Methcathinone (2-(methylamino)-propiophenone, α-methylamino-propiophenone) is a psychoactive stimulant. It is sometimes used as a recreational drug and is considered to be addictive.[1] It is usually snorted, but can be smoked, injected, or taken orally. Methcathinone is currently a DEA Schedule I controlled substance in the United States.
The C=O bond at the
Rβ-position (directly right of the
benzene ring) is slightly polar, and
as a result the drug does not cross
the lipid blood-brain barrier quite
as well as amphetamine.
Nevertheless, it is a potent CNS
stimulant and dopamine reuptake
inhibitor. Chronic high dosage use
may result in acute mental confusion
ranging from mild paranoia to
psychosis. These symptoms typically
disappear quickly if use is stopped.
Unlike methamphetamine,
methcathinone is not legal under any
circumstances in the US due to its
classification as a Schedule I
substance. In contrast,
methamphetamine has certain medical
uses such as treatment of morbid
obesity, narcolepsy and ADHD.
History
Methcathinone was first synthesized
in 1928.[2] It was used in the
Soviet Union during the 1930s and
1940s as an anti-depressant. Since
the 1960s, methcathinone has been
used as a recreational drug in the
(former) Soviet Union.
Circa 1994, the United States
government recommended to the UN
Secretary-General that methcathinone
should be added to Schedule I of the
Convention on Psychotropic
Substances.[3]
Effects
This section needs additional
citations for verification.
Please help improve this article by
adding reliable references.
Unsourced material may be challenged
and removed. (April 2009)
Methcathinone hydrochloride
increases spontaneous rodent
locomotor activity,[6] potentiates
the release of dopamine from
dopaminergic nerve terminals in the
brain,[6] and causes appetite
suppression.[citation needed] Users
can easily forget to consume fluids
and a state of thirst and
dehydration is apparent.
The effects of methcathinone are
similar to those of methamphetamine,
initially deemed to be less intense
by the inexperienced user, and often
more euphoric. The effects have been
compared to those of cocaine, since
it commonly causes hypertension
(elevated blood pressure) and
tachycardia (elevated heart rate
Reported effects include:
Feelings of euphoria
Increased alertness
Dilated pupils
Rapid breathing
Increased heart rate
Inability to stop talking
Increased empathy and sense of communication
Both decreased and increased sexual function and desire
Loss of cognitive ability relating to the distinction of relative importance of matters (ie. one might spend days thinking that he or she is being productive but later realize that the activity and/or product was not even necessary
The effects of
methcathinone usually last from four
to six hours.
Street names
Street slang for methcathinone may
include terms such as Cat, Jeff,
Bathtub Speed, Wannabe-Speed, Kitty,
Meth's Cat, Meth's Kitten or
Marzipan (from smell during
synthesis).
In Europe, methcathinone is
primarily known as Ephedrone.
In Australia, methcathinone may be
known as ketone or bk (beta ketone).
In South Africa it is primarily
known as Cat or occasionally Kat.
There, it is also confused (via name
alone, not presentation) with Khat
(sometimes spelled Qat). Other local
slang names include Cadillac
Express, Wonder Star, Wild Cat, The
C or Gaggers.[9]
Addiction
In preclinical studies,
methcathinone hydrochloride produces
an abuse potential similar to that
of the amphetamines.
Methcathinone can be highly
psychologically addictive, and can
produce methamphetamine-like
withdrawals, which is somewhat less
in intensity than methamphetamine.
It is highly unlikely for a
methcathinone user to experience
addiction on their first or even
several subsequent administrations
of the drug.
In drug discrimination studies, methcathinone hydrochloride evokes responses similar to those induced by both (+)-amphetamine sulfate and cocaine hydrochloride. When examined in particular pharmacological assays for psychomotor stimulant-like activity, both the d and l enantiomeric forms of methcathinone hydrochloride have been found to be pharmacologically active. In these assays, the l-form of methcathinone is more active than either d-methcathinone or (+)-amphetamine. Racemic methcathinone hydrochloride is intravenously self-administered by baboons, thus indicating that methcathinone produces reinforcing effects in this laboratory animal, and suggesting that the drug has a potential for abuse in the human population.