α-Methyltryptamine is a psychedelic, stimulant, and entactogen drug of the tryptamine class. It was originally developed as an antidepressant by workers at Upjohn in the 1960s, and was used briefly as an antidepressant in Russia under the trade name Indopan before being discontinued.
3,4-Methylenedioxyamphetamine is an empathogen-entactogen, psychostimulant, and psychedelic drug of the amphetamine family that is encountered mainly as a recreational drug. In terms of pharmacology, MDA acts most importantly as a serotonin–norepinephrine–dopamine releasing agent (SNDRA). In most countries, the drug is a controlled substance and its possession and sale are illegal.
para-Methoxyamphetamine (PMA), also known as 4-methoxyamphetamine (4-MA), is a designer drug of the amphetamine class with serotonergic effects. Unlike other similar drugs of this family, PMA does not produce stimulant, euphoriant, or entactogen effects, and behaves more like an antidepressant in comparison, though it does have some psychedelic properties.
Forensic toxicology is the use of toxicology and disciplines such as analytical chemistry, pharmacology and clinical chemistry to aid medical or legal investigation of death, poisoning, and drug use. The primary concern for forensic toxicology is not the legal outcome of the toxicological investigation or the technology utilized, but rather the obtention and interpretation of results. A toxicological analysis can be done to various kinds of samples. A forensic toxicologist must consider the context of an investigation, in particular any physical symptoms recorded, and any evidence collected at a crime scene that may narrow the search, such as pill bottles, powders, trace residue, and any available chemicals. Provided with this information and samples with which to work, the forensic toxicologist must determine which toxic substances are present, in what concentrations, and the probable effect of those chemicals on the person.
4-Methylthioamphetamine (4-MTA) is a designer drug of the substituted amphetamine class developed in the 1990s by a team led by David E. Nichols, an American pharmacologist and medical chemist, at Purdue University. It acts as a non-neurotoxic highly selective serotonin releasing agent (SSRA) in animals. 4-MTA is the methylthio derivative of amphetamine.
6-APB is an empathogenic psychoactive compound of the substituted benzofuran and substituted phenethylamine classes. 6-APB and other compounds are sometimes informally called "Benzofury" in newspaper reports. It is similar in structure to MDA, but differs in that the 3,4-methylenedioxyphenyl ring system has been replaced with a benzofuran ring. 6-APB is also the unsaturated benzofuran derivative of 6-APDB. It may appear as a tan grainy powder. While the drug never became particularly popular, it briefly entered the rave and underground clubbing scene in the UK before its sale and import were banned. It falls under the category of research chemicals, sometimes called "legal highs." Because 6-APB and other substituted benzofurans have not been explicitly outlawed in some countries, they are often technically legal, contributing to their popularity.
5-APB is an empathogenic psychoactive compound of the substituted benzofuran, substituted amphetamine and substituted phenethylamine classes. 5-APB and other compounds are sometimes informally called "Benzofury".
Substituted tryptamines, or serotonin analogues, are organic compounds which may be thought of as being derived from tryptamine itself. The molecular structures of all tryptamines contain an indole ring, joined to an amino (NH2) group via an ethyl (−CH2–CH2−) sidechain. In substituted tryptamines, the indole ring, sidechain, and/or amino group are modified by substituting another group for one of the hydrogen (H) atoms.
5-MAPB is an entactogenic designer drug similar to MDMA in its structure and effects.
6-MAPB is a psychedelic and entactogenic drug which is structurally related to 6-APB and MDMA. It is not known to have been widely sold as a "designer drug" but has been detected in analytical samples taken from individuals hospitalised after using drug combinations that included other benzofuran derivatives. 6-MAPB was banned in the UK in June 2013, along with 9 other related compounds which were thought to produce similar effects.
5-MAPDB (1-(2,3-dihydrobenzofuran-5-yl)-N-methylpropan-2-amine) is a chemical compound which acts as an entactogenic drug. It is structurally related to drugs like 5-APDB and 5-MAPB, which have similar effects to MDMA and have been used as recreational drugs. 5-MAPDB has been studied to determine its pharmacological activity, and was found to be a relatively selective serotonin releaser, though with weaker actions as a releaser of other monoamines and 5-HT2 receptor family agonist, similar to older compounds such as 5-APDB.
