> Argument #1: Amphetamine Does Not Promote the Use of Illegal Drugs or Facilitate the Sale of Controlled Substances
> Amphetamine does not promote the use of illegal drugs. Not only that, Amphetamine does not promote the recreational use of legal/prescribed drugs. In the United States, amphetamine is prescribed by doctors to adults for narcolepsy and to children for ADHD...
> ...Just like amphetamine (the organic compound) can be legally used to keep humans awake and attentive, Amphetamine (the app) can be legally used to keep your Mac awake."
While "amphetamine" isn't itself an "illegal" drug, promoting the use of amphetamines for anything other than the FDA-approved indications (e.g. narcolepsy and ADHD) is something that can approach illegality [0]. For example, Pfizer and many other companies have had to pay billions to settle charges of promoting drugs for non-approved indications [1].
The author doesn't help his case when he asserts, "amphetamine can be legally used to keep humans awake and attentive". Yes, that's an effect of the drug, but it's only official legal uses are for treating narcolepsy and diagnosed ADHD. Adderall's manufacturer would get in big trouble if it started a campaign to convince doctors (who can basically prescribe for any reason they judge necessary) to get patients on Adderall for general boosting of performance and productivity.
Of course, the author (I assume) isn't in the pocket of Big Pharma. it's also not a stretch to see how this falls afoul of Apple' policy against encouraging the illegal use of drugs, in that the application's very name creates an association between "Amphetamine" and "making your computer more productive". Alcohol isn't an illegal drug either, but as the author notes, Apple explicitly bans encouragement of "consumption of...excessive amounts of alcohol" – i.e. a harmful use of an otherwise legal drug.
To use a hypothetical example, if a developer created an app that reduced screen glare and excessive contrast in UI elements, and then called it Fentanyl, I'd imagine Apple would have the same complaints as it does against Amphetamine, even though Fentanyl is a drug legally prescribed for severe chronic pain.
[0] https://www.healthaffairs.org/do/10.1377/hblog20160719.05588...
[1] https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-announces-...