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Effects vary widely by individual, dose, and context.
The general head space of methylone is described by many as one of extreme mental stimulation, feelings of love or empathy and powerful euphoria. It contains a large number of typical psychedelic, entactogenic and stimulant cognitive effects.
These combinations are considered extremely harmful and should always be avoided. Reactions to these drugs taken in combination are highly unpredictable and have a potential to cause death.
Chronic use of methylone can be considered moderately addictive with a high potential for abuse and is capable of causing psychological dependence among certain users. Compulsive redosing is commonly reported, likely promoted by the substance's time compression effects which speed up the subjective experience.
When addiction has developed, cravings and withdrawal effects may occur if a person suddenly stops their usage. The nature and severity of withdrawal symptoms have not been well characterized.
The exact toxic dosage is unknown. The toxicity and long-term health effects of recreational methylone use have not been studied in any scientific context.
Higher doses and repeated use have been associated with chest pains, heart palpitations, and elevated blood pressure and heart rate; worrying cardiovascular increases have been reported at doses exceeding 180-200 mg.
Animal studies have found methylone to be a monoaminergic neurotoxin producing serotonergic and dopaminergic neurotoxicity in rodents; however, one study suggests methylone may be less neurotoxic than MDMA at moderate doses.
Temperature regulation suppression and increased body temperature occur during use, with hyperthermia risk elevated during physical activity in hot environments such as dance venues.
Abuse at high dosages for prolonged periods can potentially result in stimulant psychosis presenting with paranoia, hallucinations, or delusions. Based on research into similar stimulants, approximately 5-15% of those who develop stimulant psychosis may not recover completely, though antipsychotic medications effectively resolve symptoms of acute psychosis. Psychosis very rarely arises from occasional or moderate use.
Limited data on seizure risk from methylone use alone.
Methylone was first synthesized by chemists Peyton Jacob III and Alexander Shulgin in the mid-1990s, with the compound first described in scientific literature by 1996. The synthesis occurred after the publication of Shulgin's PiHKAL in 1991, and consequently methylone was not included in that…
Prohibited under the Suchtmittelgesetz (Narcotics Act) since June 26, 2019. Possession, production, and sale are illegal.
Not explicitly listed on the schedules of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. Health Canada has suggested it may fall under amphetamine analogue provisions; however, methylone bears the same chemical distinction from amphetamine as cathinone does, and cathinone is specifically not considered an amphetamine analogue, creating legal ambiguity.
Illegal since February 8, 2008, with exceptions permitted only for scientific and medicinal research purposes.
Listed on the Finnish controlled substances schedule in the hard-drug category, carrying penalties associated with serious drug offenses.
Covered under the Medicine Act (Geneesmiddelenwet). Since methylone is not officially registered as an approved pharmaceutical, trading in the substance is prohibited. Previously available in smartshops until April 2005 when the Public Health Minister declared it illegal.
Classified as a Schedule I prohibited substance under Russian drug control legislation.
Classified as a Schedule I narcotic substance as of October 1, 2010.
Controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 as part of the cathinone catch-all clause. Import and sale restrictions took effect March 31, 2010, with full controls enacted April 16, 2010.
Listed as a controlled substance under Portaria SVS/MS nº 344. Added to national controls on February 18, 2014, alongside several other synthetic cathinones and phenethylamines.
Reportedly outlawed in February 2011 under national drug control legislation.
Added to Schedule I in February 2011 alongside several other cathinone derivatives and synthetic cannabinoids.
Listed under Anlage II of the Betäubungsmittelgesetz (Narcotics Act) as of July 2012. Manufacturing, possession, import, export, purchase, sale, procurement, and dispensing without a license is illegal.
Not explicitly scheduled under the Misuse of Drugs Act and falls outside the strict definition of an 'amphetamine analogue,' but law enforcement authorities consider it 'substantially similar' to methcathinone and treat it as a Class C controlled substance.
Controlled substance as of March 1, 2011, scheduled alongside other synthetic cathinones and cannabinoid receptor agonists.
Specifically named as a controlled substance under Verzeichnis D of Swiss narcotics legislation.
The DEA issued an emergency scheduling order on October 21, 2011, followed by a final rule permanently adding methylone to Schedule I on April 12, 2013. Manufacturing, possession, and distribution without a DEA license is prohibited. Prior to federal action, numerous states including Florida, Louisiana, Georgia, and Pennsylvania enacted their own emergency bans on methylone as part of 'bath salts' legislation beginning in early 2011.
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