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.
A designer drug is a structural or functional analog of a controlled substance that has been designed to mimic the pharmacological effects of the original drug, while avoiding classification as illegal and/or detection in standard drug tests. Designer drugs include psychoactive substances that have been designated by the European Union as new psychoactive substances (NPS) as well as analogs of performance-enhancing drugs such as designer steroids. Some of these were originally synthesized by academic or industrial researchers in an effort to discover more potent derivatives with fewer side effects, and shorter duration and were later co-opted for recreational use. Other designer drugs were prepared for the first time in clandestine laboratories. Because the efficacy and safety of these substances have not been thoroughly evaluated in animal and human trials, the use of some of these drugs may result in unexpected side effects.
Desoxypipradrol, also known as 2-diphenylmethylpiperidine (2-DPMP), is a drug developed by Ciba in the 1950s which acts as a norepinephrine-dopamine reuptake inhibitor (NDRI).
Mephedrone, also known as 4-methylmethcathinone, 4-MMC, and 4-methylephedrone, is a synthetic stimulant drug of the amphetamine and cathinone classes. Slang names include drone, M-CAT, White Magic, meow meow and bubble. It is chemically similar to the cathinone compounds found in the khat plant of eastern Africa. It comes in the form of tablets or crystals, which users can swallow, snort or inject, producing effects similar to those of MDMA, amphetamines and cocaine.
25I-NBOMe is a synthetic hallucinogen that is used in biochemistry research for mapping the brain's usage of the type 2A serotonin receptor; it is also sometimes used for recreational purposes. A derivative of the substituted phenethylamine 2C-I family, it is the most well-known member of the 25-NB family. It was discovered in 2003 by chemist Ralf Heim at the Free University of Berlin, who published his findings in his PhD dissertation. The compound was subsequently investigated by a team at Purdue University led by David Nichols.
Methylhexanamine is an indirect sympathomimetic drug invented and developed by Eli Lilly and Company and marketed as an inhaled nasal decongestant from 1948 until it was voluntarily withdrawn from the market in the 1970s.
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.
Synthetic cannabinoids are a class of designer drug molecules that bind to the same receptors to which cannabinoids in cannabis plants attach. These novel psychoactive substances should not be confused with synthetic phytocannabinoids or synthetic endocannabinoids from which they are in many aspects distinct.
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".
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.
EAM-2201 is a drug that presumably acts as a potent agonist for the cannabinoid receptors. It had never previously been reported in the scientific or patent literature, and was first identified by laboratories in Japan in July 2012 as an ingredient in synthetic cannabis smoking blends Like the closely related MAM-2201 which had been first reported around a year earlier, EAM-2201 thus appears to be another novel compound invented by designer drug suppliers specifically for recreational use. Structurally, EAM-2201 is a hybrid of two known cannabinoid compounds JWH-210 and AM-2201, both of which had previously been used as active ingredients in synthetic cannabis blends before being banned in many countries.
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.
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.
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.
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.