THJ-2201 is an indazole-based synthetic cannabinoid that presumably acts as a potent agonist of the CB1 receptor and has been sold online as a designer drug.
5-MeO-DiBF is a psychedelic that has been sold online as a designer drug and was first definitively identified in December 2015 by a forensic laboratory in Slovenia. It is thought to act as an agonist for the 5-HT1A and 5-HT2 family of serotonin receptors. It is related in structure to the psychedelic tryptamine derivative 5-MeO-DiPT, but with the indole nitrogen replaced by oxygen, making 5-MeO-DiBF a benzofuran derivative. It is several times less potent as a serotonin agonist than 5-MeO-DiPT and with relatively more activity at 5-HT1A, but still shows strongest effects at the 5-HT2 family of receptors.
5F-AMB (also known as 5F-MMB-PINACA and 5F-AMB-PINACA) is an indazole-based synthetic cannabinoid from the indazole-3-carboxamide family, which has been used as an active ingredient in synthetic cannabis products. It was first identified in Japan in early 2014. Although only very little pharmacological information about 5F-AMB itself exists, its 4-cyanobutyl analogue (instead of 5-fluoropentyl) has been reported to be a potent agonist for the CB1 receptor (KI = 0.7 nM).
Substituted phenylmorpholines, or substituted phenmetrazines alternatively, are chemical derivatives of phenylmorpholine or of the psychostimulant drug phenmetrazine. Most such compounds act as releasers of monoamine neurotransmitters, and have stimulant effects. Some also act as agonists at serotonin receptors, and compounds with an N-propyl substitution act as dopamine receptor agonists. A number of derivatives from this class have been investigated for medical applications, such as for use as anorectics or medications for the treatment of ADHD. Some compounds have also become subject to illicit use as designer drugs.
The substituted benzofurans are a class of chemical compounds based on the heterocyclyc and polycyclic compound benzofuran. Many medicines use the benzofuran core as a scaffold, but most commonly the term is used to refer to the simpler compounds in this class which include numerous psychoactive drugs, including stimulants, psychedelics and empathogens. In general, these compounds have a benzofuran core to which a 2-aminoethyl group is attached, and combined with a range of other substituents. Some psychoactive derivatives from this family have been sold under the name Benzofury.
The 25-NB (25x-NBx) series, sometimes alternatively referred to as the NBOMe compounds, is a family of serotonergic psychedelics. They are substituted phenethylamines and were derived from the 2C family. They act as selective agonists of the serotonin 5-HT2A receptor. The 25-NB family is unique relative to other classes of psychedelics in that they are, generally speaking, extremely potent and relatively selective for the 5-HT2A receptor. Use of NBOMe series drugs has caused many deaths and hospitalisations since the drugs popularisation in the 2010s. This is primarily due to their high overdose potential and sellers passing off the compounds in the series as LSD.
TH-PVP is a substituted cathinone derivative which has been sold as a designer drug. It was first identified by a forensic laboratory in Hungary in 2015, but has subsequently been found in numerous other countries around the world including Spain, Belgium, Poland, Turkey and Brazil. Pharmacological studies in vitro showed it to inhibit reuptake and promote the release of monoamine neurotransmitters with some selectivity for serotonin, but it failed to produce stimulant effects in animals, and has a pharmacological profile more comparable to that of sedating empathogens such as MDAI and 5-Methyl-MDA.
25E-NBOH is a derivative of the phenethylamine derived hallucinogen 2C-E. It was first developed by Martin Hansen at the University of Copenhagen in 2010 as a brain imaging agent, but has subsequently been sold as a designer drug, first being identified in Brazil in 2018 on seized blotter paper, as well as in Slovenia. It acts as a potent serotonin receptor agonist with similar affinity to better-known compounds such as 25I-NBOMe at 5-HT2A and 5-HT2C receptors.
