Crystal Meth used to be sold over the counter!

In 1919, a Japanese pharmacologist invented crystal meth. At the time, people did not realize just how harmful meth was. They only saw the good attributes - it suppressed your appetite and kept you alert.

Due to these effect, in WWII, crystal meth's popularity really took off. A drug that could stave off hunger and keep you alert and awake. Everyone from factory workers to soldiers needed that. Cyrstal meth was sold over the counter under the name Philopan/Hiropan.

The Japanese, realizing the demand, made a huge amount of crystal meth - so much that there was a large surplus after the war.

Fortunately, with soldiers coming home, the country partially destroyed and a lack of food, Japan needed something that would increase productivity and decrease appetite. Crystal Meth!

Companies like Dainippon Pharmaceuticals sold crystal meth over the counter to basically anyone who wanted it. The horrible long term effects of the drug - addiction, lost teeth, psychosis - were not realized until later. Japan eventually banned the drug.