Benzedrine pills were widespread during World War II. During that time, American forces were often given Benzedrine to stay awake and keep morale high. By the end of 1945, companies were selling about 750 million Benzedrine pills a year. This number rapidly grew to 8 billion pills a year by 1962 as civilian use grew. Women, in particular, used Benzedrine, often being given the drug with other multicolored pills in a bag of “rainbow pills” prescribed for mood and weight loss. Benzedrine pills are still available, although they are now a controlled substance.