2C-E
Encyclopedia
2C-E is a psychedelic
and phenethylamine of the 2C family
. It was first synthesized by Alexander Shulgin
. 2C-E is typically found as a white crystalline powder.
It is commonly active in the 10–20 mg range, taken orally,or snorted and highly dose-sensitive. Insufflating (administering the chemical nasally) requires a much lower dose, typically not exceeding 10 mg, but this method of consumption elicits a noticeably painful or uncomfortable sensation in the nasal cavity for 10 minutes or so. Shulgin classified 2C-E as a member of the "Magical Half-Dozen" in his book PiHKAL: A Chemical Love Story
. Many have reported that the general effects of 2C-E are similar to those of the other psychedelic phenethylamines, but far more intense. Vivid hallucinations similar to those experienced while under the influence of LSD
are common, and many reports indicate that the effects of this particular chemical may be overly intense for those not well experienced with psychedelics.
2,5-Dimethoxy-4-ethylphenethylamine is a colorless oil. Crystalline forms are obtained as the amine salt by reacting the free base with a mineral acid, typically HCl.
Shulgin does not report an exact boiling point for the free base, stating only that during one synthesis the fraction boiling between 90-100 °C at 0.25 mmHg pressure was collected and converted to the hydrochloride salt. The Material Safety Data Sheet for a commercial sample of 2,5-dimethoxy-4-ethylphenethylamine hydrochloride reported the melting point as 247-249 °C.
The total duration of 2C-E's effects is generally between six and ten hours for an average dose, with the plateau lasting between three and six hours. For such a dose, the onset of effects takes approximately twenty to ninety minutes and perception may be somewhat altered for up to a day after ingestion. In extreme cases where between seventy-five and one hundred milligrams of 2C-E were ingested, the duration of effects has exceeded twenty-four hours, with plateaus exceeding ten hours in length and an onset of effects within the first five minutes after the ingestion of the drug. The concurrent use of SSRIs generally has a palliative effect upon both the intensity and duration of the effects of 2C-E during their plateau stage. 2C-E is also thought to overpower certain other drugs, though research is very minimal, mostly coming from PiHKAL (Alexander and Ann Shulgin's research), assumptions or comparison with the well researched and very closely related 2C-B
, and the subjective effects that its users have experienced.
Compared to similar compounds such as 2C-I
and 2C-B
, 2C-E is more likely to produce strong synesthesia
, sound distortion and an enhancement of the experience of music, and, most notably, visuals. While many users of lower doses of 2C-E have reported that the compound produces mainly closed-eye visuals, users of higher doses have compared its open-eye visuals with those produced by LSD
; a significant proportion of these comparisons have favored the visual effects of 2C-E in terms both of their geometric complexity and in the variety of colors seen during an experience. The euphoriant effect shared by several other psychedelic phenethylamines seems only to have been reported relatively rarely by users of 2C-E; the compound has been described as "difficult" by its users, including its inventor Shulgin:
At doses approximating or exceeding twenty to twenty-five milligrams, 2C-E can produce intensely colorful, highly complex, moving, fractal
-like patterning, Persian carpet-type visuals, three-dimensional visual effects, and, sometimes, visual patterning strongly resembling biological structures, such as vines, tentacles, and even eyeballs. The visual distortions produced by 2C-E are comparable in some respects to those produced by mescaline
, and some users of both drugs have reported that the visual effects of 2C-E are more emphatic of color than are mescaline's corresponding effects, while mescaline's visuals are more emphatic of geometric structure.
2C-E also seems to make some users more likely to confront personal issues than LSD, and comparisons are often made between the two. However, 2C-E's chemical structure is fairly different from that of LSD, and while the both are serotonin agonists, 2C-E's body load
is a highly unusual one. Several users have described it, roughly, as a "profound feeling of general discomfort". It is sometimes characterized by urges to shift the position of one's body, strong nausea at high doses leading often to vomiting, itching, prolonged tensing of unusual combinations of muscle groups which can occur without the user's knowledge over a long period of time, diarrhea, and an accompanying feeling of "disconnection from one's digestive tract". Other users report little or no body load on 2C-E, and experience instead a strong euphoria.
