Methcathinone
Pronunciation:meth-KATH-i-nun
Chemical Abstracts Service Registry Number:5650-44-2
Formal Names:Ephedrone, Methylcathinone
Informal Names:Bathtub Speed, C, Cadillac Express, Cat, Crank, Gager, Gagger,
Go Fast, Goob, Jeff, Khat, Qat, Quicksilver, Slick Superspeed, Somali Tea, Star,
Stat, Tweak, Tweek, Tweeker, Wild Cat (withcocaine), Wonder Star
Type:Stimulant (amphetamine class).Seepage 12
Federal Schedule Listing:Schedule I (DEA no. 1237)
USA Availability:Illegal to possess
Pregnancy Category:None
Uses.The substance is derived from cathinone (the most potent drug in-
gredient inkhat) and is related tomethamphetamine. A U.S. patent was
granted for methcathinone in 1957, but because of adverse actions described
below the drug never went into commercial medical production.
Despite methcathinone’s many drawbacks noted below, some drug abusers
have found appealing aspects in the compound. These users experience eu-
phoria accompanied by strong and prolonged feelings of sexual pleasure,
along with an ability to use morealcoholthan normal. Such characteristics
can transform an otherwise unappealing substance into a party drug. Appar-
ently these characteristics were discovered in the Soviet Union; at least that is
where the drug first surfaced as a popular item, accounting for perhaps one
fifth of illicit drug use in that territory during the late 1980s and early 1990s.
In the 1990s the drug took hold in Michigan and spread elsewhere in America.
Drawbacks.At high doses the drug exhibits classic amphetamine effects:
appetite loss, insomnia, hallucinations, paranoia, restlessness, and impaired
ability to focus attention and to get along with people. Users have said meth-
cathinone is more prone to produce paranoia than methamphetamine. In
animal experiments methcathinone interferes with breathing, promotes trem-
bling and epilepticlike seizures, and impedes limb control. In humans a dose
may increase body temperature, cause irregular heart rate, excessively reduce
blood pressure, bring on nosebleeds, produce red and blue spots in extremities
accompanied by cold sweating, promote tics and cramps along with nausea
and headaches, generate evidence of liver and kidney damage, and cause in-