2C-I (2,5-dimethoxy]]-4-iodophenethylamine is a psychedelic phenethylamine of the 2C family. It was first synthesized by Alexander Shulgin and described in his 1991 book PiHKAL: A Chemical Love Story. The drug is used recreationally for its psychedelic and entactogenic effects and is sometimes confused for the analog 25I-NBOMe, nicknamed "Smiles," in the media. 2C-I is commonly sold in its hydrochloride salt form, which is a fluffy, sparkling-white powder, which can sometimes be pressed into a tablet form. 2C-I has been explored as a potential stimulant nootropic in doses between 1â€"8 mg.
§Recreational use
In the early 2000s, 2C-I was sold in Dutch smart shops after the drug 2C-B was banned. In April 2008, 2C-I was also banned in the Netherlands, along with three other 2C-x phenethylamines previously sold in Dutch smartshops for short periods of time. During the same period, 2C-I also became available in powder form from several online vendors of recreational drugs in the United States, Asia, and Western Europe.
2C-I is often misrepresented as mescaline in US street sale and both chemicals are members of the psychedelic phenethylamine class of drugs, except 2C-I is an analog of mescaline in the 2C-x series. According to the US government's Drug Enforcement Administration, 2C-I is taken orally or snorted in a powder form. It can also be smoked or taken rectally.
§Effects
The onset of effects occurs between one and two hours when taken orally, and 10â€"20 minutes when insufflated; lasting between 4 and 12 hours (depending on the dose) though some users have reported a duration of 16â€"18 hours. Unpleasant physical side-effects including muscle tension, hypertensive crisis, over-stimulation, nausea, vomiting, and seizures have been reported. The incidence of unpleasant side-effects is less commonly reported than with other closely related substituted phenethylamines such as 2C-T-2 and 2C-T-7 which also act as monoamine oxidase inhibitors and may have other action on amine re-uptake. Visual effects of 2C-I exposure have been described by many users as iterating fractals, along with a more generalized shift in perception and/or cognition.
§Tolerance and degradation
2C-I has been noted by several users to decrease in visual or psychedelic effects with repeated administration, and to increase in symptoms of hypertensive crisis. 2C-I is also known to degrade in heat, and though the degradation products are as of yet unclassified, user reports of degraded 2C-I allege the absence of psychedelic affect. The degraded form has also been reported by several users to have an opposite effect on saliva production, inhibiting it almost entirely in some instances. This factor has been noted as particularly uncomfortable or dangerous, as the action of swallowing without a fluid buffer causes a vacuum to pull on the inner ear.
§Drug prohibition laws
§European Union
In December 2003, the European Council issued a binding order compelling all EU member states to ban 2C-I within three months.
§Denmark
Controlled substance.
§Germany
Controlled substance.
§Greece
Controlled substance.
§Ireland
Controlled substance.
§Italy
Controlled substance.
§Netherlands
Controlled substance.
§Poland
Controlled substance.
§Sweden
Sveriges riksdag added 2C-I to schedule I ("substances, plant materials and fungi which normally do not have medical use") as narcotics in Sweden as of Mar 16, 2004, published by Medical Products Agency in their regulation LVFS 2004:3 listed as 4-jodo-2,5-dimetoxifenetylamin (2C-I).
§United Kingdom
Controlled as a Class A substance.
§USA
As of July 9, 2012, in the United States 2C-I is a Schedule I substance under the Synthetic Drug Abuse Prevention Act of 2012, making possession, distribution and manufacture illegal.
§See also
- Empathogen-entactogen
- Phenethylamine
- Psychedelic drug
- Recreational drug use
- Alexander Shulgin
- 2C family
- DOI
§References
§External links
- Erowid 2C-I Vault
- 2C-I Entry in PiHKAL
- 2C-I Entry in PiHKAL • info