Para-Methoxy-N-methylamphetamine

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para-Methoxy-N-methylamphetamine
4-Methoxymethamphetamine.svg
Legal status
Legal status
Identifiers
  • 1-(4-Methoxyphenyl)-N-methylpropan-2-amine
CAS Number
PubChem CID
ChemSpider
UNII
KEGG
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ECHA InfoCard 100.040.818 OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Chemical and physical data
Formula C11H17NO
Molar mass 179.263 g·mol−1
3D model (JSmol)
  • CC(CC1=CC=C(C=C1)OC)NC

  • C1=CC(=CC=C1CC(C)NC)OC
  • InChI=1S/C11H17NO/c1-9(12-2)8-10-4-6-11(13-3)7-5-10/h4-7,9,12H,8H2,1-3H3
  • Key:UGFMBZYKVQSQFX-UHFFFAOYSA-N
   (verify)

para-Methoxy-N-methylamphetamine (also known as PMMA, Red Mitsubishi), chemically known as methyl-MA, 4-methoxy-N-methylamphetamine, and 4-MMA (or 4-PMDA, as listed to its original physical name) is a stimulant and psychedelic drug closely related to the amphetamine-class serotonergic drug para-methoxyamphetamine (PMA). PMMA is the 4-methoxy analog of methamphetamine. Little is known about the pharmacological properties, metabolism, and toxicity of PMMA; because of its structural similarity to PMA, which has known toxicity in humans, it is thought to have considerable potential to cause harmful side effects or death in overdose. [2] In the early 2010s, a number of deaths in users of the drug MDMA were linked to misrepresented tablets and capsules of PMMA. [3]

Contents

Its effects in humans are reputedly similar to those of PMA, but slightly more empathogenic in nature.[ medical citation needed ] It has a reduced tendency to produce severe hyperthermia at low dosages, [4] [5] but at higher dosages side effects and risk of death become similar to those of PMA. [6]

The synthesis and effects of PMMA were described by American experimental chemist Alexander Shulgin in his book PiHKAL , where it is referred to by the name "methyl-MA", as the N-methylated form of 4-MA (PMA). Shulgin reported that PMMA produces an increase in blood pressure and in heart rate, at doses above 100 mg, but causes no psychoactive effects at these levels.

Recreational use

Tablets of PMMA recovered by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration PMMA tablets.jpg
Tablets of PMMA recovered by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration

PMMA has been found in tablets and capsules of the MDMA sold as "ecstasy". A number of deaths have been attributed to tablets sold as ecstasy that contained other substances, such as PMMA's structural analog, PMA. [7] [8] Death can occur when an ecstasy user believes they are consuming recreational doses of MDMA, when they are in fact consuming a lethal dose of another substance with similar effects. PMA is of particular concern because it not only causes a release of serotonin but also acts as a monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI); if it is used in combination with MDMA or another MDMA-like substance, serotonin syndrome can result. [9]

PMMA can be detected with reagent testing kits.

Deaths

In January 2011, the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation reported that Norway had seen 12 deaths related to PMMA over the course of six months. In March 2011, Dutch media reported that there had been four deaths in the province of Limburg since November 2010. [10] In April 2011, Icelandic media reported the death of a young woman that may have been connected to PMMA.[ citation needed ]

In 2011, four deaths were recorded in Scotland as a result of ecstasy tablets which also contained PMMA. [11]

In January 2012, a number of ecstasy-related deaths in Canada in the previous year were linked to PMMA overdoses. In the single year, approximately 45 exposures occurred, resulting in 21 deaths. Cases were centred primarily in Calgary and Vancouver. [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17]

In September 2012, the deaths of two men in County Cork, Ireland, have been linked to PMMA overdoses. [18] In the same month, the death of a man in Queensland, Australia was attributed to PMMA. [19]

In June 2013 a PMMA-related death occurred in the Dutch city of 's-Hertogenbosch. [20] Two months later, In August 2013, another possibly PMMA-related death occurred in the nearby town of Sliedrecht. [21] [22] [23]

In January 2015 in the UK four people died, suspected of taking ecstasy containing PMMA. [24] In the same month, in Sweden, another man died from ecstasy laced with PMMA. [25]

In May 2015 a young woman died in Dublin, Ireland, after taking what is suspected to be PMMA. [26]

In April 2016 four young Argentines and one Uruguayan died during a massive rave called "Time Warp" in Buenos Aires and five more were hospitalized. PMMA was found in their bodies. [27]

United States

On June 25, 2021 the DEA finalized a rule placing PMMA on the Controlled Substance Act federal Schedule as a Schedule I substance effective July 26, 2021. [28]

United Kingdom

PMMA is controlled as a Schedule 1, Class A drug in the UK.[ citation needed ]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MDMA</span> Psychoactive drug, often called ecstasy

3,4-Methyl​enedioxy​methamphetamine (MDMA), commonly known as ecstasy, and molly, is a potent empathogen–entactogen with stimulant and minor psychedelic properties. In studies, it has been used alongside 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.

