Empathogens or entactogens are a class of psychoactive drugs that produce experiences of emotional communion, oneness, relatedness, emotional openness—that is, empathy or sympathy—as particularly observed and reported for experiences with 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA). This class of drug is distinguished from the classes of hallucinogen or psychedelic, and amphetamine or stimulants. Major members of this class include MDMA, MDA, MDEA, MDOH, MBDB, 5-APB, 5-MAPB, 6-APB, 6-MAPB, methylone, mephedrone, GHB, αMT, and αET, MDAI among others. Most entactogens are phenethylamines and amphetamines, although several, such as αMT and αET, are tryptamines. When referring to MDMA and its counterparts, the term MDxx is often used. Entactogens are sometimes incorrectly referred to as hallucinogens or stimulants, although many entactogens such as ecstasy exhibit psychedelic or stimulant properties as well.
Benzofuranylpropylaminopentane is a drug with an unusual effects profile. It can loosely be grouped with the stimulant or antidepressant drug families, but its mechanism of action is quite different.
5-(2-Aminopropyl)-2,3-dihydrobenzofuran is a putative entactogen drug of the phenethylamine and amphetamine classes. It is an analogue of MDA where the heterocyclic 3-position oxygen from the 3,4-methylenedioxy ring has been replaced by a methylene bridge. 6-APDB is an analogue of 5-APDB where the 4-position oxygen has been replaced by a methylene bridge instead. 5-APDB was developed by a team led by David E. Nichols at Purdue University as part of their research into non-neurotoxic analogues of MDMA.
A serotonin releasing agent (SRA) is a type of drug that induces the release of serotonin into the neuronal synaptic cleft. A selective serotonin releasing agent (SSRA) is an SRA with less significant or no efficacy in producing neurotransmitter efflux at other types of monoamine neurons.
A serotonin–norepinephrine–dopamine releasing agent (SNDRA), also known as a triple releasing agent (TRA), is a type of drug which induces the release of serotonin, norepinephrine/epinephrine, and dopamine in the brain and body. SNDRAs produce euphoriant, entactogen, and psychostimulant effects, and are almost exclusively encountered as recreational drugs.
5-(2-Aminopropyl)indole is an indole and phenethylamine derivative with empathogenic effects. Its preparation was first reported by Albert Hofmann in 1962. It is a designer drug that has been openly sold as a recreational drug by online vendors since 2011.
6-(2-Aminopropyl)-2,3-dihydrobenzofuran is a stimulant and entactogen drug of the phenethylamine and amphetamine classes. It is an analogue of MDA where the heterocyclic 4-position oxygen from the 3,4-methylenedioxy ring has been replaced with a methylene bridge. 5-APDB (3-Desoxy-MDA) is an analogue of 6-APDB where the 3-position oxygen has been replaced with a methylene instead. 6-APDB, along with 5-APDB, was first synthesized by David E. Nichols in the early 1990s while investigating non-neurotoxic MDMA analogues.
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.
Methoxetamine, abbreviated as MXE, is a dissociative hallucinogen that has been sold as a designer drug. It differs from many dissociatives such as ketamine and phencyclidine (PCP) that were developed as pharmaceutical drugs for use as general anesthetics in that it was designed specifically for recreational use. It is a rare example of a drug being so widely controlled without having an existing medical use.
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".
6-(2-Aminopropyl)indole is an indole derivative which was first identified being sold on the designer drug market by a laboratory in the Czech Republic in July 2016.
A temporary class drug is a relatively new status for controlled drugs, which has been adopted in some jurisdictions, notably New Zealand and the United Kingdom, to attempt to bring newly synthesised designer drugs under legal control. The controlled drug legislation in these jurisdictions requires drug scheduling decisions to follow an evidence-based process, where the harms of the drug are assessed and reviewed so that an appropriate legal status can be assigned. Since many designer drugs sold in recent years have had little or no published research that could help inform such a decision, they have been widely sold as "legal highs", often for months, before sufficient evidence accumulates to justify placing them on the controlled drug schedules.
5-MAPB is an entactogenic designer drug similar to MDMA in its structure and effects.
5-EAPB is a potentially entactogenic amphetamine which is structurally related to 5-MAPB and 5-APB. It might be predicted to show similar effects to these drugs in humans, but the pharmacology of 5-EAPB remains unstudied as of 2020.
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.
25D-NBOMe is a derivative of the phenethylamine derived hallucinogen 2C-D. It acts in a similar manner to related compounds such as 25I-NBOMe, which is a potent agonist at the 5HT2A receptor. 25D-NBOMe has been sold as a street drug since 2010 and produces similar effects in humans to related compounds such as 25I-NBOMe and 25C-NBOMe. It was banned as a Temporary Class Drug in the UK on 10 June 2013 after concerns about its recreational use.
6-MAPDB is a chemical compound which might be an entactogenic drug. It is structurally related to drugs like 6-APDB and 6-MAPB, which have similar effects to MDMA and have been used as recreational drugs. 6-MAPDB has never been studied to determine its pharmacological activity, though it is the N-methyl derivative of 6-APDB which is known to be a selective serotonin releaser.
6-EAPB is a potentially psychedelic and potentially entactogenic drug of the benzofuran class; it is structurally related to 6-APB and MDMA.
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.
2-MAPB is a recreational designer drug with empathogenic effects. As with other related substituted benzofuran derivatives such as 6-APB and 5-MAPB, 2-MAPB is a monoamine releaser with some selectivity for serotonin release, generally similar in pharmacological profile to MDMA but with greater activity as a directly acting agonist of 5-HT2 receptor subtypes and somewhat greater toxicity. 2-MAPB has been isolated from post-mortem toxicology screens in several drug-related fatal adverse reactions but generally only as a component of combinations of drugs, making it difficult to determine how much it contributed to the deaths. It is illegal in Japan.
