On Speed

On Speed: The Many Lives of Amphetamine Paperback – November 1, 2009

Author: Visit Amazon's Nicolas Rasmussen Page | Language: English | ISBN: 0814776396 | Format: PDF, EPUB

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On Speed: The Many Lives of Amphetamine – November 1, 2009
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From Publishers Weekly

Rasmussen, who has taught life sciences and medicine at UCLA and other universities, examines amphetamine as a case study on the place drugs occupy in our culture and our fantasies (of miracle cures and elixirs). The story begins with chemist Gordon Alles's creation of amphetamine in 1929 and continues through its use for weight loss, attention deficit disorders and today's crystal meth craze. Smith, Kline & French (now GlaxoSmithKline) bought the rights for use of the drug and marketed it to treat depression. During WWII, British and American soldiers developed an amphetamine appetite as RAF medics distributed wakey-wakey tablets to bomber crews. At the book's core is an outstanding chapter, Bootleggers, Beatniks and Benzedrine Benders, describing how Benzedrine inhalers, available without a prescription, could be cracked open for a totally new kind of amphetamine experience, exerting a potent influence on music and literature, from Charlie Parker to Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg. Rasmussen has mined magazines, books and newspapers in addition to extensive explorations through U.K. and American archives. He concludes by calling for strong and immediate action to curb the widespread, dangerous use and abuse of amphetamines, emphasizing treatment and harm reduction (like needle exchange) rather than punishment, and better regulation of the pharmaceutical industry. 37 illus. (Mar. 1)
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Review

"Rasmussen blends science, medical history, and social history with fresh archival research. He fills the narrative with telling details and cultural insights. . . . This is a superb book."
-Journal of American History

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"Brilliant."
-The Guardian

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"On Speed, a fascinating history of the use and abuse of amphetamines, is full of hair-raising detail. . . . Even more compelling than the historical perspective—which allows for visits to Harlem Jazz clubs, the haunts of Greenwich Village beatniks and Andy Warhol's Factory—is Mr. Rasmussen's withering survey of the current scene, with speed, in the form of Ritalin and Adderall, prescribed to millions of American children who have been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder, and millions more using it recreationally. Add a dash of theorizing about the medicalization of social problems, and you have a book that is, well, addictive."
-Adam Begley (aka Begley the Bookie),The New York Observer

"Fascinating and thoroughly researched. . . . The history of amphetamines over the past 70 years shows the iron fisted grasp the drug industry has had and continues to have over the medical industry."
-British Medical Journal

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"It's hard to believe that amphetamine, a drug of questionable medical utility and extreme addiction hazard, was once considered among the 20th century's pharmaceutical triumphs, on a par with penicillin and insulin. How it attained and lost that status is the subject of this perceptive book."
-Washington Post Book World

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See all Editorial Reviews

Books with free ebook downloads available On Speed: The Many Lives of Amphetamine – November 1, 2009

• Age Range: 1 - 17 years
• Grade Level: Preschool - 12
• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: NYU Press; 1 edition (November 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0814776396
• ISBN-13: 978-0814776391
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #927,329 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

This thoroughly researched and very well written book is the history of the amphetamine class of drugs that were first created in the early part of the 20th century and are still causing problems for society for today. In addition to the history of the drug, there is an allegorical story running parallel to the drug that is a detailed and scary look at practices in the pharmaceutical industry then and now.

Amphetamine, as a class of drugs, was first discovered by Gordon Alles in 1929 while he was doing research on adrenaline substitutes. Although he was not the first to actually identify the molecule, he was the first to precipitate the salt form and identify it as a potential drug. Eventually he sold the rights to the drug to the Smith Kline French Co. in Philadelphia and the hunt was on to find a use for the new drug, as it was a drug looking for a home.

The story follows the hunt to find a use for the new compound and the efforts by the company to get doctors to experiment with "creative" uses for the compound. The one thing the drug appeared to do well was to make people feel happy and empowered. Other than that, it had little use but the company worked around that problem by getting the military to issue speed to soldiers during World War II as a way of keeping them sharp.

The book follows these uses, as well as the use of the inhaler version for recreational drug use and deals, in detail, with the many times the drug could have been put out to pasture only to be rescued by the company that was making so much money from it.

It is still prescribed today, even given what is known about the addictive properties of the drug.

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