There’s still not a lot of information available about JWH-018. This is wild west territory folks. We’re really excited about this chemical so we’ll be updating this page regularly as we learn more information and receive first-hand reports from fellow researchers. Here’s what we know today:
History
JWH-018, also known as 1-pentyl-3-naphthoylindole, is just one of a series of several hundred JWH-xxx chemicals developed over the last few years by John W. Huffman (JWH) and his research associates at Clemson University in the USA. His team’s primary focus is the synthesis of analogues and metabolites of THC (the active ingredient in marijuana), also known as cannabinoids.
JWH-018 is covered by the following US patents: 7241799 and 6900236
Potency
Each of the JWH chemicals have varying effects on the CB1 and CB2 receptors, however JWH-018 has been singled out by researchers (and recreational users) as one which possesses qualities quite similar to THC.
This report written by Huffman states that JWH-018 has approximately five times greater affinity for the CP1 receptor than THC, and is more potent than THC in humans/animals.
Administration and Dosage
Smoked: 0.5mg to 3mg
Insufflated: Very weak, and probably very difficult as the compound is not a powder - not recommended
Oral: 3mg to 10mg
Some anecdotal research indicates consuming amounts greater than these can cause anxiety, not unlike smoking too much marijuana. Other research indicates that because JWH-018 shares similar properties to THC, it would be very difficult to overdose, unlike some other cannabinoids, such as HU-210, which may be fatal when consumed in large amounts.
When consumed, JWH-018 has effects similar to THC lasting for 3-5 hours duration. When compared to CP 55,940, which has an effect duration of 10 to 18 hours, this could be considered a definite plus by many recreational users. Smoking JWH-018 differs from smoking THC in that it produces a peak effect almost instantaneously, unlike the 10-15 minute delay with cannabis/THC as it is not metabolized to a more active compound (THC is metabolized to the more active 11-hydroxy THC). Re-dosing is possible upon comedown, although there is not enough research to indicate if there are any tolerance issues.
It is speculated, but not yet proven, that JWH-018 would not be detected by standard cannabinoid drug tests.
Comparisons To Other Synthetic Cannabinoids
Further input is required. Other known recreational cannabinoids include WIN 55,210, HU-210 and CP 55,940. There are also some discussions of JWH-073 and JWH-081 for recreational use although the differences between them and JWH-018 are very subtle.
JWH-018 is considerably more stable and easier to store than CP55,940, which degrades (and loses potency) at temperatures above -20C, whilst JWH-018 does not appear to degrade significantly at room temperature.
Would anyone care to summarize, in layman’s terms, the conclusions of this article? It appears that JWH-018 compares very favorably to CP55,940 and WIN 55,212-2.
Therapeutic Uses
From Wikipedia:
JWH-018 (1-Pentyl-3-(1-Naphthoyl)Indole) is an analgesic drug from the aminoalkylindole family, which acts as a cannabinoid agonist at both the CB1 and CB2 receptors, with some selectivity for CB2. It produces effects in animals very similar to those of THC itself, but with a shorter duration of action, and is currently being researched as a potential analgesic to be administered by transdermal patch.
So can we assume that there may be uses for this drug besides obvious recreational purposes? Perhaps as a potential alternate for medical marijuana for Alzheimer’s patients. Or as a trans-dermal patch for AIDS or chemotherapy patients who suffer from nausea and are unable to take THC in pill form.
Legality
JWH-018 is believed to be legal in all countries at this time. However some countries’ analogue laws may apply to JWH-018, in certain circumstances.
Also there was a picture along with this info but it linked back to a website so I have attached it to this post.
Several grams of JWH-018:
Last edited by Alfa; 28-08-2009 at 01:23.
Reason: Added format
Swim has procured some of this interesting compound (I think some of you know where ) and will do a trip report as soon as he begins his research. Swim has just a small amount at his disposal, about 12mg give or take so about 4-5 doses worth.
A magical pony told me the following:
Quote:
It came as an orangeish/dark rust coloured compound ( just like the pic above) in a small flattened lump that needed to be cut with a razor to divide it. Purity? I have no idea to be quite honest, but assuming the sample was indeed 12 mg, about 1/3rd of it was used for a satisfactory dose ( Yes I eyeballed it!). It was drooped into a stoppered test tube and evaporated over a gas stove until none was left at the bottom, the vapours were then inhaled in one breath and held for ~10 seconds. Not unlike a cannabis high but somehow "cleaner" feeling and I wasn't quite as laughy/obviously fucked up as with cannabis or even spice et al.. Breathing trouble? Not that I noticed, couldn't imagine much like that with the small amount inhaled. **Note that my dose was probably a fair bit less than 4mg as there was an orangish liquid stuck to the walls of the test tube afterward, could well have been 1mg+ of the stuff left in there.
