Designer drug
Encyclopedia
Designer drug is a term used to describe drugs
DRUGS
Destroy Rebuild Until God Shows are an American post-hardcore band formed in 2010. They released their debut self-titled album on February 22, 2011.- Formation :...

 that are created (or marketed, if they had already existed) to get around existing drug laws, usually by preparing analogs or derivatives
Derivative (chemistry)
In chemistry, a derivative is a compound that is derived from a similar compound by some chemical or physical process. In the past it was also used to mean a compound that can be imagined to arise from another compound, if one atom is replaced with another atom or group of atoms, but modern...

 of existing drugs by modifying their chemical structure to varying degrees, or less commonly by finding drugs with entirely different chemical structures that produce similar subjective effects to illegal recreational drugs.

1920s–1930s

The term "designer drug" was first coined by law enforcement in the 1980s, and has since gained widespread use. However, the first appearance of what would now be termed designer drugs occurred well before this, in the 1920s. Following the passage of the second International Opium Convention
International Opium Convention
The International Opium Convention, signed at The Hague on January 23, 1912 during the First International Opium Conference, was the first international drug control treaty. It was registered in League of Nations Treaty Series on January 23, 1922...

 in 1925, which specifically banned morphine
Morphine
Morphine is a potent opiate analgesic medication and is considered to be the prototypical opioid. It was first isolated in 1804 by Friedrich Sertürner, first distributed by same in 1817, and first commercially sold by Merck in 1827, which at the time was a single small chemists' shop. It was more...

, the diacetyl
Acetyl
In organic chemistry, acetyl is a functional group, the acyl with chemical formula COCH3. It is sometimes represented by the symbol Ac . The acetyl group contains a methyl group single-bonded to a carbonyl...

 ester
Ester
Esters are chemical compounds derived by reacting an oxoacid with a hydroxyl compound such as an alcohol or phenol. Esters are usually derived from an inorganic acid or organic acid in which at least one -OH group is replaced by an -O-alkyl group, and most commonly from carboxylic acids and...

 of morphine, heroin, and a number of alternative esters of morphine quickly started to be manufactured and sold. The most notable of these were dibenzoylmorphine
Dibenzoylmorphine
Dibenzoylmorphine is an opiate analogue that is a derivative of morphine. It was developed in the early 1900s after first having been synthesised in 1875 in the UK, along with various other esters of morphine, but was never used medically, instead being widely sold as one of the first "designer...

 and acetylpropionylmorphine
Acetylpropionylmorphine
Acetylpropionylmorphine is an opiate analogue that is a derivative of morphine. It was developed in the early 1900s after first being synthesised in Great Britain in 1875 but shelved along with heroin and various other esters of morphine, but was never used medically, instead being widely sold as...

, which have virtually identical effects to heroin but were not covered by the Opium Convention. This then led the Health Committee of the League of Nations
League of Nations
The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...

 to pass several resolutions attempting to bring these new drugs under control, ultimately leading in 1930 to the first broad analogues provisions extending legal control to all esters of morphine, oxycodone, and hydromorphone. Another early example of what could loosely be termed designer drug use, was during the Prohibition
Prohibition
Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...

 era in the 1930s, when diethyl ether
Diethyl ether
Diethyl ether, also known as ethyl ether, simply ether, or ethoxyethane, is an organic compound in the ether class with the formula . It is a colorless, highly volatile flammable liquid with a characteristic odor...

 was sold and used as an alternative to illegal alcoholic beverages
Alcoholic beverage
An alcoholic beverage is a drink containing ethanol, commonly known as alcohol. Alcoholic beverages are divided into three general classes: beers, wines, and spirits. They are legally consumed in most countries, and over 100 countries have laws regulating their production, sale, and consumption...

 in a number of countries.

1960s–1970s

During the 1960s and 1970s, a number of new synthetic hallucinogens were introduced, with a notable example being the sale of highly potent tablets of DOM
2,5-Dimethoxy-4-methylamphetamine
2,5-Dimethoxy-4-methylamphetamine is a psychedelic and a substituted amphetamine...

 in San Francisco in 1967. There was little scope to prosecute people over drug analogues at this time, with new compounds instead being added to the controlled drug schedules one by one as they became a problem, but one significant court case from this period was in 1973, when Tim Scully
Tim Scully
Robert "Tim" Scully is best known in the psychedelic underground for his work in the production of LSD from 1966 to 1969, for which he was indicted in 1973 and convicted in 1974. His best known product, dubbed "Orange Sunshine", was considered the standard for quality LSD in 1969.Scully grew up in...

 and Nicholas Sand
Nicholas Sand
Nick Sand is a low-profile hero in the psychedelic community for his work as a clandestine chemist from 1966-1996. Sand was also Chief Alchemist for the League for Spiritual Discovery at the Millbrook estate in New York.- History :...

 were prosecuted for making the acetyl amide of LSD
LSD
Lysergic acid diethylamide, abbreviated LSD or LSD-25, also known as lysergide and colloquially as acid, is a semisynthetic psychedelic drug of the ergoline family, well known for its psychological effects which can include altered thinking processes, closed and open eye visuals, synaesthesia, an...

, known as ALD-52
ALD-52
ALD-52, also known as N-acetyl-LSD, is a chemical analogue of lysergic acid diethylamide . It was originally discovered by Albert Hofmann but was not widely studied until the rise in popularity of psychedelics in the 1960s.- Effects :...

. At this time ALD-52 was not a controlled drug, but they were convicted on the grounds that in order to make ALD-52, they would have had to be in possession of LSD, which was illegal. The late 1970s also saw the introduction of various analogues of phencyclidine
Phencyclidine
Phencyclidine , commonly initialized as PCP and known colloquially as angel dust, is a recreational dissociative drug...

 (PCP) to the illicit market, although few of them were well accepted by users with only TCP
Tenocyclidine
Tenocyclidine is a dissociative anesthetic drug with stimulant and hallucinogenic effects. It is similar in effects to phencyclidine but is considerably more potent. TCP has slightly different binding properties to PCP, with more affinity for the NMDA receptors, but less affinity for the sigma...

 and PCE
Eticyclidine
Eticyclidine is a dissociative anesthetic drug with hallucinogenic effects. It is similar in effects to phencyclidine but is slightly more potent...

 becoming widely used.

1980s-early 1990s

The modern use of the term designer drug was coined in the 1980s to refer to various synthetic opioid
Opioid
An opioid is a psychoactive chemical that works by binding to opioid receptors, which are found principally in the central and peripheral nervous system and the gastrointestinal tract...

 drugs, based mostly on the fentanyl molecule (such as α-methylfentanyl
Alphamethylfentanyl
α-Methylfentanyl is an opioid analgesic that is an analogue of fentanyl.α-Methylfentanyl was invented in 1976 and appeared on the black market under the name "China White"...

). The term gained widespread popularity when MDMA
Methylenedioxymethamphetamine
MDMA is an entactogenic drug of the phenethylamine and amphetamine class of drugs. In popular culture, MDMA has become widely known as "ecstasy" , usually referring to its street pill form, although this term may also include the presence of possible adulterants...

 (ecstasy) experienced a popularity boom in the mid 1980s. When the term was coined in the 1980s, a wide range of narcotics were being sold as heroin on the black market. Many were based on fentanyl or meperidine. One, MPPP
MPPP
1-Methyl-4-phenyl-4-propionoxypiperidine or Desmethylprodine is an opioid analgesic drug developed in the 1940s by researchers at Hoffmann-La Roche. It is not used in clinical practice, but has been illegally manufactured for recreational drug use...

, was found in some cases to contain an impurity called MPTP
MPTP
MPTP is a neurotoxin precursor to MPP+, which causes permanent symptoms of Parkinson's disease by destroying dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra of the brain...

, which caused brain damage that could result in a syndrome identical to full-blown Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system...

, from only a single dose. Other problems were highly potent fentanyl analogues, which were sold as China White, that caused many accidental overdoses.

Because the government was powerless to prosecute people for these drugs until after they had been marketed successfully, laws were passed to give the DEA
Drug Enforcement Administration
The Drug Enforcement Administration is a federal law enforcement agency under the United States Department of Justice, tasked with combating drug smuggling and use within the United States...

 power to emergency schedule chemicals for a year, with an optional 6-month extension, while gathering evidence to justify permanent scheduling, as well as the analogue laws mentioned previously. Emergency-scheduling power was used for the first time for MDMA. In this case, the DEA scheduled MDMA as a Schedule I drug and retained this classification after review, even though their own judge ruled that MDMA should be classified Schedule III on the basis of its demonstrated uses in medicine. The emergency scheduling power has subsequently been used for a variety of other drugs including 2C-B
2C-B
2C-B or 4-bromo-2,5-dimethoxyphenethylamine is a psychedelic drug of the 2C family. It was first synthesized by Alexander Shulgin in 1974. In Shulgin's book PiHKAL, the dosage range is listed as 16–24 mg. 2C-B is sold as a white powder sometimes pressed in tablets or gel caps and is referred...

, AMT
Alphamethyltryptamine
α-Methyltryptamine , is a psychedelic, stimulant, and entactogen drug of the tryptamine class. It was originally developed as an antidepressant by workers at Upjohn in the 1960s.- History :...

