Methylmethaqualone (MMQ) is a

quinazolinone Quinazolinone is a heterocyclic chemical compound, a quinazoline with a carbonyl group in the C4N2 ring. Two isomers are possible: 2-quinazolinone and 4-quinazolinone, with the 4-isomer being the more common. These compounds are of interest in med ...

and an analogue of

methaqualone Methaqualone is a hypnotic sedative. It was sold under the brand names Quaalude ( ) and Sopor among others, which contained 300 mg of methaqualone, and sold as a combination drug under the brand name Mandrax, which contained 250 mg met ...

that has similar

sedative A sedative or tranquilliser is a substance that induces sedation by reducing irritability or excitement. They are CNS depressants and interact with brain activity causing its deceleration. Various kinds of sedatives can be distinguished, but t ...

and

hypnotic Hypnotic (from Greek ''Hypnos'', sleep), or soporific drugs, commonly known as sleeping pills, are a class of (and umbrella term for) psychoactive drugs whose primary function is to induce sleep (or surgical anesthesiaWhen used in anesthesia ...

properties to its parent compound (resulting from its agonist activity at the β subtype of the GABA_A receptor), and is much more potent. Methylmethaqualone differs from methaqualone by 4-methylation on the phenyl ring. It was made illegal in Germany in 1999 and listed by the

DEA The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA; ) is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Justice tasked with combating drug trafficking and distribution within the U.S. It is the lead agency for domestic en ...

as a "drug of forensic interest" at about the same time, but little other information is available. It would appear that this compound was sold on the black market in Germany 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 ...

analogue of methaqualone. Animal studies of methylmethaqualone have shown it to produce

convulsions A convulsion is a medical condition where the body muscles contract and relax rapidly and repeatedly, resulting in uncontrolled shaking. Because epileptic seizures typically include convulsions, the term ''convulsion'' is sometimes used as a s ...

at only slightly above the effective sedative dose, and anecdotal reports from human users have confirmed that it can have a pro-convulsive effect, which has potential to make this compound particularly hazardous if taken in excessive doses.

References

Sedatives Convulsants Quinazolinones GABAA receptor positive allosteric modulators Designer drugs {{sedative-stub