphetamine is a form of amphetamine that is structurally and functionally similar; and once in the brain, methamphetamine and amphetamine are indistinguishable. However, methamphetamine differs from amphetamine in that, at comparable doses, much higher levels of methamphetamine get into the brain, making it a more potent stimulant than amphetamine. In addition, methamphetamine has a longer duration of action. Compared to amphetamine, methamp