α-Methyltryptamine Chemical compound

α-Methyltryptamine is a psychedelic, stimulant, and entactogen drug of the tryptamine family. It was originally developed as an antidepressant at Upjohn in the 1960s, and was used briefly as an antidepressant in the Soviet Union under the brand name Indopan or Indopane before being discontinued.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Club drug</span> Category of recreational drugs

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.

<i>PiHKAL</i> 1991 book by Alexander Shulgin and Ann Shulgin

PiHKAL: A Chemical Love Story is a book by Dr. Alexander Shulgin and Ann Shulgin, published in 1991. The subject of the work is psychoactive phenethylamine chemical derivatives, notably those that act as psychedelics and/or empathogen-entactogens. The main title, PiHKAL, is an acronym that stands for "Phenethylamines I Have Known and Loved."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2,5-Dimethoxy-4-methylamphetamine</span> Chemical compound

2,5-Dimethoxy-4-methylamphetamine is a psychedelic and a substituted amphetamine. It was first synthesized by Alexander Shulgin, and later reported in his book PiHKAL: A Chemical Love Story. DOM is classified as a Schedule I substance in the United States, and is similarly controlled in other parts of the world. Internationally, it is a Schedule I drug under the Convention on Psychotropic Substances. It is generally taken orally.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">3,4-Methylenedioxyamphetamine</span> Empathogen-entactogen, psychostimulant, and psychedelic drug of the amphetamine family

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.

<i>para</i>-Methoxyamphetamine Chemical compound

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MBDB</span> Chemical compound

1,3-Benzodioxolyl-N-methylbutanamine (N-methyl-1,3-benzodioxolylbutanamine, MBDB, 3,4-methylenedioxy-N-methyl-α-ethylphenylethylamine) is an entactogen of the phenethylamine chemical class. It is known by the street names Eden and Methyl-J. MBDB is a ring substituted amphetamine and an analogue of MDMA. Like MDMA, it has a methylene dioxy substitution at the 3 and 4 position on the aromatic ring; this is perhaps the most distinctive feature that structurally define analogues of MDMA, in addition to their unique effects, and as a class they are often referred to as "entactogens" to differentiate between typical psychostimulant amphetamines that (as a general rule) are not ring substituted. MBDB differs from MDMA by having an ethyl group instead of a methyl group attached to the alpha carbon; all other parts are identical. Modification at the alpha carbon is uncommon for substituted amphetamines. It has IC50 values of 784 nM against 5-HT, 7825 nM against dopamine, and 1233 nM against norepinephrine. Its metabolism has been described in scientific literature.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">4-Fluoroamphetamine</span> Psychoactive research chemical

4-Fluoroamphetamine, also known as para-fluoroamphetamine (PFA) is a psychoactive research chemical of the phenethylamine and substituted amphetamine chemical classes. It produces stimulant and entactogenic effects. As a recreational drug, 4-FA is sometimes sold along with related compounds such as 2-fluoroamphetamine and 4-fluoromethamphetamine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MMDA (drug)</span> Entactogen drug

MMDA is a psychedelic and entactogen drug of the amphetamine class. It is an analogue of lophophine, MDA, and MDMA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">4-Methylthioamphetamine</span> Chemical compound

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1,3-Benzodioxolylbutanamine</span> Enactogenic drug of the phenethylamine class

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">4'-Methoxy-α-pyrrolidinopropiophenone</span> Stimulant recreational drug

4'-Methoxy-α-pyrrolidinopropiophenone (MOPPP) is a stimulant designer drug of the pyrrolidinophenone class. It has the potential to produce euphoria, an effect shared with other classical stimulants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MDAI</span> Chemical compound

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">3-Methoxy-4-methylamphetamine</span> Entactogen and psychedelic drug of the phenethylamine and amphetamine classes

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).

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">3-Methoxyamphetamine</span> Stimulant drug of the amphetamine class

meta-Methoxyamphetamine (MMA), also known as 3-methoxyamphetamine (3-MA), is a stimulant drug from the amphetamine family. It has similar effects in animal drug discrimination tests to the more widely known derivative 4-methoxyamphetamine (PMA), although with a slightly different ratio of monoamine release, being a combined serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine releasing agent rather than a fairly selective serotonin releaser like PMA. 3-Methoxyamphetamine has similarly appeared on the illicit market as a designer drug alternative to MDMA, although far more rarely than its infamous positional isomer. It produces gepefrine, a cardiac stimulant, as one of its major metabolites.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">3-Methoxymethamphetamine</span> Chemical compound

3-Methoxymethamphetamine, which is most closely related to 3-methoxyamphetamine and PMMA and shares similar monoamine releasing effects, although its effects have not been studied so extensively as other related drugs. It is an agonist of human TAAR1.

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).

References

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