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Moral Issue. The story raised some grave questions. Should the sanctity of the doctor-patient relationship be maintained even with Presidents, whose decisions can affect the safety, not to mention the survival, of the nation? Or should presidential prescriptions be made a matter of public record? Indeed, should doctors prescribe amphetamines at all? "If the case of Dr. Jacobson were unique, we would have only a small problem," says Dr. Willard Gaylin of the Institute of Society, Ethics and the Life Sciences in Hastings-on-Hudson, N.Y. "Unfortunately, it is not. Doctors round the country are still prescribing amphetamines massively, usually in the guise of weight control. But what they really do is give a lift."
Doctors may not be able to dole out such highs much longer. The American Medical Association regards amphetamine abuse as widespread and has asked all doctors to limit the drug's use to those conditions for which it is specifically indicated, such as narcolepsy (a condition characterized by brief attacks of deep sleep) and hyperkinesis (excessive activity) among children. The Federal Government may go even further. The Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs has placed amphetamines on the list of controlled substances for which it sets manufacturing quotas. Studies now under way could lead to a reduction in these quotas.