2C-E's distortion of sounds is also quite profound, and includes the flanging of sounds, echoing, pitch shifting, and the perceived synthesis of new sounds not derived from one's immediate environment, such as scraping, drilling, and popping. Again, many of the more unusual distortions of sound are only experienced after the ingestion (or, rarely, insufflation) of a higher dose. Insufflation greatly increases the potency of the drug, and should be used with even more caution ( The related compound 2-C-T-7 has caused death at 20–35 mg insufflated, a strong dose, but there are reports of 120 mg IV doses of 2C-E)
2C-E can also produce distortions in the user's perception of the passage of time leading to an illusion of moderate to extreme time dilation
2C-E's effects are often described as "neutral", in comparison with other psychedelic chemicals and even other [2C-x] related molecules. In PiHKAL
, Shulgin states:
Alexander Shulgin, who first synthesized the 2C-X chemicals, created a list of the "magical half dozen" of phenethylamines which felt were the most "magical" or useful. The list includes 2C-E, 2C-B, 2C-T-7, 2C-T-2, DOM, and Mescaline.
Like all psychedelics, 2C-E produces a very altered state of consciousness. One unusual side of 2C-E's effects is that some users have reported experiencing "relatively normal thought processes" even while experiencing visual and auditory distortions. These users suggest, in other words, that 2C-E doesn't impair judgment as deeply as do many other psychedelics with otherwise-similar effects; however, these claims have not been tested in any controlled study.
The wide difference between different users' accounts of the intensity, duration, and nature of the effects of 2C-E can be largely attributed to users' highly varying dosage
of the drug. Resources like Erowid
suggest that an average dose of 2C-E might be between ten and fifteen milligrams, and Erowid gives the highest "heavy" dose as twenty-five milligrams. Elsewhere on the Internet, and especially in various forums for users of psychedelics, users have reported taking up to between seventy-five and one hundred milligrams of 2C-E, and the ensuing experiences have invariably been extremely intense and very long (in some cases upwards of twenty-four hours in duration) . However, no experienced user of 2C-E has recommended doses this large for any newcomer; an appropriate starting dose might be between seven and twenty milligrams for someone intending to consume 2C-E recreationally, depending on how experienced the new user is with similar drugs. Little is known about the long-term effects of its use. Importantly, 2C-E is an extremely uncommon substance with a very short history of human use, and it is possible that lasting negative effects could be produced by any dose.
, causing its visual, and intoxicating effects. Multiple doses have been reported to cause HPPD. Users of 2C-E should be warned that it has some of the dangerous effects of MAOIs and it should never be mixed with other substances.
in the United States, but it is a potential analog of 2C-B
, 2C-T-7
and mescaline
(all three of which are scheduled substances), and as such sale for human consumption or possession to ingest or use for illicit non-medical or industrial intents and purposes could be prosecuted as crimes under the Federal Analog Act
. Some states however are beginning to adopt state scheduling of the compound. 2C-E, in addition to a number of other psychedelic phenethylamines, is explicitly scheduled as Schedule I in Pennsylvania.
Denmark added 2C-E, 2C-P
, DOC, and DOI
to the list of Schedule I controlled substances as of April 8, 2007.
New Zealand has a catch-all Analogues section in Schedule 3 / Class C of their drug laws that would make 2C-I
, 2C-E, DOI, ephedrine
, and pseudoephedrine
Schedule 3 compounds in New Zealand.
In Sweden, 2C-E has been controlled since Oct 1, 2004.
In the United Kingdom, 2C-E is a Class A controlled substance. The UK has the strictest laws in the EU on designer drugs. The Misuse Of Drugs Act was amended in 2002 to include a "catch most" clause outlawing every drug, and possible future drug, from the LSD (ergoline
) and MDMA (phenethylamine
) chemical families (including 2C-E). The amendment is a near verbatim quote from the books of the American biochemist Alexander Shulgin
, who obtained a PhD from the University of California, Berkeley. Dr Shulgin, a former research chemist at the Dow Chemical Company, re-discovered the synthesis for MDMA in 1976 and published the syntheses for more than 170 designer drugs of his own invention.
