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Clinical data | |
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Trade names | none |
Other names | 5-MeO-AI; 2,3-Dihydro-5-methoxy-1H-Inden-2-amine |
Routes of administration | Oral |
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Pharmacokinetic data | |
Bioavailability | high |
Metabolism | acetyl-aminoindandane |
Elimination half-life | non-linear |
Excretion | full |
Identifiers | |
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CAS Number | |
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CompTox Dashboard (EPA) | |
Chemical and physical data | |
Formula | C10H13NO |
Molar mass | 163.220 g·mol−1 |
3D model (JSmol) | |
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MEAI (5-methoxy-2-aminoindane or 5-MeO-AI or Chaperon) belongs to the indane family of molecules. Its molecular structure was first mentioned implicitly in a markush structure schema appearing in a patent from 1998. [1] It was later explicitly and pharmacologically described in a peer reviewed paper in 2017 by David Nutt and Ezekiel Golan et al. [2] followed by another in February 2018 which detailed the pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics and metabolism of MEAI by Shimshoni, David Nutt, Ezekiel Golan et al. [3] One year later it was studied and reported on in another peer reviewed paper by Halberstadt et al. [4] The aminoindane family of molecules was, perhaps, first chemically described in 1980. [5] [6]
MEAI was an early candidate of alcohol replacement drugs that came to market during a late 2010s movement to replace alcohol with less-toxic alternatives spearheaded by British psychopharmacologist David Nutt [7] [8] [9] rippling to the rest of Europe. [10]
In an act of gonzo journalism, Michael Slezak writing for New Scientist, tried and reported on his experience with MEAI [11] after being provided with it by Dr Zee [12] (Ezekiel Golan) after an interview [11] Golan claimed he invented MEAI and originally intended MEAI to be sold as a legal high but instead indicated plans to work with David Nutt and his company DrugScience to develop MEAI further based on Golan's patents as a "binge behaviour regulator" [13] and "alcoholic beverage substitute". [14]
In 2018, a company named Diet Alcohol Corporation of the Americas (DACOA) began openly marketing an MEAI-based drink called "Pace" for sale in the USA and Canada. Pace was described as a 50ml bottle containing 160mg of MEAI in mineral water. Distribution halted after Health Canada released a warning indicating the substance was considered illegal to market for consumption in Canada due to structural similarity to amphetamine. [15] [16] In a December 2018 article by CBC News, Ezekiel Golan (Dr Z/Dr Zee) was interviewed and publicly came out as the "lead scientist" of Pace claiming "tens of thousands" of bottles were already sold in Canada. [17] Golan claimed the MEAI featured in Pace was "manufactured in India" and "bottled in Delaware". [17] Health Canada provided a statement to CBC News stating "Pace is an illegal and unauthorized product in Canada." Both Chemistry World [18] and The BBC have dubbed Ezekiel Golan as "the man who invents legal highs". [19] The Guardian called him "the godfather of legal highs" [20] for his contribution in reintroducing substituted cathinone based drugs commonly sold as Bath salts (drug) including Mephedrone
On May 26, 2022, MEAI was prepared for FDA registration by Clearmind Medicine Inc.; [21] [22] [23] Clearmind Medicine claims wide intellectual property holdings to Ezekiel Golan's patents. [24] [25] [26] [27] In March 2022 Clearmind Medicine announced supportive evidence from animal studies in mice attesting to suppression of alcohol consumption. [28] In June 2022 Clearmind Medicine announced promising results from animal studies that showed promise for treating cocaine addiction with MEAI. [29] [30]
Recreational drug use is the use of one or more psychoactive drugs to induce an altered state of consciousness either for pleasure or for some other casual purpose or pastime. When a psychoactive drug enters the user's body, it induces an intoxicating effect. Generally, recreational drugs are divided into three categories: depressants, stimulants, and hallucinogens.
