Home > Encyclopedia of Drugs and Addictive Substances > Dextroamphetamine - Are There Any Medical Reasons for Taking This Substance?

Dextroamphetamine - Are There Any Medical Reasons for Taking This Substance?

Are There Any Medical Reasons for Taking This Substance?

Amphetamines such as Dexedrine and DextroStat (dextroamphetamine sulfate) and Adderall (a combination of amphetamine and dextroamphetamine sulfate referred to as a "mixed amphetamine") are used to treat ADHD and narcolepsy. (An entry on Adderall is also available in this encyclopedia.) Dextroamphetamines are useful in the treatment of ADHD because they improve the user's ability to concentrate. The drug helps patients with narcolepsy by speeding up bodily functions and increasing alertness.

In the 1970s, dextroamphetamines were approved for use as antiobesity drugs. Because they decrease feelings of hunger in people who

Some students use dextroamphetamines to help them stay alert when cramming for tests. Other students believe that using drugs to improve school performance is cheating. Should students be checked for drugs before taking tests? This question is
Some students use dextroamphetamines to help them stay alert when cramming for tests. Other students believe that using drugs to improve school performance is cheating. Should students be checked for drugs before taking tests? This question is of concern to many students, parents, and teachers. © Gabe Palmer/Corbis.

take them, dextroamphetamines and other amphetamines have often been abused by dieters. This is exactly what happened with Dexedrine. By the start of the twenty-first century, research was underway on a variety of different diet pills. Dextroamphetamines like Dexedrine, however, were no longer being prescribed for weight loss in the United States.