I really miss that drug.... why has nobody tried to start producing MXE again? It was so popular you'd think someone would get that gravy train flowing again.
Combination of it being tricky to whip up and the market having been
very passionate about MXE, but overall not large enough to facilitate a more traditional criminal network of clandestine manufacture to pop back up.
Arylcyclohexyamines with a 2'-oxo substitution (ketamine, MXE, FXE, etc. but not PCP analogs) are specifically weaker than their non-2'-oxo counterparts by weight, and tend to also sell better since they can usually be vaporized or fit into blotter paper, therefore making a larger range of possible experience and also making the clandestine exchange of the substance easier. The fact that I've had doses as low as 300ug of 3-HO-PCP produce a noticeable threshold effect when orally administered indicates that something where a threshold dose is likely in the tens of milligrams (say, MXE or ketamine) is dramatically less desireable, as it's at least ~30x weaker by mass, and therefore more difficult to transport from the point of production to wherever it's being sold.
I'd expect to see the market shift towards things that are more potent by weight, produce more "recreational" experiences as opposed to "spiritual" ones, and visual effects seem to be a big indicator too. That's the pattern I've seen with psychedelics at least, once something's adequately potent in a dose:weight ratio, then it begins moving in the direction of selection by qualities. Notice that 2C-B is still around for most people, and some can still access a handful of 25X-NBXX/DOx compounds, but other 2C's, and for most, every DOx/25X-NBXX compound are completely inaccessible? The entire class of 2,4,5-trisubstituted phenethylamines essentially got filtered down by capitalism intersecting with the war on drugs to leave us with only one of these countless valuable tools being widely known of and/or even accessible in the first place. I get why people aren't out out here gigadosing DOM or similar, but DOC, 25C-NBOMe, etc. are easily some of the best drugs I've ever used. I'm sure many feel similarly to MXE as I do towards DOC/25C-NBOMe.