EAM-2201 (4'-ethyl-AM-2201, 5"-fluoro-JWH-210, SGT-14) is a drug that presumably acts as a potent

agonist An agonist is a chemical that activates a receptor to produce a biological response. Receptors are cellular proteins whose activation causes the cell to modify what it is currently doing. In contrast, an antagonist blocks the action of the ago ...

for the

cannabinoid receptor Cannabinoid receptors, located throughout the body, are part of the endocannabinoid system a class of cell membrane receptors in the G protein-coupled receptor superfamily. As is typical of G protein-coupled receptors, the cannabinoid recep ...

s. It had never previously been reported in the scientific or patent literature, and was first identified by laboratories in Japan in July 2012 as an ingredient in

synthetic cannabis Synthetic cannabinoids are a class of designer drug molecules that bind to the same receptors to which cannabinoids ( THC, CBD and many others) in cannabis plants attach. These novel psychoactive substances should not be confused with syntheti ...

smoking blends Like the closely related

MAM-2201 MAM-2201 (4'-methyl-AM-2201, 5"-fluoro-JWH-122) is a drug that presumably acts as a potent agonist for the cannabinoid receptors. It had never previously been reported in the scientific or patent literature, and was first identified by laborator ...

which had been first reported around a year earlier, EAM-2201 thus appears to be another novel compound invented by

designer drug A designer drug is a structural or functional analog of a controlled substance that has been designed to mimic the pharmacological effects of the original drug, while avoiding classification as illegal and/or detection in standard drug tests. Des ...

suppliers specifically for

recreational use Recreational drug use indicates the use of one or more psychoactive drugs to induce an altered state of consciousness either for pleasure or for some other casual purpose or pastime by modifying the perceptions and emotions of the user. When a ...

. Structurally, EAM-2201 is a hybrid of two known cannabinoid compounds

JWH-210 JWH-210 is an analgesic chemical from the naphthoylindole family, which acts as a potent cannabinoid agonist at both the CB1 and CB2 receptors, with Ki values of 0.46 nM at CB1 and 0.69 nM at CB2. It is one of the most potent 4-substi ...

and

AM-2201 AM-2201 (1-(5-fluoropentyl)-3-(1-naphthoyl)indole) is a recreational designer drug that acts as a potent but nonselective full agonist for the cannabinoid receptor. It is part of the AM series of cannabinoids discovered by Alexandros Makriyan ...

, both of which had previously been used as active ingredients in synthetic cannabis blends before being banned in many countries.

Pharmacology

EAM-2201 acts as a

full agonist An agonist is a chemical that activates a receptor to produce a biological response. Receptors are cellular proteins whose activation causes the cell to modify what it is currently doing. In contrast, an antagonist blocks the action of the ag ...

with a

binding affinity In biochemistry and pharmacology, a ligand is a substance that forms a complex with a biomolecule to serve a biological purpose. The etymology stems from ''ligare'', which means 'to bind'. In protein-ligand binding, the ligand is usually a mo ...

of 0.380 nM at CB₁ and 0.371 nM at CB₂

cannabinoid Cannabinoids () are several structural classes of compounds found in the cannabis plant primarily and most animal organisms (although insects lack such receptors) or as synthetic compounds. The most notable cannabinoid is the phytocannabinoid tet ...

receptors.

Legal status

In the United States, all CB₁ receptor agonists of the 3-(1-naphthoyl)indole class such as EAM-2201 are

Schedule I Controlled Substance This is the list of Schedule I drugs as defined by the United States Controlled Substances Act.21 CFRbr>1308.11(CSA Sched I) with changes through (Oct 18, 2012). Retrieved September 6, 2013. The following findings are required for drugs to be pla ...

s. EAM-2201 was banned in New Zealand as a

temporary class drug A temporary class drug is a relatively new status for controlled drugs, which has been adopted in some jurisdictions, notably New Zealand and the United Kingdom, to attempt to bring newly synthesised designer drugs under legal control. The controll ...

from 6 December 2012, after reports of addiction and psychosis associated with use of products containing EAM-2201 as an active ingredient, however this has been protested by some users who claim to have found medical benefits in the treatment of conditions such as

phantom limb pain A phantom limb is the sensation that an amputated or missing limb is still attached. Approximately 80 to 100% of individuals with an amputation experience sensations in their amputated limb. However, only a small percentage will experience painf ...

, since medicinal marijuana was not available in New Zealand and

products were used as a legal alternative. EAM-2201 is an

Anlage II Anlage may refer to: * Allele, a specific version of a gene, as used by Gregor Mendel * Anlage Süd, a headquarters facility of the German Third Reich in Strzyżów, Poland * Primordium, the initial clustering of embryonic cells from which a body ...

controlled drug in Germany. As of October 2015 EAM-2201 is a controlled substance in China.

Detection

A forensic standard of EAM-2201 is available and commonly used in

mass spectrometry Mass spectrometry (MS) is an analytical technique that is used to measure the mass-to-charge ratio of ions. The results are presented as a '' mass spectrum'', a plot of intensity as a function of the mass-to-charge ratio. Mass spectrometry is u ...

References

{{Cannabinoids Naphthoylindoles Organofluorides Designer drugs CB1 receptor agonists CB2 receptor agonists

Pharmacology

Legal status

Detection

See also

References