, and BZP
Benzylpiperazine
Benzylpiperazine is a recreational drug with euphoric, 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...

. In 2004, a piperazine
Piperazine
Piperazine is an organic compound that consists of a six-membered ring containing two opposing nitrogen atoms. Piperazine exists as small alkaline deliquescent crystals with a saline taste....

 drug, TFMPP, became the first drug that had been emergency-scheduled to be denied permanent scheduling and revert to legal status.

The late 1980s and early 1990s also saw the re-emergence of methamphetamine
Methamphetamine
Methamphetamine is a psychostimulant of the phenethylamine and amphetamine class of psychoactive drugs...

 in the United States as a widespread public health issue, leading to increasing controls on precursor chemicals in an attempt to cut down on domestic manufacture of the drug. This led to several alternative stimulant drugs emerging, the most notable ones being methcathinone
Methcathinone
Methcathinone , is a psychoactive stimulant, sometimes used as a recreational drug and considered addictive. It is usually snorted, but can be smoked, injected, or taken orally...

 and 4-methylaminorex, but, despite attracting enough attention from authorities to provoke legal scheduling of these compounds, their distribution was relatively limited in extent and methamphetamine continued to dominate the illicit synthetic stimulant market overall.

Late 1990s-2004

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, there was a huge explosion in designer drugs being sold over the internet. The term and concept of "research chemicals" was coined by some marketers of designer drugs (in particular, of psychedelic drug
Psychedelic drug
A psychedelic substance is a psychoactive drug whose primary action is to alter cognition and perception. Psychedelics are part of a wider class of psychoactive drugs known as hallucinogens, a class that also includes related substances such as dissociatives and deliriants...

s in the tryptamine
Tryptamine
Tryptamine is a monoamine alkaloid found in plants, fungi, and animals. It is based around the indole ring structure, and is chemically related to the amino acid tryptophan, from which its name is derived...

 and phenethylamine
Phenethylamine
Phenylethylamine or phenethylamine is a natural monoamine alkaloid, trace amine, and also the name of a class of chemicals with many members well known for psychoactive drug and stimulant effects. Studies suggest that phenylethylamine functions as a neuromodulator or neurotransmitter in the...

 family). The idea was that, by selling the chemicals as for "scientific research" rather than human consumption, the intent
Mens rea
Mens rea is Latin for "guilty mind". In criminal law, it is viewed as one of the necessary elements of a crime. The standard common law test of criminal liability is usually expressed in the Latin phrase, actus non facit reum nisi mens sit rea, which means "the act does not make a person guilty...

 clause of the U.S. analogue drug laws would be avoided. Nonetheless, the DEA raided multiple suppliers, first JLF Primary Materials
JLF
JLF Primary Materials, formerly known as JLF Poisonous Non Consumables, was a popular internet website during the last part of the 20th century which sold "research chemicals" — essentially new hallucinogenic, stimulant, and other drug analogues which had not as yet been made illegal. In...

, and then multiple vendors (such as RAC Research
RAC Research
RAC Research was a research chemical supplier. During a DEA covert operation called Operation Web Tryp in 2004 they were one of many psychoactive research chemical suppliers to be taken down on suspicion that they illegally sold designer drugs through their website.During the time period of the...

) several years later in Operation Web Tryp
Operation Web Tryp
Operation Web Tryp was a United States Drug Enforcement Administration operation that ended on July 21, 2004 with the arrests of 10 persons. Its purpose was to investigate web sites suspected of distribution of unscheduled, unregulated tryptamines and phenethylamines of questionable legality...

. This process was accelerated greatly when vendors began advertising via search engines like Google
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...

 by linking their sites to searches on key words such as chemical names and terms like psychedelic or hallucinogen
Psychedelics, dissociatives and deliriants
This general group of pharmacological agents can be divided into three broad categories: psychedelics, dissociatives, and deliriants. These classes of psychoactive drugs have in common that they can cause subjective changes in perception, thought, emotion and consciousness...

. Widespread discussion of consumptive use and the sources for the chemicals in public forums also drew the attention of the media and authorities.

In 2004, the US Drug Enforcement Administration raided and shut down several Internet-based research chemical vendors in an operation called Web Tryp. With help from the authorities in India and China, two chemical manufacturers were also closed. Many other internet-based vendors promptly stopped doing business, even though their products were still legal throughout much of the world.

Most substances that were sold as "research chemicals" in this period of time are hallucinogens and bear a chemical resemblance to well-known drugs, such as psilocybin
Psilocybin
Psilocybin is a naturally occurring psychedelic prodrug, with mind-altering effects similar to those of LSD and mescaline, after it is converted to psilocin. The effects can include altered thinking processes, perceptual distortions, an altered sense of time, and spiritual experiences, as well as...

 and mescaline
Mescaline
Mescaline or 3,4,5-trimethoxyphenethylamine is a naturally occurring psychedelic alkaloid of the phenethylamine class used mainly as an entheogen....

. As with other hallucinogens, these substances are often taken for the purposes of facilitating spiritual
Spirituality
Spirituality can refer to an ultimate or an alleged immaterial reality; an inner path enabling a person to discover the essence of his/her being; or the “deepest values and meanings by which people live.” Spiritual practices, including meditation, prayer and contemplation, are intended to develop...

 processes (see entheogen
Entheogen
An entheogen , in the strict sense, is a psychoactive substance used in a religious, shamanic, or spiritual context. Historically, entheogens were mostly derived from plant sources and have been used in a variety of traditional religious contexts...

), mental reflection (see psychedelic
Psychedelic
The term psychedelic is derived from the Greek words ψυχή and δηλοῦν , translating to "soul-manifesting". A psychedelic experience is characterized by the striking perception of aspects of one's mind previously unknown, or by the creative exuberance of the mind liberated from its ostensibly...

) or recreation. Some research chemicals on the market were not psychoactive, but can be used as precursors in the synthesis
Chemical synthesis
In chemistry, chemical synthesis is purposeful execution of chemical reactions to get a product, or several products. This happens by physical and chemical manipulations usually involving one or more reactions...

 of other potentially psychoactive substances, for example, 2C-H
2C-H
2C-H, or 2,5-dimethoxyphenethylamine, is a lesser-known chemical of the 2C family. 2C-H was first synthesized by Alexander Shulgin. In his book PiHKAL , the dosage and duration are both unknown...

, which could be used to make 2C-B
2C-B
2C-B or 4-bromo-2,5-dimethoxyphenethylamine is a psychedelic drug of the 2C family. It was first synthesized by Alexander Shulgin in 1974. In Shulgin's book PiHKAL, the dosage range is listed as 16–24 mg. 2C-B is sold as a white powder sometimes pressed in tablets or gel caps and is referred...

 and 2C-I
2C-I
2C-I or 2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodophenethylamine is a psychedelic phenethylamine of the 2C family. It was first synthesized by Alexander Shulgin. It was described in Shulgin’s book PiHKAL: A Chemical Love Story. The drug is used recreationally for its psychedelic and entactogenic effects...

 among others. Extensive surveys of structural variations have been conducted by pharmaceutical corporations, universities and independent researchers over the last century, from which some of the presently available research chemicals derive. One particularly notable researcher is Dr. Alexander Shulgin
Alexander Shulgin
Alexander "Sasha" Theodore Shulgin is an American pharmacologist, chemist, artist, and drug developer.Shulgin is credited with the popularization of MDMA, commonly known as ecstasy, in the late 1970s and early 1980s, especially for psychopharmaceutical use and the treatment of depression and...

, who presented syntheses and pharmacological
Pharmacology
Pharmacology is the branch of medicine and biology concerned with the study of drug action. More specifically, it is the study of the interactions that occur between a living organism and chemicals that affect normal or abnormal biochemical function...

 explorations of hundreds of substances in the books TiHKAL
TiHKAL
TiHKAL: The Continuation is a 1997 book written by Alexander Shulgin and Ann Shulgin about a family of psychoactive drugs known as tryptamines. A sequel to PiHKAL: A Chemical Love Story, TiHKAL is an acronym that stands for Tryptamines I Have Known and Loved.-Content:TiHKAL, much like its...

 and PiHKAL
PiHKAL
PiHKAL: A Chemical Love Story is a book by Dr. Alexander Shulgin and Ann Shulgin which was published in 1991. The subject of the work is psychoactive phenethylamine chemical derivatives, notably those that act as psychedelics and/or empathogen-entactogens...

 (co-authored with Ann Shulgin
Ann Shulgin
Ann Shulgin is an American author and the wife of chemist Alexander Shulgin.Ann Shulgin grew up in the village Opicina outside the Italian city Trieste where her father was American Consul for six years before World War II. She has worked as a lay therapist with psychedelic substances such as MDMA...

), and has served as an expert witness for the defense in several court cases against manufacturers of psychoactive drugs.

