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Informative info and FAQ about Methcathinone. Use
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Status: N
Methcathinone HCl FAQ v2.0
Contents:
1. What is methcathinone?
2. Preparation - A simple and practical approach.
Questions & Answers regarding this synthesis.
3. Testing the product from above synthesis
4. Comentary on the drug itself
5. Anecdotal reports of use
6. Sources for materials listed in the synthesis
7. Extensions - chemically similar drugs [aminoketones]
8. Other Data - References and copies of journal articles.
9. Conclusion - about the FAQ itself
***************************What is Methcathinone****************************
the designer drug 'methcathinone HCl' is also known as Cat, Jeff, Mulka
or Ephedrone.
It is a schedule-1 stimulant, making it flat-out illegal like Heroin or LSD
(Methamphetamine, on the other hand, is LEGAL with a valid triplicate
prescription.)
Chemically, Methcathinone is 2-(methylamino)propiophenone. The name
Methcathinone is derived from the name of the drug cathinone, obviously,
which in turn is derived from "cathine", an alternate name for
norpseudephedrine, an isomer of phenpropanolamine. The name "Ephedrone" is
obviously derived from the fact that "Ephedrone" is the ketone of the
alcohol that is Ephedrine.
_____________________________________________________________________
| |
| Contrast the molecules for informational purposes only: |
| Methcathinone: (pseud)Ephedrine: Methamphetamine: |
| _____ _____ _____ |
| / _ \ H / _ \ OH H / _ \ H H |
| < (_) >-CO-C--CH3 < (_) >-C--C--CH3 < (_) >-C--C--CH3 |
| \_____/ | \_____/ H | \_____/ H | |
| HN--CH3 HN--CH3 HN--CH3 |
| |
| pseudephedrine and ephedrine differ only in the isomerism of the OH |
| group. They are in most ways identical as precursors to either drug.|
|_____________________________________________________________________|
*******************************Preparation**********************************
The objective of this procedure is to produce methcathinone in a reletively
pure form. This was accomplished as evidenced by a residue/burn test, and
quite a few testimonials from users. A secondary objective was to not
require complicated lab proceedures - avoiding even an acid-base extraction
and to stray away from toxic byproducts.
The methcathinone produced by this proceedure is no doubt not as pure as
that which may be produced using a typical acid-base solvent extraction,
but certainly rivals it nicely. And the conditions required for this method
are far less demanding, as none of the toxic chromates are used.
There is little doubt that the methcathinone produced by this proceedure
is racemic, due to the presence of a ketone. And for such reason, resolution
seems a waste of time, as its quite possible the stuff could racemize in
the body itself anyways [though this would change onset time if it truly
does matter]. Dissolution in methanol followed by drying with heat will
assure a racemic product.
NEEDED FOR PREPARATION:
Collander w/ reletively small holes
Shaved Ice
Pseudephedrine tablets, 100 of 30mg each.
Acetone or Ethyl Ether.
Potassium Permaganate crystals, of reasonably pure origin
[no lead, other toxic metals allowed. Sodium, Chloride, other
pharmalogically 'safe' contaminents are OK]
Purified water [TAP WATER WILL *NOT* FUNCTION ADEQUATELY IN MOST CASES]
Refridgerator chilled to just over 0c.
Turkey Baster or other method of measuring water in mililiter quantities.
An area heated or chilled to "room temperature" (ROUGHLY 25c or 75f)
Acetone or Ethyl-ether for the washing [not needed for smokable form]
Most kitchens do NOT come equipped with a scale capable of measureing
individual grams, let alone miligrams. And in many states, possession of
such a finely tuned instrument, while not a crime, certainly is admissable
as one of many items of evidence to be used in a criminal investigation.
Definitly something to be avoided. Keep all the ingredients and all the
labware in its "everday-use" place, and there's no evidence to support the
existance of a cat lab. And no need to manufacture the stuff in the high
desert regions either, since weird scents are for the most part avoided.
CLEANING THE PSEUDEPHEDRINE TABLETS
100 of the 30mg generic pseudephedrine tablets were placed into a collander
containing about the same "volume" of crushed ice. They were swirled around
in this collander over a sink (with running water to wash the color down
the drain) until all the ice had melted and washed thru. The tablets were
then rinsed once with distilled water, and removed to a glass jar for
extracting. The red coloring, in water solution, was saved for obnoxious
purposes (e.g. red spaghetti, other food coloring uses)
MEASURING OUT & PREPARING THE KMnO4 FOR REACTION:
KMnO4 is saturated at 25c in water - 100ml of solution holds 7.43g
This time I will be using just under 3g of pseudephedrine (if extract
was perfect would be exactly 3g pseudephedrine).
