Cheap amphetamine with cocaine-like effects synthesized from cooking the ephedrine found in many over-the-counter drugs with iodine and phosphorus. Pervitin is closely associated with Prague, where it became a behind-the-iron curtain drug of choice in the 60's and 70's. As Prauge emerged as a European youth capital in the 90's, small-scale use in clubs and parties turned into a major export business of "Piko" capsules to nearby Holland and Germany. The drug was supposedly invented by the Nazis to stimulate soldiers and, through sales to the Japanese military, kamikaze pilots -- but that is just urban legend, what they used was dexedrine/dextroamphetamine.