The majority of chemical suppliers sold research chemicals in bulk form as powder, not as pills, as selling in pill form would invalidate the claims that they were being sold for non-consumptive research. Active dosages vary widely from substance to substance, ranging from sub-microgram levels to hundreds of milligrams, but while it is critical for the end user to weigh doses with a precision scale, instead of guessing ("eyeballing"), many users did not do this and this led to many emergency room visits and several deaths, which were a prominent factor leading to the emergency scheduling of several substances and eventually Operation Web Tryp. Some compounds such as 2C-B
2C-B
2C-B or 4-bromo-2,5-dimethoxyphenethylamine is a psychedelic drug of the 2C family. It was first synthesized by Alexander Shulgin in 1974. In Shulgin's book PiHKAL, the dosage range is listed as 16–24 mg. 2C-B is sold as a white powder sometimes pressed in tablets or gel caps and is referred...

 and 5-Meo-DiPT
5-MeO-DIPT
5-methoxy-diisopropyltryptamine is a tryptamine psychedelic used as a recreational drug under the street names "foxy" and "foxy methoxy". 5-MeO-DiPT is orally active, and dosages between 6–20 mg are commonly reported. Many users note an unpleasant body load accompanies higher dosages...

 did eventually increase in popularity to the point that they were sold in pill form to reach a wider market, and acquired popular street names ("Nexus" and "Foxy," respectively). Once a chemical reaches this kind of popularity, it is usually just a matter of time before it is added to the list of scheduled (i.e., illegal) drugs.

The late 1990s and early 2000s also saw the first widespread use of novel anabolic steroid
Anabolic steroid
Anabolic steroids, technically known as anabolic-androgen steroids or colloquially simply as "steroids", are drugs that mimic the effects of testosterone and dihydrotestosterone in the body. They increase protein synthesis within cells, which results in the buildup of cellular tissue ,...

s by athletes in competition. Steroids had been banned by the International Olympic Committee
International Olympic Committee
The International Olympic Committee is an international corporation based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin on 23 June 1894 with Demetrios Vikelas as its first president...

 since 1976, but due to the large number of different anabolic agents available for human and veterinary use, the ability of laboratories to test for all available drugs had always lagged behind the ability of athletes to find new compounds to use. The introduction of increasingly formalised testing procedures, especially with the creation of the World Anti-Doping Agency
World Anti-Doping Agency
The World Anti-Doping Agency , , is an independent foundation created through a collective initiative led by the International Olympic Committee . It was set up on November 10, 1999 in Lausanne, Switzerland, as a result of what was called the "Declaration of Lausanne", to promote, coordinate and...

 in 1999, made it much more difficult for athletes to get away with using these drugs without detection, which then led to the synthesis of novel and potent anabolic steroid drugs such as tetrahydrogestrinone
Tetrahydrogestrinone
Tetrahydrogestrinone is an anabolic steroid developed by Patrick Arnold. It has affinity to the androgen receptor and the progesterone receptor, but not to the estrogen receptor...

 (THG), which were not detectable by the standard tests.

2005–2011

While through recent history most designer drugs had been either opioids, hallucinogens, or anabolic steroids, the range of possible compounds is limited only by the scientific and patent literature, and recent years have been characterised by a broadening of the range of compounds sold as designer drugs. These have included a wide variety of designer stimulants such as geranamine
Geranamine
Methylhexanamine also spelled methylhexanenamine and known as dimethylamylamine , is a dietary supplement and simple aliphatic amine used as a nasal decongestant, as well as treatment for hypertrophied or hyperplasic oral tissues...

, mephedrone, MDPV
MDPV
Methylenedioxypyrovalerone is a psychoactive drug with stimulant properties which acts as a norepinephrine-dopamine reuptake inhibitor . Reportedly, it has been sold since around 2004 as a designer drug. It is also known as MDPK, MTV, Magic, Maddie, Black Rob, Super Coke and PV...

 and desoxypipradrol
Desoxypipradrol
Desoxypipradrol, also known as 2-diphenylmethylpiperidine , acts as a norepinephrine-dopamine reuptake inhibitor developed by Ciba in the 1950s...

, several designer sedatives such as methylmethaqualone
Methylmethaqualone
Methylmethaqualone is an analogue of methaqualone which has similar sedative and hypnotic properties to its parent compound, and is around the same potency. Methylmethaqualone differs from methaqualone by 4-methylation on the phenyl ring...

 and premazepam
Premazepam
Premazepam is a benzodiazepine derivative. It is a partial agonist of benzodiazepine receptors and has been shown to possess both anxiolytic and sedative properties in human subjects.-Properties:...

, and designer analogues of sildenafil
Sildenafil
Sildenafil citrate, sold as Viagra, Revatio and under various other trade names, is a drug used to treat erectile dysfunction and pulmonary arterial hypertension . It was originally developed by British scientists and then brought to market by the US-based pharmaceutical company Pfizer...

 (Viagra), which have been reported as active compounds in "herbal" aphrodisiac products. Designer cannabinoids are another recent development, with two compounds JWH-018
JWH-018
JWH-018 or AM-678 is an analgesic chemical from the naphthoylindole family, which acts as a full agonist at both the CB1 and CB2 cannabinoid receptors, with some selectivity for CB2...

 and (C8)-CP 47,497
CP 47,497
CP 47,497 is a cannabinoid receptor agonist drug, developed by Pfizer in the 1980s. It has analgesic effects and is used in scientific research...

 initially found in December 2008 as active components of "herbal smoking blends
Spice (drug)
Synthetic cannabis is a psychoactive herbal and chemical product which, when consumed, mimics the effects of cannabis. It is best known by the brand names K2 and Spice, both of which have largely become genericized trademarks used to refer to any synthetic cannabis product...

" sold as legal alternatives to marijuana, and subsequently a growing range of synthetic cannabinoid agonists have continued to appear, including by 2010 novel compounds such as RCS-4
RCS-4
RCS-4, or 1-pentyl-3-indole, is a synthetic cannabinoid drug sold under the names SR-19, BTM-4, or Eric-4 , but originally, OBT-199. As with all other research chemicals, human use is not encouraged or recommended...

, RCS-8
RCS-8
RCS-8, or 1--3-indole, is a synthetic cannabinoid also known as SR-18 or BTM-8, which has been found as an ingredient of "herbal" synthetic cannabis blends. It can be described as an analogue of JWH-250 with the 1-pentyl group replaced by 1-, and can be expected to be less potent than JWH-250...

, and AB-001
AB-001
AB-001 or 1-pentyl-3-indole is a designer drug which was found as an ingredient in synthetic cannabis smoking blends in Ireland in 2010 and Hungary in 2011...

, which had never been reported in the literature, and appear to have been invented by designer drug manufacturers themselves. The relative market saturation with the wide variety of opioid and hallucinogenic drugs already available has slowed the emergence of new compounds in these areas, although with some exceptions such as the popularisation and widespread internet sale of the opioid-bearing plant Mitragyna speciosa (Kratom) and its extracted active component 7-hydroxymitragynine
7-Hydroxymitragynine
7-Hydroxymitragynine , an indole, is an active alkaloid in the plant Mitragyna speciosa, commonly known as Kratom. It has opioid agonistic activity. "The potency, calculated using pD values, was 30- and 17-fold higher than that of mitragynine and morphine, respectively...

, as well as the continuing trickle of novel hallucinogens and dissociatives such as methoxetamine
Methoxetamine
Methoxetamine or 3-MeO-2-Oxo-PCE is a chemical of the arylcyclohexylamine class which has been sold as a designer drug. It is a derivative of ketamine that also contains structural features of eticyclidine and 3-MeO-PCP...

 and NBOMe-2CC. Another novel development is the use of research ligands for cosmetic
Cosmeceutical
Cosmeceuticals refers to the combination of cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. Cosmeceuticals are cosmetic products with biologically active ingredients purporting to have medical or drug-like benefits....

 rather than strictly recreational purposes, such as grey-market internet sales of the non-approved alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone
Melanocyte-stimulating hormone
The melanocyte-stimulating hormones are a class of peptide hormones that are produced by cells in the intermediate lobe of the pituitary gland...

 tanning
Sunless tanning
Sunless tanning Sunless tanning Sunless tanning (also known as UV-free tanning, self tanning, spray tanning (when applied topical, or fake tanning) refers to the application of chemicals to the skin to produce an effect similar in appearance to a suntan...

 drugs known as melanotan peptides.

Safety

The safety of research chemicals is untested and little if any research has been done on the toxicology
Toxicology
Toxicology is a branch of biology, chemistry, and medicine concerned with the study of the adverse effects of chemicals on living organisms...

 or pharmacology of most of these drugs. Few, if any, human or animal studies
Animal studies
Animal studies is a recently recognized field in which animals are studied in a variety of cross-disciplinary ways. Scholars from fields as diverse as: art history, anthropology, biology, film studies, geography, history, psychology, literary studies, museology, philosophy, and sociology; and from...

 have been done. Unlike better known drugs like cannabis
Cannabis (drug)
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among many other names, refers to any number of preparations of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug or for medicinal purposes. The English term marijuana comes from the Mexican Spanish word marihuana...

