3-Methoxyeticyclidine (3-MeO-PCE), also known as methoxieticyclidine,
is a
dissociative
Dissociatives, colloquially dissos, are a subclass of hallucinogens which distort perception of sight and sound and produce feelings of detachment – dissociation – from the environment and/or self. Although many kinds of drugs are capable of ...
anesthetic
An anesthetic (American English) or anaesthetic (British English; see spelling differences) is a drug used to induce anesthesia — in other words, to result in a temporary loss of sensation or awareness. They may be divided into two ...
that is qualitatively similar to
PCE and
PCP and has been sold online as a
designer drug
A designer drug is a structural or functional analog of a controlled substance that has been designed to mimic the pharmacological effects of the original drug, while avoiding classification as illegal and/or detection in standard drug tests. Des ...
.
On October 18, 2012 the
Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs
The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) is a British statutory advisory non-departmental public body, which was established under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.
Mandate
Its terms of reference, according to the Act, are as follows:
'' ...
in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
released a report about
methoxetamine
Methoxetamine, abbreviated as MXE, is a dissociative hallucinogen that has been sold as a designer drug. It differs from many dissociatives such as ketamine and phencyclidine (PCP) that were developed as pharmaceutical drugs for use as general ...
, saying that the "harms of methoxetamine are commensurate with
Class B of the
Misuse of Drugs Act (1971)", despite the fact that the act does not classify drugs based on harm. The report went on to suggest that all analogues of methoxetamine should also become class B drugs and suggested a catch-all clause covering both existing and unresearched arylcyclohexamines, including 3-MeO-PCE.
This report also described the receptor binding profile of methoxetamine and three additional dissociatives
3-MeO-PCP,
4-MeO-PCP, and 3-MeO-PCE, showing them to have significant affinity for the PCP site of the
NMDA receptor
The ''N''-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (also known as the NMDA receptor or NMDAR), is a glutamate receptor and ion channel found in neurons. The NMDA receptor is one of three types of ionotropic glutamate receptors, the other two being AMPA rece ...
(NMDAR) and was later published in more detail.
3-MeO-PCE has
Ki values of 61 nM for the NMDAR, 743 nM for the
dopamine transporter
The dopamine transporter (also dopamine active transporter, DAT, SLC6A3) is a membrane-spanning protein that pumps the neurotransmitter dopamine out of the synaptic cleft back into cytosol. In the cytosol, other transporters sequester the dopam ...
, 2097 nM for the
histamine H2 receptor
H2 receptors are positively coupled to adenylate cyclase via Gs. It is a potent stimulant of cAMP production, which leads to activation of protein kinase A. PKA functions to phosphorylate certain proteins, affecting their activity. The drug b ...
, 964 nM for the
alpha-2A adrenergic receptor
The alpha-2A adrenergic receptor (α2A adrenoceptor), also known as ADRA2A, is an α2 adrenergic receptor, and also denotes the human gene encoding it.
Receptor
α2 adrenergic receptors include 3 highly homologous subtypes: α2A, α2B, and α2 ...
, 115 nM for the
serotonin transporter
The serotonin transporter (SERT or 5-HTT) also known as the sodium-dependent serotonin transporter and solute carrier family 6 member 4 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the SLC6A4 gene. SERT is a type of monoamine transporter protein tha ...
, 4519 nM for the
σ1 receptor, and 525 nM for the
σ2 receptor.
Legal status
3-MeO-PCE is banned in Sweden and Switzerland.
As per Chile's
Ley de drogas, aka Ley 20000,
all esters and ethers of PCE are illegal. As 3-MeO-PCE is an
ether
In organic chemistry, ethers are a class of compounds that contain an ether group—an oxygen atom connected to two alkyl or aryl groups. They have the general formula , where R and R′ represent the alkyl or aryl groups. Ethers can again be c ...
of PCE, it is thus illegal.
See also
*
3-HO-PCP
*
3-MeO-PCMo
*
Arylcyclohexylamine
Arylcyclohexylamines, also known as arylcyclohexamines or arylcyclohexanamines, are a chemical class of pharmaceutical, designer, and experimental drugs.
History
Phencyclidine (PCP) is believed to be the first arylcyclohexylamine with recogniz ...
*
Ketamine
Ketamine is a dissociative anesthetic used medically for induction and maintenance of anesthesia. It is also used as a recreational drug. It is one of the safest anesthetics, as, in contrast with opiates, ether, and propofol, it suppresses ne ...
*
Methoxyketamine
Methoxyketamine or 2-MeO-2-deschloroketamine is a designer drug of the arylcyclohexylamine class first reported in 1963. It is an analog of ketamine in which the chlorine atom has been replaced with a methoxy group. Its synthesis by rearrangemen ...
*
Eticyclidine
Eticyclidine (PCE, CI-400) is a dissociative anesthetic drug with hallucinogenic effects. It is similar in effects to phencyclidine but is slightly more potent. PCE was developed by Parke-Davis in the 1970s and evaluated for anesthetic potential ...
References
{{Sigma receptor modulators
Arylcyclohexylamines
Dissociative drugs
O-methylated phenols
Designer drugs