JWH-098 is a synthetic

cannabinoid receptor Cannabinoid receptors, located throughout the body, are part of the endocannabinoid system a class of cell membrane receptors in the G protein-coupled receptor superfamily. As is typical of G protein-coupled receptors, the cannabinoid recepto ...

agonist An agonist is a chemical that activates a receptor to produce a biological response. Receptors are cellular proteins whose activation causes the cell to modify what it is currently doing. In contrast, an antagonist blocks the action of the ago ...

from the

naphthoylindole Naphthoylindoles are a class of synthetic cannabinoids. See also * Structural scheduling of synthetic cannabinoids References {{reflist ...

family. It is the

indole Indole is an aromatic heterocyclic organic compound with the formula C8 H7 N. It has a bicyclic structure, consisting of a six-membered benzene ring fused to a five-membered pyrrole ring. Indole is widely distributed in the natural environmen ...

2-methyl derivative of a closely related compound

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 is measured at ...

, but has markedly different affinity for the CB₁ and CB₂ receptors. While JWH-081 is around ten fold selective for CB₁ over CB₂, in JWH-098 this is reversed, and it is around four times weaker than JWH-081 at CB₁ while being six times more potent at CB₂, giving it a slight selectivity for CB₂ overall. This makes JWH-098 a good example of how methylation of the indole 2-position in the naphthoylindole series tends to increase CB₂ affinity, but often at the expense of CB₁ binding.

Legal status

In the United States, all CB₁ receptor agonists of the 3-(1-naphthoyl)indole class such as JWH-098 are

Schedule I Controlled Substance This is the list of Schedule I drugs as defined by the United States Controlled Substances Act. 21 CFRbr>1308.11(CSA Sched I) with changes through (Oct 18, 2012). Retrieved September 6, 2013. The following findings are required for drugs to be pl ...

s. JWH-098 is illegal in Russia, Sweden, and the UK,The Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (Amendment) Order 2009
although it is unclear whether it has any history of human use.

References

JWH cannabinoids Naphthoylindoles Phenol ethers Designer drugs CB1 receptor agonists CB2 receptor agonists {{cannabinoid-stub