Last edited by Shampoo; 03-02-2010 at 05:41.
Reason: simplifying thread
swim has tried,appearance was a bit more yellow than that above rusty photo...pleasant,slight euphoric feeling,no body load at all at 2-5mg eyeblled,smoked through a bong,by blocking with tiny amount of 'skunky goodness'...
swim has seen a friend consume roughly 5-15mg and had severe anxiety related issues/possible panic attack,but was fine after about 20-30 minutes...
maybe good idea for those without accurate scales to have a benzo handy...??
it has quite a weird smell,slighly ammonia like...
does any1 know if this is h2o or alcohol soluble??
Any chance you could give us a summary of what was in this CoA? Were specific impurities found, if so what? Just a bit curious about this now.
Where were you getting your information Alfa? Because information that has come to light recently would show that this compound should absolutely not be a white-yellow powder and a tan solid somewhat like the picture is in fact the correct form, MSDS for the compound back this up, along with info from a friend with good chemistry knowledge. Based on the molecular structure of the compound it would suggest that it would indeed be coloured and not white.
But other info on potential toxicity of this mediated by its possible metabolism to naphthalene have put SWIM off further testing regardless. Also there is just about nothing known about this in general, there could well be other interactions besides CB1 and CB2 modulation, we simply don't know. IIRC JWH-015 has been proven to have naphthalene epoxides as metabolites..
I don't know guys, there's just too little research done with this for SWIM.
Last edited by Shampoo; 03-02-2010 at 05:47.
Reason: Cleaning up
Any chance you could give us a summary of what was in this CoA? Were specific impurities found, if so what? Just a bit curious about this now.
FUBAR does not know what was on the CoA except 96.6 - 97% purity, which FUBAR considers pretty low.
Quote:
Originally Posted by nibble
Where were you getting your information Alfa? Because information that has come to light recently would show that this compound should absolutely not be a white-yellow powder and a tan solid somewhat like the picture is in fact the correct form, MSDS for the compound back this up, along with info from a friend with good chemistry knowledge. Based on the molecular structure of the compound it would suggest that it would indeed be coloured and not white.
Well FUBAR has seen white-yellow jwh-018 with 99.6% purity, but has also seen clear slightly yellow oil(which was not turned into a salt yet). So if yellow-white crystals are already available and if clear yellow oil is already available, then the picture speaks for itself.
Unless your friend has calculated the energies of the molecular orbitals, and compute the theoretical spectrum of the compound, there is no way to tell (even if the compound contains a conjugated system) thats it will actually absorb in the visible spectrum, and therefore have an actual color, just by looking at the structure.
Ah, had no idea myself really, I didn't really think you could in fact do that though..
And the above doc from Huffman doesn't mention the appearance of JWH-018 at all, the only place that chem is mentioned is in relation to its affinity for cb1/cb2. Right Alfa, hmm SWIM is very confused about the whole issue, other sources state it as being a tan solid in its ketone form, SWIM really doesn't know, not saying you're not a credible source Alfa but I don't see why the other source would be any less credible..
Unless we see a doc from Huffman et al describing the synth/appearance of final product I don't think we could be truly sure.
Well, I got something which is really close, the only difference is an extra methyl group. Look at page 544, bottom right of the page
1-Pentyl-3-(4-methyl-1-naphthoyl)indole (15).
......The solvents were removed in vacuo to give a yellow oil
which was purified by chromatography to give 0.24 g
(42%) of 1-Pentyl-3-(4-methyl-1-naphthoyl)indole as a pale yellow oil
Although a strong correlation can be made since it differs from a methyl group, its not the actual compound, the original synthesis of JWH-018 is here , but I cant have access to it .
Last edited by Terrapinzflyer; 29-01-2010 at 02:09.
Reason: cleanup
um, if i am not mistaken, the picture above and descriptions following are of one of the earlier gone but not forgotten finished form smoking preparations incorpporating the JWH as the active, the rest of the matrix being apple hookah smokin flavorin' ;-)
its for rolling yummy joints and only a small percentage of jwh which is an offwhite solid is incorporated.
I have received the following text by email. A Canadian smoke blend dealer asked his lawyer for advise. This is the result:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Canadian Lawyer
I have set out the response from Health Canada below. This confirms that the Canadian authorities are of the opinion that JWH-018 falls within
controlled substances legislation.
