The Molecule of More

THE MOLECULE OF MORE

DOMINATION IN A PILL: SIDE EFFECTS

INCLUDE OPTIMISM, WEIGHT LOSS, AND DEATH

In the early 1960s, doctors prescribed large amounts of
dopamine-boosting amphetamine to promote “cheerful-
ness, mental alertness, and optimism,” as described by a
contemporary advertisement. Most of these prescriptions
were written for women, who were twice as likely as men to
be prescribed amphetamine to “adjust their mental state.”
As one doctor described it, amphetamine allowed them to
be “not only capable of performing their duties, but to actu-
ally enjoy them.” In other words, if you don’t like cooking or
cleaning, it helps to be on speed.
But that’s not all. In addition to making housewives happy
and productive, it also kept them thin. According to Life mag-
azine, two billion tablets were prescribed annually in the 1960s
for this purpose alone. But although people did lose weight,
it was only temporary, and often at a high cost. Stop using
the drug, and the weight comes right back. Keep using the
drug and tolerance develops, so the user must take higher
and higher doses to get the same effect. That’s dangerous.
Too much amphetamine can bring about personality changes.
It can also cause psychosis, heart attacks, strokes, and death.
“I felt charming, witty, and clever, talking to everybody,”
wrote one amphetamine user. “I felt a compulsion to make
subtle, condescending comments to the more-dimwitted
customers [at work] under the guise of being straight-
forward and helpful. My family has also told me that I’ve
become much more arrogant, snide, and condescending,
and my brother tells me that I’ve been thinking I’m ‘hot shit’
lately, but he might be jealous of me.” Another user said
simply, “I used to feel like a young god on speed.” The dif-
ference is that young gods don’t suffer side effects that kill.