2C-E is illegal in Poland
since 08.06.2011
Psychedelic drug
A psychedelic substance is a psychoactive drug whose primary action is to alter cognition and perception. Psychedelics are part of a wider class of psychoactive drugs known as hallucinogens, a class that also includes related substances such as dissociatives and deliriants...
and phenethylamine of the 2C family
2C (psychedelics)
2C is a general name for the family of psychedelic phenethylamines containing methoxy groups on the 2 and 5 positions of the benzene ring. Most of these compounds also carry lipophilic substituents at the 4 position, usually resulting in more potent and more metabolically stable and longer acting...
. It was first synthesized by Alexander Shulgin
Alexander Shulgin
Alexander "Sasha" Theodore Shulgin is an American pharmacologist, chemist, artist, and drug developer.Shulgin is credited with the popularization of MDMA, commonly known as ecstasy, in the late 1970s and early 1980s, especially for psychopharmaceutical use and the treatment of depression and...
. 2C-E is typically found as a white crystalline powder.
It is commonly active in the 10–20 mg range, taken orally,or snorted and highly dose-sensitive. Insufflating (administering the chemical nasally) requires a much lower dose, typically not exceeding 10 mg, but this method of consumption elicits a noticeably painful or uncomfortable sensation in the nasal cavity for 10 minutes or so. Shulgin classified 2C-E as a member of the "Magical Half-Dozen" in his book PiHKAL: A Chemical Love Story
PiHKAL
PiHKAL: A Chemical Love Story is a book by Dr. Alexander Shulgin and Ann Shulgin which was published in 1991. The subject of the work is psychoactive phenethylamine chemical derivatives, notably those that act as psychedelics and/or empathogen-entactogens...
. Many have reported that the general effects of 2C-E are similar to those of the other psychedelic phenethylamines, but far more intense. Vivid hallucinations similar to those experienced while under the influence of LSD
LSD
Lysergic acid diethylamide, abbreviated LSD or LSD-25, also known as lysergide and colloquially as acid, is a semisynthetic psychedelic drug of the ergoline family, well known for its psychological effects which can include altered thinking processes, closed and open eye visuals, synaesthesia, an...
are common, and many reports indicate that the effects of this particular chemical may be overly intense for those not well experienced with psychedelics.
Properties
Shulgin does not report an exact boiling point for the free base, stating only that during one synthesis the fraction boiling between 90-100 °C at 0.25 mmHg pressure was collected and converted to the hydrochloride salt. The Material Safety Data Sheet for a commercial sample of 2,5-dimethoxy-4-ethylphenethylamine hydrochloride reported the melting point as 247-249 °C.
Effects
2C-B
2C-B or 4-bromo-2,5-dimethoxyphenethylamine is a psychedelic drug of the 2C family. It was first synthesized by Alexander Shulgin in 1974. In Shulgin's book PiHKAL, the dosage range is listed as 16–24 mg. 2C-B is sold as a white powder sometimes pressed in tablets or gel caps and is referred...
, and the subjective effects that its users have experienced.
Compared to similar compounds such as 2C-I
2C-I
2C-I or 2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodophenethylamine is a psychedelic phenethylamine of the 2C family. It was first synthesized by Alexander Shulgin. It was described in Shulgin’s book PiHKAL: A Chemical Love Story. The drug is used recreationally for its psychedelic and entactogenic effects...
and 2C-B
2C-B
2C-B or 4-bromo-2,5-dimethoxyphenethylamine is a psychedelic drug of the 2C family. It was first synthesized by Alexander Shulgin in 1974. In Shulgin's book PiHKAL, the dosage range is listed as 16–24 mg. 2C-B is sold as a white powder sometimes pressed in tablets or gel caps and is referred...
, 2C-E is more likely to produce strong synesthesia
Synesthesia
Synesthesia , from the ancient Greek , "together," and , "sensation," is a neurologically based condition in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway...
