# Are Presidents of the United States pumped full of speed?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-presidents-of-the-united-states-pumped-full-of-speed/473624
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [November 20, 2008, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-presidents-of-the-united-states-pumped-full-of-speed/473624 "2008-11-20T07:14:02Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@JHE1967](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JHE1967)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2008, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-presidents-of-the-united-states-pumped-full-of-speed/473624/1 "2008-11-20T07:14:02Z")
Sorry for the awkward thread title. What I’m getting at is this…let’s say the President has a meeting or conference call with Putin. Really important shit is to be discussed. The President needs to be at his best. Problem is he is getting over the flu, got very little sleep the night before and has a headache. Do they give him some amphetamines to keep him going? Just a hunch but I imagine they do. I mean if loads of people take a theraputic dose of something like Dexadrine for job interviews you would think the President would have access to speed if needed right?
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### Author:  [@seodoa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seodoa)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2008, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-presidents-of-the-united-states-pumped-full-of-speed/473624/2 "2008-11-20T07:24:33Z")
I highly doubt the President is given access to any illegal drugs, even if those drugs were given for the dubious reason of performance enhancement. That would set a pretty dangerous precedent.
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### Author:  [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2008, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-presidents-of-the-united-states-pumped-full-of-speed/473624/3 "2008-11-20T07:29:00Z")
You’re kidding, right? Do you really think it would be a good idea to give the President powerful psychoactive drugs before important meetings? Apart from the fact that it would be illegal, you’d also be taking the chance of turning the President into a drug addict.
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### Author:  [@Queen\_Bruin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Bruin)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2008, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-presidents-of-the-united-states-pumped-full-of-speed/473624/4 "2008-11-20T07:33:23Z")
Amphetamines are available by prescription, you know.
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### Author:  [@Blueapple](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blueapple)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2008, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-presidents-of-the-united-states-pumped-full-of-speed/473624/5 "2008-11-20T07:45:31Z")
Well, Kennedy had [them](http://articles.latimes.com/2003/may/13/nation/na-kennedy13) [before](http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/29/opinion/l29jfk.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=david+owen&st=nyt&oref=slogin) [meeting](http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200212/dallek-jfk/6) with Khrushchev, among other times.
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### Author:  [@seodoa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seodoa)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2008, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-presidents-of-the-united-states-pumped-full-of-speed/473624/6 "2008-11-20T07:49:55Z")
> [@Queen\_Bruin](#):
>
> Amphetamines are available by prescription, you know.
True, and upon research they seem to be even wider used than I had realized. It’s possible some presidents use them, but I doubt the president is in anyway forcibly doped or pressured into using them. I imagine some presidents might request them under certain circumstances and, as long as a licensed physician confirms that it is not going to cause any problems, it should be okay.
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### Author:  [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2008, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-presidents-of-the-united-states-pumped-full-of-speed/473624/7 "2008-11-20T12:11:37Z")
Is anyone else picturing the “job interview” scene from _Trainspotting_? 🙂
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### Author:  [@Kuboydal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kuboydal)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2008, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-presidents-of-the-united-states-pumped-full-of-speed/473624/8 "2008-11-20T13:29:52Z")
If the military is being ‘jacked up’ all the time, I see no reason to doubt that the president would be operating under a similar stimulant regime.
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### Author:  [@Neidhart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neidhart)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2008, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-presidents-of-the-united-states-pumped-full-of-speed/473624/9 "2008-11-20T15:08:23Z")
AFAIK, amphetamines aren’t psychoactive unless you really go overboard with them (producing paranoia &c)
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### Author:  [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2008, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-presidents-of-the-united-states-pumped-full-of-speed/473624/10 "2008-11-20T15:34:23Z")
> [@Colophon](#):
>
> Is anyone else picturing the “job interview” scene from _Trainspotting_? 🙂
😃
-Mr. Bush, are you saying you _lied_ during your appeal to the UN?
-No! Uh. Yes. Only to get my foot in the door. Showing initiative and that like.
-But you are the president of the United States of America, there was no need for you to get your “foot in the door,” as you put it.
-Ehhh… cool. Whatever you say, I’m sorry. You’re the man. The dude in the chair.
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### Author:  [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2008, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-presidents-of-the-united-states-pumped-full-of-speed/473624/11 "2008-11-20T15:43:19Z")
> [@Chris Moise](#):
>
> …I mean if loads of people take a theraputic dose of something like Dexadrine for job interviews…
Cite? I’ve interviewed for many jobs, and have interviewed people applying for jobs. I’ve never taken any “performance enhancing drugs” before an interview (or at any other time, for that matter) and if I suspected that a job applicant had done so, they would be eliminated from consideration. This actually happened to me once. The applicant was jumpy, interrupted constantly (not even allowing me to finish asking the questions), and generally seemed to be on something. We immediately eliminated him from consideration.
> [@Kuboydal](#):
>
> If the military is being ‘jacked up’ all the time, I see no reason to doubt that the president would be operating under a similar stimulant regime.
Again, cite? I was in the military and was never given drugs.
