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 (biochemistry), receptor to produce a biological response. Receptors are Cell (biology), cellular proteins whose activation causes the cell to modify what it is currently doing. In contrast, an R ...

for the

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

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, or neocannabinoids, 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 co ...

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. ...

suppliers specifically for

recreational use Recreational drug use is 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. When a psychoactive drug enters the user's body, it induces an Sub ...

. 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-subst ...

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 Makriyann ...

, 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 agoni ...

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 Latin ''ligare'', which means 'to bind'. In protein-ligand binding, the ligand is usuall ...

of 0.380 nM at CB₁ and 0.371 nM at CB₂

cannabinoid Cannabinoids () are several structural classes of compounds found primarily in the ''Cannabis'' plant or as synthetic compounds. The most notable cannabinoid is the phytocannabinoid tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) (delta-9-THC), the primary psychoact ...

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 The Controlled Substances Act (CSA) is the statute establishing federal U.S. drug policy under which the manufacture, importation, possession, use, and distribution of certain substances is regulated. It was passed by the 91st United State ...

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 contro ...

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, since medicinal marijuana was not available in New Zealand and

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

Anlage II The following drugs are controlled by the German Narcotic Drugs Act ( or ). Trade and drug possession, possession of these substances without licence or prescription is considered illegal; prescription is illegal for drugs on ''Anlage I'' and II an ...

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 used ...

References

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

Pharmacology

Legal status

Detection

See also

References