4-Fluoromethamphetamine (4-FMA) is a

stimulant Stimulants (also often referred to as psychostimulants or colloquially as uppers) is an overarching term that covers many drugs including those that increase activity of the central nervous system and the body, drugs that are pleasurable and inv ...

drug related to

methamphetamine Methamphetamine (contracted from ) is a potent central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is mainly used as a recreational drug and less commonly as a second-line treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and obesity. Methamph ...

and

4-fluoroamphetamine 4-Fluoroamphetamine (4-FA; 4-FMP; PAL-303; "Flux"), also known as ''para''-fluoroamphetamine (PFA) is a psychoactive research chemical of the phenethylamine and substituted amphetamine chemical classes. It produces stimulant and entactogenic ef ...

. It has been reported to be sold 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 ...

, but little is known about its pharmacology or toxicology. It was first detected from legal highs sold in Japan in 2006 and became illegal to sell or to possess for the purpose of distribution (although not to simply possess for personal use) in Japan in 2008. It was initially reported to be contained as an ingredient in some of the range of

party pills Party pills, also known as "herbal highs", "pep pills" "dance pills" and "natural power", is a colloquialism for a type of recreational drug whose main ingredient was originally benzylpiperazine (BZP), but has expanded to a wide range of compound ...

sold internationally by the Israeli company Neorganics from around 2006 onwards, but this was later shown to be incorrect and this ingredient was eventually identified as the closely related compound 2-fluoromethamphetamine.

Pharmacology

4-FMA is a

CYP450 Cytochromes P450 (CYPs) are a superfamily of enzymes containing heme as a cofactor that functions as monooxygenases. In mammals, these proteins oxidize steroids, fatty acids, and xenobiotics, and are important for the clearance of various compo ...

inhibitor. It reduces the metabolism of

, which has the effect of increasing its potency, duration and systemic toxicity while also reducing its cellular toxicity.

Legal status

Australia

4-FMA is considered a Schedule 9 substance in Australia under the Poisons Standard (October 2015). A Schedule 9 substance is a substance which may be abused or misused, the manufacture, possession, sale or use of which should be prohibited by law except when required for medical or scientific research, or for analytical, teaching or training purposes with approval of Commonwealth and/or State or Territory Health Authorities.

Canada

As of 1996, 4-FMA is a controlled substance in Canada, due to being an analog of methamphetamine.

China

As of October 2015 4-FMA is a controlled substance in China.

United States

As a close analog of scheduled

controlled substance A controlled substance is generally a drug or chemical whose manufacture, possession and use is regulated by a government, such as illicitly used drugs or prescription medications that are designated by law. Some treaties, notably the Single C ...

, sale or

possession Possession may refer to: Law * Dependent territory, an area of land over which another country exercises sovereignty, but which does not have the full right of participation in that country's governance * Drug possession, a crime * Ownership * ...

of 4-FMA could be potentially be prosecuted under the

Federal Analogue Act The Federal Analogue Act, , is a section of the United States Controlled Substances Act passed in 1986 which allows any chemical "substantially similar" to a controlled substance listed in Schedule I or II to be treated as if it were listed in ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fluoromethamphetamine, 4- Designer drugs Methamphetamines Euphoriants Serotonin-norepinephrine-dopamine releasing agents Fluoroarenes Entactogens and empathogens