3,4-phenyl-2-propanone (MDP2P), is a chemical compound

Chemical compound

A chemical compound is a pure chemical substance consisting of two or more different chemical elements that can be separated into simpler substances by chemical reactions. Chemical compounds have a unique and defined chemical structure; they consist of a fixed ratio of atoms that are held together...

 consisting of a phenylacetone

Phenylacetone

Phenylacetone , is an organic compound. It is a clear oil with a refractive index of 1.5168. This substance is used in the manufacture of methamphetamine and amphetamine as a starting material or intermediate, where it is commonly known as P2P...

 moiety substituted with a methylenedioxy

Methylenedioxy

Methylenedioxy in the field of chemistry, particularly in organic chemistry, is the name for a functional group with the structural formula R-O-CH2-O-R' which is connected to the rest of a molecule by two chemical bonds. The methylenedioxy group consists of two oxygen atoms connected to a methylene...

 functional group

Functional group

In organic chemistry, functional groups are specific groups of atoms within molecules that are responsible for the characteristic chemical reactions of those molecules. The same functional group will undergo the same or similar chemical reaction regardless of the size of the molecule it is a part of...

, an entactogen and stimulant of the phenethylamine, amphetamine, and cathinone classes. It is commonly synthesized

Chemical synthesis

In chemistry, chemical synthesis is purposeful execution of chemical reactions to get a product, or several products. This happens by physical and chemical manipulations usually involving one or more reactions...

 from either safrole

Safrole

Safrole, also known as shikimol, is a phenylpropene. It is a colorless or slightly yellow oily liquid. It is typically extracted from the root-bark or the fruit of sassafras plants in the form of sassafras oil , or synthesized from other related methylenedioxy...

 ((which, for comparison, is 3-[3,4-(methylenedioxy)phenyl]-1-propene) or its isomer

Isomer

In chemistry, isomers are compounds with the same molecular formula but different structural formulas. Isomers do not necessarily share similar properties, unless they also have the same functional groups. There are many different classes of isomers, like stereoisomers, enantiomers, geometrical...

 isosafrole

Isosafrole

Isosafrole is a phenylpropene, a type of aromatic organic chemical with a smell similar to anise or licorice. It is found in small amounts in various essential oils, but is most commonly obtained by isomerizing the plant oil safrole....

 via oxidation using the Wacker oxidation or peroxyacid oxidation methods.

MDP2P is a precursor

Precursor (chemistry)

In chemistry, a precursor is a compound that participates in the chemical reaction that produces another compound. In biochemistry, the term "precursor" is used more specifically to refer to a chemical compound preceding another in a metabolic pathway....

 in the chemical synthesis

Chemical synthesis

In chemistry, chemical synthesis is purposeful execution of chemical reactions to get a product, or several products. This happens by physical and chemical manipulations usually involving one or more reactions...

 of the methylenedioxyphenethylamine

Methylenedioxyphenethylamine

3,4-Methylenedioxyphenethylamine , also known as homopiperonylamine, is a substituted phenethylamine formed by adding a methylenedioxy group to phenethylamine...

 (MDxx) class of compounds, the classic example of which is 3,4-methylenedioxy-N-methylamphetamine (MDMA), and is also an intermediate

Reaction intermediate

A reaction intermediate or an intermediate is a molecular entity that is formed from the reactants and reacts further to give the directly observed products of a chemical reaction. Most chemical reactions are stepwise, that is they take more than one elementary step to complete...

 between the MDxx family and their slightly more distant precursor safrole or isosafrole. On account of its relation to the MDxx chemical class, MDP2P, as well as safrole and isosafrole, are in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 (U.S.) Drug Enforcement Administration

Drug Enforcement Administration

The Drug Enforcement Administration is a federal law enforcement agency under the United States Department of Justice, tasked with combating drug smuggling and use within the United States...

 (DEA) List I of Chemical

DEA list of chemicals

The United States Drug Enforcement Administration maintains lists regarding not only the classification of illicit drugs . It also maintains List I of chemicals and List II of chemicals, which contain chemicals which are used to manufacture the controlled substances/illicit drugs...

s of the Controlled Substances Act

Controlled 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...

 (CSA) via the Chemical Diversion and Trafficking Act

Chemical Diversion and Trafficking Act

The Chemical Diversion and Trafficking Act of 1988 was an amendment to the Controlled Substances Act to regulate precursor chemicals, essential chemicals, tableting machines, and encapsulating machines by imposing record keeping and import/export reporting requirements on transactions involving...

(CDTA).