Designer drug is a term to used to describe psychoactive drugs which are created (or marketed, if they had already existed) to get around existing drug laws by modifying their molecular structures to varying degrees. A psychoactive drug or psychotropic substance is a chemical that alters brain function, resulting in temporary changes in perception, mood, consciousness, or behaviour. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ...

History

The term originated with law enforcement, but has gained widespread use. The term was originally coined in the 1980s to refer to various heroin like synthetic substances, mostly based on the fentanyl molecule. The term gained widespread popularity when MDMA (ecstasy) experienced a popularity boom in the mid 1980s. In the United States, the Controlled Substances Act was amended with 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 which were substantially similar in chemistry and pharmacology to Schedule I or Schedule II drugs. Other countries have dealt with the issue differently. In some, they simply ban new drugs as they become a concern, such as in Germany or Canada. Some countries have gone the opposite direction, such as the United Kingdom and Australia, and enacted sweeping bans based on chemical structure only, making chemicals illegal even before they are created - if a chemical fits a set of rules regarding substitutions and alterations of an already banned drug, it too is banned. Heroin or diacetylmorphine (INN) is a semi-synthetic opioid. ... Fentanyl is an opioid analgesic, first synthesized in Belgium in the late 1950s, with an analgesic potency of about 80 times that of morphine. ... MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine), most commonly known today by the street name ecstasy or XTC, is a synthetic entactogen of the phenethylamine family whose primary effect is to stimulate the secretion of and inhibit the re-uptake of large amounts of serotonin as well as dopamine and norepinephrine in the... The Controlled Substances Act (CSA) 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 (21 U.S.C. Chapter 13). ... The Federal Analog Act is a controversial section of the DEA Controlled Substances Act, allowing any chemical substantially similar to an illegal drug (in Schedule I or II) to be treated as if it were also in Schedule I, but only if it is intended for human consumption. ...

When the term was coined in the 1980s, there were a range of narcotics being sold as heroin on the black market. Many were based on fentanyl or meperidine. One, MPPP was found in some cases to contain an impurity called MPTP which caused instant and permanent symptoms like Parkinson's disease. Other problems were highly potent fentanyl analogues which were sold as China White and led to many accidental overdoses. Because the government was powerless to prosecute people for these drugs, laws were passed to give the DEA 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. The term narcotic, derived from the Greek word for stupor, originally referred to a variety of substances that induced sleep (such state is narcosis). ... Pethidine (INN) or meperidine (USAN) (also referred to as: isonipecaine; lidol; operidine; pethanol; piridosal; Algil®; Alodan®; Centralgin®; Demerol®; Dispadol®; Dolantin®; Dolestine®; Dolosal®; Dolsin®; Mefedina®) is a fast-acting opioid analgesic drug. ... MPPP (1-methyl 4-phenyl 4-propionoxypiperidine) is an opioid analgesic drug. ... MPTP (1-methyl 4-phenyl 1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine) is a chemical that is related to the opioid analgesic drugs. ... A type of snortable street heroin; in reality it is reported to frequently consist of a fentanyl. ... Since 1973, the DEA has enforced the drug laws in the United States. ...

The first time the emergency scheduling power was used was for MDMA. It has subsequently been used for a variety of other drugs including 2C-B, AMT, and BZP. In 2004, a piperazine drug, TFMPP became the first drug which had been emergency scheduled to be denied permanent scheduling and revert to legal status. 2C-B is a psychedelic hallucinogenic drug first synthesized by Alexander Shulgin in 1974, sometimes used as an entheogen. ... AMT or amt, a three-letter abbreviation, may refer to: An abbreviation of the word amount. The Agence métropolitaine de transport, a public transportation organization Montreal Amt, an administrative unit in several European countries Anxiety Management Training a form of treatment for anxiety. ... Benzylpiperazine (BZP) is a recreational drug with euphoric, stimulant effects. ... Basic piperazine structure Piperazine is a six-sided organic ring compound containing two opposing nitrogen atoms (see image). ... Trifluoromethylphenylpiperazine (or simply TFMPP) is a piperazine-based drug, related to benzylpiperazine. ...

