"Being high on meth is a completely different phenomenon than being stimulated into wakefulness" A substantially quantitative, but only slightly qualitative di

"Being high on meth is a completely different phenomenon than being stimulated into wakefulness" A substantially quantitative, but only slightly qualitative difference. Take enough caffeine in the right delivery method to get addiction cravings, cardiac stress, dehydration, and severe insomnia, and it will be dangerous too. We prescribe amphetamines routinely, to children, in low doses, and view no 'really stupid and dangerous things' or 'physical destruction'. Even as a common ad-hoc recreational drug (taken in much higher/faster doses), it's not seen as particularly dangerous compared to meth - because it's of reliable formulation and known dosage, with no adulterants. Much more common than euphoric abuse is non-prescribed use at low or moderate doses, for the same effects by people who haven't been diagnosis-shopping but want to pull an all-nighter study session. The drug war attacks this use just as much as euphoric party-drug abuse. This is also the kind of thing militaries have always used amphetamines for - and we presently trust the pilots of billion-dollar fighter jets with the effects.