, which have been used by billions of people worldwide for centuries or even millennia, research chemicals are new and may have been used only by a few thousand people for a few months, although some of the more popular drugs such as 2C-B
2C-B
2C-B or 4-bromo-2,5-dimethoxyphenethylamine is a psychedelic drug of the 2C family. It was first synthesized by Alexander Shulgin in 1974. In Shulgin's book PiHKAL, the dosage range is listed as 16–24 mg. 2C-B is sold as a white powder sometimes pressed in tablets or gel caps and is referred...

, MDMA, and BZP
Benzylpiperazine
Benzylpiperazine is a recreational drug with euphoric, 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...

 have been used by millions of people. Many research compounds have produced unexpected side-effects and adverse incidents due to the lack of screening for off-target effects prior to marketing; both bromo-dragonfly
Bromo-DragonFLY
Bromo-DragonFLY is a psychedelic hallucinogenic drug related to the phenethylamine family. Bromo-DragonFLY is considered an extremely potent hallucinogen, only slightly less potent than LSD with a normal dose in the region of 200 μg to 800 μg, and it has an extremely long duration of action up to...

 and mephedrone seem to be capable of producing pronounced vasoconstriction
Vasoconstriction
Vasoconstriction is the narrowing of the blood vessels resulting from contraction of the muscular wall of the vessels, particularly the large arteries, small arterioles and veins. The process is the opposite of vasodilation, the widening of blood vessels. The process is particularly important in...

 under some circumstances, which has resulted in several deaths, although the mechanism remains unclear. Even more common is that adverse incidents and overdoses arise accidentally, from poor handling of potent chemicals where the margin of error is too narrow for guesswork, or simply from excessive abuse
Drug abuse
Substance abuse, also known as drug abuse, refers to a maladaptive pattern of use of a substance that is not considered dependent. The term "drug abuse" does not exclude dependency, but is otherwise used in a similar manner in nonmedical contexts...

 of the drug.

Law

Due to the recent development of many designer drugs, laws banning or regulating their use have not been developed yet, and in recent cases novel drugs have appeared directly in response to legislative action, to replace a similar compound that had recently been banned. Many of the chemicals fall under the various drug analogue legislations in certain countries, but most countries have no general analogue act or equivalent legislation and so novel compounds may fall outside of the law after only minor structural modifications.

In the United States, the Controlled Substances Act
Controlled Substances Act
The Controlled Substances Act was enacted into law by the Congress of the United States as Title II of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970. The CSA is the federal U.S. drug policy under which the manufacture, importation, possession, use and distribution of certain...

 was amended by the Controlled Substance Analogue Enforcement of 1986, which attempted to ban designer drugs pre-emptively by making it illegal to manufacture, sell, or possess chemicals that were substantially similar in chemistry and pharmacology to Schedule I or Schedule II drugs.

Other countries have dealt with the issue differently. In some, the new drugs are banned as they become a concern, as in Germany, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Sweden. In Sweden, the police and customs from April 2011 may also seize drugs that are not on the list of drugs covered by the anti-drug laws if the police suspect that the purpose of the holding is related to drug abuse. Following a decision by a prosecutor, the police may destroy the seized drugs.

Some countries, such as Australia, have gone the opposite direction and enacted sweeping bans based on chemical structure only, making chemicals illegal even before they are created — if a theoretical chemical fits a set of rules regarding substitutions and alterations of an already-banned drug, it too is banned. The controlled substance analogue law under both Australian Federal law and that of some individual states such as New South Wales is so broad that it would cover millions of compounds that have never been made, simply on the basis that they bear a vague resemblance to one of the drugs on the illegal list. However, it would still not cover drugs that have no structural similarity to any controlled drug, even if they produced similar effects.

Misleading descriptions

In the UK to avoid being controlled by the Medicines Act
Medicines Act 1968
The Medicines Act 1968 is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom. It governs the manufacture and supply of medicine.The act defines three categories of medicine: prescription only medicines , which are available only from a pharmacist if prescribed by an appropriate practitioner; pharmacy...

, designer drugs such as mephedrone have been described as "bath salts" or "plant food", despite the compounds having no history of being used for these purposes. Due to these inaccurate descriptions of products, it is possible that selling the compounds under these descriptions could be illegal under the Trade Descriptions Act
Trade Descriptions Act 1968
The Trade Descriptions 1968 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which prevents manufacturers, retailers or service industry providers from misleading consumers as to what they are spending their money on....

.

In the USA, similar descriptions have been used to describe mephedrone as well as methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV).

Common designer drugs

Most of the best-known research chemicals are structural analogues of tryptamines or phenethylamines, but there are also many other completely unrelated chemicals that can be considered as part of the group. It is very difficult to determine psychoactivity or other pharmaceutical properties of these compounds based strictly upon structural examination. Many of the substances have common effects whilst structurally different and vice versa (see also SAR paradox). As a result of no real official naming for some of these compounds, as well as regional naming
Slang
Slang is the use of informal words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speaker's language or dialect but are considered more acceptable when used socially. Slang is often to be found in areas of the lexicon that refer to things considered taboo...

, this can all lead to (and is anecdotally known to have led to) potentially hazardous mix ups for users.

Opioid
Opioid
An opioid is a psychoactive chemical that works by binding to opioid receptors, which are found principally in the central and peripheral nervous system and the gastrointestinal tract...

s

  • α-methylfentanyl
    Alphamethylfentanyl
    α-Methylfentanyl is an opioid analgesic that is an analogue of fentanyl.α-Methylfentanyl was invented in 1976 and appeared on the black market under the name "China White"...

    , became well known as "China White" on the heroin market
  • parafluorofentanyl
    Parafluorofentanyl
    Para-fluorofentanyl is an opioid analgesic that is an analogue of fentanyl.Para-fluorofentanyl was sold briefly on the black market in the early 1980s, before the introduction of the Federal Analog Act which for the first time attempted to control entire families of drugs based on their structural...

  • 3-methylfentanyl
    3-Methylfentanyl
    3-Methylfentanyl is an opioid analgesic that is an analogue of fentanyl. 3-Methylfentanyl is one of the most potent drugs that has been widely sold on the black market, estimated to be between 400-6000 times stronger than morphine depending on which isomer is used .3-Methylfentanyl was first...

    , extremely potent opioid, allegedly used as a chemical weapon by the Russian military in the Moscow theater hostage crisis
    Moscow theater hostage crisis
    The Moscow theater hostage crisis, also known as the 2002 Nord-Ost siege, was the seizure of the crowded Dubrovka Theater on 23 October 2002 by some 40 to 50 armed Chechens who claimed allegiance to the Islamist militant separatist movement in Chechnya. They took 850 hostages and demanded the...

  • MPPP
    MPPP
    1-Methyl-4-phenyl-4-propionoxypiperidine or Desmethylprodine is an opioid analgesic drug developed in the 1940s by researchers at Hoffmann-La Roche. It is not used in clinical practice, but has been illegally manufactured for recreational drug use...

    , especially infamous due to an impurity in some batches called MPTP
    MPTP
    MPTP is a neurotoxin precursor to MPP+, which causes permanent symptoms of Parkinson's disease by destroying dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra of the brain...

    , which caused permanent Parkinsonism
    Parkinsonism
    Parkinsonism is a neurological syndrome characterized by tremor, hypokinesia, rigidity, and postural instability. The underlying causes of parkinsonism are numerous, and diagnosis can be complex...

     with a single use
  • 4'-Nitromethopholine
    Methopholine
    Methopholine is an opioid analgesic drug discovered in the 1950s by a team of Swiss researchers at Hoffmann-La Roche.Methopholine is an isoquinoline derivative which is not structurally related to most other opioids. It has around the same efficacy as an analgesic as codeine, and was evaluated for...

  • O-Desmethyltramadol
    O-Desmethyltramadol
    O-Desmethyltramadol is an opioid analgesic and the main active metabolite of tramadol.-O-Desmethyltramadol is the most important metabolite of tramadol produced in the liver after tramadol is consumed...


Hallucinogen
Psychedelic drug
A psychedelic substance is a psychoactive drug whose primary action is to alter cognition and perception. Psychedelics are part of a wider class of psychoactive drugs known as hallucinogens, a class that also includes related substances such as dissociatives and deliriants...

s

Lysergamide-based
  • ALD-52
    ALD-52
    ALD-52, also known as N-acetyl-LSD, is a chemical analogue of lysergic acid diethylamide . It was originally discovered by Albert Hofmann but was not widely studied until the rise in popularity of psychedelics in the 1960s.- Effects :...

    , N-acetyllysergic acid diethylamide, famously believed to have been the active ingredient in the "Orange Sunshine" acid of the 1960s
  • ETH-LAD
    ETH-LAD
    ETH-LAD, 6-ethyl-6-nor-lysergic acid diethylamide is an analogue of LSD. It is described by Alexander Shulgin in the book TiHKAL. ETH-LAD is a hallucinogenic drug similar to LSD, and is slightly more potent than LSD itself, with an active dose reported at between 40 and 150 micrograms...

    , which has been sold by some research chemical suppliers.
  • AL-LAD
    AL-LAD
    AL-LAD, also known as 6-allyl-6-nor-lysergic acid diethylamide, is a hallucinogenic drug and an analogue of LSD. It is described by Alexander Shulgin in the book TiHKAL ...

