2-Methyl-3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine (2-methyl-MDA) is an entactogen and psychedelic

Psychedelic

The term psychedelic is derived from the Greek words ψυχή and δηλοῦν , translating to "soul-manifesting". A psychedelic experience is characterized by the striking perception of aspects of one's mind previously unknown, or by the creative exuberance of the mind liberated from its ostensibly...

 drug of the amphetamine

Substituted amphetamine

Substituted amphetamines are a chemical class of stimulants, entactogens, hallucinogens, and other drugs. They feature a phenethylamine core with a methyl group attached to the alpha carbon resulting in amphetamine, along with additional substitutions...

 class. It acts as a selective serotonin releasing agent

Selective serotonin releasing agent

A selective serotonin releasing agent is a type of drug which selectively induces the release of serotonin from the pre-synaptic neuron into the synapse...

 (SSRA), with IC₅₀

IC50

The half maximal inhibitory concentration is a measure of the effectiveness of a compound in inhibiting biological or biochemical function. This quantitative measure indicates how much of a particular drug or other substance is needed to inhibit a given biological process by half...

 values of 93nM, 12,000nM, and 1,937nM for serotonin

Serotonin

Serotonin or 5-hydroxytryptamine is a monoamine neurotransmitter. Biochemically derived from tryptophan, serotonin is primarily found in the gastrointestinal tract, platelets, and in the central nervous system of animals including humans...

, dopamine

Dopamine

Dopamine is a catecholamine neurotransmitter present in a wide variety of animals, including both vertebrates and invertebrates. In the brain, this substituted phenethylamine functions as a neurotransmitter, activating the five known types of dopamine receptors—D1, D2, D3, D4, and D5—and their...

, and norepinephrine

Norepinephrine

Norepinephrine is the US name for noradrenaline , a catecholamine with multiple roles including as a hormone and a neurotransmitter...

 efflux. 2-Methyl-MDA is more potent

Potency (pharmacology)

In the field of pharmacology, potency is a measure of drug activity expressed in terms of the amount required to produce an effect of given intensity. A highly potent drug evokes a larger response at low concentrations, while a drug of lower potency evokes a small response at low concentrations...

 than MDA

3,4-Methylenedioxyamphetamine

3,4-Methylenedioxyamphetamine , also known as tenamfetamine , is a psychedelic and entactogenic drug of the phenethylamine and amphetamine chemical classes...

, although it is not as potent as 5-methyl-MDA. However, it is slightly more selective for serotonin over dopamine and norepinephrine release in comparison to 5-methyl-MDA.