The response is:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Health Canada
"We received confirmation from the Office of Controlled Substances, that it would be the opinion of Health Canada that JWH-018 is in fact
a Controlled Substance in Canada. This substance would fall under item 1 of schedule 2 of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, which reads as follows:
1. Cannabis, its preparations, derivatives and similar synthetic preparations, including
(8) Non-viable Cannabis seed, with the exception of its derivatives
(9) Mature Cannabis stalks that do not include leaves, flowers, seeds or branches; and fiber derived from such stalks"
You will note that the Canadian cannabis wording covers "preparations, derivatives and similar synthetic preparations" relating to Cannabis. This is wider than the UK definition which does not refer to similar synthetic preparations.
There has been some discussion about this before. A member here, that studies law, dug into this, even inquired with his professor and came to the same conclusion.
A series of pre-clinical ADME/Toxicity studies were conducted on JWH-018 including CYPs, Genotox, hERG, Cytotox, Rodent Tox (LD50, Acute Dose, Repeat Dose & Pharmakinetics). All tests passed within tolerable guidelines. JWH-018 tested negative for genotox (ie cancer) using standard GreenScreen HC both with and without S9 (fraction from liver hepatocytes which metabolizes compounds and looks for genotoxic metabolites).
At 98% purity, JWH-018 is a neon yellow waxy crystalline substance that looks a bit like DMT, and a bit like bee pollen. At 99% purity it should be white to off-white crystals.
The rust brown shit being sold openly via the web is very impure shit and possibly hazardous for all anyone really knows.
Sorry to side track, but I feel this needs to be addressed:
Quote:
Originally Posted by mictihtoya
The rust brown shit being sold openly via the web is very impure shit and possibly hazardous for all anyone really knows.
Based on WHAT evidence? I've seen this topic discussed on a couple other forums and your statement is entirely based on the speculation of one or two people who have merely looked at a picture, and that's literally it. They might be intelligent dudes, but I think they might just be jumping too quick to conclusions.
Here's some facts you may have missed: No one anywhere has produced any hard evidence to prove those accusations. A chemist in another forum actually did a NMR and HPLC on a sample of that brown compound and it passed. Another guy produced a CoA and it passed > 98% purity. And those who have actually tried it have reported no complaints, including myself.
BTW, SWIM put some in my herb grinder and it came out as a waxy yellow powder just like what you described above.
The package of JWH-018 arrived Saturday night. The product resembles what has been sold as 'red-rock opium' (Dragon's Blood Incense), but has a softer, waxy texture as opposed to DB Incense's hard, crunchy texture. It has a distinct flowery/chemical scent to it.
No mg scale around, we very carefully shaved off 3-5 mg of product (when not condensed into a 'rock', the product looks light yellow) and inserted it into an indirect heating/oil pipe (bubble pipe). Keeping the flame under the product, it melted and began boiling/smoking. Inhaled all subsequent vapors in one breath. It has a distinct flavor reminiscent of N,N,DMT.
This was a virgin experience (no other drugs) and we definitely felt the effects of the chemical. Very pleasantly surprised. Our experiences with 'Spice Gold' and Spice-alikes were relatively minor; a feeling that it is similar to, but weaker than marijuana. 018 is serious business and we were significantly intoxicated. The equivalent of a gram-sized blunt of high-grade marijuana, although different... The fact that you need only one hit to ingest a rather large amount of this substance creates a bit of a 'rush' when the chemical comes on (roughly 2-5 minutes after ingestion), very much like the rush accompanied by an insufflated application of a strong opiate. Conversation was stimulated; slightly manic, though euphoric. A bit of the paranoia/anxiety that reminds us of early marijuana experiences.
Around ten minutes later we began to notice that colors were very vibrant and full, as if on the verge of coming onto a low dose of psychedelics, but not quite tripping. As the rush subsides, we fell into a distinct heaviness; a sense that all of our limbs were roughly 10 pounds heavier and if we held very still, we could feel the 'buzzing' or 'humming' that accompanies a good psychedelic experience. Other than color-enhancement, no other psychedelic properties were noticed. Extreme sedation was noted after the one hour mark (reminiscent of benzodiazapine experiences, could possibly be used as a withdrawl aid), and we doubt that any further applications of the chemical would enhance the psychedelic properties inherent. More likely, the test subject would fall asleep.
Dosage was repeated over a total of three times each for the rest of the night. Definite respiration suppression, we feel we have to consciously control our breathing. A little worrying, so we halted any more applications for the night. Normal respiration acquired roughly one hour after symptoms were first noted.
Our effects while under the influence are:
CNS depression(?) / respiration suppression,
sedation,
color enhancement or 'fullness',
physical 'buzzing' or 'humming' sensation accompanied With 'heaviness',
anti-depressant qualities (euphoria),
mild paranoia/jumpiness (very mild anxiety),
time dilation,
analgesia,
and nausea(?).
Possible 'hangover' effects are:
dry sore throat,
mild headache,
mild diarrhea,
insomnia,
and lethargy.
