From: an26424@anon.penet.fi (Badsector) Date: Thu, 22 Jul 1993 15:20:21 GMT Newsgroups: alt.drugs Subject: Methcathinone Info Methcathinone ("Cat") / Ephedrone ("Jeff"). =========================================== Initially reported as a street drug in the former USSR as ephedrone [1]. Reports of the use of "Jeff" leading to "numerous" overdose deaths were, it seems, covered up by the former Russian authorities. It has been banned in the USA after several labs were seized in Michigan. It was sold as "Cat", presumably named after the African shrub Khat (catha edulis), which contains cathinone [2]. Methcathinone is related to cathinone as methamphetamine is related to amphetamine, i.e. by N-methyl substitution. Reliable reports of effects in humans are not known to me. A recent short letter [4] in the Journal of the American Medical Association seems to me to simply to repeat assertions made in the American popular press. In the letter, it is said that users describe "Cat" as better than cocaine and meth. "Typical" doses are described as 0.5-1g and the effects described as lasting six days. This seems to me to be unlikely. What has been reported may well be equivalent to high dose, methamphetamine abuse on the "speed freak" pattern and is probably *not* typical. Animal studies [2] suggest methcathinone has ED50 of 1.9uM/kg (0.39mg/kg) , when compared to cocaine's 7.6uM/kg (2.6 mg/kg). This would make it *more* potent than cocaine by six times in the rat and suggests the human figure of ten times cocaine potency in the human reported on USENET as been given on Belgium television is not unrealistic. Indeed, this would put it in the same range as methamphetamine, which it may well closely resemble. Personal communication suggests it may well be simply equivalent to methamphetamine. The bottom line may well be that most CNS stimulants are the same, whether they be cocaine, methamphetamine, amphetamine, 4-methylaminorex or methcathinone. Differing the route of administration is likely to have more effect. Smoking or injecting such drugs leads to rapid build-up of the drug in the blood stream and an intense "rush". This route is more dangerous from a toxicologic point of view and likely to lead to compulsive use. Occasional oral use in social situations is likely to be the least harmful. Some people may find CNS stimulants psychologically addictive. Synthesis [1] A 2000-mL Erlenmeyer flask, equipped with a magnetic stirring bar, was charged with methylene chloride (200 mL), acetic acid (10 mL) water (100 mL), potassium permanganate (2g) and ephedrine hydrochloride (2g). The solution was stirred at room temperature for 30 min. This was followed by the addition of sufficient sodium hydrogen sulfite to reduce the precipitated manganese dioxide. The aqueous phase was made basic with 5N sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and the methylene chloride was separated. The organic layer was extracted with 0.5N sulfuric acid (H2SO4). Isolation of the acid layer followed by basification with sodium bicarbonate and extraction with methylene chloride (50 mL, three times), removed the product into the organic phase. The solvent was concentrated by rotary evaporation, followed by column chromatography through neutral alumina with methylene chloride. Solvent removal through rotary evaporation produced a colorless liquid which was disolved in hexane. Gaseous hydrochloric acid was bubbled into the hexane to precipitate the amine hydrochloride to produce a 1-g (50%) yield of 2-methylamino-1-phenylpropan-1-one hydrochloride. Ephedrone, like methamphetamine, processes one asymmetric center. Depending upon the synthetic precursor, l-ephedrine (1R,2S) or d-pseudoephedrine (1S,2R), the product expected would be d-ephedrone (2S) or l-ephedrone (2R), respectively. However, depending on the heat of the reaction or harsh extraction conditions the enolizable ketone will result in a racemic d,l-ephedrone. Synthesis [3] A solution composed of 0.99g of sodium dichromate and 133g of concentrated sulfuric acid dissolved in 4.46 cc of water is added slowly with stirring to 1.65g of l-ephedrine dissolved in 4.7 cc of water and 0.55 cc of concentrated sulfuric acid at room temperature. The mixture is stirred at room temperature for an additional 4 to 6 hours and then made alkaline with sodium hydroxide soloution. the aqueous mixture is extracted with two volumes of chloroform and then with two volumes of ether. The organic extracts containing the free base of 1-a-methylaminoprophenone are combined, treated with an excess of dry hydrogen chloride and the solvents evaporated. The residual 1-a-methylaminopropiophenone hydrochloride is stirred with petroleum ether, collected and purified by dissolving in ethanol and reprecipitating with ether. m.p. 182-184 o C. (1) 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 (2) 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 (3) Glennon, R.A., Yousif, M., Kalix, P. "Methcathinone: A new and potent amphetamine-like agent." Pharmacol. Biochem. Behav. 