    , which has been sold by some research chemical suppliers.
  • PRO-LAD
    PRO-LAD
    PRO-LAD is an analogue of LSD. It is described by Alexander Shulgin in the book TiHKAL. PRO-LAD is a hallucinogenic drug similar to LSD, and is around as potent as LSD itself with an active dose reported at between 100 and 200 micrograms....

    , which has been sold by some research chemical suppliers.


Tryptamine
Tryptamine
Tryptamine is a monoamine alkaloid found in plants, fungi, and animals. It is based around the indole ring structure, and is chemically related to the amino acid tryptophan, from which its name is derived...

-based
  • 4-Acetoxy-DiPT
    4-Acetoxy-DIPT
    4-Acetoxy-DiPT also known as Ipracetin, is a hallucinogenic tryptamine.-General:4-Acetoxy-DiPT is a synthetic psychedelic tryptamine. It is relatively uncommon and has only a short history of human use...

    , N,N-diisopropyl-4-acetoxytryptamine
  • 4-Acetoxy-DMT, 4-acetoxy-dimethyltryptamine
  • 4-HO-MET
    4-HO-MET
    4-HO-MET, or 4-hydroxy-N-methyl-N-ethyltryptamine, also known as metocin, is a lesser-known psychedelic drug. It is a structural− and functional analog of psilocin as well the 4-hydroxyl analog of MET. 4-HO-MET was first synthesized by Alexander Shulgin...

    , 4-hydroxy-N-methyl-N-ethyltryptamine
  • 4-HO-MiPT, 4-hydroxy-N-methyl-N-isopropyltryptamine
  • 5-MeO-AMT
    5-MeO-AMT
    5-MeO-AMT or 5-methoxy-α-methyltryptamine, α,O-Dimethylserotonin is a potent psychedelic tryptamine. It is soluble in alcohol.-Pharmacology:...

    , 5-methoxy-alpha-methyltryptamine
  • 5-MeO-DiPT
    5-MeO-DIPT
    5-methoxy-diisopropyltryptamine is a tryptamine psychedelic used as a recreational drug under the street names "foxy" and "foxy methoxy". 5-MeO-DiPT is orally active, and dosages between 6–20 mg are commonly reported. Many users note an unpleasant body load accompanies higher dosages...

    , 5-methoxy-di-isopropyltryptamine (also known as "Foxy" or "Foxy Methoxy")
  • 5-MeO-MiPT
    5-MeO-MIPT
    5-MeO-MiPT is a psychedelic and hallucinogenic drug, used by some as an entheogen. It has structural and pharmacodynamic properties similar to the drugs 5-MeO-DiPT, DiPT, and MiPT...

    , 5-methoxy-methylisopropyltryptamine
  • AMT
    Alphamethyltryptamine
    α-Methyltryptamine , is a psychedelic, stimulant, and entactogen drug of the tryptamine class. It was originally developed as an antidepressant by workers at Upjohn in the 1960s.- History :...

    , α-methyltryptamine
  • DiPT, N,N-diisopropyl-tryptamine
  • DPT
    Dipropyltryptamine
    Dipropyltryptamine is a psychedelic drug belonging to the tryptamine family, first reported in 1973. It is found either as its crystalline hydrochloride salt or as an oily or crystalline base...

    , N,N-dipropyltryptamine
  • 5-MeO-DALT
    5-MeO-DALT
    5-MeO-DALT or N,N-diallyl-5-methoxytryptamine is a psychedelic tryptamine first synthesized by Alexander Shulgin.-Chemistry:The full name of the chemical is N-allyl-N-[2-ethyl]prop-2-en-1-amine...

     (N-allyl-N-[2-(5-methoxy-1H-indol-3-yl)ethyl]prop-2-en-1-amine)


Phenethylamine
Phenethylamine
Phenylethylamine or phenethylamine is a natural monoamine alkaloid, trace amine, and also the name of a class of chemicals with many members well known for psychoactive drug and stimulant effects. Studies suggest that phenylethylamine functions as a neuromodulator or neurotransmitter in the...

-based
  • 2C-B
    2C-B
    2C-B or 4-bromo-2,5-dimethoxyphenethylamine is a psychedelic drug of the 2C family. It was first synthesized by Alexander Shulgin in 1974. In Shulgin's book PiHKAL, the dosage range is listed as 16–24 mg. 2C-B is sold as a white powder sometimes pressed in tablets or gel caps and is referred...

    , 4-bromo-2,5-dimethoxyphenethylamine
  • 2C-C
    2C-C
    2C-C is a psychedelic drug of the 2C family. It was first synthesized by Alexander Shulgin, sometimes used as an entheogen. The full name of the chemical is 2,5-dimethoxy-4-chlorophenethylamine. In his book PiHKAL , Shulgin lists the dosage range as 20–40 mg. 2C-C is usually taken orally,...

    , 2,5-dimethoxy-4-chlorophenethylamine
  • 2C-D
    2C-D
    2C-D is a psychedelic drug of the 2C family that is sometimes used as an entheogen. It was first synthesized in 1970 by a team from the Texas Research Institute of Mental Sciences, and its activity was subsequently investigated in humans by Alexander Shulgin. The full name of the chemical is...

    , 2,5-dimethoxy-4-methyl-phenethylamine
  • 2C-E
    2C-E
    2C-E is a psychedelic and phenethylamine of the 2C family. It was first synthesized by Alexander Shulgin. 2C-E is typically found as a white crystalline powder....

    , 2,5-dimethoxy-4-ethyl-phenethylamine
  • 2C-G
    2C-G
    2C-G is a psychedelic phenethylamine of the 2C family. First synthesized by Alexander Shulgin, it is sometimes used as an entheogen. It has structural and pharmacodynamic properties similar to 2C-D and Ganesha...

    , 3,4-dimethyl-2,5-dimethoxyphenethylamine
  • 2C-I
    2C-I
    2C-I or 2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodophenethylamine is a psychedelic phenethylamine of the 2C family. It was first synthesized by Alexander Shulgin. It was described in Shulgin’s book PiHKAL: A Chemical Love Story. The drug is used recreationally for its psychedelic and entactogenic effects...

    , 2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodophenethylamine
  • 2C-T-2
    2C-T-2
    2C-T-2, or 2,5-dimethoxy-4-ethylthiophenethylamine is a psychedelic and entactogenic phenethylamine of the 2C family. It was first synthesized in 1981 by Alexander Shulgin. The drug has structural and pharmacodynamic properties similar to the drug 2C-T-7 .-Dosage:In Alexander Shulgin's book...

    , 2,5-dimethoxy-4-ethylthiophenethylamine
  • 2C-T-4
    2C-T-4
    2C-T-4 or 2,5-dimethoxy-4-isopropylthiophenethylamine is a psychedelic phenethylamine of the 2C family. It was first synthesized by Alexander Shulgin, sometimes used as an entheogen.-Chemistry:...

    , 2,5-dimethyoxy-4-(i)-propylthiophenethylamine
  • 2C-T-7
    2C-T-7
    2C-T-7 is a psychedelic phenethylamine of the 2C family. In his book PiHKAL: A Chemical Love Story, Alexander Shulgin lists the dosage range as 10 to 30 mg. 2C-T-7 is generally taken orally, and produces psychedelic and entactogenic effects that last 8 to 15 hours...

    , 2,5-dimethoxy-4-(n)-propylthiophenethylamine
  • 2C-T-21
    2C-T-21
    2C-T-21 is a psychedelic phenethylamine of the 2C family. It was first synthesized by Alexander Shulgin, sometimes used as an entheogen. It was the first psychedelic drug known to contain six different chemical elements in the structure.-Chemistry:...

    , 2,5-dimethoxy-4-(2-fluoroethylthio)phenethylamine
  • 2CB-FLY
  • Bromodragonfly
  • DOB
    2,5-Dimethoxy-4-bromoamphetamine
    DOB, also known as Brolamfetamine and Bromo-DMA, is a psychedelic hallucinogenic drug and a substituted amphetamine of the phenethylamine class of compounds, which can be used as an entheogen. DOB was first synthesized by Alexander Shulgin in 1967...

    , 2,5-dimethoxy-4-bromoamphetamine
  • DOC, 2,5-dimethoxy-4-chloroamphetamine
  • DOM
    2,5-Dimethoxy-4-methylamphetamine
    2,5-Dimethoxy-4-methylamphetamine is a psychedelic and a substituted amphetamine...

    , 2,5-dimethoxy-4-methylamphetamine
  • TMA-2
    Trimethoxyamphetamine
    TMAs, also known as trimethoxyamphetamines, are a family of isomeric psychedelic hallucinogenic drugs. There exist six different TMAs that differ only in the position of the three methoxy groups: TMA, TMA-2, TMA-3, TMA-4, TMA-5, and TMA-6. The TMAs are analogs of the phenethylamine cactus alkaloid...

    , 2,4,5-Trimethoxyamphetamine
  • TMA-6
    Trimethoxyamphetamine
    TMAs, also known as trimethoxyamphetamines, are a family of isomeric psychedelic hallucinogenic drugs. There exist six different TMAs that differ only in the position of the three methoxy groups: TMA, TMA-2, TMA-3, TMA-4, TMA-5, and TMA-6. The TMAs are analogs of the phenethylamine cactus alkaloid...