In acid conditions, 1 mole of KMnO4 will oxidize 5 hydrogens.
In basic conditions, 1 mole of KMnO4 will oxidize 3 hydrogens.
We won't be specifically using either, because KMnO4 also works nicely
under neutral conditions.
It can be reasonably anticipated that the Pseudephedrine HCl will posess
somewhat of an acidic character, so we will 'assume' acidic conditions,
which also will allow us to avoid using TOO MUCH KMnO4... small amounts of
pseudephedrine will go unnoticed in the final product, but gooey messes
will not, for obvious reasons.
The Pseudephedrine/KMnO4 ratio should be 2.5Mole to 1Mole, according to
previous calculations. 3g pseudephedrine is 18.15mMole, therefore 7.26mMole
of KMnO4, or 1.148g will be needed for the reaction. This means that
15.45mL of concentrated solution at room temperature will be needed.
Obviously us kitchen chemists can't be that precise, so aim a little high,
as previous margins were set about 10% low... use AT LEAST 15.45mL prepared
at AT LEAST 25c.
This 15.5 or so mL of solution is then diluted with 250mL H2O, and is
started chilling in a refridgerator, with just over 0c the goal.
EXTRACTING AND PREPARING THE PSEUDEPHEDRINE HCl FOR REACTION:
****synthesis I recieved originally read:
| Purified water (roughly 250mL) is added over the cleaned pseudephedrine
| tablets and heated until hot to the touch [outside of jar] in a microwave
| at low power [eqiv. about 150watts]. This takes about a minute.
| Solution is stirred once every minute, until tablets have completely
| fragmented. Solution is allowed to settle, and poured off thru a coffee
| filter. Powder remaining in bottom is again covered with 250mL water and
| heated until hot, stired, allowed to settle, then poured thru same
| coffee filter. Any powder in coffee filter is replaced with "filler
| material" from the tablets, and covered with yet another 250mL of water,
| heated until 'hot' and once again, for a final time, extracted thru a
| different coffee filter (the old one crumpled up).
************ but later I "translated" to this for public convienence:
*
* Place the just washed and probably slightly red pseudephedrine tablets in
* a jar, and pour 250mL of water over them. Now heat this in a microwave at
* low power until it gets "hot" but not to boiling. Stir the crap until the
* tablets fall all to pieces, then let the powdery FILLER material settle,
* leaving pseudephedrine in solution all by its lonesome, or at least mostly
* by its lonesome.
* Slowly pour this THRU coffee filter into another jar.
* When this is done, scrape/shake/get any powder caught in the filler and
* stick it in the FIRST jar, the one that might have some sludge at the
* bottom still. Now add another 250mL of water, heat until "hot", stir, then
* let settle. Pour this thru the coffee filter
* Get the powder stuck in the filter (again) back with the sludge and add
* still another 250mL and heat until "hot". This time pour thru the filter,
* and your done.
*
************ okay, thats a little bit easier to understand, isnt it???
The pseudephedrine solution, about 700mL or so (okay, so some water gets
away, or I measured wrong, or the 'salty' nature of PfedHCl caused the H2O
to contract, or... the list goes on) is placed in the fridge to chill, next
to the KMnO4.
NOW THE FUN BEGINS (THE REACTION):
And for the next few hours, nothing happens. This is a good time to stop
for lunch. After a few hours, the two cold solutions are mixed together,
stirred, and replaced in the fridge overnight (12 hours).
In the morning, instead of a PURPLE color in the jar, there is a mostly
clear layer, and a brownish gunk on the bottom, which agitates easily.
Because its safer to err on the side of caution, 100mL of 70% isopropyl
alcohol is added, stirred, and this is allowed to come to room temp. on its
own over two hours.
This mixture is filtered thru two coffee filters stacked on top of each
other with the intention of catching all the little maganeese particles
that have precipitated. In an ideal world, you can do this on the first
try and get a perfectly clear liquid on the bottom. In a less than ideal
world, it was necessary to again RECOOL SLIGHTLY the filtered mix, and
filter this thru another pair of coffee filters. My hunch is that the
slight cooling in the fridge, and/or the extra time allowed the rest of the
maganeese to 'clump' together into pieces too big to escape unfiltered.
