108 Dextroamphetamine
quire a dextroamphetamine user to drink more than normal. Upon taking
dextroamphetamine, tobacco cigarette smokers use more cigarettes and report
greater pleasure from smoking.
Combiningmarijuanasmoking with dextroamphetamine does not seem to
affect physical coordination (walking and the like) more than just using mar-
ijuana alone. Each of those two drugs raises heart rate and blood pressure but
do not seem to have a multiplier effect when used together—the increase in
cardiac effects is simply the amount caused by dextroamphetamine plus the
amount caused by marijuana; one does not make cardiac effects of the other
more potent.
Cancer.Potential for causing cancer is unknown.
Pregnancy.As with many drugs, effect on fetal development is unknown.
One instance of serious birth defects is reported from a woman who used
dextroamphetamine in the first trimester, but the meaning of that one instance
is uncertain because she also used lovastatin (a drug for reducing cholesterol
in persons at serious risk of heart attack), and lovastatin by itself is considered
highly dangerous to fetal development. A statistical association has been re-
ported between maternal dextroamphetamine use and infant heart defects.
Dextroamphetamine has been prescribed for use in pregnancy without ap-
parent ill effect on infants but is considered potentially hazardous. Possible
consequences merit full discussion between doctor and pregnant patient.
Combination products.Adderall contains several active ingredients: dextro-
amphetamine saccharate, amphetamine aspartate, dextroamphetamine sulfate
USP, and amphetamine sulfate USP (the latter substance formerly marketed
as Benzedrine).
Biphetamine, like other dextroamphetamines, is medically used to treat obe-
sity, narcolepsy, and ADHD. Biphetamine is used recreationally to boost men-
tal quickness and physical activity and to create euphoria. The compound can
facilitate hallucinations, raise blood pressure, and prevent sleep.
Dexedrine’s oral capsule is designed to deliver some of the drug immedi-
ately, followed by gradual delivery of the remaining drug. Capsule and tablet
products both contain “inactive” ingredients. In this context “inactive” means
an ingredient that does not promote a drug’s medical purpose, not that the
ingredient has no pharmaceutical effect. Inactive ingredients in the tablet in-
clude FD&C Yellow No. 5 (tartrazine), a substance to which some persons are
allergic, particularly if they are abnormally sensitive to aspirin. Their reactions
can include bronchial asthma. When used against ADHD in children Dexe-
drine can curtail growth, but that effect is believed to be temporary. Dexedrine
can raise body temperature. Experimenters found that the product can allow
satisfactory performance by airplane pilots on continuous simulator flight
duty for 64 hours straight without sleep.
DextroStat tablets include FD&C Yellow No. 5 (tartrazine).
Additional scientific information may be found in:Brauer, L.H., J. Ambre, and H. De Wit. “Acute Tolerance to Subjective But Not Car-
diovascular Effects of D-Amphetamine in Normal, Healthy Men.”Journal of Clin-
ical Psychopharmacology16 (1996): 72–76.
Caldwell, J.A., et al. “Efficacy of Dexedrine for Maintaining Aviator Performance dur-