In the late 1990s and early 2000's 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 (particularly of psychedelic drugs in the tryptamine and phenethylamine family). The idea was that by selling the chemicals as for research rather than human consumption, the intent clause of the U.S. analogue drug laws would be avoided. This was later shown to be faulty logic when the DEA raided multiple suppliers, first JLF Primary Materials, and then multiple vendors several years later in Operation Web Tryp. This process was accelerated greatly when vendors began advertising via search engines like Google by linking their sites to searches on key words such as chemical names and terms like psychedelic or hallucinogen. Widespread discussion of consumptive use and the sources for the chemicals in public forums also drew attention of the media and authorities. The psychedelic (from the Greek words for mind, ψυχη psyche, and manifest, δηλειν delein) drugs are classified as those whose primary action is that of enhancing or amplifying the thought processes of the brain. ... Tryptamine (3-(2-aminoethyl)indole) is a monoamine compound that is widespread in nature. ... Phenethylamine (β-Phenylethylamine) is an alkaloid and monoamine. ... 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. ... Operation Web Tryp was a United States Drug Enforcement Administration operation that ended on July 21, 2004, with the arrests of 10 persons. ... Google Inc. ... This entry pertains to the word psychedelic, its origin and uses. ... Certain drugs can affect the subjective qualities of perception, thought or emotion, resulting in altered interpretations of sensory input, alternate states of consciousness, or hallucinations. ...

Many substances which were sold as "research chemicals" in this time are hallucinogens and bear a chemical resemblance to common drugs such as psilocybin and mescaline. As with other hallucinogens, these substances are often taken for the purposes of facilitating spiritual processes (see entheogen), mental reflection (see psychedelic) or recreation. Some research chemicals on the market were not psychoactive, but can be used as precursors in the synthesis of other potentially psychoactive substances, for example, 2C-H which could be used to make 2C-B and 2C-I 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 researcher of particular fame or notoriety (depending on your viewpoint) is Dr. Alexander Shulgin, who presented syntheses and phamarmacological explorations of hundreds of substances in the books TiHKAL and PiHKAL (co-authored with Ann Shulgin), and has served as an expert witness for the defense in several court cases against manufacturers of psychoactive drugs. Psilocybin, sometimes misspelled psilocybine, is a psychedelic alkaloid of the tryptamine family. ... Mescaline (3,4,5-trimethoxyphenethylamine) is a hallucinogenic alkaloid of the phenethylamine class. ... In Hinduism, spiritual goals and personal experience (self-realization) through yoga and meditation are seen as the ultimate way to attain God (Moksha) and are inseparable from the religion. ... The word entheogen is a modern term derived from two Ancient Greek words, ἔνθεος (entheos) and γενέσθαι (genesthai). ... The word psychedelic is a neologism coined from the Greek words for mind, ψυχη (psyche), and manifest, δηλειν (delein). ... Recreational drug use is the use of psychoactive drugs for recreational rather than medical or spiritual purposes, although the distinction is not always clear. ... // General In generic terms, a precursor is something that existed before and was incorporated into something that came later. ... In chemistry, the phrase chemical synthesis appears to have one of two meanings. ... 2C-I is a psychedelic hallucinogenic drug and phenethylamine that was developed and popularized by Alexander Shulgin. ... Alexander Sasha Shulgin (born June 17, 1925) is a pharmacologist, chemist and drug developer. ... Pharmacology (in Greek: pharmacon (φάρμακον) meaning drug, and logos (λόγος) meaning science) is the study of how chemical substances interact with living systems. ... TiHKAL is a 1997 book written by Dr Alexander Shulgin and Ann Shulgin about tryptamines. ... Cover of PiHKAL PiHKAL is a 1991 book by Dr. Alexander Shulgin and Ann Shulgin about psychedelic phenethylamines. ... Ann Shulgin (March 22, 1931) is an author and wife of famous chemist Alexander Shulgin. ...

