5-MAPB is not listed itself in the CDSA but since it is structurally related to MDMA it may be considered illegal in Canada, although this has not been tested in court.[2]
5-MAPB was originally banned in the UK in June 2013 under a Temporary class drug order.[5] On March 5, 2014, the UK Home Office announced that 5-MAPB would be made a class B drug on 10 June 2014 alongside every other benzofuran entactogen and many structurally related drugs.[6]
Little formal knowledge exists on 5-MAPB. It does not form the alpha-methyldopamine metabolite that contributes to the neurotoxicity of MDMA or MDA.[8][9][10][11] A study in rats indicated that the major metabolites of 5-MAPB are 5-APB and 3-carboxymethyl-4-hydroxymethamphetamine.[12]
5-MAPB binds to the dopamine transporter in rat brain cells with a lower affinity than cocaine. In silico data suggests that the primary action on dopamine is through reversal of the transporter to release dopamine. This is consistent with the effects and it is possible that it exerts a similar action on serotonin and norepinephrine transporters.[13]
^"Schedule I". Government Of Canada. 2014-12-12. Archived from the original on 2013-11-22. Retrieved 2014-12-13.
^"关于印发《非药用类麻醉药品和精神药品列管办法》的通知" [Notice on the issuance of the "Regulations on the Listing of Non-Medicinal Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Drugs"] (in Chinese). China Food and Drug Administration. 27 September 2015. Archived from the original on 1 October 2015. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
^Iversen L, Gibbons S, Treble R, Setola V, Huang XP, Roth BL (January 2013). "Neurochemical profiles of some novel psychoactive substances". European Journal of Pharmacology. 700 (1–3): 147–151. doi:10.1016/j.ejphar.2012.12.006. PMID23261499.
^Shimshoni JA, Winkler I, Golan E, Nutt D (January 2017). "Neurochemical binding profiles of novel indole and benzofuran MDMA analogues". Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's Archives of Pharmacology. 390 (1): 15–24. doi:10.1007/s00210-016-1297-4. PMID27650729.
^Miller RT, Lau SS, Monks TJ (April 1997). "2,5-Bis-(glutathion-S-yl)-alpha-methyldopamine, a putative metabolite of (+/-)-3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine, decreases brain serotonin concentrations". European Journal of Pharmacology. 323 (2–3): 173–180. doi:10.1016/S0014-2999(97)00044-7. PMID9128836.
^Conway EL, Louis WJ, Jarrott B (December 1978). "Acute and chronic administration of alpha-methyldopa: regional levels of endogenous and alpha-methylated catecholamines in rat brain". European Journal of Pharmacology. 52 (3–4): 271–280. doi:10.1016/0014-2999(78)90279-0. PMID729639.
^Welter J, Kavanagh P, Meyer MR, Maurer HH (February 2015). "Benzofuran analogues of amphetamine and methamphetamine: studies on the metabolism and toxicological analysis of 5-APB and 5-MAPB in urine and plasma using GC-MS and LC-(HR)-MS(n) techniques". Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry. 407 (5): 1371–1388. doi:10.1007/s00216-014-8360-0. PMID25471293. S2CID20653012.