An Epidemiological and Clinical Analysis of Propylhexedrine Abuse in the United States

Abuse, Toxicology and the Resurgence of Propylhexedrine: A Case Report and Review of Literature

“…Early literature underestimated the abuse potential of propylhexedrine. Smith et al's 1988 paper argued that despite the increased prevalence of cocaine and methamphetamine abuse at that time, there were no risk indicators of propylhexedrine abuse, and that it did not pose a significant public health concern at that time [1]. As seen in our paper, there is plenty of evidence from literature and user forums to suggest there are psychoactive effects comparable to amphetamines and inferior to that of methamphetamines with doses in the 100-300 mg range.…”

“…Propylhexedrine is generally regarded as a stimulant of last resort [1]. One online user claimed that "propylhexedrine is for stim hipsters and people whose meth dealer is out of town until next week" [10].…”

“…Propylhexedrine is widely used medicinally for the relief of nasal congestion due to colds, allergic rhinitis and sinusitis under the trade name Benzedrex® [1]. With each label dose instruction of two inhalations per nostril every two hours, it delivers 0.4 to 0.5 mg of propylhexedrine.…”

“…Numerous case reports emerged in the American literature in the 1970s and 1980s, and while there was a relative surge in cocaine and methamphetamine use during this period, Smith et al. did not find an increase in its abuse during this period after studying surveying data from several major metropolitan areas [ 1 ]. In the 1990s and 2000s there was a single published case report involving death from intravenous injection.…”