This final solution was found to be basic with a pool test kit, no suprise
if you figure that the HCl part of the Pfed was used up in the oxidation
as 'acid'. In any case, the solution was made slightly acidic with conc.
HCl and many, many measurements of pH.
MAKIGN GLITTERING WHITE CRYSTALS:
If not yet, during this part of the proceedure you will definitly smell
the methcathinone. It has a stronger odor than methamphetamine, BUT the
odor of methcathinone is _pleasant_, even to those who have not experienced
the drug (some people LEARN to like certain smells, but cat just smells
plain good.)
Considering the fact that there's either isopropanol or acetone in the
above mixture, its probably not a wise idea to just load your rig straight
from it and shoot. And considering you might want to give some of your
creation away, it'd sure be nice to have a transportable form.
Now to make sure the stuff is indeed the HCl form...
Add HCl with stiring to adjust the pH to slightly acidic, i.e. just under
7 (maybe 5 to 6?). This will ensure that Methcathinone HCl is produced, and
not the freebase, which can decompose easily. While the original author of
this synethesis used a pool test kit to measure the change in pH across
a very narrow range, many people haven't got this to work, and instead a
less sensitive agent [pH paper?] is reccomended. Perhaps even the classic
"red cabbage" pH tester will work... see any kids chemistry book for more
details on this plant-based pH test...
Pour the stuff into a glass (PYREX!) brownie dish. Place on a stove and
heat gently from below _while_ blowing lightly with a hair dryer (avoid
splashing - it wastes drugs and leaves residue.) Eventually there will
start to be a really really thick gooey mess. Adding methanol or ethanol
to this thins it while speeding the drying process - a definite plus. In
my case, ethanol was used, although methanol may be preferable. Doing
this is probably a must to dry the crystals at a reasonable temperature
in a reasonable amount of time, unless you happen to have a vaccuum pump
lying around....
Be careful not to overheat the crystals. If they MELT, you've almost
definitly screwed up.... :)
Washing the crystals with acetone _is_ a possibility but will dramatically
reduce yields, as Methcathinone HCl is apparently pretty soluable in the
stuff. Just save the acetone and let it dry all alone, somewhere, for a
product that is smokable but too oily to chop & sniff... Methcathinone is
easily recovered from an 'acetone-wash' by slow evaporation, and such
recovered globs/hunks/crystals/slime/ooze/whatever you get should be saved
and washed with a better solvent later (see next paragraph).
Washing the crystals with ethyl-ether is definitly the way to go, as it
avoids loss and dries far quicker than acetone. Ethyl Ether, when used to
dry the methcathinone of its oily residue, then pooled and evaporated
elsewhere contained no readily discernable crystaline material - a strong
testament to the insoluability of HCl salts in ethyl ether.
////////////////////////// QUESTIONS ////////////////////////////////////
The following are some questions I have recieved about this synthesis,
and their answers. Each "batch" of questions separated by a **** comes
from the same person, for the sake of continuity......
> What brand of pseudephedrine is best???
Read the inactive ingredients for a list of possible "spectator
ions" that might accompany your synthesis... and try to avoid them. Anything
thats a water-soluable salt will stay. Sugars will waste the oxidizer while
converting to crapola. If a given brand doesnt work, seem out another. The
generic brans are usually amazingly effective, probably because the generic
manufactures know what people REALLY want to use their product for... and
aren't marketing it to Firemen who want to unplug their noses without being
sedated [anyone seen that commercial???]
The brand that works best is the brand you want to use. It really shouldnt
make THAT MUCH of a difference after an acetone or ether wash anyways...
HINT: The smaller the pill, the less filler material it has ;)
****
> What of I.V. usage of the drug produced from this method?
I wouldn't reccomend it as this method avoids an acid-base extraction.
While certainly less toxic than the chromates, injection of "other"
material ought to be avoided. If you are seeking the instaRush, perhaps
IMMIADETLY BEFORE SMOKING mixing the Cat HCl with baking soda, then
heating from below with suction [lungs] would be appropriate. NaCl would
remain inthe pipe, Cat base and CO2 would be inhaled.
