Desbutal

Marketing approval of Desbutal was withdrawn by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1973 as part of a mass drug recall of all anorectic combination drugs containing a CNS stimulant paired with a CNS depressant.^[2] The recall also included all existing stocks of parenteral amphetamines based on the FDA's contention that these products have such a great drug abuse potential that they cannot be used safely.

Despite the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs having already reduced the amphetamine aggregate production quota for pharmaceutical manufacturers by approximately 90% in the previous two years, these combination drugs had rapidly grown in popularity throughout the prior two decades. Many pharmaceutical manufacturers were vigorously competing for market share by continuously developing new combinations and dosage formulations, and at the time of the 1973 recall, the estimated annual distribution of these pills was equivalent to 480 million dosage units of Obetrol 10 mg tablets.^{[citation needed]}

Discontinued psychiatric combination drugs were often justified for medical use through the lens of a multifaceted, comprehensive approach to health care treatment. CNS stimulants (colloquially called "uppers") were used variously for their appetite-suppressing, antidepressant, and wakefulness-promoting properties, in addition to providing alertness, energy and motivation, as well as sustained focus, while a CNS depressant (typically a barbiturate or similar sedative-hypnotic agent) would mitigate the stimulant's adverse effects without eliminating therapeutic benefits. These medications could also replace monoamine oxidase inhibitors in the treatment of patients with certain forms of refractory depression where MAOIs are indicated, but the patient would be unlikely to restrict tyramine from the diet.

Typically, the CNS stimulant within these older, now-defunct combination drugs was racemic amphetamine, dextroamphetamine, or methamphetamine as various single or mixed salts, although substituted amphetamine anorectic stimulants ("diet pills") like phenmetrazine, phendimetrazine, and phentermine were occasionally used marketed.

Likewise, the CNS depressant within the historical combination drugs was typically a single barbiturate salt, often pentobarbital sodium or amobarbital, but non-barbiturate tranquilizers such as meprobamate (Miltown) and sedatives like methaqualone hydrochloride would occasionally replace the barbiturate.

Less common formulations of combination drugs included a CNS stimulant paired with [multiple] vitamins and minerals; a stimulant with a typical antipsychotic (Eskatrol is a primary example); or a stimulant and a first generation antihistamine. There also existed formulations utilizing amphetamines paired with phenacetin and aspirin for the purpose of pain relief, in addition to either a barbiturate or meprobamate.

• Amfecloral, a single molecule with a similar effect (due to metabolites).
• Dexamyl, another pharmaceutical containing an amphetamine and a barbiturate.
• D-IX, an experimental drug containing methamphetamine, cocaine & oxycodone.
• Speedball, which is the same concept but using opioids instead of a barbiturate.
• Tuinal, an insomnia medication containing two different barbiturates.