, sound distortion and an enhancement of the experience of music, and, most notably, visuals. While many users of lower doses of 2C-E have reported that the compound produces mainly closed-eye visuals, users of higher doses have compared its open-eye visuals with those produced by LSD
LSD
Lysergic acid diethylamide, abbreviated LSD or LSD-25, also known as lysergide and colloquially as acid, is a semisynthetic psychedelic drug of the ergoline family, well known for its psychological effects which can include altered thinking processes, closed and open eye visuals, synaesthesia, an...
; a significant proportion of these comparisons have favored the visual effects of 2C-E in terms both of their geometric complexity and in the variety of colors seen during an experience. The euphoriant effect shared by several other psychedelic phenethylamines seems only to have been reported relatively rarely by users of 2C-E; the compound has been described as "difficult" by its users, including its inventor Shulgin:
- "Let it (2C-E) rest as being a difficult and worthwhile material."
At doses approximating or exceeding twenty to twenty-five milligrams, 2C-E can produce intensely colorful, highly complex, moving, fractal
Fractal art
Fractal art is a form of algorithmic art created by calculating fractal objects and representing the calculation results as still images, animations, and media. Fractal art developed from the mid 1980s onwards. It is a genre of computer art and digital art which are part of new media art...
-like patterning, Persian carpet-type visuals, three-dimensional visual effects, and, sometimes, visual patterning strongly resembling biological structures, such as vines, tentacles, and even eyeballs. The visual distortions produced by 2C-E are comparable in some respects to those produced by mescaline
Mescaline
Mescaline or 3,4,5-trimethoxyphenethylamine is a naturally occurring psychedelic alkaloid of the phenethylamine class used mainly as an entheogen....
, and some users of both drugs have reported that the visual effects of 2C-E are more emphatic of color than are mescaline's corresponding effects, while mescaline's visuals are more emphatic of geometric structure.
2C-E also seems to make some users more likely to confront personal issues than LSD, and comparisons are often made between the two. However, 2C-E's chemical structure is fairly different from that of LSD, and while the both are serotonin agonists, 2C-E's body load
Body load
Body load is a term used to describe specific tactile sensations brought on by psychoactive drugs, especially psychedelics. Generally, body load is an unpleasant physical sensation that is difficult to describe either in terms of other sensations or in its specific location. Nausea may be present...
is a highly unusual one. Several users have described it, roughly, as a "profound feeling of general discomfort". It is sometimes characterized by urges to shift the position of one's body, strong nausea at high doses leading often to vomiting, itching, prolonged tensing of unusual combinations of muscle groups which can occur without the user's knowledge over a long period of time, diarrhea, and an accompanying feeling of "disconnection from one's digestive tract". Other users report little or no body load on 2C-E, and experience instead a strong euphoria.
2C-E's distortion of sounds is also quite profound, and includes the flanging of sounds, echoing, pitch shifting, and the perceived synthesis of new sounds not derived from one's immediate environment, such as scraping, drilling, and popping. Again, many of the more unusual distortions of sound are only experienced after the ingestion (or, rarely, insufflation) of a higher dose. Insufflation greatly increases the potency of the drug, and should be used with even more caution ( The related compound 2-C-T-7 has caused death at 20–35 mg insufflated, a strong dose, but there are reports of 120 mg IV doses of 2C-E)
2C-E can also produce distortions in the user's perception of the passage of time leading to an illusion of moderate to extreme time dilation
Time dilation
In the theory of relativity, time dilation is an observed difference of elapsed time between two events as measured by observers either moving relative to each other or differently situated from gravitational masses. An accurate clock at rest with respect to one observer may be measured to tick at...
2C-E's effects are often described as "neutral", in comparison with other psychedelic chemicals and even other [2C-x] related molecules. In PiHKAL
PiHKAL
PiHKAL: A Chemical Love Story is a book by Dr. Alexander Shulgin and Ann Shulgin which was published in 1991. The subject of the work is psychoactive phenethylamine chemical derivatives, notably those that act as psychedelics and/or empathogen-entactogens...