    , 2,4,6-Trimethoxyamphetamine
  • MDAT
    MDAT
    6,7-Methylenedioxy-2-aminotetralin is a drug developed in the 1990s by a team at Purdue University led by David E. Nichols. It appears to act as a serotonin releasing agent based on rodent drug discrimination assays comparing it to MDMA, in which it fully substitutes for, and additionally lacks...

     (5,6,7,8-tetrahydrobenzo[f][1,3]benzodioxol-7-amine)

Dissociatives

  • 3-MeO-PCP
    3-MeO-PCP
    3-Methoxyphencyclidine is a dissociative anesthetic drug with hallucinogenic and sedative effects. It is around the same potency as phencyclidine, but has slightly different effects due to its altered binding profile at various targets, particularly being somewhat more potent as an NMDA antagonist...

  • 4-MeO-PCP
    4-MeO-PCP
    4-Methoxyphencyclidine is a dissociative anesthetic drug with hallucinogenic and sedative effects. It is around the same potency as ketamine, but has slightly different effects due to its altered binding profile at various targets, particularly being somewhat more potent as an NMDA antagonist...

  • Dizocilpine
    Dizocilpine
    Dizocilpine , also known as MK-801, is a non-competitive antagonist of the N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor, a glutamate receptor. Glutamate is the brain's primary excitatory neurotransmitter...

     (MK-801; (+)-5-methyl-10,11- dihydro-5H-dibenzo[a,d]cyclohepten-5,10-imine)
  • Eticyclidine
    Eticyclidine
    Eticyclidine is a dissociative anesthetic drug with hallucinogenic effects. It is similar in effects to phencyclidine but is slightly more potent...

     (PCE; CI-400; N-ethyl-1-phenylcyclohexylamine)
  • Methoxetamine
    Methoxetamine
    Methoxetamine or 3-MeO-2-Oxo-PCE is a chemical of the arylcyclohexylamine class which has been sold as a designer drug. It is a derivative of ketamine that also contains structural features of eticyclidine and 3-MeO-PCP...

     (2-(3-methoxyphenyl)-2-(ethylamino)cyclohexanone)
  • PCPr
    PCPr
    PCPr is a dissociative anesthetic drug with hallucinogenic and sedative effects. It is around the same potency as phencyclidine, although slightly less potent than its ethyl homologue eticyclidine, and has reportedly been sold as a designer drug in Germany and other European countries since the...

  • Rolicyclidine
    Rolicyclidine
    Rolicyclidine is a dissociative anesthetic drug with hallucinogenic and sedative effects. It is similar in effects to phencyclidine but is slightly less potent and has less stimulant effects instead producing a sedative effect described as being somewhat similar to a barbiturate, but with...

     (PCPy; 1-(1-phenylcyclohexyl)pyrrolidine)
  • Tenocyclidine
    Tenocyclidine
    Tenocyclidine is a dissociative anesthetic drug with stimulant and hallucinogenic effects. It is similar in effects to phencyclidine but is considerably more potent. TCP has slightly different binding properties to PCP, with more affinity for the NMDA receptors, but less affinity for the sigma...

     (TCP; 1-(1-(2-Thienyl)cyclohexyl)piperidine)
  • 3-MeO-PCE (2-(3-methoxyphenyl)-2-(ethylamino)cyclohexane)

Piperazine
Piperazine
Piperazine is an organic compound that consists of a six-membered ring containing two opposing nitrogen atoms. Piperazine exists as small alkaline deliquescent crystals with a saline taste....

-based

  • BZP
    Benzylpiperazine
    Benzylpiperazine is a recreational drug with euphoric, 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...

    , 1-benzylpiperazine
  • mCPP
    1-(3-Chlorophenyl)piperazine
    meta-Chlorophenylpiperazine is a psychoactive drug of the phenylpiperazine class. It was initially developed in the late-1970s and used in scientific research before being sold as a designer drug in the mid-2000s...

    , 1-(3-chlorophenyl)piperazine
  • MeOPP, 1-(4-methoxyphenyl)piperazine
  • pFPP
    PFPP
    para-Fluorophenylpiperazine is a piperazine derivative with mildly psychedelic and euphoriant effects...

    , 1-(4-fluorophenyl)piperazine
  • TFMPP, 3-trifluoromethylphenylpiperazine, has the unique distinction of being the only drug in the USA to be emergency scheduled into Schedule I and then allowed to become legal because the DEA was unable to justify permanent scheduling

Entactogens

  • 4-MTA
  • 5-Me-MDA
  • 6-APB
    6-APB
    6-benzofuran or 1-benzofuran-6-ylpropan-2-amine is thought to be a stimulant and entactogen drug although to date, no authoritative source can say even whether or not it is psychoactive. Chemically, it is of the phenethylamine and substituted amphetamine classes...

  • AET
    Alpha-Ethyltryptamine
    α-ethyltryptamine , also known as etryptamine, is a psychedelic, stimulant and entactogen of the tryptamine chemical class.- History :...

    , α-ethyltryptamine
  • Butylone
  • Ethylone
  • IAP
    Indanylaminopropane
    Indanylaminopropane , sometimes incorrectly referred to as indanylamphetamine, is an entactogen and psychedelic drug of the phenethylamine and amphetamine classes...

  • MBDB
  • MDAI
    5,6-Methylenedioxy-2-aminoindane
    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 in vitro and produces entactogen effects in humans.- Chemistry :The chemical structure of MDAI is...

  • MDMA
    Methylenedioxymethamphetamine
    MDMA is an entactogenic drug of the phenethylamine and amphetamine class of drugs. In popular culture, MDMA has become widely known as "ecstasy" , usually referring to its street pill form, although this term may also include the presence of possible adulterants...

    , 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine
  • MDEA
    Methylenedioxyethylamphetamine
    3,4-Methylenedioxy-N-ethylamphetamine is an entactogen, psychedelic, and stimulant of the phenethylamine and amphetamine chemical classes....

    , 3,4-methylenedioxy-N-ethylamphetamine
  • Methylone
  • MMA
    3-Methoxy-4-methylamphetamine
    3-Methoxy-4-methylamphetamine 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...

  • PMA, a highly dangerous amphetamine derivative responsible for many accidental deaths
  • PMMA
    Paramethoxymethamphetamine
    para-Methoxymethamphetamine , is a stimulant drug related to para-methoxyamphetamine .PMMA reputedly produces similar effects to PMA, but is apparently slightly more similar to MDMA in effects and has slightly less tendency to produce severe hyperthermia, at least at low doses...

    , similar to PMA
  • PMEA
    Paramethoxyethylamphetamine
    para-Methoxyethylamphetamine , is a stimulant drug related to PMA. PMEA reputedly produces similar effects to PMA, but is considerably less potent and seems to have slightly less tendency to produce severe hyperthermia, at least at low doses...

    , also similar to PMA
  • UG6981

Stimulant
Stimulant
Stimulants are psychoactive drugs which induce temporary improvements in either mental or physical function or both. Examples of these kinds of effects may include enhanced alertness, wakefulness, and locomotion, among others...

s

  • α-Pyrrolidinopropiophenone (α-PPP)
  • 2-Fluoroamphetamine
    2-Fluoroamphetamine
    2-Fluoroamphetamine is a stimulant drug from the amphetamine family which has rarely been sold as a designer drug. In addition, both 2-fluorophenethylamine and amphetamine have been found to act as potent agonists at the trace amine-associated receptor TAAR1, making it likely that...

  • 4-Fluoroamphetamine
  • 4-Methylaminorex (4-MAR)
  • Buphedrone
  • Camfetamine (analogue of Fencamfamine
    Fencamfamine
    Fencamfamine is a stimulant which was developed by Merck in the 1960s.-Medical uses:Fencamfamine is still used, though rarely, for treating depressive day-time fatigue, lack of concentration and lethargy, particularly in individuals who have chronic medical conditions, as its favourable safety...

    )
  • Desoxypipradrol
    Desoxypipradrol
    Desoxypipradrol, also known as 2-diphenylmethylpiperidine , acts as a norepinephrine-dopamine reuptake inhibitor developed by Ciba in the 1950s...

  • Dimethocaine
    Dimethocaine
    Dimethocaine, also known as larocaine, is a local anesthetic with stimulant properties that some studies have shown to be half the potency of cocaine. Anecdotal user reports indicate little euphoria and only mild stimulating effects, with many users failing to perceive any recreational effects...

  • Diphenylprolinol
  • Ethcathinone
    Ethcathinone
    Ethcathinone, also known as ethylpropion, is a stimulant drug of the phenethylamine, amphetamine, and cathinone chemical classes. It is an active metabolite of the prodrug diethylcathinone and is fully responsible for its effects...

  • Flephedrone (4-FMC), and its 3-fluoro isomer 3-FMC
    3-Fluoromethcathinone
    3-Fluoromethcathinone, also known as 3-FMC, is a member of the phenethylamine, amphetamine, and cathinone chemical classes. It is a stimulant drug which is reported to be contained in some legal highs...

