4-methylethcathinone 4-methylethcathinone 4-methylethcathinone or 4-mec is a chemical that bears a chemical resemblance to mephedrone. due to its similarity to mephedrone, it is thought to be a stimulant and entactogen drug of the phenethylamine, amphetamine, and cathinone chemical classes. it has been marketed alone or in mixtures with other substituted cathinones under the name "nrg-2", although other blends such as "nrg-1" may have been more ambiguous with their ingredients. 4-methylethcathinoneclinical dataother names4-methyl-n-ethylcathinone; 2-ethylamino-1-p-tolylpropan-1-onelegal statuslegal status de: anlage ii (authorized trade only, not prescriptible) nz: class c uk: class b us: schedule i i-p (poland) identifiers iupac name (r/s)-2-ethylamino-1-(4-methylphenyl)propan-1-one cas number1225617-18-4 y 1266688-86-1 (hydrochloride)pubchem cid52988258chemspider25630091 nunii9665w17sh3chemical and physical dataformulac12h17nomolar mass191.274 g·mol−13d model (jsmol)interactive image smiles cc1ccc(cc1)c(=o)c(c)ncc inchi inchi=1s/c12h17no/c1-4-13-10(3)12(14)11-7-5-9(2)6-8-11/h5-8,10,13h,4h2,1-3h3 nkey:zoxzwywoeccbsh-uhfffaoysa-n n ny (what is this?) (verify) 4-mec is reported to have been used as the active ingredient in fake "ecstasy" pills in some countries such as new zealand. recreational use some users have injected the drug intravenously. this requires heating the water/4-mec solution in order for 4-mec to dissolve. injecting 4-mec appears to be rough on veins and is sometimes accompanied by a burning sensation; for this reason 4-mec should be diluted as much as possible. intravenous dosages are comparable to oral ones, although more care should be given to safety (with regard to possibility of overdose and long-term effects). legality in the united states 4-mec is a schedule 1 controlled substance.