Methamphetamine or Crystal Meth has its roots in some unexpected places. Military pilots used amphetamines to stay awake during the long flights to their bombing targets during the wartime. College students used them to stay awake all night to study for exams. In the 1960's people used amphetamines for entertainment. Then, in the 1970's as laws made getting amphetamines more difficult, their use all but disappeared. But now the use of amphetamines has returned in full force, primarily in the form of the supercharged version called methamphetamine. Manufactured in makeshift "meth labs" in apartment complexes. houses, and garages, Crystal Meth use is booming, and in its wake people are dying.

1919:

Methamphetamine, a stimulant, is developed by a pharmacologist in Japan. The drug alleviates fatigue and produces feelings of alertness and well-being.

1930s:

Doctors begin using meth in the United States to treat asthma and narcolepsy.

World War II:

Methamphetamine is given to Allied bomber pilots to sustain them on long flights. The experiment fails because soldiers become irritable and can't channel their aggression. Meth reportedly is given to Japanese kamikaze pilots, and perhaps to Nazi troops during invasions of Poland and Russia.

1945-1950s:

Post-war Japan experiences the first meth epidemic. It spreads to Guam, the U.S. Marshall Islands and to the U.S. West Coast.

1950s:

Still marketed to treat obesity, narcolepsy and sinus inflammation, "pep pills" or "bennies" are sold for nonmedical purposes. Some truckers, homemakers, college students and athletes pop pills to stay awake or keep active.

1960s:

Doctors in San Francisco drug clinics prescribe injections of meth to treat heroin addiction. Illegal abuse occurs in subcultures such as outlaw biker gangs, which cook and use the drug.

1970:

Meth, or speed, is regulated in the Controlled Substances Act; a public education campaign is mounted.

1980s:

Drug treatment counselors see increased abuse among gay men. Mexican drug manufacturers begin bringing meth north of the border.

Late 1980s:

New ways to cook meth appear. Some new versions are four to six times stronger. Greatest use is seen in the Southwest and West.

1990s:

Meth use begins and grows in the rural Midwest. Some migrant farm laborers working for drug dealers are suspected of bringing the drug into rural areas never hit by a drug epidemic before.

1996:

Congress passes the Comprehensive Methamphetamine Control Act, which regulates mail order and chemical companies selling precursor chemicals. For example, people who buy large quantities of red phosphorous, iodine and hydrochloric gas must show they will use them for legitimate purposes. Law enforcement agents are allowed to track large mail order purchases of pseudoephedrine, another precursor chemical. Chemical supply companies are punished if they sell chemicals to people who make meth.

2000:

In the Inland Northwest, and in much of the West, meth is the favored hard drug, surpassing crack, cocaine and heroin. It's still prescribed for some medical purposes.

Amphetamine was widely prescribed until the mid 1960s as a stimulant and appetite-suppressant, until the dependence-potential of amphetamine (and other stimulants) led to a falling out of favour among the medical profession. Amphetamine, although a controlled drugs, is still prescribable for certain conditions (e.g. narcolepsy)[i], and appears in Schedule 2 of the Misuse of Drug Regulations 1985, meaning that it can be prescribed for medical treatment subject to proper monitoring and reporting criteria.

Amphetamine is a powerful central nervous system stimulant drug, used recreationally for the euphoriant effects, as well as "functionally" to ward off fatigue and increase energy and capacity for physical activity. The effects of amphetamine are similar to those of cocaine, both affecting the same neural systems, amphetamine stimulates catecholamine release, and cocaine reduces reuptake - expressed simply, if the level of alertness were to be represented by the water level in a bath, amphetamine would act by turning on the taps, whereas cocaine would act by putting in the plug.

The effects of amphetamine have been studied for over a century, although since it became a controlled drug in most countries of the world, opportunities for research on the effects on humans have been limited.