Chemistry:3,4-Dimethoxyamphetamine

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3,4-Dimethoxyamphetamine (3,4-DMA), or simply dimethoxyamphetamine (DMA), is a psychedelic drug of the phenethylamine and amphetamine families.[1][2] It is one of the dimethoxyamphetamine (DMA) series of positional isomers.[1][2] The drug is also an analogue of other psychedelics like 3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA), 3,4,5-trimethoxyamphetamine (TMA), and mescaline (3,4,5-trimethoxyphenethylamine).[1][2] It has been reported to produce psychedelic effects in humans[1][3][4] but only entactogen-like effects without stimulant- or psychedelic-like effects in animals.[5][6][7][8]

Use and effects

In his book PiHKAL (Phenethylamines I Have Known and Loved) and other publications, Alexander Shulgin lists 3,4-DMA's dose as "a few hundred milligrams" (route unspecified) and its duration as unknown.[1][2][9][10] A dose of approximately 70 mg intravenously produced insignificant to slight psychoactive effects in two individuals.[1][3][11][4] Conversely, a subsequent approximate 700 mg dose intravenously in the same two people produced a definite mescaline-like state, including visual hallucinations (e.g., geometric figures and occasional structured forms), visual distortions, after-images, feelings of unreality, paranoia, marked pupil dilation, and gross body tremors.[1][3][11][4]

Gordon Alles reported 3,4-DMA to be inactive at doses of 10 to 120 mg orally but active at 160 mg orally, with reported effects including increased blood pressure, slight pupil dilation, lacrimation, and gastrointestinal uneasiness.[1][2][4][12] He estimated that the response at this dose was equivalent to that of about 60 to 80 mg 3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA), suggesting that 3,4-DMA's potency may be about 2- to 3-fold lower than that of MDA and may fall midway between that of MDA and mescaline.[1][2][4][12] Alternatively, according to Shulgin, 3,4-DMA may have comparable potency to mescaline, with an effective dose of perhaps 300 to 400 mg orally, or may be less potent than mescaline.[3][4][13][14][15][9][10] Richard Glennon suggested that the dose may be 400 to 700 mg orally.[16]

Interactions

Pharmacology

Pharmacodynamics

3,4-DMA has been assessed in various biochemical and preclinical studies.[2] Its affinity (Ki) for the rat serotonin 5-HT2A receptor has been assessed and was found to be 43,300 nM.[17][18][2] For comparison, the affinity of para-methoxyamphetamine (PMA) was 33,600 nM, of 2,5-dimethoxyamphetamine (2,5-DMA) was 5,200 nM, and of 2,5-dimethoxy-4-methylamphetamine (DOM) was 100 nM in the same study.[17][18] 3,4-DMA also showed affinity for the 5-HT1 receptor (Ki = 64,600 nM).[17][18] The drug has additionally been found to be a monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI), with an IC50 of 20,000 nM for monoamine oxidase A (MAO-A), whereas it was inactive at monoamine oxidase B (MAO-B) (IC50 > 100,000 nM).[19][20]

3,4-DMA does not produce hyperlocomotion and hence lacks stimulant-like effects in rodents.[6][21] It also fails to produce stimulus generalization to dextroamphetamine in rodent drug discrimination tests, likewise suggesting that it lacks stimulant- or amphetamine-like effects.[5][22][8][6] The drug partially but incompletely substituted for DOM in rodents, suggesting that it may lack psychedelic-like effects.[6][22][23][24][25] 3,4-DMA partially to fully substituted for partially to fully substituted for PMMA, MDMA, and MDA in rodents, suggesting that it may have entactogen-like effects.[5][6][22][8][7][26][27][28]

Pharmacokinetics

3,4-DMA produces 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyamphetamine (MHA) as its major metabolite in dogs and monkeys.[2]

Chemistry

Synthesis

The chemical synthesis of 3,4-DMA has been described.[1][2][4]

Analogues

3,4-DMA is an analogue of the catecholamine neurotransmitters dopamine (3,4-dihydroxyphenethylamine), norepinephrine (noradrenaline; 3,4,β-trihydroxyphenethylamine), and epinephrine (adrenaline; 3,4,β-trihydroxy-N-methylphenethylamine).[1][2][3] It is also an analogue of psychedelics and entactogens like mescaline (3,4,5-trimethoxyphenethylamine), 3,4,5-trimethoxyamphetamine (TMA), and 3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA), among others.[1][2] Positional isomers of 3,4-DMA include 2,3-dimethoxyamphetamine (2,3-DMA), 2,4-dimethoxyamphetamine (2,4-DMA), 2,5-dimethoxyamphetamine (2,5-DMA), 2,6-dimethoxyamphetamine (2,6-DMA), and 3,5-dimethoxyamphetamine (3,5-DMA).[1][2] Other analogues of 3,4-DMA include 3,4-dimethoxyphenethylamine (DMPEA), 3-methoxyamphetamine (3-MA), 4-methoxyamphetamine (PMA), 3,4-ethylenedioxyamphetamine (EDMA), and 3,4-dihydroxyamphetamine (DHA; α-methyldopamine), among others.[1][2]