Avoid storing the methcathinone as the freebase, as it is somewhat
unstable in this form [as most aminoketones are - see Merck Index for
bupropion for another example.]
****
/////Now here's an enlightened question from someone who's been
paying VERY GOOD attention to the newsgroup and is very alert!///////
> This is the same method of making cat that you wrote up some time ago,
> but you said that it (the synthesis you typed up) was crap. Is this
> synthesis the same as the one you were using? (I never read yours)
Same method, but this synthesis uses more permaganate and a CHILLED
reaction. The crappy method [which DID work although yields were low]
involved a smidgen of permaganate and heating in a microwave with
boiling, then washing. Byproduct city, but it did work with varying results.
> And how much HCl is added to the freebase? just enough to get a ph of > 9
> but < 11 ?
Didn't say but thats "slightly basic" and probably a good sign of being
very close. Add just a little more for the HCl form. Aim for a pH of
just under 7.
///later this person asked more questions///
> I had a slight problem.. i tried removing the red dye off generic brand
> pseudoephedrine tabs. under water in a strainer with crushed ice. A lot
> of the dye came off, quickly the tabs became soft and partially
> dissolved, but there was still quite a bit of dye left.
ahhh! Do not wash the tablets UNDER WATER with crushed ice. Rather, place
them in the colander with crushed ice, thats it, and stir them around,..
The very cold ice does a minimum of disolving WHILE its abrasion removes
the coloring.
> I tried the same with actual Sudefed tabs and it worked great, they had a
> clear glassy coating, that the generic ones did not. The generic ones
See above. Also, the brand-name sudafed tablets do have a pretty classy
package for a measely pill. BTW its possible to find generic
pseudephedrine for $3 for 100 if you look very hard (!) in the local
stores. Aim for lower-income neighborhoods and higher-volume stores.
> > > And what exactly does washing with acetone or ethyl-ether do to the
> > > crystals?
> > Gets oily crap produced from side reactions [specifically deamination]
> > off of them.
> I don't understand the process of the washing. Do I just pour some
> acetone on the crystals and let it evaporate? Could you possibly point me
> in direction of some good reading material to learn more about this,
> unless of course the above is all thats involved! :)
No. Simply RINSE them. IE stir the crystals about in just enough acetone
to cover them, then pour off the acetone into another
container/jar/whatever. The crystals are then allowed to dry [unless
washed again] and the acetone wash byproduct [the stuff washed off]
should also be dried out, as Methcathinone HCl is somewhat soluable in
acetone and can be recovered from it via evaporation. This recovered
product can be washed in ethyl ether, again in acetone, or simply smoked,
but most likely will not be 'choppable' for sniffing.
> > be sure to use isopropanol]
> The FAQ said 70% isopropanol, is this would should be used or should a
> higher percent be used?
Yes, that is just fine [esp. since its being added to a water-containing
solution anyways :) The purpose is to provide "something else" [another
alcohol] to be oxidized so that the Methcathinone won't get chewed up if
any oxidizer remains...[forming acetone and removing oxidizer. ethyl
or methyl alcohol can produce carboxylic acids that are undesirable so
be sure to use isopropanol]
> How many different forms are there? Is the HCl form the only sniffable
> form?
The HCl form is the easiest and probably safest sniffable form. Its also
pretty resistant to decomposition [esp. compared to freebase form]
> The HCl i saw at the hardware store was only 32% (aprox.) HCl is this
> what i need?
Yes, but only add a VERY SMALL AMOUNT. One guy didn't read the pH
correctly and ended up adding several HUNDRED mL!! probably only 5 to
15mL of this stuff will be needed. MEASURE pH **FIRST** before doing
anything and add acid slowly with frequent checking of the pH. Elusis I
believe suggests using good indicator paper instead of a pool pH meter to
avoid the problems the person who added hudreds of mL apparently had.
Also, the red dye, if still present, may make reading of phenol-red kind
of problematic :)
> Everclear is 95% ethanol, is this pure enough? Can pure ethanol or
> methanol be obtained easily?
Yes. The sole purpose of the ethanol or methanol is to allow the water to
be evaporated from the crystals with less heating and more quickly. If
you've got a spare vaccuum pump lying about, you dont even need to
consider this step for obvious reasons.
