Cocaine and amphetamine dependence treated with desipramine

Desipramine was administered to 8 amphetamine- and 14 cocaine-dependent persons to assist withdrawal. Nineteen of 22 (86.4%) reported discontinuation of drug use within two to seven days, of which 15 (68.2%) gave urine samples negative for amphetamines or cocaine. Recent primate studies show that chronic methamphetamine administration markedly depletes brain norepinephrine, which suggests that desipramine is probably effective in treating amphetamine and cocaine dependency because it selectively blocks norepinephrine uptake.