Posted by med_empowered on August 21, 2005, at 13:55:50
In reply to Adderall 20 mg. (Oberol) and Biphetamine 20, posted by charlie-no-nose on August 20, 2005, at 16:54:05
Adderall, as you noted was originally Oberol, a diet drug introduced in the early 1960s. It was apparently kind of popular among some people (Andy Warhol and that crowd liked it), but it wasn't a blockbuster...in 1971, I think, amphetamines were res-scheduled from schedule III--->schedule II; gradually, prescriptions for amphetamines fell, new diet drugs were used (phentermine, phendimetrazine), and some of the old stand bys were withdrawn from the market (desbutal, dexamyl, eskatrol, etc...methedrine also dropped out of sight). Biphetamine was the infamous "black beauty" of the 1960s and 70s; it was popular for dieting and also for depression, general "fatigue," etc...apparently, it was abused more often than Dexedrine (my own guess is that Dexedrine was such a stand by, and Biphetamine a relatively new drug, that Biphetamine abuse was just *noticed* more often). I haven't heard of anyone being RX'd Biphetamine in a long time...I read someone's account of getting an RX from a pill-mill doctor in the late 1970s or early 1980s, but thats about it. At any rate, Adderall probably isn't any safer, less "addicitve" (*TRUE* addiction isnt all that common; the government and media use it interchangeably with "dependence," which is an entirely different situation) than Dexedrine, Desoxyn, or Biphetamine (or the old benzidrine pills) but...that's not the point these days, is it? In the mid-90s, shrinks wanted something shiny and new to treat ADHD, which was becoming a huge and profitable diagnosis for shrinks and the pharmaceutical industry. Ritalin and Dexedrine were effective, but old, and they had kind of "shady" reputations. And so...Adderall. Since its an old drug, the company could use the original data to support an FDA application; since its components are amphetamines that have been in use since the 30s, the company could also claim a "60 year history of proven efficacy". Best of all...the company could promote a drug *specifically* for ADHD, so even though its pretty much the same as Dexedrine, and almost identical to Biphetamine, public *perception*--and hence, doctor prescribing habits-- would reflect excitement and interest over this "new" option for ADHD that, though "new", had a "long history of safety and effectivesness". Basically, Adderall is the result of some brilliant marketing.
poster:med_empowered
thread:544464
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050821/msgs/544792.html