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Amphetamine and Amphetamine-Type Stimulants
Bits & Pieces
by Erowid

The "Bits & Pieces" section is intended for random snippets of information which don't fit
easily elsewhere and/or which have been newly added, but not yet carefully categorized.


  • 2011 Peak Global Amphetamine-Type Stimulant Seizures #
    The UNODC's World Drug Report 2013 states that 2011 saw the highest amount of law enforcement seizures world wide of amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS), a class that excludes ecstasy-type drugs:
    "Global amphetamine-type stimulant seizures rise to highest level ever recorded. Seizures of ATS have reached new highs: 123 tons in 2011 compared with 74 tons in 2010, a 66 per cent rise. Seizures increased across all regions, with Asia, North America and Europe registering dramatic increases. The overall increase in ATS seizures is mainly due to surging methamphetamine seizures, which grew by 73 per cent from 51 tons in 2010 to 88 tons in 2011. [...]

    Methamphetamine accounts for 71 per cent of global ATS seizures and, as in previous years, most of the world's methamphetamine seizures (61 per cent) are reported by countries in North America. After a significant surge in methamphetamine seizures in Mexico in 2010, seizures doubled again from 13 tons to 31 tons, making it the country where the most methamphetamine was seized. East and South-East Asia also continue to make up a significant share of the global methamphetamine market, with the highest seizures reported from China (10 tons in 2010 to 14 tons in 2011), Indonesia (354 kg to 1 ton), Malaysia (920 kg to 1 ton) and Thailand (6 tons to 10 tons)."
  • Performance Enchancement: Use in Warfare #
    During World War II, at least four major participant countries (The US, Germany, the UK, and Japan) are documented as having used amphetamine and methamphetamine extensively for performance enhancement. While Japan and Germany most often used methamphetamine, the US and UK primarily used dextroamphetamine and amphetamine.

    The US and many other countries have continued to use amphetamines as "go pills" up through 2013.

    The German forces used 35 million tablets of methamphetamine during the Blitzkrieg of 1939-1940 and General Dwight Eisenhower requested three million tablets for his operations in North Africa.

    References:
    • Rasmussen N. "Medical science and the military: The Allies use of amphetamine during World War II." Journal of Interdisciplinary History 42: 205-233, 2011.
    • Ulrich A. "Hitler's drugged soldiers". Der Spiegel. May 5, 2005
    • Defalque and Wright."Methamphetamine for Hitler's Germany: 1937-1945". The Bulletin of Anesthesia History 29: 21-24, 2011.