Unfortunately, due to the actions of far too many of The Few*, there is little to no choice when it comes to legal stimulants. Caffeine is not on the "controlled" list because a) it is somewhat self-limiting (as a diuretic) and b) because no legislator wants to be known as the idiot who introduced legislation to outlaw coffee. Sudafed is still available without a prescription but tightly controlled due to its habit of being collected by folks and redeemed for meth.
Personally, I am just coming off a week without caffeine, and I look forward to tomorrow morning's cup of tea with undisguised anticipation. As someone who used to use caffeine tablets as a study aid, I can give this advice: It's probably better to gauge how long you need the caffeine to work, and then dose accordingly. It takes about 15min before orally ingested caffeine shows up in your bloodstream for work, with peak availability coming 45min to an hour afterwards. It will then stay active in your body for about another 3hrs, at which point excretion will have reduced the amount in your system to about half. So that means that about every 2-1/2hrs, you will have to decide whether to dose again or whether it is time to let it subside. If you let it subside, your system will finally be caffeine-free about 12hrs from the time you took your last dose
regardless of whether you still feel the high or not (it will still be affecting your heart, nervous system, etc).
However, the amount with which you need to dose yourself will vary based on your physiology, your current tolerance level, etc. and will need to be determined by experimentation. The Internet says a 12oz bottle of Cran-Energy contains about 100mg caffeine. That's half a standard caffeine tablet** and if you're sick of importing your own supply, you can always chop a tablet in half and down it with a 12oz serving of ordinary Cran-whatever. Just toss it back with your first gulp and use the remaining 11oz to get any remaining bitter taste out of your mouth. I recommend using tablets to "find your sweet spot" because it is easier to keep track of the quantity of caffeine in your system by the number of (fragments of) pills you have consumed. Tablets may not be cheap, but at least when you are using it in its more or less pure form, you don't have to concern yourself with how much sugar/corn syrup, phosphoric acid, Cyanocobalamin (B12), Niacin, salt, or other ancillary chemicals you are ingesting which may come with their own side-effects. Trust me...caffeine might be bitter (and oh is it ever), but the annoyance of the bitter taste is nothing,
nothing compared to an unexpected (and unplanned) niacin flush. Or excess sodium. Or diabetes. Or osteoporosis. If you decide to go the powdered/tablet route, and the bitterness is too much for you to stand, you might try taking it with ice cream. The sweetness and dairy will help cover the bitter taste, and the cold will help further deaden your tongue's sensitivity. Cold milk might be a close second (with less sugar, too!). Over time, you will become accustomed to the taste of caffeine, and while it will always taste bitter, you will not mind it as much.
And then yes, you will need to detox periodically to be able to use it again.
The above is provided with no warranty, expressed nor implied, nor should it be construed as medical advice. Use caffeine in the form of your choice at your own risk. Respect any and all local laws/ordinances/directives. Please remember to use caffeine responsibly.
--Patrick
*You know, the ones who ruined it for the rest of us.
**Vivarin says their product contains 200mg/tablet.
This post partially dedicated to
Yoshimickster .