Most 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. When a chemical increases in popularity, it will often be sold in pill form to reach a wider market. Some of the most popular chemicals are also given street names (like "Foxy" or "Foxy Methoxy" for 5-Meo-DiPT). 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 (prohibited) drugs. 5-MeO-DiPT is a tryptamine also known as Foxy Methoxy or just foxy due to its supposed aphrodisiac-like effects, although it is primarily used recreationally as a psychedelic. ...

Safety and law

Little if any research has been done on the toxicology or pharmacology of most of these drugs. Few, if any, human or animal studies have been done. Unlike better-known drugs like alcohol or marijuana, which have been used by millions of people worldwide, research chemicals are new and may only have been used by a few dozen people for a few months. The safety of research chemicals is untested and due to the recent development of many of them, laws banning or restricting their use have not been developed yet. However, many of the chemicals fall under the various drug analouge legislations in different countries. Toxicology (from the Greek words toxicon and logos) is the study of the adverse effects of chemicals on living organisms. ... Filmed by PETA, Covance primate-testing lab, Vienna, Virginia, 2004-5. ... In chemistry, an alcohol is any organic compound in which a hydroxyl group (-OH) is bound to a carbon atom of an alkyl or substituted alkyl group. ... Species Cannabis indica Cannabis ruderalis Cannabis sativa Cannabis is a genus of flowering plant that includes one or more species. ...

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 are still not scheduled.

Well-known designer drugs

Most research chemicals are structural analogues of tryptamines or phenethylamines, but there are also completely unrelated chemicals which are normally considered to be part of the group. It is impossible to determine psychoactivity or other pharmaceutical properties of these chemicals strictly from examining their structure, and many of the substances have common effects whilst structurally different and vice versa. Confusing nomenclature, similar names, and differing naming schemes can all lead to (and is anecdotally known to have led to) potentially hazardous mixups for end users.

• Some of the early narcotic designer drugs:
  • alpha-methylfentanyl, became well known as "China White" on the heroin market
  • parafluorofentanyl
  • MPPP, especially famous due to an impurity in some batches called MPTP which caused permanent parkinsonism with a single use
• Some prominent tryptamine-based substances:
  • 4-Acetoxy-DiPT, n,n-diisopropyl-4-acetoxytryptamine
  • 5-MeO-AMT, 5-methoxy-alpha-methyltryptamine
  • 5-Meo-DIPT, 5-methoxy-di-isopropyltryptamine (also known as "Foxy" or "Foxy Methoxy")
  • 5-MeO-DMT, 5-methoxy-dimethyltryptamine
  • AMT, alpha-methyltryptamine
  • DIPT, di-isopropyl-tryptamine
  • DPT, n,n-dipropyltryptamine
• Some prominent phenethylamine-based substances:
  • 2C-B, 4-bromo-2,5-dimethoxyphenethylamine (also known as "bromo-mescaline")
  • 2C-C, 2,5-dimethyoxy-4-chlorophenethylamine
  • 2C-I, 2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodophenethylamine
  • 2C-E, 2,5-dimethoxy-4-ethyl-phenethylamine
  • 2C-T-2, 2,5-dimethoxy-4-ethylthiophenethylamine
  • 2C-T-7, 2,5-dimethoxy-4-(n)-propylthiophenethylamine
  • 2C-T-21, 2,5-dimethoxy-4-(2-fluoroethylthio)phenethylamine
  • MDMA, 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine
• Some PCP analogues which have been sold as designer drugs:
  • TCP, 1-[1-(2-thienyl)-cyclohexyl]-piperidine or thienylcyclohexylpiperidine
  • PCE, cyclohexamine
  • PCPP, phenylcyclopentylpiperidine
• Some other designer drugs:
  • BZP, benzylpiperazine
  • TFMPP, 3-Trifluoromethylphenylpiperazine, has the unique distinction of being the only drug to be emergency scheduled into Schedule I and then allowed to become legal because the DEA was unable to justify permanent scheduling
  • GBL, gamma-butyrolactone, both a precursor to and substitute for GHB
  • 1,4-Butanediol, another GHB analogue

