Only sort of? In what way could it not be a joke? Personally, caffeine is already near the upper limit in side effects I'm willing to tolerate (trembling and nervousness if I drink too much), and I don't think I'd be willing to experiment with meth even if it were safe and legal. I did try modafinil once, many years ago, and was astounded at how well it replicated all the beneficial effects of caffeine without the side effects (and had a concentration boost as well, which is actually the opposite of caffeine effects for me), but for financial reasons I didn't pursue getting a prescription at that time.

Caffeine has more negative side effects than prescription stimulants, at least per unit of effective stimulation. Talk to your doctor, the older stimulants (with a lot more research establishing their safety) are all available as generics.

I don't know what other stimulants have less negative side effects. Ephedrine?

Fun fact: once upon a time, the majority of nurses were perpetually hopped up on scary-powerful amphetamines. You joke about it now, but that kind of thing used to be normal. Hell, it was almost expected.

Crystal meth is an entirely different animal than a lot of the amphetamines used as stimulants, though. Crystal meth is too destructive for people to be productive on it.