History

3,4-DMA was first described in the scientific literature by Gordon Alles by 1932.[29] Its effects in humans were first described by Mahlon David Fairchild by 1963.[4][30] Subsequently, the drug was described in greater detail by Alexander Shulgin in his book PiHKAL (Phenethylamines I Have Known and Loved) in 1991.[1]

Society and culture

Canada

3,4-DMA is a controlled substance in Canada under amphetamine blanket-ban language.[31]

United States

3,4-DMA is not an explicitly controlled substance in the United States, but can be considered a Schedule I controlled substance as a positional isomer of 2,5-dimethoxyamphetamine (2,5-DMA) in this country.[2][32][33]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 "#55 3,4-DMA; 3,4-DIMETHOXYAMPHETAMINE". PiHKAL: A Chemical Love Story (1st ed.). Berkeley, CA: Transform Press. 1991. ISBN 9780963009609. OCLC 25627628. https://erowid.org/library/books_online/pihkal/pihkal055.shtml. 
  2. ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 "#38. DMA". The Shulgin Index, Volume One: Psychedelic Phenethylamines and Related Compounds. 1. Berkeley: Transform Press. 2011. ISBN 978-0-9630096-3-0. https://archive.org/details/shulgin-index-vol-1/page/65/mode/1up?view=theater. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Shulgin, Alexander T. (1978). "Psychotomimetic Drugs: Structure-Activity Relationships". Stimulants. Boston, MA: Springer US. pp. 243–333. doi:10.1007/978-1-4757-0510-2_6. ISBN 978-1-4757-0512-6. https://bitnest.netfirms.com/external/10.1007/978-1-4757-0510-2_6. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 Fairchild, Mahlon David (1963). Some Central Nervous System Effects of Four Phenyl-Substituted Amphetamine Derivatives (Thesis). University of California, Los Angeles. Archived from the original on 19 September 2026.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "The 2014 Philip S. Portoghese Medicinal Chemistry Lectureship: The "Phenylalkylaminome" with a Focus on Selected Drugs of Abuse". J Med Chem 60 (7): 2605–2628. April 2017. doi:10.1021/acs.jmedchem.7b00085. PMID 28244748. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 "PMMA-stimulus generalization to the optical isomers of MBDB and 3,4-DMA". Pharmacol Biochem Behav 69 (1-2): 261–267. 2001. doi:10.1016/s0091-3057(01)00530-5. PMID 11420094. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Glennon, R. A. (1996). "Classical Hallucinogens". Pharmacological Aspects of Drug Dependence. 118. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 343–371. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-60963-3_10. ISBN 978-3-642-64631-7. http://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-3-642-60963-3_10. Retrieved 20 September 2026. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 "Stimulus properties of hallucinogenic phenalkylamines and related designer drugs: formulation of structure-activity relationships". NIDA Res Monogr 94: 43–67. 1989. PMID 2575229. https://archives.nida.nih.gov/sites/default/files/monograph94.pdf#page=54. 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Structure-Activity Relationships of the Classic Hallucinogens and Their Analogs". Hallucinogens: An Update. National Institute on Drug Abuse Research Monograph Series. 146. National Institute on Drug Abuse. 1994. pp. 74–91. https://bibliography.maps.org/resources/download/11534. 
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Basic Pharmacology and Effects". Hallucinogens: A Forensic Drug Handbook. Forensic Drug Handbook Series. Elsevier Science. 2003. pp. 67–137. ISBN 978-0-12-433951-4. https://bibliography.maps.org/resources/download/12634. 
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 "MDA, MDMA, and other "mescaline-like" substances in the US military's search for a truth drug (1940s to 1960s)". Drug Test Anal 10 (1): 72–80. January 2018. doi:10.1002/dta.2292. PMID 28851034. 
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 "The effects of mescaline, amphetamine and four-ring substituted amphetamine derivatives on spontaneous brain electrical activity in the cat". Int J Neuropharmacol 6 (3): 151–167. May 1967. doi:10.1016/0028-3908(67)90001-9. PMID 6037524. "Little information is available concerning the clinical properties of DMA although on the basis of threshold effects ALLES (1962) judged this compound to be 2 or 3 times less active than MDA. Therefore, while documentation of the hallucinogenic effects of the amphetamine analogs in man is far from extensive, TMA, MDA and MMDA have been reported to be several times more potent than mescaline while DMA appears less active than the other three derivatives.". 
  13. ↑ "Psychotomimetic Agents". Psychopharmacological Agents: Use, Misuse and Abuse. Medicinal Chemistry: A Series of Monographs. 4. Academic Press. 1976. pp. 59–146. doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-290559-9.50011-9. ISBN 978-0-12-290559-9. https://bitnest.netfirms.com/external/10.1016/B978-0-12-290559-9.50011-9. 
