Canada - Is this drink really a new 'alcohol alternative'? (5-methoxy-2-aminoindane)

S.J.B.

S.J.B.

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'It never killed anybody': Is this drink really a new 'alcohol alternative'?
Julia Wright
CBC
December 8th, 2018

Shot-sized bottle. Fancy label. Clearish-yellow liquid. It looks like the single-serving bottles of rum or vodka near the checkout of your local liquor store.

But don't let the packaging fool you. Pace isn't your typical tipple.

Health Canada says it's a controlled substance and its sale is illegal.

"Pace is an illegal and unauthorized product in Canada," the federal department said in a statement to CBC News.

"Health Canada is taking appropriate follow-up actions to prevent the sale of this product in Canada."
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Read the full story here.
 
So "Dr. Zee" is back in the news, although it seems he's now going by his full name, Ezekiel Golan. Health Canada has claimed that many substances are illegal under the analogue provisions of the Controlled Drugs and Substances act but I have yet to see a single case where they have successfully argued this in court. If Health Canada had any sense they would go after him under the Food and Drugs Act, not the CDSA, as the Ontario Court of Appeal has confirmed that sellers of unlicensed drugs that are explicitly for human consumption are liable for criminal penalties under that act.

As for Golan's claim that he "invented" 5-methoxy-2-aminoindane, it was first patented as a potential CNS medicine in 1956.
 
Interesting. One must hope it is not so much laden with the adrenergic push of 2-aminoindan itself and it's N-methyl congener.
 
So is this a stimulant or depressant? Touting it as an 'alcohol alternative' would suggest the latter. However, 'aminoindane' would suggest the former.

Also, what's the score with this Dr.Z guy? Self serving attention seeking charlatan or pioneer of psychactives? He seems to claim a lot, but with very little proof...
 
Afaik, the 5-MeO-substitution renders it a serotonin releasing agent or possibly 5HT/DA releaser with little noradrenergic effect, making it a non-stimulant MDMA-like sort of thing.

The aminoindanes with simple alkyl N-substitution, and 2-aminoindan itself are stimulant, both of them I can't say I liked much, and especially not N-methyl-2-aminoindane.

As for the second...a rectum on legs.
 
This sounds like 5-IAI or MDAI. Which is to say, terribly boring and unlikely to satisfy any of the criteria that people look for in alcohol intoxication. And sure, they're supposedly non-neurotoxic (in rats) and likely to be at least somewhat safer than MDMA (certainly felt that way) but I doubt that the neurotoxicity of MDMA is even completely responsible for the cognitive deficits it causes. I also imagine it will interact dangerously with a lot of common medications that people are used to mixing "safely" with alcohol (such as SSRIs).

Here's a deep cut: how about GHB? You know that shit that is medically approved for use in humans and was sold in GMC vitamin shops until 20 years ago without causing mass death? That doesn't inflict organ failure or weight gain? Is already synthesized in the human body and enhances physical recovery from exercise instead of sabotaging it? Pro-sexual rather than causing impotence? All of the best parts of alcohol and few of the negative effects with an added dash of euphoria?

Yeah too radical I know. Random untested serotonin releasing agent it is.
 
GHB is such a great drug effect wise. But the dose response curve is far too steep for the general public to use like alcohol. People would be passed out everywhere.

I think Xanax is the closest thing I have tried to effect and safety
 
Good rule of thumb for news articles: if the question posed in the title is done in the format of, "Is X the new Y?", the answer is probably "no".

"Alcohol alternative", those are some damn big shoes to fill
 
Couple questions:

1) How can they not know if it's scheduled or not?

I don't know about Canada, but that's pretty cut and dry in the U.S., and that seems like bullshit saying something that sounds like a depressant is similar to an amphetamine.

2) Is this something different from that other "safe alcohol alternative" developed by that other guy?

Most of you probably know who I mean but I forget his name.

I think it probably is.


What pisses me off so much is people being like "why take the risk??"

Well, why fucking take the risk of drinking alcohol when we KNOW how dangerous it is??

I know I drink too much and have no illusions about how bad it is.

It's basically the devil you know vs the devil you don't argument, and also "the devil that makes money and has been for hundreds of years and is politically backed" vs the one that isn't argument lol...

If anyone is ever able to invent any good and safe or "safe-er" alcohol alternative it will IMMEDIATELY be banned due to the damage it will do to alcohol sales and that's the sad thing.

Or government does not give 2 shits about our safety or most likely alcohol and tobacco would be scheduled (I don't think ANY drug should be illegal mind you...) and shrooms, weed, acid, Ketamine, MDMA etc would be unscheduled and there'd be ZERO push to schedule Kratom.


People have just been drinking legally for some damn long that they are like "yeah, it's horrible for me but who cares?" and the second any other drug is brought up it's "oh no it MIGHT be dangerous!!!"

Well you KNOW alcohol kills god knows how many people a year, so what about that?
 
Mycophile said:
2) Is this something different from that other "safe alcohol alternative" developed by that other guy?

Most of you probably know who I mean but I forget his name.
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David Nutt?

Not sure if that's who you're referring to but I remember him working on an "alcohol alternative" as well
 
Burnt Offerings said:
David Nutt?

Not sure if that's who you're referring to but I remember him working on an "alcohol alternative" as well
Click to expand...

Yeah that guy.

I think his product if something different, but i bet neither will see the light of day due to political and financial issues.
 
Mycophile said:
1) How can they not know if it's scheduled or not?

I don't know about Canada, but that's pretty cut and dry in the U.S., and that seems like bullshit saying something that sounds like a depressant is similar to an amphetamine.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, it isn't cut-and-dry at all in the United States for compounds that could arguably fall under the Analog Act, and Canada has "analogue" laws for certain drug categories that are even more nebulous.

2) Is this something different from that other "safe alcohol alternative" developed by that other guy?

Most of you probably know who I mean but I forget his name.
Click to expand...

This is the same compound that David Nutt had been working on.
 
David Nutt has been blathering on for the better part of a decade (if not more) about bringing synthetic alcohols to the market. I'll believe it when I see it (although a quick look at the Pace website states they're sold out "due to high demand" but it could just be a marketing gimmick to gin up curiosity). Nutt's earlier attempts to develop an alcohol alternative focused on benzo derivatives. Kinda reminds me of that startup in San Francisco selling an artificially made whiskey using chemicals and grain alcohol for $40US/fifth. I gave up the grog, but I'd just go with the 12YO Glenfiddich single malt for ~$10 less.
 
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