Dextroamphetamine is a psychostimulant which produces increased wakefulness, energy and self-confidence in association with decreased fatigue and appetite. It is perhaps the archetypal psycho-stimulant, and drugs with similar psychoactive properties are often referred to as "amphetamine analogues", or described as having "amphetamine-like", or even "amphetaminergic" effects. As a CNS stimulant, enantiopure dextroamphetamine is more powerful than racemic amphetamine and has stimulant properties that are similar to those of methamphetamine, but is slightly less potent.

Dextroamphetamine is the dextrorotary stereoisomer of the amphetamine molecule, which can take two different forms. Other common names for dextroamphetamine include d-amphetamine, dexamphetamine, (S)-(+)-amphetamine, and brand names such as Dexedrine and Dextrostat. It is combined with racemic-amphetamine in the ADHD drug Adderall. It is the active metabolite of the recently introduced prodrug lisdexamfetamine, known by its brand name Vyvanse. In addition, it is an active metabolite of several older N-substituted amphetamine prodrugs used as anorectics, such as clobenzorex (Asenlix), benzphetamine (Didrex) and amphetaminil (Aponeuron).

History

Amphetamine was first synthesized under the chemical name "phenylisopropylamine" in Berlin, 1887 by the Romanian chemist Lazar Edeleanu. It was not widely marketed until 1932, when the pharmaceutical company Smith, Kline, and French (currently known as GlaxoSmithKline) introduced it in the form of the Benzedrine Inhaler, for combating cold symptoms. Notably, the chemical form of Benzedrine in the inhaler was the liquid free-base, not a chloride or sulfate salt. In free-base form, amphetamine is a volatile oil, hence the efficacy of the inhalers.

Three years later, in 1935, the medical community became aware of the stimulant properties of amphetamine, specifically dextroamphetamine, and in 1937 Smith, Kline, and French introduced tablets, under the tradename Dexedrine. In the United States, Dexedrine tablets were approved to treat narcolepsy, attention disorders, depression, and obesity. Dextroamphetamine was marketed in various other forms in the following decades, primarily by Smith, Kline, and French, such as several combination medications including a mixture of dextroamphetamine and amobarbital (a barbiturate) sold under the tradename Dexamyl and, in the 1950s, an extended release capsule (the "Spansule").

It quickly became apparent that Dexedrine and other amphetamines had a high potential for abuse, although they were not heavily controlled until 1970, when the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act was passed by the United States Congress. Dexedrine, along with other sympathomimetics, was eventually classified as schedule II, the most restrictive category possible for a drug with recognized medical uses.