THJ-018
| Summary sheet: THJ-018 |
| THJ-018 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chemical Nomenclature | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Common names | THJ-018 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Systematic name | 1-naphthalenyl(1-pentyl-1H-indazol-3-yl)-methanone | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Class Membership | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Psychoactive class | Cannabinoid | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chemical class | Naphthoylindazole | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Routes of Administration | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Interactions | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2C-T-x | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2C-x | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 5-MeO-xxT | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Amphetamines | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| aMT | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cocaine | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| DMT | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| DOx | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| LSD | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mescaline | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mushrooms | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 25x-NBOMe | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
THJ-018 (1-naphthalenyl(1-pentyl-1H-indazol-3-yl)-methanone) is a synthetic cannabinoid and analog of JWH-018. It has been marketed by many research chemical vendors as a legal alternative to the popular JWH-018, which had been banned in 2009. Its appearance is a brown, sticky and chunky powder. It smells very similarly to naphthalene.
Cannabinoids are commonly smoked or vaporized to achieve a quick onset of effects and rapid offset. THJ-018 is orally active when dissolved in a lipid, which can increase the duration significantly. Like other cannabinoids, it is insoluble in water but dissolves in ethanol and lipids.
Unlike cannabis, the chronic abuse of synthetic cannabinoids has been associated with multiple deaths and more dangerous side effects and toxicity in general. Therefore, it is strongly discouraged to take this substance for extended periods of time or in excessive doses.
Chemistry
THJ-018, or 1-naphthalenyl(1-pentyl-1H-indazol-3-yl)-methanone, is a synthetic cannabinoid containing a substituted indazole structure. THJ-018 is substituted at R1 with a pentyl chain. Additionally, the indazole core is substituted at R3 with a carbonyl group which is also bonded to a napthalene moeity. Napthalene is a bicyclic structure of two fused benzene rings. This carbonyl bridge of THJ-018 classifies it as a ketone. THJ-018 is an analog of JWH-018 in which the core indole structure is substituted with an indazole base.
Like other cannabinoids, it is insoluble in water but dissolves in ethanol and lipids.
Pharmacology
Although this substance has not been formally studied, from analysis of the structure, it is presumed that THJ-018 has a similar binding profile to that of JWH-018 and matches many of the in vivo properties of Δ9-THC. As with JWH-018, THJ-018 exhibits its range of effects via full agonism of both the CB1 and CB2 cannabinoid receptors, with some selectivity for CB2. THJ-018 is around 5x the potency of Δ9-THC. However, the role of these interactions and how they result in the cannabinoid high experience continues to remain elusive.
Subjective effects
Disclaimer: The effects listed below cite the Subjective Effect Index (SEI), an open research literature based on anecdotal user reports and the personal analyses of PsychonautWiki contributors. As a result, they should be viewed with a healthy degree of skepticism.
It is also worth noting that these effects will not necessarily occur in a predictable or reliable manner, although higher doses are more liable to induce the full spectrum of effects. Likewise, adverse effects become increasingly likely with higher doses and may include addiction, severe injury, or death ☠.
Physical effects 
-
- Spontaneous physical sensations - The "body high" of THJ-018 can be described as a warm, soft, pleasurable, all-encompassing tingling sensation that spreads over the body after initial ingestion. It maintains a consistent presence that quickly rises with the onset and hits its limit once the peak has been reached before immediately dissipating.
- Sedation - Generally, the effects on the user's energy levels are primarily sedating. This encourages one to relax, and (at higher doses) fall asleep. This can, however, be suppressed by simply forcing oneself to engage in physical activities.
- Motor control loss - This substance causes a partial to moderate suppression of motor control which intensifies proportional to dose, but rarely results in a complete inability to walk and perform basic movements.
- Appetite enhancement - As with many other cannabinoids, THJ-018 causes an increase in appetite[1], known colloquially as "the munchies" in popular American and United Kingdom culture. Clinical studies and survey data have found that cannabis increases food enjoyment and interest in food.[2] This is thought to be due to the way in which endocannabinoids in the hypothalamus activate cannabinoid receptors that are responsible for maintaining food intake.[2]
- Vasodilation - Cannabinoids appear to decrease blood pressure by dilating the blood vessels, increasing blood flow throughout the body. The arteries in the eyeball expand from the decreased blood pressure, and the heart rate increases to compensate for the reduction in pressure.
- Pain relief - Cannabinoids have been clinically demonstrated to provide pain relief via agonism of cannabinoid receptors CB1 and CB2, which extends to synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists.[3][4]
- Perception of bodily lightness
- Changes in gravity - THJ-018 can cause vertigo with which the environment appears to be spinning or oscillating. At moderate doses, it can spontaneously induce the sensation of falling, which can be overwhelming and uncomfortable.
- Dehydration- This is known colloquially as "cotton mouth" in popular American and United Kingdom culture.
