Hacker News Reader

Comment by brookside | Hacker News Reader

not exactly - they are amphetamine tablets.

You actually can be prescribed Methamphetamine HCl—under the trade-name "Desoxyn"—as a last resort if the regular amphetamines aren't doing anything for you (some people just have really strong blood-brain barriers, apparently.)

It's not-at-all common, though. Much less than "millions of dollars" of it being sold.

The last year of sales that I could find (2003) clocked Desoxyn sales in at $9.3 million total. Not that much, but still millions.

Methamphetamine is also sold under generic names. Mayne Pharma sold about $4-5 million in 2014 in the US. Other searches indicate around 9-10 million from another company. Agreed that it's not that common and even 10 or 20 million isn't much. Though who knows how much of that is crazy DEA enforcement or just plain ignorance.

No, it's exactly what I said. Methamphetamine, not mixed amphetamines like Adderall. Meth is sold under the trade name Desoxyn as well as under generic names. Look up Mayne Pharma; they have 2014 results presentation that talks about their generic meth sales.

It's approved in the US for obesity as well as attention disorders. Schedule II, just like common painkillers (the non toxic ones anyways; adding a liver toxin moves painkillers to lower Schedule III).

That's kind of funny when you think about it.

Patient: "I can't stay awake, I can't concentrate and even though my diet is reasonable and I get exercise I can't drop weight."

Doctor: "Do you have good dental insurance?"

Patient: "Um, yes. Why do you ask."

Doctor. "What I'm about to write you a prescription for tends to cause dental problems as a side effect"

Methamphetamine doesn't cause dental problems really. Just like Krokodil (desomorphine) doesn't cause the horrible issues you see in the news. It's just unhygienic users not taking care of themselves.

Just like if you start taking a diuretic you should increase water intake, other medicines require other steps.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com