JWH-018

JWH-018
The skeletal formula of JWH-018
Chemical Nomenclature
Substitutive name	JWH-018, AM-678
Systematic name	Naphthalen-1-yl-(1-pentylindol-3-yl)methanone
Routes of Administration
Smoked Dosage WARNING: Always start with lower doses due to differences between individual body weight, tolerance, metabolism, and personal sensitivity. See responsible use section. DISCLAIMER: PW's dosage information is a summary of data gathered from users and resources. It is not a recommendation and should be verified with other sources for accuracy. Threshold < 1 mg Light 1 - 2 mg Common 2 - 3 mg Strong 3 - 5 mg Heavy 5 mg + Duration Total 1 - 2 hours Onset 5 - 10 minutes Peak 60 - 90 minutes Offset 5 - 10 minutes Afterglow 60 - 90 minutes

Summary sheet: JWH-018

JWH-018 (also called 1-pentyl-3-(1-naphthoyl)indole or AM-678) is a full agonist synthetic cannabinoid first synthesized by organic chemist John W. Huffman. It gained popularity in late 2008 when German chemists found it as a proponent of the popular synthetic cannabis blend Spice, which had been sold in numerous countries around the world since 2002.

Cannabinoids are commonly smoked or vaporized to achieve a quick onset of effects and rapid offset. JWH-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.

There is some concern over the potential toxicity of many synthetic cannabinoids, so it is strongly discouraged to take this substance for extended periods of time or in excessive doses.

Chemistry

JWH-018, or Naphthalen-1-yl-(1-pentylindol-3-yl)methanone, is a synthetic cannabinoid containing a substituted indole structure. This indole core is shared with other cannabinoid substances including PB-22, 5F-PB-22, JWH-018, and AM2201. JWH-018 is substituted at R₁ with a pentyl chain. Additionally, the indole 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 JWH-018 classifies it as a ketone. JWH-018 is an analog of THJ-018 in which the core indazole structure is substituted with an indole base.

Pharmacology

JWH-018 is a full agonist of both the CB1 and CB2 cannabinoid receptors, with a reported binding affinity of 9.00 ± 5.00 nM at CB1 and 2.94 ± 2.65 nM at CB2. However, the role of these interactions and how they result in the cannabinoid high experience continues to remain elusive.

Subjective effects

The effects listed below are based upon the subjective effects index and personal experiences of PsychonautWiki contributors. The listed effects will rarely (if ever) occur all at once, but heavier dosages will increase the chances and are more likely to induce a full range of effects.

Physical effects

• Spontaneous tactile sensations - The "body high" of JWH-018 can be described as a warm, soft, pleasurable, all-encompassing tingling sensation that spreads over the body. 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 sedating. This encourages one to relax, lie down, and (at higher doses) fall asleep. It produces strong sedative effects that can be described as on par with 5F-PB-22 and more sedating when compared to THC, JWH-073, THJ-018, AM-2201, or 5F-UR-144 but less than that of 5F-AKB-48.
• 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, JWH-018 causes an increase in appetite, 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. 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.
• Dehydration- This is known colloquially as "cotton mouth" in popular American and United Kingdom culture.
• Vasodilation - Cannabinoids appear to decrease blood pressure by dilating the blood vessels and 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.
• Perception of increased weight or Perception of decreased weight
• Changes in gravity - JWH-018, like other cannabinoids, is capable of causing 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. The propensity of this is greatly reduced and eliminated in proportion to tolerance.

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.
• Euphoria - This can be considered very prominent in comparison to THJ-018, AM-2201, and 5F-UR-144 but less intense in comparison to JWH-073.
• Thought connectivity - This can attribute to fluid, more abstract thinking in comparison to linear thought.
• Anxiety - Subjectively, JWH-018 is less anxiogenic and stimulating than Δ9-THC, THJ-018, AM-2201, or 5F-UR-144 but more so than JWH-073.
• Paranoia - All cannabinoids are capable of inducing paranoia at high doses or with chronic administration.
• Thought deceleration
• Immersion enhancement
• Conceptual thinking
• Mindfulness
• Information processing suppression
• Dream suppression
• Psychosis - The prolonged usage of synthetic cannabinoids may increase one's disposition to psychosis, particularly in vulnerable individuals with risk factors for psychotic illnesses (like a past or family history of schizophrenia).