26:547-5451, 1987. (3) British Patent, 768,772 (1954). (4) Goldstone, M.S., "Cat - Methcathinone - A New Drug of Abuse" Journal of the American Medical Association v269 no 19 p2508 (letter) 1993 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- To find out more about the anon service, send mail to help@anon.penet.fi. Due to the double-blind, any mail replies to this message will be anonymized, and an anonymous id will be allocated automatically. You have been warned. Please report any problems, inappropriate use etc. to admin@anon.penet.fi. >Of course, I guess the college guy figured out that everything needed was >right under the counter. Now what's the government going to do? Outlaw >batteries and drain cleaners? I wouldn't put it past them. i really doubt it. -- Lamont Granquist drugz: ftp.u.washington.edu:/pub/user-supported/alt.drugs lamontg@cs.washington.edu personal: !finger lamontg@cs.washington.edu | more "Conservative: n. One who admires radicals centuries after they're dead." ============================================================================= From: cooper@hacktic.nl (cooper) Newsgroups: alt.drugs Subject: Re: Ephedrine Derivatives Date: 10 Oct 1993 14:12:39 +0100 Message-ID: <2991olINNo8m@xs4all.hacktic.nl> dyer@spdcc.com (Steve Dyer) writes: >In article <1993Oct9.200043.25880@news.yale.edu> potter@minerva.cis.yale.edu (Philip G. Potter) wries: > >It is supposedly easy to make, using Ephedrine Hydrochloride (over the > >counter stimulant) and other household chemicals. Do anyone have any > >information on this. >You've got to be kidding. You'd need a chemistry lab. Well, a chemistry lab and some knowledge _might_ help, but hey, if you wanna give it a shot, Here's howto: (well, at the end of this post, that is! Oh this is the end huh?? Ok, here goes: I've never tried this synthesis, and I can't be sure baout anything. However, if your kitchen does not explode, and you have a good time anyway, lemme know. Methcathinone Preparing the ephedrine/pseudoephedrine solution: Method A: Add enough water to completely dissolve pure ephedrine or pseudoephedrine. Method B: Wash sudaphed tablets in cold water until most (it's impossible to get all of it) of the red coating is gone. Put the tablets in hot water, heat them to boiling, and stir until the tablets have completely dissolved. Filter off the liquid. The amount of water the (pseudo-)ephedrine [I'll call it ephedrine from now on for simplicity] is dissolved in is not too important - it should be as little as possible, but at least as much as the amount of sulfuric acid that is added later (to insure to that the potassium dichromate dissolves). To this aqueous mixture add 0.62 grams of potassium dichromate for every gram of ephedrine in the solution. If you used sudaphed tablets, figure by the theoretical amount in solution (number of tablets X content of each tablet). Slowly add 3ml Sulfuric for each gram ephedrine, stirring as you add it. Let react for 30-60 minutes. The color should go from a bright red/orange to a dark color (a mixture of green and orange from the two ionization states of the chromium). Basify the solution with concentrated sodium hydroxide solution until you see the solution become a bright green (green with a white precipitate - the methcathinone). This happens above pH 8. Try not to add too much hydroxide (if you do the solution becomes black and there is probably some decomposition of the methcathinone). Extract 3-4 times with naptha (add the naptha, shake it up, pour off as much naptha as you can - but DON'T get ANY reaction mixture in the extracts!). Use as much naptha as would equal about 50-100 percent of the reaction mixture. Quickly add the extracts to 25ml of hydrochloric acid, diluted 1 part 36% HCl to 4-5 parts water. Shake the mixture, extract off the aqueous (lower) portion. This is an acid solution of the methcathinone. [you may want to extract a second time with HCl to get a slightly higher yield, a 3rd time adds nothing.] Evaporate the mixture under low to medium heat (preferably under a vacuum) until it becomes thick. Add acetone and stir it a little. if the mixture doesn't become white (crystalline) right away, it hasn't been evaporated enough. Continue evaporating and adding acetone until it does. Be careful not to burn the thick mixture (adding acetone helps keep the temperature down). After getting crystals/precipitate, cover the mixture tightly and put in a freezer for 15 minutes. Remove from the freezer, filter the crystals off and wash with a small amount of cold acetone. [If the crystals are less than white, you may want to purify them by boiling and stirring them in acetone again, cooling the mixture and refiltering as described above.] The white crystals/powder is methcathinone HCL. I wouldn't take more than 20mg for a first dose, and I wouldn't take it if I had a history of heart disease or stroke in the family, or if I had high blood pressure. Really, really habit forming. Very, very pleasurable. BE CAREFUL. Don't introduce this stuff to kids or sell it or I will personally hunt you down. NOTES: This synthesis is very forgiving. Substitutions of potassium hydroxide for sodium hydroxide, sodium dichromate for potassium dichromate and similar subsitution will not have an impact. I wouldn't substitute anything for the sulfuric acid, however. HCl is used to make the drug salt because it is so easy to evaporate the excess off. Any method of making drug salts you are familiar with should be satisfactory. Ether works a little better than naptha, but it's more dangerous. I stay away from it. ------------------------------------------------------------------- --Cooper ------------- X-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-X Another file downloaded from: The NIRVANAnet(tm) Seven & the Temple of the Screaming Electron Taipan Enigma 510/935-5845 Burn This Flag Zardoz 408/363-9766 realitycheck Poindexter Fortran 510/527-1662 Lies Unlimited Mick Freen 801/278-2699 The New Dork Sublime Biffnix 415/864-DORK The Shrine Rif Raf 206/794-6674 Planet Mirth Simon Jester 510/786-6560 "Raw Data for Raw Nerves" X-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-X