Hey guys I was wondering if DOC is neurotoxic. I used to live this stuff but as I get older I don't really want to trip for a good 16+ hours.
I have heard that chlorine is very neurotoxic, but 2ç ç would be neurotoxic too....I have never heard reports of 2ç ç being neurotoxic but idk. I know compounds such as 3 çmç are neurotoxic and to stay away with with chemicals with chlorinated compounds.
I have no knowledge of or organic chemistry so I don't know if these bonds on DOC are different than other chemicals I mentioned.
Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Chloride ions are extremely neurotoxic oxidants--they have a very high electro negativity and can tear up other molecules in order to forcibly bond with something. But this same property actually makes chloride-containing drugs very safe: the chloride-carbon bond on the drug molecule is so strong that there's no metabolic process in the body that will break it--the result is that the drug, or the part of the drug containing the chloride, will be excreted unchanged. So your particular worries about DOC--due to the chlorine--can be put to rest. The chlorine will not hurt you.
That being said...
There is some controversial evidence suggesting neurotoxicity of DOx drugs. There was a Japanese study done on DOI some years ago that found 5ht2a-mediated neurotoxicity.
Here is a relevant thread discussing the topic:
http://www.bluelight.org/vb/threads/565232-Neurotoxicity-of-2C-x-and-DOx
The consensus was that the study had serious methodological flaws and should probably be disregarded... But it must be stated that we DO know that 5ht2a-mediated arachidonic acid processes result in inflammation and programmed cell death, and play a large role in the neurotoxicity of all serotonin releasing agents, like MDMA or PMA (though other processes--hyperthermic excitotoxicity, the uptake of dopamine into serotonergic axons and subsequent formation of reactive oxygen species, and the metabolism of MDMA into the neurotoxic alpha-methyl-dopamine, are also involved there).
In simplest form: the 5ht2a receptor does mediate programmed cell death. Of course it also mediates synaptic growth and reorganization, and neurogenesis, so it's not at all cleaR whether, in aggregate, 5ht2a activity is neurotoxic or neurotrophic.
The reason this 5ht2a-mediated neurotoxicity affects releasing agents disproportionately over receptor ligands is that serotonin is a full agonist at all serotonin receptors, meanwhile most psychedelic drugs are just partial receptor agonists with differing intrinsic activation of the arachidonic acid and protein-kinase-associated pathways in the serotonin receptor.
It likewise stands to reason that 5ht2a full agonists, or agonists with a higher intrinsic activation of the arachidonic acid pathway, are more likely to cause damage: on this topic, DOI acts like a full agonist at the arachidonic acid pathway of the 5ht2a receptor, while DOC does not. All of the DOx drugs have varying intrinsic efficacies, and so can probably not be painted with a single brush when it comes to neurotoxic potential. That being said, though they are mostly partial agonists, they are much STRONGER partial agonists than the classical psychedelics. In addition, they have significant activity as serotonin reuptake inhibitors and releasers, which would contribute to their potential toxicity.
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All in all, DOC isn't going to rot your brain. It might not be particularly great for it--it's hard to say. But the neurotoxicity of a single non-physically-traumatic use will be negligible, if it exists at all. I would be far more worried about the 5ht2b-mediated cardiotoxicity.
My advice to you: If you're going to use it, do so carefully. Make sure you're getting your doses right--and that means volumetric dilution--and make sure you're getting enough rest and food. And don't use it too often. The question of what constitutes "too often" is harder to answer. Taking a powerful 5ht2b agonist every day is clearly a terrible idea if you intend to keep your heart past 60. But once a week? Once a month? I wouldn't worry about it. The acute toxicity of DOC can be high, but assuming nothing traumatic happens to you during use, the cumulative toxicity of sensible and infrequent use should be negligible.
