> I attribute the somewhat significant economic edge US society has over the rest of the world is due to its addiction to amphetamines

Over here in Europe getting prescription stimulants against ADHD is a fairly straightforward process. Or, at least, that's what I gathered from a conversation I recently had with a person taking them - they had no difficulties in this regard.

As an outsider I think one of the many reasons is the sheer amount of (often unreported) hours Americans put into work annually (and pay for that in their health).

For this same reason South Korea recently overtook Japan in terms of GDP per capita.

By this measure the mentioned countries (descending):

1. South Korea 2. USA 3. Japan