Amphetamine #
| Common Nomenclature | α-methylphenethylamine |
| Street & Reference Names | Speed; Speed Paste; Whizz; Amph |
| Reference Dosage | Light 15mg+; Common 25mg+; Strong 40mg+; Heavy 75mg+ [TripSit] |
| Anticipated: Onset / Duration | 2 Minutes / 6 Hours |
| Maximum Dose Experienced | 150mg |
| Form | Powder |
| RoA | Insufflated |
| Source / Jurisdiction | Dealer / Overseas |
SUBJECTIVE EXPERIENCE #
Amphetamine has a colourful history. First synthesised by Lazăr Edeleanu in 1887, it was used medicinally from the 1930’s, and was deployed extensively as a performance enhancing stimulant amongst the armed forces during the Second World War. Its recreational use exploded in the 60’s, including as a constituent part of the fabled purple hearts (drinamyl/barbiturate).
Whilst it was one of the first drugs to be scheduled and controlled, it continues to be prescribed in one form or another for a range of disorders, and remains one of the most popular and widely used street drugs.
My own sample was claimed to be 74% pure, and came in the form of a wet/damp powder, which clumped together, sticking to everything. On opening the sealed plastic I set about drying it over a radiator. Snorting approximately 3mg to test, I quickly noted a heady stimulation. It occurred to me immediately that establishing weight would present an issue, as an unknown amount of fluid would be retained unless it was 100% dry.
On the day of the experiment, I was relatively tired and generally worn out. Another negative was that it was only 8 days since an MDMA test, and my serotonin levels would still have been depleted.
Despite these reservations, the next opportunity to sample this drug might not have presented itself for years, so I proceeded, but with caution.
T+0:00 I insufflate 15mg. The good news is that this isn’t insanely painful on the nose. Note that I haven’t eaten for some 4 hours or so. [3pm]
T+0:10 I am now warm, whereas I was quite cold 15 minutes ago. I feel stimulated but not manic.
T+0:25 I snort another line, of perhaps 10mg. I now experience a nice mild headiness with some horn. This is pleasant, but not overly exciting.
T+1:00 The positive feeling has faded onto a minimal plateau. I redose by snorting approximately 20mg, bringing the total to about 45mg.
T+2:00 This is more like it: it is now really quite nice. There is definite stimulation but with an edge which is positive, dreamy and somewhat euphoric. It is rather manic if I want it to be, but I am functional if I proactively concentrate. My pupils are dilated.
T+2:10 I insufflate another line of 15mg or so. This probably now qualifies as a binge, so I’ll try to take it easy from here. It is an extremely enjoyable ride.
It reminds me slightly of a combination of MPA and MDAI, which raises the question of how I will sleep and how drained I will be in the morning.
Is there horn? Yes, indeed. This is the stuff of feverish primal sex sessions and never ending porn binges. I have an inclination that there may be some issues with stim-dick, but I could be wrong.
Despite no appetite whatsoever, I eat some food and take a vitamin pill, entirely for health and risk mitigation reasons. I continue to drink a reasonable volume of water, as I always do with this class of drug.
T+3:00 I insufflate another line, and from here I proceed to redose occasionally to remain topped-up over the following hours.
Overall I comfortably consumed more than 100mg before retiring to bed. The next morning, my pupils were still dilated and I felt tired and a little lethargic. However, unlike the aftermath of similar binges on a number of other stimulants, I didn’t feel particularly unhealthy. There was no headache and the malaise was minor. Having stated this, the sense that I had been on a drug bender during the previous evening was with me for most of the day.
I can certainly see how some people become addicted to this family of drugs, as I could happily have snorted again and engaged in another session, particularly in the afternoon, had I been foolish enough to do so.
Some days later I did repeat the exercise, with a similar dose. On this occasion, the comedown was more severe and was unpleasant. I woke from spasmodic sleep with a headache and I felt exhausted, dysfunctional, and generally unwell.
This had been a mistake.
