3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), commonly known as ecstasy, and molly or mandy, is a potent empathogen–entactogen with stimulant and minor psychedelic properties. Investigational indications include as an adjunct to psychotherapy in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and social anxiety in autism spectrum disorder. The purported pharmacological effects that may be prosocial include altered sensations, increased energy, empathy, and pleasure. When taken by mouth, effects begin in 30 to 45 minutes and last three to six hours.
Club drugs, also called rave drugs or party drugs, are a loosely defined category of recreational drugs which are associated with discothèques in the 1970s and nightclubs, dance clubs, electronic dance music (EDM) parties, and raves in the 1980s to today. Unlike many other categories, such as opiates and benzodiazepines, which are established according to pharmaceutical or chemical properties, club drugs are a "category of convenience", in which drugs are included due to the locations they are consumed and/or where the user goes while under the influence of the drugs. Club drugs are generally used by adolescents and young adults.
Clandestine chemistry is chemistry carried out in secret, and particularly in illegal drug laboratories. Larger labs are usually run by gangs or organized crime intending to produce for distribution on the black market. Smaller labs can be run by individual chemists working clandestinely in order to synthesize smaller amounts of controlled substances or simply out of a hobbyist interest in chemistry, often because of the difficulty in ascertaining the purity of other, illegally synthesized drugs obtained on the black market. The term clandestine lab is generally used in any situation involving the production of illicit compounds, regardless of whether the facilities being used qualify as a true laboratory.
3,4-Methylenedioxyamphetamine is an empathogen-entactogen, psychostimulant, and psychedelic drug of the amphetamine family that is encountered mainly as a recreational drug. In its pharmacology, MDA is a serotonin–norepinephrine–dopamine releasing agent (SNDRA). In most countries, the drug is a controlled substance and its possession and sale are illegal.
Nimetazepam is an intermediate-acting hypnotic drug which is a benzodiazepine derivative. It was first synthesized by a team at Hoffmann-La Roche in 1964. It possesses powerful hypnotic, anxiolytic, sedative, and skeletal muscle relaxant properties. Nimetazepam is also a particularly potent anticonvulsant. It is marketed in 5 mg tablets known as Erimin, which is the brand name manufactured and marketed by the large Japanese corporation Sumitomo. Japan is the sole manufacturer of nimetazepam in the world. Outside of Japan, Erimin is available in much of East and Southeast Asia and was widely prescribed for the short-term treatment of severe insomnia in patients who have difficulty falling asleep or maintaining sleep. Sumitomo has ceased manufacturing Erimin since November 2015. It is still available as a generic drug or as Lavol.
The illegal drug trade in China is influenced by factors such as history, location, size, population, and current economic conditions. China has one-sixth of the world's population and a large and expanding economy. China's large land mass, close proximity to the Golden Triangle, Golden Crescent, and numerous coastal cities with large and modern port facilities make it an attractive transit center for drug traffickers. Opium has played an important role in the country's history since before the First and Second Opium Wars in the mid-19th century.
N-isopropylbenzylamine is a compound that has appeared in chemical literature often playing an intermediary role in applications of experimental synthesis and novel organic transformations. Despite having limited documented uses, it is most well known for having previously come to the attention of the DEA due to being used by illicit methamphetamine manufacturers as a diluent of or substitute for methamphetamine, with many recorded sightings occurring in the years 2007-2008. As of 2018, researchers from the DEA associated with the Methamphetamine Profiling Program, which categorizes route-specific and other impurities in seized drug samples, has stated that isopropylbenzylamine appears only "occasionally". This compound is a chain isomer of methamphetamine that exhibits the same chemical formula and molar mass giving their hydrochloride salts similar physical properties, such as relatively close melting points and comparable appearance. Consequently, it can be used as a substitute or diluent of methamphetamine without this being obvious to users, though the differing melting points and various attributes of its presentation such as softer or more easily broken crystals have been noted as a possible indication of its presence. In Australia it is a border controlled substance. It not known to be a controlled substance in any other jurisdiction. Isopropylbenzylamine is not thought to have any stimulant effects in its own right, though anecdotal reports suggest that it may be associated with side effects such as headaches and confusion which are not typically associated with methamphetamine itself. The toxicity of N-isopropylbenzylamine has been studied as of 2022 and it has been found to produces toxicity via increasing nitric oxide in vitro. In this study, in vitro toxicity of N-isopropylbenzylamine and its toxicity-related targets were investigated in SN4741, SH-SY5Y or PC12 cell lines that model neurons. The study sounds an alarm for methamphetamine abusers and warns of the dangerousness of N-isopropylbenzylamine for public health. Other "cutting agents" found to have been used for methamphetamine include the related compounds methylbenzylamine and ethylbenzylamine, as well as dimethylsulfone.