The term narcotic, derived from the Greek word narkotikos, meaning benumbing or deadening, originally referred to a variety of substances that induced sleep (such state is narcosis). ... MPPP (1-methyl 4-phenyl 4-propionoxypiperidine) is an opioid analgesic drug. ... MPTP (1-methyl 4-phenyl 1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine) is a chemical that is related to the opioid analgesic drugs. ... Tryptamine (3-(2-aminoethyl)indole) is a monoamine compound that is widespread in nature. ... 4-Acetoxy-DIPT (4-acetoxy-N,N-diisopropyltryptamine) is a hallucinogenic tryptamine. ... 5-MeO-AMT is a psychedelic drug soluble in alcohol. ... 5-MeO-DiPT is a tryptamine also known as Foxy Methoxy or just foxy due to its supposed aphrodisiac-like effects, although it is primarily used recreationally as a psychedelic. ... 5-MeO-DMT is a very powerful psychedelic tryptamine. ... α-methyl-tryptamine, also known as α-MT or IT-290, is a synthetic drug of the tryptamine family. ... DIPT or diisopropyltryptamine is a psychedelic hallucinogenic drug of the tryptamine family that has a unique effect. ... Dipropyltryptamine (DPT) is a psychedelic and entheogenic hallucinogenic drug belonging to the tryptamine family. ... Phenethylamine (β-Phenylethylamine) is an alkaloid and monoamine. ... 2C-B is a psychedelic hallucinogenic drug first synthesized by Alexander Shulgin in 1974, sometimes used as an entheogen. ... 2C-C is a psychedelic hallucinogenic drug first synthesized by Alexander Shulgin, sometimes used as an entheogen. ... 2C-I is a psychedelic hallucinogenic drug and phenethylamine that was developed and popularized by Alexander Shulgin. ... 2C-E (2,5-dimethoxy-4-ethylphenethylamine) is a psychedelic hallucinogenic drug phenethylamine first synthesized by Alexander Shulgin, sometimes used as an entheogen. ... 2C-T-2 is a psychedelic phenethylamine presumably first synthesized in 1981 by Alexander Shulgin, sometimes used as an entheogen. ... 2C-T-7 is a psychedelic phenethylamine and is sometimes used as an entheogen. ... 2C-T-21 is a psychedelic phenethylamine first synthesized by Alexander Shulgin, sometimes used as an entheogen. ... MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine), most commonly known today by the street name ecstasy or XTC, is a synthetic entactogen of the phenethylamine family whose primary effect is to stimulate the secretion of and inhibit the re-uptake of large amounts of serotonin as well as dopamine and norepinephrine in the... Benzylpiperazine (BZP) is a recreational drug with euphoric, stimulant effects. ... Trifluoromethylphenylpiperazine (or simply TFMPP) is a piperazine-based drug, related to benzylpiperazine. ... gamma-Butyrolactone, also known as GBL, butyrolactone, 1,4-lactone, 4-butyrolactone, 4-hydroxybutyric acid lactone, and gamma-hydroxybutyric acid lactone, is a hygroscopic colorless oily liquid with a weak characteristic odor of medium solubility in water (≥ 10 g / 100 ml). ... GHB redirects here. ... (Redirected from 1,4 Butanediol) Chemical structure of 1,4-butanediol 1,4-Butanediol (C4H10O2, molecular weight 90. ...

See also

• Erowid
• Lycaeum
• JLF (famous research chemical supply company)
• Operation Web Tryp
• Controlled Substances Act
• Controlled Substance Analogue Enforcement Act of 1986
• cf. drug design

Erowid. ... A lyceum is most often used today to denote either an educational institution (most often a school of secondary education in parts of Europe) or a public hall used for cultural events like concerts. ... 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. ... Operation Web Tryp was a United States Drug Enforcement Administration operation that ended on July 21, 2004, with the arrests of 10 persons. ... The Controlled Substances Act (CSA) 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 (21 U.S.C. Chapter 13). ... Drug design is the approach of finding drugs by design, based on what the drug is targeting. ...

External links

• Research Chemical FAQ on Erowid
• Controlled Substances Act