If there’s one issue that plagues the many members of the research chemical community, it’s confusion. The abbreviations for a drug’s real name rarely consist of more than a couple of numbers and letters, and a lot of them can look pretty similar. Case in point? 3-MMC and 3-CMC, two compounds with similar names – and even similar effects – that are nonetheless different from one another.
This article will explore the difference between 3-MMC vs 3-CMC. You’ll also learn a bit more about the cathinone class of drugs in general so you can see what makes these drugs differently than other stimulants, such as the phenylethylamines.
What’s Up With the Cathinones?
Cathinone drugs are one of the few families of synthetic drugs that have their origin and the natural world. Cathinone, the base molecule that makes up all the drugs in this class, can be found in the khat plant that grows in Africa.
Drugs in this class tend to be stimulating. The most common cathinone is amphetamine. All of these other drugs like chloromethcathinone, or CMC 3-CMC, it’s third-position substitution, 3-MMC crystal or powder, are considered substituted cathinones, many of which are derivatives of amphetamine (such as the 3-MMC and 3-CMC that we’re discussing).
The Chemical Science
The scientific differences between drugs of the cathinone class are the result of changes in the molecular structure. The ones which are derivatives of amphetamine have a double-bonded oxygen atom that can be found at the second carbon away from the amine nitrogen.
Methcathinone forms the basis of the drugs described in this article (3-MMC and 3-CMC). The methcathinone molecule looks pretty much the same as an amphetamine molecule, the main difference being an extra carbon that hangs off of the nitrogen, which creates an n-methyl group. Interestingly, this is what creates the difference between amphetamine and methamphetamine.
The double-bonded oxygen that we just mentioned makes a ketone group at the beta position.
So if we take the methcathinone to mean MC, when we’re talking about 3-CMC and 3-MMC, the other names indicate the other molecular changes. 3-CMC, for example, means 3-chloromethcathinone. 3-MMC means 3-methylmethcathinone. Most of these drugs were created to replace 4-MMC, mephedrone, the wildly popular party drug that was notoriously addictive and often described as a cross between cocaine and MDMA.
Natural? Must Be Healthy, Right?
Many of the cathinones have been used as a replacement or legal alternative to amphetamines because the effects are so similar.
Some erroneously believed that since the khat plant supplied the original skeleton of the cathinone drug, it must therefore be healthy. This sort of silly thinking gets a lot of people into trouble.
When used traditionally, Ethiopians would use the khat plant as a mild stimulant the way that it was offered by nature. They would not extract cathinone from it, nor reproduce it in a lab. This is partly due to a lack of equipment, as well as general regard and respect for nature.
Alas, here in the West we have turned an offering from nature into a potentially neurotoxic and addictive substance. Instead of respecting the plant and using it medicinally, as it certainly would have appreciated, we did what we tend to do: identified the most potent active compound, isolated this, extracted it, and began distributing it in concentrations equivalent to several thousand plants.
Of course, the basis for this isn’t necessarily malevolent. Cultivating khat plants in Europe and North America isn’t entirely easy, and demanding Ethiopia to produce enough khat to supply a global market would be unreasonable. So, unless you’re a dedicated plant enthusiast and have the equipment necessary to simulate an Ethiopian environment, you’re probably going to be relying on a synthetic version of the substance.
3MMC vs 3CMC
So, now that we know a bit about the root substance of the cathinone drugs, we can now begin to discuss the differences between some of the analogs and substituted compounds that make up the rest of the class.
After 4-MMC (mephedrone) took the European rave scene by storm, it was quickly made illegal, much to the disappointment of ravers and recreational drug users around the world. The search for a replacement began in earnest and, in many ways, still continues to this day
Two of the substances that are most commonly used as an alternative to mephedrone are 3 MMC crystal and 3 CMC. Because of the 3 MMC and 3 CMC legality, these substances are much more suitable for people interested in pursuing research without offending law enforcement agencies.
3MMC
3-Methylmethcathinone, also known as metaphedrone, is a novel stimulant-entactogen substance. It is a part of the cathinone class of drugs due to containing the cathinone skeleton. It’s also a structural analog of mephedrone, which struck the attention and interest of many psychedelic researchers.
Though there hasn’t been nearly as much research done on the effects of 3MMC as there has been on 4MMC (mephedrone), researchers seem to believe that there is a comparable level of stimulation at the dopamine and serotonin receptor sites that is encouraged by the substance. This is not unlike many of the other cathinone substances.
3-MMC is one of the many cathinone derivatives that was developed during the early half of the 2010s in response to the criminalization of mephedrone. 3-MMC provides users with a good example of what constitutes a ‘designer drug,’ a substance developed specifically with the intention of providing specific results in order to replace a drug that had recently become difficult or dangerous to obtain.
Researchers find that metaphedrone displays many similarities to mephedrone in terms of the physiological and psychological effects that are produced by its activation. These positive symptoms are often referred to as a cross between the effects of cocaine and MDMA.
Compared to mephedrone, 3-MMC seems to provoke more stimulation and less entactogenic effects, likening it more to a traditional amphetamine than MDMA. Researchers identified a number of unexpected and undesirable effects with 3-MMC that were not present with mephedrone.
