Lefetamine
Chemical compound
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lefetamine (Santenol) is a drug which is a stimulant and also an analgesic with effects comparable to codeine.
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- AU: S4 (Prescription only)
- BR: Class B1 (Psychoactive drugs)[1]
- CA: Schedule III
- DE: Anlage I (Authorized scientific use only)
- UK: Class B
- US: Schedule IV
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| Routes of administration | Oral |
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| Formula | C16H19N |
| Molar mass | 225.335 g·mol−1 |
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Discovery
The parent structure of lefetamine, 1,2-diphenylethylamine was first synthesized in the 1940s and showed weak analgesic activity.[2]
Lefetamine itself was first investigated in Japan in the 1950s.[3] The L-isomer showed weak analgesic action comparable to codeine and antitussive action far weaker than codeine. The d-isomer showed no such activity but caused seizures in rats.[4][5]
Society and culture
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.[6]
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.[7]
In a small study in 1994, it was compared to clonidine and buprenorphine in the detoxification of methadone patients and found to be inferior to both of them.[8]
Regulation may vary; it does not appear as either a narcotic or non-narcotic under the US Controlled Substances Act 1970[9]
The Canadian Controlled Drugs and Substances Act was amended in 2016 to include the substance as a Schedule III substance. Possession without legal authority can result in maximum 3 years imprisonment. Further, Health Canada amended the Food and Drug Regulations in May, 2016 to classify Lefetamine as a controlled drug.[10]
Research
Some related pyrrylphenylethanones had analgesic activity comparable to morphine.[11] Some pyrrole analogues were reported to have analgesic effects comparable to lefetamine and being devoid of neurotoxic properties.[12]