There was Ritalin. This drug has been in use for about 80 years. Prior to that, they noted that giving some hyperactive kids coffee seemed to ‘calm their nerves’, and it was caffeine that was the drug indicated for this condition for a very long time.
The drug effects the central brain area, which is the area responsible for focus, screening out and/or prioritizing sensory stimuli.
Ritalin is one of the most studied and documented medications ever. It leaves no traces of itself, and unlike caffeine, does not produce withdrawal symptoms in patients who use it for the appropriate conditions.
In people who do not have issues with respect to the central brain, the drug has the opposite effect - causing alertness and general hyperactivity. This makes it one of the most commonly abused drugs prescribed.
It doesn’t take a doctor to spot a kid who MIGHT benefit from either coffee in the AM or Ritalin. A teacher could pull it off, and there have been teachers that have served coffee, or Mt. Dew to these kids and got the desired effect.
Grades improved, discipline incidents decreased, etc.
It doesn’t work for every sh!tass walking the street, but it when it fails the price of failure is some extra calories.
Ritalin has also been illegal in Sweden since 1971.