She used "diet" pills, i.e. amphetamines, prescribed by her doctor most of her life. It wasn't uncommon at the time. Even Paul Erdos the mathematician used amphetamines to boost creativity/productiveness, I am sure there were many others.
i have nothing against drug use for creativity. heck the beatles must have taken speed for their "all night" recording sessions. but they didn't take their 12 hour recordings, put it on an album and call it art. they gave us the finished product. i only wish ayn rand and her publisher and editor extended her fans the same courtesy. not a huge deal; i'm just making a point that doesn't seem obvious to most people. that woman was high as fuck.
I think most people just don’t care about the personal life of a creator when evaluating its content. Even deplorable people can have good ideas. Why reject the ideas because of the source.