SYNTHESIS: To a well stirred and cooled solution of 14.75 g isopropylamine in 100 mL MeOH there was added 4.45 g of 3,4-methylenedioxyphenylacetone (see under for its preparation) followed by a 1:1 mixture of concentrated HCl and MeOH, sufficient to bring the pH to about 4. This was followed with 1.1 g sodium cyanoborohydride, and stirring was continued overnight. When the pH increased to over 6 there was added an additional 0.5 g of the borohydride, and additional methanolic HCl was added as needed to maintain the pH there. When the pH became stable, the reaction mixture was brought soundly acid with the addition of yet additional HCl, and all solvents were removed under vacuum. The residues were added to 500 mL H₂O and washed with 3×100 mL CH₂Cl₂. The aqueous phase was made basic with 25% NaOH, and extracted with 4×100 mL CH₂Cl₂. Removal of the solvent under vacuum yielded 2.8 g of an amber liquid that was distilled at 95–110 °C at 0.3 mm/Hg. There was obtained about 2 mL of a white oil that was dissolved in 10 mL of IPA, neutralized with about 20 drops of concentrated HCl producing spontaneous crystals. These were diluted with some 40 mL of anhydrous Et₂O, removed by filtration, washed with Et₂O, and then air dried. There was obtained 1.6 g of 3,4-methylenedioxy-N-isopropylamphetamine hydrochloride (MDIP) with a mp of 186–186.5 °C with prior sintering at 185 °C. Anal. (C₁₃H₂₀ClNO₂) N.

DOSAGE: greater than 250 mg.

DURATION: unknown.

QUALITATIVE COMMENTS: (with 250 mg) “At 35 minutes there was an extremely slight head disturbance which increased over the next few minutes. I would have missed it if there had been any sensory input at all. At the one hour point there was a slight physical malaise, but no ‘open window’ of any kind, either like or like . At the most, this was a threshold, and in another half hour, I was completely baseline.”

EXTENSIONS AND COMMENTARY: The structure of MDIP can be looked at as exactly that of but with an additional methyl group (one carbon) hanging off the ethyl that is on the nitrogen. And with that slight additional weight, the activity has disappeared. On those occasions where research has shown a compound to be inactive, there has been some study made that could be called a “primer” experiment. Why not take advantage of the fact that an “inactive” compound might well be sitting in some receptor site in the brain without doing anything? Might its presence, wherever it might be, have some effect if only a person were to explore it in the correct way? Might it augment or interfere with the action of another compound? Many experiments of this kind have been performed, geared to milk additional information out of a new trial of a new material.