****
> But wouldn't it be safer to add a little sodium bisulfite about an hour
> or so after mixing the KMnO4 and Pseudoephedrine together? I tried
No. Why? Because:
1. Most of the oxidizer is already reacted, if not damn near all. The
alcohol is a precaution. The synthesis posted [and stored on hyperreal]
prior using KMnO4 and a whole slew of other reagents and equipment is
in my humble opinion a farse - far too many nonsensical stages in the
reaction and a very low (50%!) yield to boot.
2. If you hadn't noticed, the author of this recipe sought to avoid an
extraction phase - which means keeping "other stuff" [esp. sodium ions]
out of the reaction. The other permaganate synthesis, in which the
precipitated manganeese oxide is reduced [why bother, why not just
decant the damn solution, or filter it??? damn weirdo's] is to say the
least EXTREMELY strange. I'm tempted to even go so far as to say that its
misinformation, though probably not DEA-type misinformation. Probably a
company with Cat data required to publish a synthesis with the rest of
their article on the drug [or whatever else], and so they published
a really weird one destined for failure at the slightest mishap.
****
> 1. I assume that purified water can have distilled water substuted...
as long as there aren't "other" ions in there, I guess. Since distilled
is basically ion free, it ought to suffice.
> 3. Why the addition of the Isopropyl Alcohol?
presumably to reduce any KMnO4 left over, though the lack of purple color
indicates its all gone anyways. Basically the intent was, I believe, to
avoid messing up the cat by substituting a LOT of volatile compound that
could also be expected to evaporate. No doubt methanol or ethanol, if
pure, would also suffice...
> 4. He made the solution acidic with HCl. Do you think that this
> is necessary
Absolutely. The purpose is to produce the stable HCl salt.... the freebase
form is unstable and will decompose.
> Any other acids which might do as well?
I dunno. I imagine any acid good at making pharmaceuticals stable
will suffice. Just look it up and checksee if its okay for drugs that
are amines and are ketones. H2SO4 probably wouldn't be all that great for
this, but I cant really say for sure.
****
> When your putting the jars in the fridge do you also put the lid on
> them or does it even matter?
Unless the reagents are attacked by drippingWeenieDogs it shouldn't
matter all that much.
> When you wash the cat, using the Acetone or ether ethyl do you just
> dump some in and let it sit around until it evaporates?
Nope. That wouldnt wash it. Dump in enough to cover the crystals, swirl
it around, then carefully pour off only the liquid, saving it for later.
> When heating the liquid up in a "pyrex" dish do you just keep heating
> it until there's nothing but crystals left?
Yeah, thats the general idea, although as mentioned in the file there
may be some oily residue that wont evaporate and will need to be
washed off.
> KMnO4- The solution it talks about should be "15.5 or so mL".
> Does that mean that all that's in the solution is KMnO4, or did I miss
> something? And how much H2O is it diluted with?
Yeah. The whole idea was that KMnO4 ___saturates___ the solution, and
instead of weighing miligrams its now possibly to measure mililiters. If
you have a miligram scale, forget this and just weigh out the amount
listed as ideal in the calculations [1.148g].
> What is "filler material"?
The other crap in any medicine tablet / pill / capsule that holds it
together. Were your antibiotics to come without 'filler material', they
would also arrive in a little plastic baggie just like the illegal
drugs.
****
> If you want to make life easier for kitchen chemists, a "tablespoon" is
> about 15mL
Oh. Cool. Thanks. Nevertheless, a tablespoon is usually metalic, and
therefor probably not to cool to use with permaganate solution :)
****
> When your filtering the psuedoephedrine by dumping it through the coffee
> filters I don't understand what is meant when the recipe says " Any powder in
> coffee filter is replaced with filler material from the tablets, and covered
> with yet another 250mL or water, etc.. Does that mean that after the
> second time you dump the solution through the filter, you squeeze the
> remaining fluid out of the filter and pour another 250mL of water on it?, or
> what.
Place the powder stuck in the filter BACK IN THE JAR with the rest of the
powder, add 250mL, and heat yet again, stir, let settle, then.
Yeah, its a little vague. I'll re-edit her sentences to clear this up a
bit.
> When you let the solution settle after you "nuke" it in the microwave
> does that allow a powder to settle on the bottom of the jar, or what is the
> purpose of even leting the solution settle, why can't you just dump it
> through the filter right after you stir it?
Okay, yeah that will work, but consider: The more filler that sits in the
coffee filter, the slower the shit will drain thru. Why not allow as much
as possible to settle then filter it, only pouring sludge thru towards
the end, which is a LOT faster...