  • Geranamine
    Geranamine
    Methylhexanamine also spelled methylhexanenamine and known as dimethylamylamine , is a dietary supplement and simple aliphatic amine used as a nasal decongestant, as well as treatment for hypertrophied or hyperplasic oral tissues...

  • MDPV
    MDPV
    Methylenedioxypyrovalerone is a psychoactive drug with stimulant properties which acts as a norepinephrine-dopamine reuptake inhibitor . Reportedly, it has been sold since around 2004 as a designer drug. It is also known as MDPK, MTV, Magic, Maddie, Black Rob, Super Coke and PV...

    , Methylenedioxypyrovalerone, commonly known by its street name "bath salts"
  • Mephedrone
    4-Methylmethcathinone
    Mephedrone, also known as 4-methylmethcathinone , or 4-methylephedrone, is a synthetic stimulant and entactogen drug of the amphetamine and cathinone classes. Slang names include meph, drone, and MCAT. It is reportedly manufactured in China and is chemically similar to the cathinone compounds found...

  • Methedrone
  • Naphyrone
  • Pentylone
    Pentylone
    β-Keto-Methylbenzodioxolylpentanamine is a stimulant compound developed in the 1960s, which has been reported as a novel designer drug, identified in some samples of powders sold as "NRG-1", along with varying blends of other substituted cathinone derivatives including flephedrone, MDPBP, MDPV and...


Sedative
Sedative
A sedative or tranquilizer is a substance that induces sedation by reducing irritability or excitement....

s

  • 1,4-Butanediol
    1,4-Butanediol
    1,4-Butanediol is the organic compound with the formula HOCH2CH2CH2CH2OH. This colorless viscous liquid is derived from butane by placement of alcohol groups at each end of the chain. It is one of four stable isomers of butanediol.-Synthesis:...

    , another GHB analogue
  • GBL
    Gamma-Butyrolactone
    gamma-Butyrolactone is a hygroscopic colorless oily liquid with a weak characteristic odor and is soluble in water. GBL is a common solvent and reagent in chemistry and is used as an aroma compound, as a stain remover, as a superglue remover, as a paint stripper, and as a solvent in some wet...

    , gamma-butyrolactone, both a precursor to and substitute for GHB
  • GHV
    Gamma-Hydroxyvaleric acid
    gamma-Hydroxyvaleric acid is a psychoactive drug and designer drug which is structurally and pharmacologically related to both gamma-hydroxybutyric acid and gamma-aminobutyric acid...

    , gamma-hydroxyvaleric acid (4-methyl-GHB)
  • GVL
    Gamma-Valerolactone
    gamma-Valerolactone is an organic compound with the formula C5H8O2. This clear liquid is one of the more common lactones. It is a structural isomer of delta-valerolactone. Because of its herbal odor, it is used in the perfume and flavor industries....

    , gamma-valerolactone
  • Methylmethaqualone
    Methylmethaqualone
    Methylmethaqualone is an analogue of methaqualone which has similar sedative and hypnotic properties to its parent compound, and is around the same potency. Methylmethaqualone differs from methaqualone by 4-methylation on the phenyl ring...

    , an analogue of the sedative methaqualone
    Methaqualone
    Methaqualone is a sedative-hypnotic drug that is similar in effect to barbiturates, a general central nervous system depressant. The sedative-hypnotic activity was first noted by Indian researchers in the 1950s and in 1962 methaqualone itself was patented in the US by Wallace and Tiernan...

  • Mebroqualone
    Mebroqualone
    Mebroqualone is an analogue of mecloqualone which presumably has similar sedative and hypnotic properties to its parent compound. Mebroqualone differs from mecloqualone by having a bromine atom instead of a chlorine on the 3-phenyl ring...

  • Phenazepam
    Phenazepam
    Phenazepam is a benzodiazepine drug, which was developed in the Soviet Union and now produced in Russia and some CIS countries. Phenazepam is used in the treatment of neurological disorders such as epilepsy, alcohol withdrawal syndrome and insomnia...

     (7-bromo-5-(2-chlorophenyl)-1,3-dihydro-2H-1,4-benzodiazepin-2-one)

Cannabinoids

  • AM-630
    AM-630
    AM-630 is a drug which acts as a potent and selective inverse agonist for the cannabinoid receptor CB2, with a Ki of 32.1nM at CB2 and 165x selectivity over CB1, at which it acted as a weak partial agonist. It is used in the study of CB2 mediated responses and has been used to investigate the...

  • AM-679
    AM-679 (cannabinoid)
    AM-679 is a drug which acts as a moderately potent agonist for the cannabinoid receptors, with a Ki of 13.5nM at CB1 and 49.5nM at CB2. AM-679 was one of the first 3-indole derivatives that was found to have significant cannabinoid receptor affinity, and while AM-679 itself has only modest affinity...

  • AM-694
    AM-694
    AM-694 is a drug which acts as a potent and selective agonist for the cannabinoid receptor CB1, with a Ki of 0.08nM at CB1 and 18x selectivity over the related CB2 receptor....

  • AM-1241
    AM-1241
    AM-1241 is a chemical from the aminoalkylindole family, which acts as a potent and selective agonist for the cannabinoid receptor CB2, with a Ki of 3.4nM at CB2 and 80x selectivity over the related CB1 receptor...

  • AM-2233
    AM-2233
    AM-2233 is a drug which acts as a highly potent full agonist for the cannabinoid receptors, with a Ki of 1.8nM at CB1 and 2.2nM at CB2 as the active enantiomer. It was developed as a selective radioligand for the cannabinoid receptors and has been used as its 131I derivative for mapping the...

  • RCS-4
    RCS-4
    RCS-4, or 1-pentyl-3-indole, is a synthetic cannabinoid drug sold under the names SR-19, BTM-4, or Eric-4 , but originally, OBT-199. As with all other research chemicals, human use is not encouraged or recommended...


  • AM-1220
    AM-1220
    AM-1220 is a drug which acts as a potent and moderately selective agonist for the cannabinoid receptor CB1, with around 19x selectivity for CB1 over the related CB2 receptor...

  • AM-1221
    AM-1221
    AM-1221 is a drug which acts as a potent and selective agonist for the cannabinoid receptor CB2, with a Ki of 0.28nM at CB2 and 52.3nM at the CB1 receptor, giving it around 180x selectivity for CB2. The 2-methyl and 6-nitro groups on the indole ring both tend to increase CB2 affinity while...

  • AM-1235
    AM-1235
    AM-1235 is a drug which acts as a potent and reasonably selective agonist for the cannabinoid receptor CB1, with a Ki of 1.5nM at CB1 compared to 20.4nM at CB2...

  • AM-2201
    AM-2201
    AM-2201 discovered by Chemist Tyler Merrill, is a drug which acts as a potent but unselective agonist for the cannabinoid receptor CB1, with a Ki of 1.0nM at CB1 and 2.6nM at CB2...

  • AM-2232
    AM-2232
    AM-2232 is a drug which acts as a potent but unselective agonist for the cannabinoid receptors, with a Ki of 0.28nM at CB1 and 1.48nM at CB2....

  • JWH-007
    JWH-007
    JWH-007 is an analgesic chemical from the naphthoylindole family, which acts as a cannabinoid agonist at both the CB1 and CB2 receptors. It was the most active of the first group of N-alkyl naphoylindoles discovered by the team led by John W Huffman, several years after the family was initially...

  • JWH-015
    JWH-015
    JWH-015 is a chemical from the naphthoylindole family, which acts as a subtype-selective cannabinoid agonist. Its affinity for CB2 receptors is 13.8nM, while its affinity for CB1 is 383nM, meaning that it binds almost 28x more strongly to CB2 than CB1. However it still displays some weak CB1...

  • JWH-018
    JWH-018
    JWH-018 or AM-678 is an analgesic chemical from the naphthoylindole family, which acts as a full agonist at both the CB1 and CB2 cannabinoid receptors, with some selectivity for CB2...

  • JWH-019
    JWH-019
    JWH-019 is an analgesic chemical from the naphthoylindole family, which acts as a cannabinoid agonist at both the CB1 and CB2 receptors. It is the N1-hexyl homologue of the more common synthetic cannabinoid compound JWH-018...

  • JWH-073
    JWH-073
    JWH-073 is an analgesic chemical from the naphthoylindole family, which acts as a partial agonist at both the CB1 and CB2 cannabinoid receptors. It is somewhat selective for the CB1 subtype, with affinity at this subtype approximately 5x the affinity at CB2. The abbreviation JWH stands for John W...

  • JWH-081
    JWH-081
    JWH-081 is an analgesic chemical from the naphthoylindole family, which acts as a cannabinoid agonist at both the CB1 and CB2 receptors. With a Ki of 1.2nM it is fairly selective for the CB1 subtype, its affinity at this subtype approximately 10x the affinity at CB2. It was discovered by and named...

  • JWH-098
    JWH-098
    JWH-098 is a synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonist from the naphthoylindole family. It is the indole 2-methyl derivative of a closely related compound JWH-081, but has markedly different affinity for the CB1 and CB2 receptors...