Temazepam is a medication of the benzodiazepine class which is generally used to treat severe or debilitating insomnia. It is taken by mouth. Temazepam is rapidly absorbed, and significant hypnotic effects begin in less than 30 minutes and can last for up to eight hours. Many studies, some going as far back as the early 1980s out of Australia and the United Kingdom, both of which have had serious temazepam abuse epidemics and related mortality, have all mostly corroborated each other and proven that the potential for abuse and physical dependence is very high, even in comparison to many other benzodiazepines. As a result, prescriptions for hypnotics such as temazepam have seen a dramatic decrease since 2010, while anxiolytics such as alprazolam (Xanax), clonazepam, and lorazepam (Ativan) have increased or remained stable. Temazepam and similar hypnotics, such as triazolam (Halcion) are generally reserved for severe and debilitating insomnia. They have largely been replaced by z-drugs and atypical antidepressants as first line treatment for insomnia.
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.
Dextropropoxyphene is an analgesic in the opioid category, patented in 1955 and manufactured by Eli Lilly and Company. It is an optical isomer of levopropoxyphene. It is intended to treat mild pain and also has antitussive and local anaesthetic effects. The drug has been taken off the market in Europe and the US due to concerns of fatal overdoses and heart arrhythmias. It is still available in Australia, albeit with restrictions after an application by its manufacturer to review its proposed banning. Its onset of analgesia is said to be 20–30 minutes and peak effects are seen about 1.5–2.0 hours after oral administration.
Benzylpiperazine (BZP) is a recreational drug with euphoriant and stimulant properties. The effects produced by BZP are comparable to those produced by amphetamine. Adverse effects have been reported following its use including acute psychosis, renal toxicity and seizures. Deaths from piperazine derivatives are extremely rare, but there has been at least one death apparently due to BZP alone. Its sale is banned in several countries, including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United States, the Republic of Ireland, the United Kingdom, Bulgaria, Romania and other parts of Europe.
5-MeO-DPT, is a psychedelic and entheogenic designer drug.
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.
α-Pyrrolidinopropiophenone (α-PPP), is a stimulant drug. It is similar in structure to the appetite suppressant diethylpropion and has analogous effects in animals. Little is known about this compound, but it has been detected by laboratories in Germany as an ingredient in "ecstasy" tablets seized by law enforcement authorities. This drug has been found to produce stimulant effects in animals and presumably also produces these effects in humans, based on the context in which it has been found.
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.
3-Methoxy-4-methylamphetamine (MMA) is an entactogen and psychedelic drug of the phenethylamine and amphetamine classes. It was first synthesized in 1970 and was encountered as a street drug in Italy in the same decade. MMA was largely forgotten until being reassayed by David E. Nichols as a non-neurotoxic MDMA analogue in 1991, and has subsequently been sold as a designer drug on the internet since the late 2000s (decade).
5-Methoxy-6-methyl-2-aminoindane (MMAI) is a drug developed in the 1990s by a team led by David E. Nichols at Purdue University. It acts as a non-neurotoxic and highly selective serotonin releasing agent (SSRA) and produces entactogen effects in humans. It has been sold as a designer drug and research chemical online since 2010.
5-Iodo-2-aminoindane (5-IAI) is a drug which acts as a releasing agent of serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine. It was developed in the 1990s by a team led by David E. Nichols at Purdue University. 5-IAI fully substitutes for MDMA in rodents and is a putative entactogen in humans. Unlike related aminoindane derivatives like MDAI and MMAI, 5-IAI causes some serotonergic neurotoxicity in rats, but is substantially less toxic than its corresponding amphetamine homologue pIA, with the damage observed barely reaching statistical significance.
2-Aminoindane (2-AI) is a research chemical with applications in neurologic disorders and psychotherapy that has also been sold as a designer drug. It acts as a selective substrate for NET and DAT.
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.
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.
Bath salts are a group of recreational designer drugs. The name derives from instances in which the drugs were disguised as bath salts. The white powder, granules, or crystals often resemble Epsom salts, but differ chemically. The drugs' packaging often states "not for human consumption" in an attempt to circumvent drug prohibition laws. Additionally, they may be mislabeled as plant food, powdered cleaner, and other such products.
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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 potency, unpredictable pharmacokinetics, and sellers passing off the compounds in the series as LSD.
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Dimethylone (βk-MDDMA) is a substituted cathinone derivative with stimulant and empathogenic effects. Unlike the corresponding amphetamine derivative MDDM which is thought to be practically inactive, dimethylone substitutes for methamphetamine and MDMA in animal studies and has been sold as a designer drug.