Visual effects

• Colour enhancement
• Acuity suppression
• Geometry - As reported with other cannabinoids, JWH-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.

Auditory effects

• Enhancements

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 smoke before drinking and not the other way around unless they are extremely cautious.

Toxicity and harm potential

Main article: Research chemicals § Toxicity and harm potential

JWH-018, like many synthetic cannabinoids, is a full agonist of the CB1 receptors in contrast to the partial agonist Δ9-THC. Because of this, harm mediated by CB1 receptor agonism can be more severe than its partial agonist counterparts. JWH-018 has been shown to cause profound changes in CB1 receptor density following administration, causing desensitization to its effects more rapidly than related cannabinoids. JWH-018 has caused seizures and convulsions, and evidence suggests this is a result of inhibiting GABA neurotransmission more effectively than Δ9-THC. Although these dangers have been confirmed it is worth noting that the exact toxic dosage is unknown.

JWH-018 has also been known to exacerbate pre-existing psychological disorders causing intense paranoia, anxiety and agitation; however, Δ9-THC itself has been known to do this as well. It is often recommended that those with severe pre-existing mental conditions should not ingest these substances due to the way they strongly increase the current state of mind of the person. Also, like THC, prolonged usage of synthetic cannabinoids may increase one's disposition to mental illness and psychosis, especially in vulnerable individuals with risk factors for psychotic illnesses (like a past or family history of psychosis).

Compared to many fluorinated cannabinoids, however, including JWH-018's fluorinated counterpart AM-2201, JWH-018 can be considered relatively non-toxic. The JWH-series is comparatively physically benign, with its metabolites being non-toxic. However, contamination of JWH-018 powder, like other cannabinoids, can contain within it potentially toxic and harmful reagents and it is advised not to consume contaminated cannabinoid powder. JWH-018 should be an odorless powder with a slight (but not overwhelming) taste when combusted/vaporized. Contaminated cannabinoid powders, when inhaled, can cause damage to the respiratory tract. There have been 75 documented hospitalizations and 3 deaths related to contaminated AD-PICA and AB-PINICA.

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 JWH-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 JWH-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). JWH-018 presents cross-tolerance with all cannabinoids, meaning that after the consumption of JWH-018 all cannabinoids will have a reduced effect.

Legal issues

• Austria: The Austrian Ministry of Health announced on December 18, 2008 that Spice would be controlled under paragraph 78 of their drug law on the grounds that it contains an active substance that affects the functions of the body, and the legality of JWH-018 is under review.
• Australia: The State of Queensland has listed JWH-018 as a dangerous drug under Drugs Misuse Regulation 1987. It is schedule 2, the same schedule as cannabis.
• Belarus: This substance was banned on the 1st of January 2010.
• Canada: JWH-018 is claimed to be a controlled substance in Canada though it is not listed under schedule 2 synthetic cannabinoids.
• China: China has made JWH-018 illegal for sale. It is illegal to import or export JWH-018.
• Estonia: This substance was banned on the 24th of July 2009.
• Finland: This substance was banned on the 12th of March 2012.
• France: This substance was banned on 24th of February 2009.
• Germany: This substance was banned on the 22nd of January 2009.
• Ireland: An immediate ban was announced on 11 May 2010 by Minister for Health Mary Harney.
• Italy: This substance was banned on the 2nd of July 2010.
• Latvia: This substance was banned on the 28th of November 2009.
• Norway: This substance was banned on 21st of December 2011.
• Romania: This substance was banned on the 15th of February 2010.
• Russia: This substance was banned on the 22nd of January 2010.
• South Korea: This substance was banned on the 1st of July 2009.
• Sweden: A bill to ban JWH-018 was accepted on 30 July 2009 and was in effect on 15 September 2009.
• Ukraine: This substance was banned on the 31st of May 2010.
• United Kingdom: This substance was banned on the 23rd of December 2009.
• United States: This substance was permanently scheduled on the 9th of July 2012 by Section 1152 of the Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act (FDASIA).

See also

• Responsible use
• JWH-073
• THJ-018
• 5F-PB-22
• Synthetic cannabinoid
• Cannabis

External links

• JWH-018 (Wikipedia)
• JWH-018 (Erowid)
• JWH-018 (Neurosoup)