> When you rinse the psuedoephedrine with distilled water after cleaning
> them, can you just use the purified water to rinse them instead?(I'm trying
> to be a tight-ass and not have to buy the distilled).
Fuck dude, your gonna say the water is more expensive than the
pseudephedrine??? You dont need that much water! I've now heard reports
that unfiltered bottled "springs" water will work most of the time - a
large portion of the proplem comes from chlorination and other such in
tap water.
> I'm using something called denaturated alcohol(ethyl alcohol and 4%
> methonal). Is this allright to use to thin out the liquid when heating it in
> the pyrex dish?
yeah, its great for thinning it out, anything bad in it will wash out in
an acetone or ether wash, right? Something worth trying is to put a
little puddle of your denatured alcohol on your mirror and see if there's
any residue. Their shouldn't be - most is denatured simply with methanol
then extremely small amounts of low-b.p. stinky hydrocarbons are thrown
in so that bums won't mistakenly drink the stuff.
> These questions might be stupid ones but they would really help me out.
I know a guy who filtered the sudafed, discarded the liquid, and
attempted to oxidize [then later snort] the filler. Suffice to say
stupider questions have been asked :)
****
> It worked and smelled great, but when I set it to dry and came back in
> 3 hours there was nothing but brown goo and an occasional crystal.
> What the f--k gives?
Oh also, a very valuable tip. SUPERVISE THE DRYING, and blow on it with a
hair dryer. The author of the synth did this, in addition to adding
(m)ethanol (either works) during the drying process to produce the cooler
and quicker drying azeotrope...
****
////Some CAT questions generated in responce to another synthesis, bu
perfectly valid (and could come up) in responce to this one... :)/////
> ... I added NaOH and within
> minutes white crystals formed in the soln. and after about 20 minutes
> they settled to the bottom. I filtered them out from the soln. and
So you basified and collected crystals of the freebase????
> washed them with water but when I did that the crystals turned brown.
Methcathinone, Cathinone, Bupropion, Diethylpropion, etc etc etc aren't
all that stable as the freebase form. No doubt you used tap water huh?
OOPS. Tap water is an absolute no-no, pure distilled a must. The
"chlorination" in tap water is highly destructive to this synthesis.
> Would it be safe to smoke them?
No. Make the HCl anyways though - trust me. The HCl is quite smokable.
Even if you dont want to smoke the HCl form, mixing it with NaHCO3 then
smoking it would be preferable to trying to store the freebase form of
cat. And are you even sure the crystals are CAT at all? Maybe instead
its some vile hydroxide... ??? Methcathinone is an illegal drug, its not
safe to smoke it even when pure :) Smoking an unknown byproduct, however,
is just plain stupid.
**********************************TESTING***********************************
BURN:
A burn-test of acetone-washed methcathinone left almost NO residue. The
methcathinone HCl was heated over methane flame in a spoon. It first
melted, then began boiling, and finally literally BURST INTO FLAMES and was
gone except for a spot where the spoon was possibly corroded.
A burn-test of the oily methcathinone from the acetone wash which evaporated
(and would have been lost had I not kept the byproduct of the acetone wash)
performed the same way! Its oily nature prevented clean chopping, but upon
washing with ethyl-ether good product was formed from this oily cat.
A burn-test of ether cleaned acetone-wash extract left nothing behind but a
slight discoloring of the shiny part of the spoon, probably due again to
reaction with the HCl or reaction with air catalysed by the salt nature of
the crystals (?)
TASTE:
Bitter. No evidence of numbing of the tounge or sinuses was evidenced.
Snorting the product produced intense burning feelings characteristic of
methamphetamine.
SMELL:
Typical of a ketone - sweet. Once report says it smells like "pistaccio
ice cream" (?) when wet. The dry crystals dont smell all that much, but it
doesnt take a genius to realize that once they get dogs trained for this
stuff detection will be simple.
*********************************COMMENTARY*********************************
Methcathinone was used as an antidepressant in the former soviet union. This
almost makes good sense, as even in abuse doses the 'hangover' is nowhere
near as severe as with the amphetamines. Indeed, bupropion, a close chemical
relative, is used as an antidepressant in todays United States.