Just as with mephedrone, researchers must exhibit caution when studying a compound like this. It tends to cause researchers to be prone to compulsive research sessions, studying more intensively and without regard to their well-being until all of the 3-MMC is gone.
Researching so intensely and without regard to personal safety is likely a hazard. Some research suggests that compulsory study, especially with larger quantities of 3-MMC, can cause health problems.
3-MMC Chemistry
As discussed, 3-MMC is a cathinone. Cathinones share the same core structure of a phenyl ring bound to the amino group by an ethyl chain, as well as an added methyl substitution at Rα.
3-MMC is different from standard cathinone because of the two methyl substitutions on the cathinone skeleton. The first is at the R3 of the phenyl ring, the second is at the nitrogen group of Rn.
3-MMC is an analog of mephedrone, being identical aside from the location of the methyl group which resides at R4 in 3-MMC instead of R3, as in mephedrone.
3 MMC crystal powder is white with a melting point of 193.2 celsius.
3-CMC
3-chloromethcathinone, CMC 3-CMC, or clophedrone, is a much less studied member of the cathinone class. Like the other cathinones it’s a stimulant, most often sold online as a designer drug.
It’s most popular in the European countries where mephedrone was popular. It is currently most popular in Sweden, Italy, and Poland.
Interestingly enough, 3-CMC is closer in chemical structure to the antidepressant and anti-addiction medication known as bupropion. Bupropion (brand name Wellbutrin) is itself a cathinone although its recreational value is quite limited.
This likely contributes to the reputation that 3-CMC has as an inferior cathinone drug. Researchers are generally in agreement that 3-CMC is less potent and provides a far less interesting research experience than its MMC counterpart.
Interestingly, 3-CMC seems to have much stronger serotonergic action when compared to 3-MMC. This is intriguing because bupropion, the drug with which it shares a similar chemical structure, is strongly dopaminergic. The high serotonergic action means that 3-CMC tends to produce far less peripheral stimulation.
Its entactogenic properties are generally more pronounced, however, much like the serotonergic properties of MDMA produce a stronger entactogenic experience than the dopaminergic methamphetamine (MA). 3-MMC, being highly dopaminergic, could be compared much more easily to methamphetamine and MDMA whereas 3-CMC would be more similar to just MDMA.
However, even though the research results tend to err on the side of MDMA, 3-CMC is generally regarded as an inferior substance. Researchers must be diligent to discern its effects, and oftentimes large doses are required to be able to evaluate any results whatsoever. This increases the risks inherent to the researcher and reduces the overall value of the substance.
One researcher on Reddit described the comparison between 3-MMC and 3-CMC with very intense, graphic metaphors.
“A first time 3MMC [experience] creates quite accurately the same expression of terror and helplessness as did the German machineguns at the advent of the first World War… English and French [soldiers] walking over the tip of a hill… all of them only equipped with single-shot front loader guns.”
In other words, 3-MMC is the more potent chemical that can produce rapid-fire bombardment of the neurotransmitter vesicles, whereas 3-CMC is the vastly inferior single-shot front loader that merely pecks at the same receptor sites.
Safety & Precautions With 3-MMC and 3-CMC
As any researcher should know, safety is of paramount importance when dealing with compounds such as these. One of the best ways to do this is to look at the parent compounds of the substances involved, as well as any associations with similar compounds.
3-CMC is fairly closely related to 4-CMC, which many people have mentioned should be used with great caution due to its similarity to pCA (para-Chloroamphetamine, an amphetamine with a chlorine bonded at the fourth ring position which happens to be a strong neurotoxin in mice.)
Because of the untested nature of these compounds, even research that produces seemingly positive effects should be taken with a grain of salt. Nobody can be certain about the long-term effects of study until, well, the study has been completed. If you’re one of the only people leading the study, then, unfortunately, the reality is that you might be the first to discover some previously unidentified long-term health defect that may result from being in close quarters with either 3-MMC or 3-CMC.
It’s generally recommended for researchers to initially experiment with a minuscule amount, known as an ‘allergy sample,’ to ensure that they won’t have any immediate or extreme adverse reactions to the compound. It’s also important to make sure that you keep a number of drug reagent tests on hand so that you can verify the quality and identity of any substances that you purchase online.
And of course, make sure that you take care to determine the best 3-CMC or 3-MMC dosage prior to doing any sort of study. There can be a huge difference in effect 3-CMC dosage can produce and researchers must ensure that they have the proper lab equipment for measuring even the most subtle dosage changes.
And, while 3 CMC and 3 MMC legality is not an issue in most places, it’s important to double-check prior to making any purchases. China has already made 3 CMC illegal, and other countries may soon be looking to pass on similar laws. In the United States, the Analog Act – which forbids the purchase and distribution of any substances that are chemical analogs of illegal compounds – can make it tricky to determine which substances are legal for purchase.
Conclusion
Researchers have not fully profiled the effects and safety of 3-MMC and 3-CMC, although enough study has been done to produce a general verdict. 3-MMC is much more suitable for recreational purposes according to the opinions of most researchers, whereas 3-CMC remains fickle, less potent, and less pronounced.
The safety profile of 3-CMC is also more questionable than 3-MMC, which is a strong point in favor of 3-MMC. In either case, you’re the researcher, so make sure that you’re prepared to study safely and draw your own conclusions.