Possible medical uses are:
hunger aid,
sleep aid,
anti-depressant,
pain-killer, withdrawal aid,
and anti-anxiety (although there is a slight amount of paranoia or anxiety attributable to the experience, the sedation and euphoric quality of this substance are marked enough so it would make for a suitable anti-anxiety medication).
This is a quality substance that is well-suited as a marijuana replacement. With regular usage, tolerance builds very slowly and possibly plateaus. Negative side-effects are minimal and the experience itself is largely pleasurable. Neither subject noticed any addiction/withdrawal symptoms with abrupt discontinuation of applications after seven days of consumption.
This substance is far cheaper than marijuana 'hit-for-hit'.
Last edited by Alfa; 22-03-2009 at 13:29.
Reason: Please mind our rules about prices, self incrimination.
Although a strong correlation can be made since it differs from a methyl group, its not the actual compound, the original synthesis of JWH-018 is here , but I cant have access to it .
That paper is attatched, but it doesn't seem to detail any kind of synthesis whatsoever.
I am wondering how people are measuring it, as a milligrams scale will not cut it and I doubt that many are going to buy a very expensive scale.
The experimentation of people on various forums and their experiences are shocking to me. To measure this compound you either need a sub-milligram scale or measure a larger amount and homogeneously mix it and then ration it up. Failing to use either a sub-milligram scale or homogeneous mixing results in either under or over-dose.
There is an ADME study available here on this forum, which includes a rat toxicity test. Assuming that the test is correct (which seems to be the case), this gives a clear outline of what dose is (relatively) safe and what dose is dangerous.
I have read accounts of people taking unmeasured doses and doses up to 150mg JWH-018, due to inaccurate measuring. To put this into perspective: this is way beyond the danger zone. The fact that one person lives to see another day, does not mean that other persons will. The rats in the rat toxicity study started dying well below this level.
I much understand that a sub-milligram scale is expensive (though really much cheaper than ever before), but it is a real nessecity.
The experimentation of people on various forums and their experiences are shocking to me. To measure this compound you either need a sub-milligram scale or measure a larger amount and homogeneously mix it and then ration it up. Failing to use either a sub-milligram scale or homogeneous mixing results in either under or over-dose.
I don't understand this discussion about sub-milligrams, wasn't the human dosage stated to be around 3 to 4 mg? Any decent mg scale can handle that quantity.
JWH-018 is soluble in (presumably) a non polar solvent. Dossolving a measured dose (say 10 mg) in a measured amount of solute (say 10 ml) gives a very accuate way of measuring without a ridiculously expensive scale that needs frequent calibration and cleaning. The question is what solvent to use. SWIM will check into solubility of this compound and report back. JWH-018 is soluble in ethanol (pure) at 10mg/ml from one source. SWIM thinks it could be dissolved in water (pure) as well at a higher concentration, but is probalby less stable over time. The dissolved product can be measured out, evaporated and ingested, even saturated into a known concentration of smokable material. Oh, wait, someone already did that with spice...
A reasonable priced scale has deviation in the lowest measurable amounts. With a milligram scale this means that it deviates milligrams. Many commonly used milligram scales measure 2 milligrams as a minimum. This means a multiple milligram deviation.
Trying to measure 3-4 milligram with for example the often used Tanita 1210N or 1230 jewellers scale may easily lead to measuring double the amount that one planned for.
That's why it is better to measure 10 mg first and dilute that. To SWIM this is the smallest increment that has a reasonable margin of error on a +/- 1 mg scale, then dilute in ethanol. For those with no such animal, a 50-100 mg measured amount on a 10mg scale could be diluted in a larger amount of ethanol. As long as the material dissolves, measuring volume is more accurate than weighing submilligram amounts without the most precise of scales.
I fail to see how someone can mistake 150mg for just a few milligrams, if you were to purchase say 500 milligrams of this then you could easily deduce that a 2.5mg dose would be 1/200th of the total amount. I'm not condoning the practice but I really can not see death or any other long term debilitation happening with anything short of a ridiculous dose, not from it's cannabinoid activity anyway. Rat studies can't always be directly extrapolated to humans, rats will die when given sufficient amounts of tetrahydrocannabinol too. What would the mechanism of death be in a human?
As I said though, use of an accurate sub-milligram scale would certainly be the ideal.
I agree with you on the 150mg and i have no explanation for it.
Last month a UK vendor (who until recently also ran a very popular public forum) accidentally gave one of his customers a very large dose of JWH-018 believing it was another compound. The story was chronicled by the subject and the vendor on the forum afterward. Very very scary, and the guy was very lucky he survived. This may be the case you are referring to.
) and will do a trip report as soon as he begins his research. Swim has just a small amount at his disposal, about 12mg give or take so about 4-5 doses worth.
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