Methcathinone was considered by one company for marketing in the United
States as an antidepressant in the 1950's, but was shelved due to
"severe side effects". If you've ever taken Imipramine or another TCA, or
know of the pharmacology of the MAOI antidepressants, you really wonder
about the truth of this statement. The "sever side effect" that shelved the
project was no doubt addiction and abuse, not an actual physiological side
effect...
If I had to characterize the drug, I would say it induces mania more so
than methamphetamine, but psychosis much less. The initial dose produced
some paranoia, but subsequent doses did not make this worse (?) and in
fact seemed to lessen it. This is definitly a drug for goofing off, unlike
methamphetamine which makes one 'serious'. Others have described this drug
as cocaine or methylphenidate without all the compulsive behaviours. This
actually seems a pretty good description.... "jitter-free coke"
Methamphetamine may dramatically help certain peoples academic and or
business careers, but it doesnt appear likely that methcathinone would do
this, as it increases distractability rather than decreases it. Many similar
reports are being heard in alt.support.attn-deficit on Wellbutrin... that
although the drug is a dopaminergic, peoples kids are often made MORE HYPER
by it whereas the classical Ritalin or Dexedrine has calmed them. The
aminoketones as a class are quite unusual.
"The drug didn't catch on in Ann Arbor. 'it would be hard to go to classes
on cat,' Boyer theorized"
-L.A. Times article on methcathinone abuse crackdowns
************************ANECDOTAL REPORTS OF USE****************************
No dilation of the pupils was noticed at any level (?!?), however both
pulse rate and blood pressure were up quite a bit. Upon sniffing, mouth
instantly "watered", and thru the experience my mouth did not become dry.
So +/-cholinergic side effects appear absent, unlike either amphetamines or
cocaine.
When the drug wears off, sleep is much easier to obtain. The first night
after a day of CATting I slept very well, but after the next day of the
same I awakened after only 2 hours of sleep and had to take diphenhydramine
to return to sleep.
Withdrawl is characterized by sadness and feelings of despair, along with
a lack of energy. Others have reported a physical withdrawl, but these
reports come from the highDose michaganCatNut crowd. Alternately felt
hopeless or giddy and almost euphoric. Caffeine appears to dramatically
alleviate this depression, and both me and my partner have noted that
caffeine works much similar to d-amphetamine during methcathinone withdrawl,
increasing concentration and even causing some dry mouth, something not
normally experienced from caffeine with either of us. Very, very confusing
to say the least.
"I hadn't known I was hooked. I felt like I had a temperature of 1 million
degrees. I could hardly breathe. My whole body ached"
-Grimes on his experience in a detox
tank in the Marquette county jail.
********************************SOURCES*************************************
Pseudephedrine - From the tablets, silly.
HCl - Any hardware store, as "muratic acid".
KMnO4 - searsWater Softener Section, to regenerate iron filters
water softener section of Home Depot ($6/lb?).
I found it at a farm supply store. About $3.00 per llb.
Used to stain bacteria/biologicals for slides [if going
this route, dont buy a kilogram obviously]
Acetone - Hardware stores, used as paint thinner, to clean grease
of off things, etc.
Ethyl Ether - May be distilled from starter fluid, but this is highly
dangerous. Suggest liberation from local college lab and
definitly storage in your freezer.
For the skilled, this can also be made....
*******************************EXTENSIONS***********************************
Equimolar amounts of phenpropanolamine, norephedrine or norpseudephedrine
may be easily substituted to produce CATHINONE instead of methcathinone.
Data indicates this is a less potent drug, but this is easily remedied by
taking more (obviously) and different people may or may not prefer a
slightly different side effect profile, etc etc etc.
> I notice all the generic phenpropanolamine
> I've come across contains vitamin c. Would it be necessary to extract
> that first to make cathinone?
Yes, you must remove the vitamin C.
There is little doubt in my mind that such a compound could make a simple
oxidation into a gooey hell. Antoxidant that it is, Vitamin C may be in
there to keep the stuff from oxidizing on the shelves... some catHeads
have noticed that ground sudafed from Burroughs Wellcome has a very mild
methcathinone smell to it.... weird, no?
What other Aminoketones are popular / widely used, and can I make them
myself?