, Shulgin states:
- "Here is another of the magical half-dozen. The range is purposefully broad. At 10 milligrams there have been some pretty rich +++Shulgin's +/- rating scale, per PiHKAL. See References below. Quoting: "Plus Three (+++) = Not only are the chronology and the nature of a drug's action quite clear, but ignoring its action is no longer an option. The subject is totally engaged in the experience, for better or worse." experiences, and yet I have had the report from one young lady of a 30 milligram trial that was very frightening. My first experience with 2C-E was really profound, and it is the substance of a chapter within the story. Several people have said, about 2C-E, "I don't think I like it, since it isn't that much fun. But I intend to explore it again." There is something here that will reward the experimenter. Someday, the full character of 2C-E will be understood, but for the moment, let it rest as being a difficult and worth-while material. A very much worth-while material."
Alexander Shulgin, who first synthesized the 2C-X chemicals, created a list of the "magical half dozen" of phenethylamines which felt were the most "magical" or useful. The list includes 2C-E, 2C-B, 2C-T-7, 2C-T-2, DOM, and Mescaline.
Like all psychedelics, 2C-E produces a very altered state of consciousness. One unusual side of 2C-E's effects is that some users have reported experiencing "relatively normal thought processes" even while experiencing visual and auditory distortions. These users suggest, in other words, that 2C-E doesn't impair judgment as deeply as do many other psychedelics with otherwise-similar effects; however, these claims have not been tested in any controlled study.
The wide difference between different users' accounts of the intensity, duration, and nature of the effects of 2C-E can be largely attributed to users' highly varying dosage
Effective dose (pharmacology)
An effective dose in pharmacology is the dose or amount of drug that produces a therapeutic response or desired effect in some fraction of the subjects taking it....
of the drug. Resources like Erowid
Erowid
Erowid, also called The Vaults of Erowid, is an online library of information about psychoactive plants and chemicals and other topics on altered states of consciousness such as meditation and lucid dreaming. It provides information about legal and illegal substances, including their desired and...
suggest that an average dose of 2C-E might be between ten and fifteen milligrams, and Erowid gives the highest "heavy" dose as twenty-five milligrams. Elsewhere on the Internet, and especially in various forums for users of psychedelics, users have reported taking up to between seventy-five and one hundred milligrams of 2C-E, and the ensuing experiences have invariably been extremely intense and very long (in some cases upwards of twenty-four hours in duration) . However, no experienced user of 2C-E has recommended doses this large for any newcomer; an appropriate starting dose might be between seven and twenty milligrams for someone intending to consume 2C-E recreationally, depending on how experienced the new user is with similar drugs. Little is known about the long-term effects of its use. Importantly, 2C-E is an extremely uncommon substance with a very short history of human use, and it is possible that lasting negative effects could be produced by any dose.
Adverse Effects
It is thought that 2C-E binds to the 5-HT2A receptor5-HT2A receptor
The mammalian 5-HT2A receptor is a subtype of the 5-HT2 receptor that belongs to the serotonin receptor family and is a G protein-coupled receptor . This is the main excitatory receptor subtype among the GPCRs for serotonin , although 5-HT2A may also have an inhibitory effect on certain areas such...
, causing its visual, and intoxicating effects. Multiple doses have been reported to cause HPPD. Users of 2C-E should be warned that it has some of the dangerous effects of MAOIs and it should never be mixed with other substances.
Law
2C-E is unscheduledControlled Substances Act
The Controlled Substances Act was enacted into law by the Congress of the United States as Title II of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970. The CSA is the federal U.S. drug policy under which the manufacture, importation, possession, use and distribution of certain...
in the United States, but it is a potential analog of 2C-B
2C-B
2C-B or 4-bromo-2,5-dimethoxyphenethylamine is a psychedelic drug of the 2C family. It was first synthesized by Alexander Shulgin in 1974. In Shulgin's book PiHKAL, the dosage range is listed as 16–24 mg. 2C-B is sold as a white powder sometimes pressed in tablets or gel caps and is referred...
, 2C-T-7
2C-T-7
2C-T-7 is a psychedelic phenethylamine of the 2C family. In his book PiHKAL: A Chemical Love Story, Alexander Shulgin lists the dosage range as 10 to 30 mg. 2C-T-7 is generally taken orally, and produces psychedelic and entactogenic effects that last 8 to 15 hours...
and mescaline
Mescaline
Mescaline or 3,4,5-trimethoxyphenethylamine is a naturally occurring psychedelic alkaloid of the phenethylamine class used mainly as an entheogen....
