Para-Methoxyamphetamine

para-Methoxyamphetamine (PMA), also known as 4-methoxyamphetamine (4-MA), is a designer drug of the amphetamine class with serotonergic effects. Unlike other similar drugs of this family, PMA does not produce stimulant, euphoriant, or entactogenic effects, and behaves more like an antidepressant in comparison, though it does have some psychedelic properties. PMA has been found in black market tablets sold as MDMA (ecstasy) although its effects are markedly different compared to those of MDMA. The consequences of such deception have often included hospitalization and death for unwitting users. PMA is commonly synthesized from anethole, the essential oil of anise and fennel, mainly because the starting material for MDMA and MDA, safrole (a major component of the essential oil of sassafras), has become less available due to increasing government controls, causing illicit drug manufacturers to make PMA as an alternative.