  • JWH-116
  • JWH-122
    JWH-122
    JWH-122 is a synthetic cannabimimetic that was discovered by John W. Huffman. It has a Ki of 0.69 nM at CB1 and 1.2 nM at CB2....

  • JWH-149
  • JWH-182
  • JWH-193
    JWH-193
    JWH-193 is a drug from the aminoalkylindole family which acts as a cannabinoid receptor agonist. It was invented by the pharmaceutical company Sanofi-Winthrop in the early 1990s. JWH-193 has a binding affinity at the CB1 receptor of 6nM, binding around seven times more tightly than the parent...

  • JWH-198
    JWH-198
    JWH-198 is a drug from the aminoalkylindole family which acts as a cannabinoid receptor agonist. It was invented by the pharmaceutical company Sanofi-Winthrop in the early 1990s. JWH-198 has a binding affinity at the CB1 receptor of 10nM, binding around four times more tightly than the parent...

  • JWH-200
    JWH-200
    JWH-200 is an analgesic chemical from the aminoalkylindole family, which acts as a cannabinoid receptor agonist. Its binding affinity at the CB1 receptor is 42nM, around the same as that of THC, but its analgesic potency in vivo was higher than that of other analogues with stronger CB1 binding...

  • JWH-210
    JWH-210
    JWH-210 is an analgesic chemical from the naphthoylindole family, which acts as a potent cannabinoid agonist at both the CB1 and CB2 receptors, with Ki values of 0.46nM at CB1 and 0.69nM at CB2. It is one of the most potent 4-substituted naphthoyl derivatives in the naphthoylindole series, having a...

  • JWH-398
    JWH-398
    JWH-398 is an analgesic chemical from the naphthoylindole family, which acts as a cannabinoid agonist at both the CB1 and CB2 receptors. It has mild selectivity for CB1 with a Ki of 2.3nM and 2.8nM at CB2. It was identified by the EMCDDA as an ingredient in three separate "herbal incense" products...

  • JWH-424
    JWH-424
    JWH-424 is a drug from the naphthoylindole family, which acts as a cannabinoid agonist at both the CB1 and CB2 receptors, but with moderate selectivity for CB2, having a Ki of 5.44nM at CB2 vs 20.9nM at CB1. The heavier 8-iodo analogue is even more CB2 selective, with its 2-methyl derivative having...



  • CP 47,497
    CP 47,497
    CP 47,497 is a cannabinoid receptor agonist drug, developed by Pfizer in the 1980s. It has analgesic effects and is used in scientific research...

     and its (C8) homologue cannabicyclohexanol
    Cannabicyclohexanol
    Cannabicyclohexanol is a cannabinoid receptor agonist drug, developed by Pfizer in 1979...

  • CP 55,940
    CP 55,940
    CP 55,940 is a cannabinoid which mimics the effects of naturally occurring THC . CP 55,940 was created by Pfizer in 1974 but was never marketed. It is currently used to study the endocannabinoid system...

  • HU-308
    HU-308
    HU-308 is a drug which acts as a cannabinoid agonist. It is highly selective for the CB2 receptor subtype, with a selectivity of over 5000x for CB2 vs CB1. The synthesis and characterization took place in the laboratory of Prof. Mechoulam at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in the late 1990s...



  • JWH-167
    JWH-167
    JWH-167 is a synthetic cannabinoid from the phenylacetylindole family, which acts as a cannabinoid agonist with about 1.75x selectivity for CB2 with a Ki of 90nM ± 17 and 159nM ± 14 at CB1...

  • JWH-203
    JWH-203
    JWH-203 is an analgesic chemical from the phenylacetylindole family, which acts as a cannabinoid agonist with approximately equal affinity at both the CB1 and CB2 receptors, having a Ki of 8.0nM at CB1 and 7.0nM at CB2...

  • JWH-250
    JWH-250
    JWH-250 or is an analgesic chemical from the phenylacetylindole family, which acts as a cannabinoid agonist at both the CB1 and CB2 receptors, with a Ki of 11nM at CB1 and 33nM at CB2...

  • JWH-251
    JWH-251
    JWH-251 is a synthetic cannabinoid from the phenylacetylindole family, which acts as a cannabinoid agonist with about 5x selectivity for CB1 with a Ki of 29nM and 146nM at CB2...

  • JWH-320
  • RCS-8
    RCS-8
    RCS-8, or 1--3-indole, is a synthetic cannabinoid also known as SR-18 or BTM-8, which has been found as an ingredient of "herbal" synthetic cannabis blends. It can be described as an analogue of JWH-250 with the 1-pentyl group replaced by 1-, and can be expected to be less potent than JWH-250...



  • AB-001
    AB-001
    AB-001 or 1-pentyl-3-indole is a designer drug which was found as an ingredient in synthetic cannabis smoking blends in Ireland in 2010 and Hungary in 2011...

  • AM-1248
    AM-1248
    AM-1248 is a drug which acts as a moderately potent agonist for both the cannabinoid receptors CB1 and CB2, but with some dispute between sources over its exact potency and selectivity...


Anabolic Steroids
Anabolic steroid
Anabolic steroids, technically known as anabolic-androgen steroids or colloquially simply as "steroids", are drugs that mimic the effects of testosterone and dihydrotestosterone in the body. They increase protein synthesis within cells, which results in the buildup of cellular tissue ,...

  • Madol
    Desoxymethyltestosterone
    Desoxymethyltestosterone is an anabolic steroid. It was one of the first "designer steroids" to be marketed as a performance-enhancing drug to athletes and bodybuilders...

     (sometimes referred to as "DMT")
  • Methasterone
    Methasterone
    Methasterone is an oral anabolic steroid that was never marketed through legitimate channels for medicinal purposes...

  • Norbolethone
    Norbolethone
    Norbolethone is an anabolic steroid. It was first developed in 1966 by Wyeth Laboratories, and tested for use as an agent to encourage weight gain and for the treatment of short stature, but was never marketed commercially because of fears that it might be toxic...

  • Prostanozol
    Prostanozol
    Prostanozol is an anabolic steroid designer drug which is a prodrug of the 17-demethylated analogue of stanozolol . It was found in 2005 as an ingredient of products sold as "dietary supplements" for bodybuilding....

  • THG, "The Clear"
    Tetrahydrogestrinone
    Tetrahydrogestrinone is an anabolic steroid developed by Patrick Arnold. It has affinity to the androgen receptor and the progesterone receptor, but not to the estrogen receptor...


  • (stanozolol)

Erectile dysfunction

  • Acetildenafil
    Acetildenafil
    Acetildenafil is a drug which acts as a phosphodiesterase inhibitor. It is a structural analogue of sildenafil which has been detected in numerous different brands of supposedly "herbal" aphrodisiac products sold to boost libido and alleviate erectile dysfunction.A range of designer analogues of...

  • Aminotadalafil
  • Homosildenafil
  • Hydroxyacetildenafil
  • Hydroxyhomosildenafil
  • Hydroxythiohomosildenafil
  • Piperidino-acetildenafil
  • Piperidino-vardenafil
  • Sulfoaildenafil
    Sulfoaildenafil
    Sulfoaildenafil is a synthetic chemical compound that is a structural analog of sildenafil . It was first reported in 2005, and it is not approved by any health regulation agency...

  • Thiosildenafil

See also

  • Legal Intoxicants
    Legal intoxicants
    Legal intoxicants are intoxicating drugs which are not prohibited by drug laws. The most commonly used intoxicant is alcohol but many others are used including native intoxicating plants historically used by indigenous cultures and modern chemical intoxicating substances that have not been defined...

  • cf.
    Cf.
    cf., an abbreviation for the Latin word confer , literally meaning "bring together", is used to refer to other material or ideas which may provide similar or different information or arguments. It is mainly used in scholarly contexts, such as in academic or legal texts...

    Drug design
    Drug design
    Drug design, also sometimes referred to as rational drug design or structure-based drug design, is the inventive process of finding new medications based on the knowledge of the biological target...

  • Controlled Substances Act
    Controlled Substances Act
    The Controlled Substances Act was enacted into law by the Congress of the United States as Title II of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970. The CSA is the federal U.S. drug policy under which the manufacture, importation, possession, use and distribution of certain...

  • Controlled Substance Analogue Enforcement of 1986
  • JLF
    JLF
    JLF Primary Materials, formerly known as JLF Poisonous Non Consumables, was a popular internet website during the last part of the 20th century which sold "research chemicals" — essentially new hallucinogenic, stimulant, and other drug analogues which had not as yet been made illegal. In...

  • Operation Web Tryp
    Operation Web Tryp
    Operation Web Tryp was a United States Drug Enforcement Administration operation that ended on July 21, 2004 with the arrests of 10 persons. Its purpose was to investigate web sites suspected of distribution of unscheduled, unregulated tryptamines and phenethylamines of questionable legality...

  • Pharmaceutical company
    Pharmaceutical company
    The pharmaceutical industry develops, produces, and markets drugs licensed for use as medications. Pharmaceutical companies are allowed to deal in generic and/or brand medications and medical devices...


External links

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