World War II

World War II marked a major period of military use of methamphetamine: Japanese, German, and U.S. forces used the drug to increase troops’ endurance and performance. The wartime history also sits within a larger shift from stimulant use in military settings to broad civilian availability, with consequences that continued after the war.

Military Use

Methamphetamine was widely used by the Japanese, German, and U.S. military during World War II to support endurance and performance. The account places this use alongside the drug’s growing circulation beyond military contexts, rather than treating wartime use as an isolated episode.

Distribution in Japan

Beginning in 1941, relatively mild formulations were sold over the counter in Japan as Philopon and Sedrin. By 1948, about five percent of the country’s sixteen- to twenty-five-year-olds used these drugs. The scale of use shows how stimulant distribution extended into civilian life during and immediately after the war.

Reported Consequences

By 1948, about fifty-five thousand people in Japan had symptoms doctors then described as meth-induced psychosis. Reported effects included agitation, hallucinations, and, in some cases, violence; accounts also noted that some mothers ignored or abused their babies. These reports make the postwar consequences of widespread use part of the historical context surrounding World War II’s military demand for methamphetamine.