  14. ↑ "Hallucinogens". Burger's Medicinal Chemistry. 3 (4 ed.). New York: Wiley. 1980. pp. 1109–1137. ISBN 978-0-471-01572-7. OCLC 219960627. https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?repid=rep1&type=pdf&doi=6ac0c892ee380436f614d3aae0686ef617b2e0c5. 
  15. ↑ "Chemistry of Psychotomimetics". Psychotropic Agents, Part III: Alcohol and Psychotomimetics, Psychotropic Effects of Central Acting Drugs. Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology. 55. Berlin: Springer Berlin Heidelberg. 1982. pp. 3–29. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-67770-0_1. ISBN 978-3-642-67772-4. OCLC 8130916. https://bitnest.netfirms.com/external/10.1007/978-3-642-67770-0_1. 
  16. ↑ "Indolealkylamine and phenalkylamine hallucinogens: a brief overview". Neurosci Biobehav Rev 6 (4): 489–497. 1982. doi:10.1016/0149-7634(82)90030-6. PMID 6757811. 
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 "Central serotonin receptors as targets for drug research". J Med Chem 30 (1): 1–12. January 1987. doi:10.1021/jm00384a001. PMID 3543362. "Table II. Affinities of Selected Phenalkylamines for 5-HT1 and 5-HT2 Binding Sites [...]". 
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 "5-HT1 and 5-HT2 binding properties of derivatives of the hallucinogen 1-(2,5-dimethoxyphenyl)-2-aminopropane (2,5-DMA)". Eur J Pharmacol 102 (1): 23–29. June 1984. doi:10.1016/0014-2999(84)90333-9. PMID 6479216. 
  19. ↑ "Amphetamine Derivatives as Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors". Front Pharmacol 10: 1590. 2019. doi:10.3389/fphar.2019.01590. PMID 32038257. 
  20. ↑ "Sulfur-substituted alpha-alkyl phenethylamines as selective and reversible MAO-A inhibitors: biological activities, CoMFA analysis, and active site modeling". J Med Chem 48 (7): 2407–2419. April 2005. doi:10.1021/jm0493109. PMID 15801832. 
  21. ↑ "Phenylisopropylamine derivatives, structure and action". Arzneimittelforschung 12: 902–907. September 1962. PMID 13992374. 
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 22.2 "Initial characterization of PMMA as a discriminative stimulus". Pharmacol Biochem Behav 57 (1-2): 151–158. 1997. doi:10.1016/s0091-3057(96)00306-1. PMID 9164566. 
  23. ↑ "Discriminative stimulus properties of phenylisopropylamine derivatives". Drug Alcohol Depend 17 (2-3): 119–134. June 1986. doi:10.1016/0376-8716(86)90003-7. PMID 2874967. 
  24. ↑ "Comparison of behavioral properties of di- and tri-methoxyphenylisopropylamines". Pharmacol Biochem Behav 17 (4): 603–607. October 1982. doi:10.1016/0091-3057(82)90330-6. PMID 6965276. 
  25. ↑ "Discriminative stimulus properties of MDA analogs". Biol Psychiatry 17 (7): 807–814. July 1982. PMID 6126227. 
  26. ↑ "MDA: an agent that produces stimulus effects similar to those of 3,4-DMA, LSD and cocaine". Eur J Pharmacol 99 (2-3): 249–250. March 1984. doi:10.1016/0014-2999(84)90250-4. PMID 6145599. 
  27. ↑ "Medicinal Chemistry and Structure-Activity Relationships". Amphetamine and Its Analogs: Psychopharmacology, Toxicology, and Abuse. Academic Press. 1994. pp. 3–41. ISBN 978-0-12-173375-9. https://bitnest.netfirms.com/external/Books/AmphetamineAndItsAnalogs3. 
  28. ↑ "Investigation of MDMA-related agents in rats trained to discriminate MDMA from saline". Pharmacol Biochem Behav 43 (3): 759–763. November 1992. doi:10.1016/0091-3057(92)90405-5. PMID 1360162. 
  29. ↑ Alles, Gordon A. (1932). "dl-Beta-Phenylisopropylamines". Journal of the American Chemical Society 54 (1): 271–274. doi:10.1021/ja01340a040. ISSN 0002-7863. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/ja01340a040. Retrieved 20 September 2026. 
  30. ↑ Alexander T. Shulgin; Thornton Sargent; Claudio Naranjo (1967). "The Chemistry and Psychopharmacology of Nutmeg and of Several Related Phenylisopropylamines". Ethnopharmacologic Search for Psychoactive Drugs: Proceedings of a Symposium Held in San Francisco, California, January 28–30, 1967. New York: Raven Press. pp. 202–214. ISBN 978-0-89004-047-8. OCLC 14498182. https://bibliography.maps.org/resources/download/15578. 
  31. ↑ "Controlled Drugs and Substances Act". https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/c-38.8/FullText.html. 
  32. ↑ Orange Book: List of Controlled Substances and Regulated Chemicals (January 2026), United States: U.S. Department of Justice: Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA): Diversion Control Division, January 2026, https://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/schedules/orangebook/orangebook.pdf 
  33. ↑ Drug Enforcement Administration (3 December 2007). "Definition of “Positional Isomer” as It Pertains to the Control of Schedule I Controlled Substances". https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2007/12/03/E7-23413/definition-of-positional-isomer-as-it-pertains-to-the-control-of-schedule-i-controlled-substances. 



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