Klaus says he took some '50's style benzos and drove to Milwaukee and back in one day. He is referring to benzodiazepines, a class of depressant drugs used to treat anxiety, insomnia and seizures. While the first benzo (Chlordiazepoxide) was discovered accidentally in 1955, it was not made available as a prescription drug until 1960. Plus driving from Virginia to Milwaukee and back would take a little over 24 hours, a person would want to take a stimulant to help them stay awake, benzos cause drowsiness so taking them makes no sense in that situation. Taking amphetamines would make far more sense, as they are potent stimulants, and it would be '50's appropriate, prior to 1959 there were several over the counter formulations of amphetamines. It was very common for people in the '50's to take amphetamines, the first commercially available amphetamine in the US was an amphetamine inhaler called Benzedrine introduced in 1933 that was a popular decongestant. Benzedrine sulfate tablets were introduced in 1936, commonly called 'bennies', and were used to treat narcolepsy, obesity, low blood pressure, low libido and chronic pain. They were also heavily used by soldiers during World War II and Korea to help them remain alert at night, the addictive properties of amphetamines started to become apparent in soldiers returning from the war, and in the population in general, which is why they were finally made prescription only in 1959. However it was very easy to get a prescription for amphetamines and this did little to curb the addiction problem, as such amphetamines were made a schedule II controlled substance in 1970, along with most opioids.
