2C-B

2C-B (2,5-dimethoxy-4-bromophenethylamine) is a psychedelic drug of the 2C family. It was first synthesized by Alexander Shulgin in 1974. In Shulgin's book PiHKAL, the dosage range is listed as 12–24 mg. As a recreational drug, 2C-B is sold as a white powder sometimes pressed in tablets or gel caps and is also referred to by a number of other names. The drug is usually taken orally, but can also be snorted (insufflated) or vaporized.Analogues and derivatives of 2C-B: 2C-B (2,5-dimethoxy-4-bromophenethylamine) is a psychedelic drug of the 2C family. It was first synthesized by Alexander Shulgin in 1974. In Shulgin's book PiHKAL, the dosage range is listed as 12–24 mg. As a recreational drug, 2C-B is sold as a white powder sometimes pressed in tablets or gel caps and is also referred to by a number of other names. The drug is usually taken orally, but can also be snorted (insufflated) or vaporized. 2C-B was synthesized from 2,5-dimethoxybenzaldehyde by Alexander Shulgin in 1974. It first saw use among the psychiatric community as an aid during therapy. 2C-B was first sold commercially as a purported aphrodisiac under the trade name 'Erox', which was manufactured by the German pharmaceutical company Drittewelle. For several years, it was available as tablets in Dutch smart shops under the name 'Nexus'. 2C-B first became popularized in the United States as a short-lived substitute for the street drug Ecstasy when MDMA became illegal in 1985. Many 2C-B users are young adults who attend raves. Though 2C-B is still used in the rave subculture, commonly mistaken for and/or sold as Ecstasy, its intentional use has become more common in the 2000s. Since 2013, 2C-B has emerged as the drug of choice for club drug users in Colombia. Street prices range between $10 and $30 per tablet in the United States in 2011 when purchased in small quantities. Larger retail purchases cost between $200 and $500 per gram. Wholesale purchases of 2C-B can lower the price ($100 to $300 per gram in 2001). The September 1998 issue of Journal of Analytical Toxicology reported that very little data exists about the pharmacological properties, metabolism, and toxicity of 2C-B. The relationship between its use and death are unknown. The common oral recreational dose is around 15–25 mg, at which visual and auditory effects are experienced. Severe adverse reactions are extremely rare, but use of 2C-B has been linked to significant brain injury in one case where the dosage was unknown, and the purity of the chemical was not verified. The lethal dosage is unknown. It was reported in PiHKAL, by Alexander Shulgin, that a psychologist had accidentally taken a 100 mg dose orally without apparent harm. When sold as 'Ecstasy', tablets containing 2C-B often contain about 5 mg of the drug, an amount which produces stimulatory effects that mimic the effects of MDMA; in contrast, tablets marketed as 2C-B have larger quantities of the drug (10–20 mg) which cause hallucinogenic effects. Street purity of 2C-B, when tested, has been found to be relatively high. Researchers in Spain found that 2C-B samples in the country doubled between 2006 and 2009, switched from primarily powder form to tablets, and exhibited 'low falsification rates'. An analysis of street samples in the Netherlands found impurities 'in small percentages'; only one of the impurities, the N-acetyl derivative of 2C-B, could be identified, and comprised 1.3% of the sample. The authors suggested that this compound was a by-product of 2C-B synthesis. Little or no academic research has been conducted on the effects of 2C-B in humans. The information available is largely anecdotal and limited. Effects are often described as being more easily managed than other psychedelics; it is often compared to a mixture of a serotonergic psychedelic and MDMA. At 5–10 mg, experiments with young chickens have shown it to produce effects similar to a low dosage of amphetamines. The anecdotal effects of 2C-B that have been reported by users on online discussion forums include: