With considerable, uncredited help from Wikipedia (see this entry on fenethyline), this Saudi Gazette story reports that Saudi students are using illegal stimulant pills to help them ramp up for exams. This is nothing new in the world, of course; when I was in university 40 years ago, various amphetamines were abused similarly. But it is an indication of the pressure under which Saudi students feel themselves.

‘Examination Pill’ that Weakens Memory
Amal Al-Zahrani

JEDDAH – For students cramming up for exams, it’s an easy way to concentrate: just pop an “energy pill.”

The pill of choice is most often Captagon, better known among students as “the white.”

Down a Captagon pill and it’ll make you more energetic, more alert, more focused and more prone to staying awake to catch up on studies.

That’s the upside.

The downside is that that doctors also prescribe fenethylline (Captagon’s commercial name) to treat mentally disabled patients, specifically those with attention deficit disorder. For over 23 years, doctors have been using this stimulant in place of amphetamines and other central stimulants with higher risk levels, to treat hyperkinetic children.

… Captagon abuse is most common in Arab countries, as a result of which counterfeit versions of the drug are available in Saudi Arabia, versions that actually contain other amphetamine derivatives that are easier to produce.
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