Diethylpropion - Tenuate, a C-4 (USA) diet pill
If you can produce diethylphenpropanolamine, you can use it in the above
reaction to produce Diethylpropion, although the time involved makes it
doubtful that you'd want to - this drug is not all that potent or
interesting. DEPPA could probably be produced in decent yields via a
controlled temperature reaction with base, PPA and chloroethane, although
I have no idea what conditions would be ideal. Expected sideproducts would
be unchanged PPA, EtPPA, and (Et3)PPA+ ions...
Bupropion - Wellbutrin, an unscheduled (USA) antidepressant
Nope. meta-Chloro,N-tert-butyl-Cathinone, or bupropion, would no doubt be
problematic due to the meta-chloro grouping - difficult to produce in a
home environment, if not damn near impossible, and probably a point of
side reactions if the ephedrine of the compound were to be oxidized.
*********************************OTHER DATA*********************************
* Zingel, K.Y., Dovensky, W., Crossman, A. and Allen, A.,
"Ephedrone: 2-Methylamino-1-Phenylpropane-1-One (Jeff)," Journal of
Forensic Sciences, v. 36, No.3, May 1991, pp.915-920
* Young, R. and R.A. Glennon. "Cocaine-Stimulus Generalization to
Two New Designer Drugs: Methcathinone and 4-Methylaminorex"
Pharmacol. Biochem. Behav. 45(1) 229-231, 1993
* Glennon, R.A., Yousif, M., Kalix, P. "Methcathinone: A new and
potent amphetamine-like agent." Pharmacol. Biochem. Behav.
26:547-5451, 1987.
* British Patent, 768,772 (1954).
* Goldstone, M.S., "Cat - Methcathinone - A New Drug of Abuse" Journal
of the American Medical Association v269 no 19 p2508 (letter) 1993
[abstract follows immiadetly belowed, copied indirectly from MEDLINE]
TI - Methcathinone: a new and potent amphetamine-like agent.
AB - The purpose of the present investigation was to examine the effect of
N-monomethylation of phenylisopropylamine derivatives on amphetamine-
like activity. In tests of stimulus generalization using rats trained
to discriminate 1.0 mg/kg of (+)-amphetamine from saline, the N-
monomethyl derivatives of 1-(X-phenyl)-2-aminopropane, where X = 2,4-
dimethoxy (2,4-DMA), 3,4-dimethoxy (3,4-DMA), 2,4,5-trimethoxy
(2,4,5,-TMA), and 2-methoxy-4,5-methylenedioxy (MMDA-2), did not
produce amphetamine-appropriate responding at the doses evaluated.
However, the N-monomethyl derivative of cathinone (i.e.,
methcathinone), like cathinone, resulted in stimulus generalization.
Further studies with this agent revealed that (a) in the amphetamine-
trained animals, methcathinone (ED50 = 0.37 mg/kg) is more potent
than racemic cathinone or racemic amphetamine (ED50 = 0.71 mg/kg in
both cases), (b) methcathinone is capable of inducing release of
radioactivity from [3H]dopamine-prelabeled tissue of rat caudate
nucleus in a manner similar to that observed with cathinone,
amphetamine, and methamphetamine, and © methcathinone is more
potent than cathinone as a locomotor stimulant in mice as determined
by their effect on spontaneous activity. The results of the present
study provide evidence for a structural analogy between the
prototypic psychostimulants amphetamine/methamphetamine and
cathinone/methcathinone, and lend further support to the concept that
amphetamine and cathinone correspond in their pharmacological
effects.
Regarding CATHINONE and the Khat Plant:
* Teri Randall "Khat Abuse Fuels Somali Conflict, Drains Economy"
JAMA Jan 6, 1993 Vol 269, No. 1, p. 12 & 15
This article contains a number of political interpretations, but also
states:
"Its users report euphoria and increased alertness, although their
concentration and judgement are objectively impaired"
[This fits nicely with my observation that Methcathinone is not useful as
a drug for treating ADHD]
*********************************CONCLUSION*********************************
The original author of this synthesis does not have an internet address.
She has given me permission to "maintain" this file, by adding Q&A, tips,
comentary, etc at my discression to it. If you have a comment, question, or
tip, email me at the address below:
____ ______ ________ _____
/ \ | \| /\ | \ [email protected].edu
/ \| _ \ \/ | _ \
/___/\ \___|> > |__|> > BORN TO BE WIRED...
/ | / /\ | / All the sugar and twice the
\_________|______/|___\/__|______/ caffeine of regular netusers!
finger me and make a pgp key come.
|
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