- Brain zaps
Visual effects 
-
- Colour enhancement
- Acuity suppression
- Geometry - As reported with other cannabinoids, THJ-018 can produce closed eye visuals at moderate doses which can escalate into visual distortions such as a ripples in the field of vision upon continuous administration. Within users who also regularly use psychedelics, it is capable of inducing these consistently in a visual style which seems to be an averaged out depiction of all the psychedelics one has used within the past. These rarely extend beyond level 4 and are considered to be mild, fine, small and zoomed out but brighter and better defined than the geometry experienced with cannabis.
Cognitive effects 
-
- Emotion enhancement - The most prominent cognitive component of cannabinoids is the way in which they enhance the emotions one is already feeling proportional to dose. This can result in euphoria, extreme laughter, and increased immersion within tasks and activities or it can result in anxiety and paranoia depending on the user's current state of mind.
- Anxiety - Subjectively, THJ-018 is less anxiogenic and stimulating than Δ9-THC, AM-2201, or 5F-UR-144 but more so when compared to JWH-018 or JWH-073. It can be described as moderately sedating.
- Paranoia - All cannabinoids are capable of inducing paranoia at high doses or with chronic administration.
- Thought connectivity
- Thought deceleration
- Conceptual thinking
- Mindfulness
- analysis suppression
- Dream suppression
- Immersion enhancement
- Psychosis - The prolonged usage of synthetic cannabinoids may increase one's disposition to psychosis[5], particularly in vulnerable individuals with risk factors for psychotic illnesses (like a past or family history of schizophrenia).[6][7][8]
- Increased music appreciation
Auditory effects 
Combinational effects
- Psychedelics - When used in combination with psychedelics, cannabinoids are capable of intensifying and extending the duration of both the visual and cognitive effects with extreme efficiency. This should be used with caution if one is not experienced with psychedelics.
- Dissociatives - When used in combination with dissociatives, the geometry, euphoria, dissociation and hallucinatory effects are often greatly enhanced.
- Alcohol - When used in combination with alcohol, cannabinoids can cause feelings of extreme nausea, dizziness and changes in gravity. It is recommended that one smokes before drinking and not the other way around unless they are extremely cautious.
Experience reports
There are currently no anecdotal reports which describe the effects of this compound within our experience index. Additional experience reports can be found here:
Toxicity and harm potential
The toxicity and long-term health effects of recreational THJ-018 use do not seem to have been studied in any scientific context and the exact toxic dosage is unknown. This is because THJ-018 has very little history of human usage. Anecdotal evidence from people who have tried THJ-018 within the community suggest that there do not seem to be any negative health effects attributed to simply trying this drug at low to moderate doses by itself and using it sparingly (but nothing can be completely guaranteed). Informal experiments have shown that overdose will cause physical discomfort including heart palpitations, vertigo and sedation at much lower than dangerous doses, usually causing the user to suffer large amounts of anxiety or to fall asleep.
It has often been recommended that those with severe pre-existing mental conditions should not ingest these substances due to the way they strongly increase one's current state of mind and emotions. Also, like THC, prolonged usage of synthetic cannabinoids may increase one's disposition to mental illness and psychosis[5], particularly in vulnerable individuals with risk factors for psychotic illnesses (like a past or family history of schizophrenia).[6][7][8]
As synthetic cannabinoids are active in the milligram range (with below 5mg being a common dose), it is important to use proper precautions when dosing to avoid a negative experience.
It is strongly recommended that one use harm reduction practices when using this drug.
Tolerance and addiction potential
As with other synthetic cannibanoids, the chronic use of THJ-018 can be considered moderately addictive with a high potential for abuse and is capable of causing psychological dependence among certain users. When addiction has developed, cravings and withdrawal effects may occur if a person suddenly stops their usage.
Tolerance to many of the effects of THJ-018 develops with prolonged and repeated use. This results in users having to administer increasingly large doses to achieve the same effects. After that, it takes about 3 - 7 days for the tolerance to be reduced to half and 1 - 2 weeks to be back at baseline (in the absence of further consumption). THJ-018 presents cross-tolerance with all cannabinoids, meaning that after the consumption of THJ-018 all cannabinoids will have a reduced effect.
Toxicity
Although there is no valid data on the toxicity of synthetic cannabinoids so far, there is concern that the naphthalene group found in THJ-018 and some other synthetic cannabinoids may be toxic or carcinogenic.[9][10][11][12]
Dangerous interactions
Warning: Many psychoactive substances that are reasonably safe to use on their own can suddenly become dangerous and even life-threatening when combined with certain other substances. The following list provides some known dangerous interactions (although it is not guaranteed to include all of them).
Always conduct independent research (e.g. Google, DuckDuckGo, PubMed) to ensure that a combination of two or more substances is safe to consume. Some of the listed interactions have been sourced from TripSit.
