Lefetamine (Santenol) is a drug which is a stimulant and also an analgesic with effects comparable to codeine.
Lefetamine-related 1,2-diphenylethylamines were invented in the 1940s and showed weak analgesic activity.
It was investigated in Japan in 1950s. The l-isomere showed weak analgetic action comparable to codeine and antitussive action far weaker than codeine. The d-isomer showed no such activity but caused seizures in rats.
It was abused in Japan during the 1950s. In a small study in 1989 it showed some effect against opioid withdrawal symptoms without causing withdrawal symptoms itself. It was concluded that it may be an opioid partial agonist.
It has been abused in Europe, in 1989 a small study of 15 abusers and some volunteers found, that it had some partial similarity to opioids, that it produced withdrawal symptoms and had dependence and abuse potential to a certain degree.
In a small study in 1994 it was compared to clonidine and buprenorphine for the detoxification of methadone patients and found to be inferior to both for this purpose.
Research
Some related pyrrylphenylethanones had analgetic activity comparable to morphine. Some pyrrole analogues were reported to have analgetic effects comparable to lefetamine and being devoid of neurotoxic properties.
See also
- MT-45
- Diphenidine
- Lanicemine