The following hangover advice, as researched on the Internet, helped to alleviate some of the discomfort and probably aided my recovery:
Drink plenty of water. Also drink some fruit juice if available.
Take some 5-htp supplement pills. This is a precursor to boosting serotonin, which will have been depleted during the binge. Note that this shouldn’t be taken during the ride or in its immediate aftermath, but rather, a day or so later.
Other supplements and vitamins are sometimes ingested to help rebuild dopamine and restore body nutrients. Pre-investigation can help to identify an appropriate individual stack or multi-supplement.
Do some light exercise or at least go for a walk, but don’t overdo it. It is suggested that this also helps to dissipate anxiety.
This may be difficult given that speed suppresses appetite, but eat. Eat healthy, to help rebuild calcium for example, and to help dilute what is left of the amphetamine in your system.
This may seem controversial, but many users smoke cannabis to manage the comedown, calming anxiety and stimulating appetite.
Sleep, in so far as you are able.
These widely cited recommendations also apply to a number of other chemicals in this class, and are referred to elsewhere in this book.
Subsequently, I encountered the following comment on Reddit:
“Amphetamine is amazing but it certainly takes back what it gives. There is no winning with amphetamine - it will come back and bite you in the ass.”
I wouldn’t disagree with this at all. With my first experience I may have got away without too much of a comedown, but I certainly didn’t with my second.
This is certainly one with which to tread carefully.
THE PROBLEM WITH STREET SPEED #
So how pure is regular amphetamine, as purchased on the street, likely to be? In seeking at least some indication of this I undertook a small unscientific experiment using the WEDINOS Project’s drug analysis website.
Of the submissions which were purchased as amphetamine, the last 100 samples going backwards from 10th May 2022 broke down as follows:
78 Amphetamine + Caffeine
9 Amphetamine
4 Caffeine
4 MDMA + Caffeine
1 Amphetamine + MDMA + Caffeine
1 Amphetamine + Methamphetamine + Caffeine
1 Mephedrone
1 MDMA
1 Lidocaine
That’s an awful lot of caffeine… so much so that I decided to repeat the exercise going backwards from an earlier date, 14th December 2017:
50 Amphetamine + Caffeine
12 Amphetamine
7 Caffeine
7 Amphetamine + Caffeine + BZP + Di-(-phenylisopropyl)amine
6 Amphetamine + Caffeine + BZP
6 Amphetamine + Caffeine + Di-(-phenylisopropyl)amine
3 Ethylphenidate
2 Amphetamine + Caffeine + MDPBP
1 Amphetamine + Caffeine + BZP + Di-(-phenylisopropyl)amine
1 Amphetamine + Caffeine + BZP + Di-(-phenylisopropyl)amine + creatine
1 Amphetamine + Caffeine + BZP + Creatine
1 Amphetamine + Caffeine + BZP + Di-(-phenylisopropyl)amine + MDPBP
1 Amphetamine + Caffeine + Di-(-phenylisopropyl)amine + MDPBP
1 Amphetamine, Di-(-phenylisopropyl)amine + MDPBP
1 Amphetamine + Caffeine + MDPBP
1 Amphetamine + Caffeine + Di-(-phenylisopropyl)amine + Agomelatine + Mephedrone + MDPBP
1 Amphetamine + caffeine + Di-(-phenylisopropyl)amine + BZP + MDPBP + Mephedrone
1 Amphetamine + BZP
1 Methamphetamine
1 Methylphenidate
1 Amphetamine + Creatine
1 Caffeine + Methiopropamine
1 Cocaine
1 Amphetamine + Tramadol + Caffeine + Methiopropamine
1 Pseudoephedrine
1 Phenylethylamine + Nicotine
1 Amphetamine + MDPBP
1 TFMPP + MBZP
Caffeine still had a huge presence, and only a small percentage of samples constituted clean amphetamine, but the range of additives was significantly wider. I’m not sure what this tells us, particularly as it is only a limited snapshot from a single territory, but the bottom line is obvious: if in any doubt test your speed, or have it tested by a lab, especially if you are a heavy user.