> probably on military-issued meth
The US military issues meth? Source?
The US military issues meth? Source?
> in 1960 the United States Air Force sanctioned use of Amphetamine as a counter-fatigue measure in flight operations. The medication was used widely by USAF and Army aircrew during the Vietnam Conflict. [...] > In the USAF, three sleep aids (temazepam aka Restoril, zolpidem aka Ambien, & zaleplon aka Sonata)and two stimulants (dextroamphetamine aka Dexedrine & modafanil aka Provigil) are approved for use by certain aircrew in particular operational situations.
I don't know whether this is done for basic 3-4 hour missions as a matter of course, or whether they're reserved for unusual, 24-hour-plus missions
Appears that Amphetamine is no longer used but Modafinil is not even close to being "meth"
> Modafinil is not considered to be a classical psychostimulant, but rather is classified as a eugeroic (wakefulness-promoting drug) and is used primarily for treatment of narcolepsy, shift work sleep disorder, and excessive daytime sleepiness associated with obstructive sleep apnea.
But from what I know, this also comes from the logistics standpoint. If you need a prescription of any kind to "function normal", they would need to supply that prescription anywhere anytime. I would assume the same with wisdom teeth. The risk of getting any problems during service are not worth taking.
So yeah, there is a difference between "I need this for functioning normally" versus "Take this in case of an emergency"
Not defending that viewpoint or assertion but that's very likely the justification that would be used. Needing it for HS or college is disqualifying while choosing to use it for a particular operation is not.
I see only benefits -- maybe I'm a little bit too talkative and too many things seem interesting/worth exploring/doing, but for a pilot, that would he detrimental, I'd think.
I've never taken Modafinil so I have no idea how much that jives with the actual effects, but there have been some people who have gotten waivers if the usage was long enough in the past. Personally I don't see why it can't be like alcohol (if you haven't had it in the last n hours/days, you're good to go).
On the other hand while Amphetamine can be compared to substances like meth or coke (it might actually be closer to cocaine as far as user experience goes), it's also has key differences. Cocaine is generally taken all at once, and the methyl family of amphetamine has specific, more drastic effects. Basically, meth's special, and shoots through barriers in the brain, that normally slow down other substances.
Amphetamine, on the other hand, has a more medium potential for abuse. Also, it's thought that people can generally keep up with therapeutic doses. In other words, while there may be some effect on the brain, you'll eventually reach a point where you're not constantly being drained of neurochemicals. This isn't possible with meth/coke, which is why they prescribe adderall fairly readily, but not meth.
I researched this recently after being prescribed adderall. I've heard that slow release cocaine is a better metaphor than meth, but I think there's probably issues with that too.