MDAI (5,6-methylenedioxy-2-aminoindane) 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) in vitro and produces entactogen effects in humans.
Substituted amphetamines are a class of compounds based upon the amphetamine structure; it includes all derivative compounds which are formed by replacing, or substituting, one or more hydrogen atoms in the amphetamine core structure with substituents. The compounds in this class span a variety of pharmacological subclasses, including stimulants, empathogens, and hallucinogens, among others. Examples of substituted amphetamines are amphetamine (itself), methamphetamine, ephedrine, cathinone, phentermine, mephentermine, tranylcypromine, bupropion, methoxyphenamine, selegiline, amfepramone (diethylpropion), pyrovalerone, MDMA (ecstasy), and DOM (STP).
Drug precursors, also referred to as precursor chemicals or simply precursors, are substances used to manufacture illicit drugs. Most precursors also have legitimate commercial uses and are legally used in a wide variety of industrial processes and consumer products, such as medicines, flavourings, and fragrances.
5F-ADB (also known as MDMB-5F-PINACA and 5F-MDMB-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 and has been sold online as a designer drug. 5F-ADB is a potent agonist of the CB1 receptor, though it is unclear whether it is selective for this target. 5F-ADB was first identified in November 2014 from post-mortem samples taken from an individual who had died after using a product containing this substance. Subsequent testing identified 5F-ADB to have been present in a total of ten people who had died from unexplained drug overdoses in Japan between September 2014 and December 2014. 5F-ADB is believed to be extremely potent based on the very low levels detected in tissue samples, and appears to be significantly more toxic than earlier synthetic cannabinoid drugs that had previously been sold.
MDMB-CHMICA is an indole-based synthetic cannabinoid that is a potent agonist of the CB1 receptor and has been sold online as a designer drug. While MDMB-CHMICA was initially sold under the name "MMB-CHMINACA", the compound corresponding to this code name (i.e. the isopropyl instead of t-butyl analogue of MDMB-CHMINACA) has been identified on the designer drug market in 2015 as AMB-CHMINACA.
MDMB-CHMINACA (also known as MDMB(N)-CHM) is an indazole-based synthetic cannabinoid that acts as a potent agonist of the CB1 receptor, and has been sold online as a designer drug. It was invented by Pfizer in 2008, and is one of the most potent cannabinoid agonists known, with a binding affinity of 0.0944 nM at CB1, and an EC50 of 0.330 nM. It is closely related to MDMB-FUBINACA, which caused at least 1000 hospitalizations and 40 deaths in Russia as consequence of intoxication.
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.
6-Chloro-MDMA is a derivative of the amphetamine drug MDMA, which has been identified both in seized "ecstasy" tablets and in urine samples from drug users. It is thought most likely to be an impurity from synthesis and its pharmacological properties have not been established; however, it has been banned in several countries.
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.
Amphetamine type stimulants (ATS) are a group of synthetic drugs that are chemical derivatives of the parent compound alpha-methylphenethylamine, also known as amphetamine. Common ATS includes amphetamine, methamphetamine, ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), 3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA) and 3,4-methylenedioxyethylamphetamine (MDEA). ATS when used illicitly has street names including ice, meth, crystal, crank, bennies, and speed. Within the group of amphetamine-type stimulants, there are also prescription drugs including mixed amphetamine salts, dextroamphetamine, and lisdexamfetamine.
MDMB-5Br-INACA is an indazole-3-carboxamide derivative which has been sold as a designer drug. Surprisingly it appears to produce psychoactive activity despite the lack of a "tail" group at the indazole 1-position, but is of relatively low potency and has been encountered being misrepresented as other illicit drugs such as MDMA.
1-Boc-4-AP is a compound used as an intermediate in the manufacture of fentanyl, as well as various related derivatives such as butyrylfentanyl, furanylfentanyl, benzylfentanyl and homofentanyl, among others. It is an N-protected derivative of 4-anilinopiperidine which can be readily converted to fentanyl or related analogues in several straightforward synthetic steps. It was classified as a DEA List 1 Chemical in 2022, and is also controlled in various other jurisdictions. Its possession, sale and importation are consequently heavily regulated throughout much of the world. 1-Boc-4-AP has also been identified as an impurity in other designer drug products, though it is unclear if it has any pharmacological activity in its own right.
