A case of amphetamine psychosis

Abstract

A case of amphetamine psychosis, the first to be reported from Malta, is here described. A unique feature is the initiation of the patient's wife into taking the drug. Various aspects of amphetamine ingestion, medical and social, are discussed. Other specific points of interest are the lowest doses known to cause psychosis, the personality characteristics of those who take amphetamine, and that alcoholics are more likely to become dependent on this drug. We do not know how prevalent is the consumption of amphetamine for nonmedical purposes in Malta. In this regard medical practitioners would do well to remember when prescribing amphetamine that apart from the possibility of psychotic manifestations, habituation and addiction, this drug has other adverse effects such as antisocial behaviour, errors in judgment and over-estimation of one's performance especially when driving. For this reason, we must consider whether these undesirable reactions do not outweigh the therapeutic effects of the drug.