- 2C-T-x
- 2C-x
- 5-MeO-xxT
- Amphetamines - Stimulants increase anxiety levels and the risk of thought loops which can lead to negative experiences
- aMT
- Cocaine - Stimulants increase anxiety levels and the risk of thought loops which can lead to negative experiences
- DMT
- DOx
- LSD
- Mescaline
- Mushrooms
- 25x-NBOMe
Legal status
THJ-018 was developed to bypass drug prohibition laws which have banned the possession and sale of many synthetic cannabinoids. As such, it remains legal in most of the world.
- Germany: THJ-018 is controlled under Anlage II BtMG (Narcotics Act, Schedule II)[13] as of May 23, 2015.[14] It is illegal to manufacture, possess, import, export, buy, sell, procure or dispense it without a license.[15]
- Latvia: THJ-018 is a Schedule I controlled substance.[16]
- Sweden: THJ-018 is banned in Sweden.[17]
- Switzerland: THJ-018 is a controlled substance specifically named under Verzeichnis E.[18]
- United Kingdom: THJ-018 is a Class B controlled substance under the third-generation synthetic cannabinoids generic definition, which came into effect on December 14, 2016 and is illegal to possess, produce, supply, or import.[19]
See also
External links
References
- ↑ Mechoulam, R., ed. (1986). Cannabinoids as therapeutic agents. CRC Press. ISBN 9780849357725.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 How Marijuana Works, 2001
- ↑ Martín-Sánchez, E., Furukawa, T. A., Taylor, J., Martin, J. L. R. (November 2009). "Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Cannabis Treatment for Chronic Pain". Pain Medicine. 10 (8): 1353–1368. doi:10.1111/j.1526-4637.2009.00703.x. ISSN 1526-2375.
- ↑ Lynch, M. E., Campbell, F. (November 2011). "Cannabinoids for treatment of chronic non-cancer pain; a systematic review of randomized trials: Cannabinoids for pain". British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology. 72 (5): 735–744. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2125.2011.03970.x. ISSN 0306-5251.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Arseneault, L., Cannon, M., Witton, J., Murray, R. M. (February 2004). "Causal association between cannabis and psychosis: examination of the evidence". The British Journal of Psychiatry. 184 (2): 110–117. doi:10.1192/bjp.184.2.110. ISSN 0007-1250.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Every-Palmer, S. (September 2011). "Synthetic cannabinoid JWH-018 and psychosis: An explorative study". Drug and Alcohol Dependence. 117 (2–3): 152–157. doi:10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2011.01.012. ISSN 0376-8716.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Schneir, A. B., Cullen, J., Ly, B. T. (1 March 2011). ""Spice" Girls: Synthetic Cannabinoid Intoxication". The Journal of Emergency Medicine. 40 (3): 296–299. doi:10.1016/j.jemermed.2010.10.014. ISSN 0736-4679.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Vearrier, D., Osterhoudt, K. C. (June 2010). "A Teenager With Agitation: Higher Than She Should Have Climbed". Pediatric Emergency Care. 26 (6): 462–465. doi:10.1097/PEC.0b013e3181e4f416. ISSN 0749-5161.
- ↑ http://www.epa.gov/ttn/atw/hlthef/naphthal.html
- ↑ Lin, C. Y., Wheelock, A. M., Morin, D., Baldwin, R. M., Lee, M. G., Taff, A., Plopper, C., Buckpitt, A., Rohde, A. (16 June 2009). "Toxicity and metabolism of methylnaphthalenes: comparison with naphthalene and 1-nitronaphthalene". Toxicology. 260 (1–3): 16–27. doi:10.1016/j.tox.2009.03.002. ISSN 1879-3185.
- ↑ Synthetic cannabinoids in herbal products (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime) | https://www.unodc.org/documents/scientific/Synthetic_Cannabinoids.pdf
- ↑ Morris, H. (2010), HAMILTON MORRIS?: NAPTHALENE IS SO OVER
- ↑ "Anlage II BtMG" (in German). Bundesministerium der Justiz und für Verbraucherschutz. Retrieved December 30, 2019.
- ↑ "Neunundzwanzigste Verordnung zur Änderung betäubungsmittelrechtlicher Vorschriften" (PDF). Bundesgesetzblatt Jahrgang 2015 Teil I Nr. 19 (in German). Bundesanzeiger Verlag. May 22, 2015. pp. 723–724. Retrieved December 19, 2019.
- ↑ "§ 29 BtMG" (in German). Bundesministerium der Justiz und für Verbraucherschutz. Retrieved December 19, 2019.
- ↑ Zaudējis spēku - Noteikumi par Latvijā kontrolējamajām narkotiskajām vielām, psihotropajām vielām un prekursoriem
- ↑ http://www.folkhalsomyndigheten.se/nyheter-och-press/nyhetsarkiv/2014/november/cannabinoider-foreslas-bli-klassade-som-halsofarlig-vara/
- ↑ "Verordnung des EDI über die Verzeichnisse der Betäubungsmittel, psychotropen Stoffe, Vorläuferstoffe und Hilfschemikalien" (in German). Bundeskanzlei [Federal Chancellery of Switzerland]. Retrieved January 1, 2020.
- ↑ The Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (Amendment) Order 2016