(all three of which are scheduled substances), and as such sale for human consumption or possession to ingest or use for illicit non-medical or industrial intents and purposes could be prosecuted as crimes under the Federal Analog Act
Federal Analog Act
The Federal Analog Act, , is a controversial section of the United States Controlled Substances Act which allowed any chemical "substantially similar" to a controlled substance listed in Schedule I or II to be treated as if it were also listed in those schedules, but only if intended for human...
. Some states however are beginning to adopt state scheduling of the compound. 2C-E, in addition to a number of other psychedelic phenethylamines, is explicitly scheduled as Schedule I in Pennsylvania.
Denmark added 2C-E, 2C-P
2C-P
2C-P is a psychedelic phenethylamine and 2C compound first synthesized by Alexander Shulgin.-Chemistry:2C-P is 2,5-dimethoxy-4--propylphenethylamine. The full name of the chemical is 2-ethanamine.-Dosage:...
, DOC, and DOI
2,5-Dimethoxy-4-iodoamphetamine
2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodoamphetamine is a psychedelic drug and a substituted amphetamine of the phenethylamine family. It is also a powerful anti-inflammatory that is effective at doses on the order of 100 micrograms in humans, far below its effective dose as a psychedelic. Despite being a substituted...
to the list of Schedule I controlled substances as of April 8, 2007.
New Zealand has a catch-all Analogues section in Schedule 3 / Class C of their drug laws that would make 2C-I
2C-I
2C-I or 2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodophenethylamine is a psychedelic phenethylamine of the 2C family. It was first synthesized by Alexander Shulgin. It was described in Shulgin’s book PiHKAL: A Chemical Love Story. The drug is used recreationally for its psychedelic and entactogenic effects...
, 2C-E, DOI, ephedrine
Ephedrine
Ephedrine is a sympathomimetic amine commonly used as a stimulant, appetite suppressant, concentration aid, decongestant, and to treat hypotension associated with anaesthesia....
, and pseudoephedrine
Pseudoephedrine
Pseudoephedrine is a sympathomimetic drug of the phenethylamine and amphetamine chemical classes. It is used as a nasal/sinus decongestant and stimulant, or as a wakefulness-promoting agent....
Schedule 3 compounds in New Zealand.
In Sweden, 2C-E has been controlled since Oct 1, 2004.
In the United Kingdom, 2C-E is a Class A controlled substance. The UK has the strictest laws in the EU on designer drugs. The Misuse Of Drugs Act was amended in 2002 to include a "catch most" clause outlawing every drug, and possible future drug, from the LSD (ergoline
Ergoline
Ergoline is a chemical compound whose structural skeleton is contained in a diverse range of alkaloids including a few psychedelic drugs . Ergoline derivatives are used clinically for the purpose of vasoconstriction and in the treatment of migraines and Parkinson's disease...
) and MDMA (phenethylamine
Phenethylamine
Phenylethylamine or phenethylamine is a natural monoamine alkaloid, trace amine, and also the name of a class of chemicals with many members well known for psychoactive drug and stimulant effects. Studies suggest that phenylethylamine functions as a neuromodulator or neurotransmitter in the...
) chemical families (including 2C-E). The amendment is a near verbatim quote from the books of the American biochemist Alexander Shulgin
Alexander Shulgin
Alexander "Sasha" Theodore Shulgin is an American pharmacologist, chemist, artist, and drug developer.Shulgin is credited with the popularization of MDMA, commonly known as ecstasy, in the late 1970s and early 1980s, especially for psychopharmaceutical use and the treatment of depression and...
, who obtained a PhD from the University of California, Berkeley. Dr Shulgin, a former research chemist at the Dow Chemical Company, re-discovered the synthesis for MDMA in 1976 and published the syntheses for more than 170 designer drugs of his own invention.
2C-E is illegal in Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
since 08.06.2011