• N&PD Moderators: Skorpio | thegreenhand

N-t-BOC-MDMA/MDA/methamphetamine

Tryptamite

Bluelighter
Joined
Dec 5, 2006
Messages
3,434
Apparently this protective chemical group renders the joined amphetamine unrestricted by current or at least recent as 2017 drug laws.

Simple boiling or refluxing in acidic medium will separate the amphetamine from the inactive addition.
Apologies if my terms are not 100% correct.

An apparently marginal but worrying development in the
European Union is the appearance of non-scheduled
substances that can be easily converted into illicit drugs
without resorting to the usual drug synthesis methods.
Although technically these substances may be considered as
precursors, they are fundamentally different to the controlled
drug precursors, as they contain the full illicit drug molecule
with a protective chemical group attached, rendering it a
different chemical entity and therefore outside the international
control regimes for drugs and drug precursors. This is another
example of innovation by illicit drug producers, using what
are known in organic chemistry as protection/de-protection
techniques. These techniques are also used to minimise the
risks associated with the international trafficking of controlled
drugs and precursors.
This was first documented in Europe in December 2016
when N-t-BOC-MDMA and N-methoxycarbonyl-MDA were
detected in the Netherlands. Using a rudimentary process of
heating in acidic conditions for a relatively short time, these
substances are easily converted to the illicit drugs MDMA and
MDA respectively. According to the INCB, the first detection of
N-t-BOC-MDMA was in Australia in 2015. The corresponding
methamphetamine derivative, N-t-BOC-methamphetamine
was identified in China in 2015 and in New Zealand in
January 2017, where it was found in a consignment imported
from China (INCB, 2018). As of August 2019, N-t-BOC-
methamphetamine has not been reported in Europe.
I refer you to the Europol study "Methamphetamine in Europe"

It is the third option in this search available as a pdf.

[/URL]

What are your opinions? Surely this is a loophole that will if not already be cracked down upon??
 
The more interesting question is: is the N-tert-butoxycarbonyl group labile to the acidic conditions of the stomach? And what about simple heating, perhaps in a glass pipe -- would the isobutylene be a hazard? That would sure open up the pro-drug landscape. Of course, the chemists wishing to stay on the right side of the law would still have to be clever enough to make the N-Boc amines without going through the amine itself!

EDIT: looks like it cleaves slowly under conditions emulating those in the stomach.
 
Last edited:
So we are liable to see a new era of legal pro drugs to our favourite amines?
Or will that be restrained as long as possible as it would be far more profitable as a shipping means for controlled drugs without most if not all the legal problems that so often arrive with KG amounts of MD or meth/amp
 
Hi,
I just want to ask this compound is a 2-phenthylamine or not?
 
I believe that on rc company just released 2 tryptamines with a t-boc group on the 1 of the indole which renders them legal in certain jurisdictions.
 
BOC is just a protecting group used in organic chemistry. What concerns me is that their will be a rather toxic metabolite if introduced to the body of a mammel.

It really shows a limit to the chemical ability or at least imagination of the people making the stuff.

It's worrying. Suppliers rarely care much bout end users, but this is taken to a new extreme.

Also suggests that the makers have NO idea of medicinal chemistry since their are at least 3 other compounds that are chemically unrelated BUT produce effects identical to MDMA. (R) 7,α-DMT being a classic. Outside nations that ban scaffolds outright, it's legal.
 
BTW amides may be hydrolised to an amine and a carboxylic acid. Both N-formyl and N-acetyl methamphetamine have both been identified in the past. I presume it's because the chemists used N-methyl formamide or N-methylacetamide and P2P in the production.

It's worth considering that medically lysine is used to form an amide prodrug of both methylphenidate and dexamphetamine. I don't think the UN convention on psychotropic substances covers amides. I suggest that it is one reason why an amide prodrug was chosen - it could potentially hav ended up less controlled. Reasonable to say this simple methodology could be applied to almost any compound with a primary or secondary amine.
 
  • Like
Reactions: izo
Pretty neat idea: I bet you even just letting it sit couple of days in lime juice (pH~2) will remove the boc and give you the corresponding (phenethyl)ammonium citrate and carbon dioxide. Or boiling in lime juice for couple of hours. But it is still illegal in countries with analogs laws being "derivatives" of scheduled substances.
 
Top