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### Author:  [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2008, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-presidents-of-the-united-states-pumped-full-of-speed/473624/12 "2008-11-20T15:46:57Z")
> [@Kuboydal](#):
>
> If the military is being ‘jacked up’ all the time, I see no reason to doubt that the president would be operating under a similar stimulant regime.
I’ve never even heard of this, apart from _Universal Soldier_. What the hell are you talking about?
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### Author:  [@Mr.Slant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Slant)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2008, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-presidents-of-the-united-states-pumped-full-of-speed/473624/13 "2008-11-20T15:53:59Z")
> [@robby](#):
>
> Cite? I’ve interviewed for many jobs, and have interviewed people applying for jobs. I’ve never taken any “performance enhancing drugs” before an interview (or at any other time, for that matter) and if I suspected that a job applicant had done so, they would be eliminated from consideration. This actually happened to me once. The applicant was jumpy, interrupted constantly (not even allowing me to finish asking the questions), and generally seemed to be on something. We immediately eliminated him from consideration.
>
> Again, cite? I was in the military and was never given drugs.
Were you a pilot?
I saw a cite for an Air National Guard pilot being given uppers, in the mainstream media.
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### Author:  [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2008, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-presidents-of-the-united-states-pumped-full-of-speed/473624/14 "2008-11-20T15:57:04Z")
It happens in the military, but far less than people likely assume. For one thing, you won’t see it outside of a combat zone.
Secondly, the military is moving past amphetamines (which have unpleasant side effects) and looking far more at next-generation “wakefulness agents” that minimize these.
It seems to me that the White House will run like an aircraft carrier in stressful times - on lots of caffeine and adrenaline.
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### Author:  [@Wiltshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wiltshire)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2008, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-presidents-of-the-united-states-pumped-full-of-speed/473624/15 "2008-11-20T16:02:35Z")
You’ve never heard of this? It caused quite a stir in the media some while ago.
[Flying High - American Pilots Pop “Go Pills,” Then Go Kill](http://www.counterpunch.org/heard01232003.html)
[Air force rushes to defend amphetamine use](http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/01/17/1042520778665.html)
[Amphetamines routinely given to US combat pilots](http://www.abc.net.au/am/stories/s757167.htm)
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### Author:  [@Kuboydal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kuboydal)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2008, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-presidents-of-the-united-states-pumped-full-of-speed/473624/16 "2008-11-20T16:17:25Z")
> [@robby](#):
>
> Cite? I’ve interviewed for many jobs, and have interviewed people applying for jobs. I’ve never taken any “performance enhancing drugs” before an interview (or at any other time, for that matter) and if I suspected that a job applicant had done so, they would be eliminated from consideration. This actually happened to me once. The applicant was jumpy, interrupted constantly (not even allowing me to finish asking the questions), and generally seemed to be on something. We immediately eliminated him from consideration.
>
> Again, cite? I was in the military and was never given drugs.
This was related by a friend’s brother who is a chopper pilot. I will respectfully recant my contribution to this discussion, especially as others have stepped in with proper citations.
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### Author:  [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2008, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-presidents-of-the-united-states-pumped-full-of-speed/473624/17 "2008-11-20T16:20:42Z")
> [@Wiltshire](#):
>
> You’ve never heard of this? It caused quite a stir in the media some while ago.
>
> [Flying High - American Pilots Pop “Go Pills,” Then Go Kill](http://www.counterpunch.org/heard01232003.html)
>
> [Air force rushes to defend amphetamine use](http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/01/17/1042520778665.html)
>
> [Amphetamines routinely given to US combat pilots](http://www.abc.net.au/am/stories/s757167.htm)
But that’s a far cry from ‘the military is jacked up all the time’, you have to admit.
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### Author:  [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2008, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-presidents-of-the-united-states-pumped-full-of-speed/473624/18 "2008-11-20T16:23:29Z")
Lay people in the course of their daily lives buckle under the stress and the fatigue associated with the normal rigors of life. It is not far fetched to ask whether the POTUS is prescribed medication to do just about anything, whether that’d be sleep, stay up or help get over a bug.
I would bet my money squarely on “yes”, although since a doctor is always near by, it’s probably much better monitored than that of Joe Public.
Factual answers could from biographies written by people very close to the POTUS or his staff.
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### Author:  [@Kuboydal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kuboydal)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2008, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-presidents-of-the-united-states-pumped-full-of-speed/473624/19 "2008-11-20T16:25:37Z")
> [@Captain\_Carrot](#):
>
> But that’s a far cry from ‘the military is jacked up all the time’, you have to admit.
Certainly.
(But you must admit, “Air Force _rushes_ to defend amphetamine use” is a heckuva headline.)
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### Author:  [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2008, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-presidents-of-the-united-states-pumped-full-of-speed/473624/20 "2008-11-20T16:26:32Z")
> [@Captain\_Carrot](#):
>
> I’ve never even heard of this, apart from _Universal Soldier_. What the hell are you talking about?
Are you kidding? Google “go pills.” Amphetamines are stock-in-trade for the USAF; a lot of those guys have to fly 40-hour missions.
[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3071789/](http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3071789/)
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