This study assessed the discriminative stimulus effects of (+/-)-ephedrine and its stereoisomers in pigeons discriminating 1.0 mg/kg of amphetamine from saline. Amphetamine, (+/-)-, (-)-, and (+)-ephedrine, and cocaine occasioned greater than 80% drug-key responding with the following rank order of potency: amphetamine > cocaine > (-)-ephedrine > or = (+/-)-ephedrine > or = (+)-ephedrine. Neither the alpha-adrenergic antagonist, phentolamine, nor the beta-adrenergic antagonist, propranolol, antagonized the effects of amphetamine or (+/-)-ephedrine. In contrast, the dopamine receptor antagonist, haloperidol, antagonized the discriminative stimulus effects of amphetamine and (+/-)-ephedrine as well as those of (-)- and (+)-ephedrine. These results indicate that, like cocaine, (+/-)-ephedrine and its stereoisomers share discriminative stimulus effects with amphetamine. Moreover, these effects appear to be the result of increased activity in dopaminergic systems.