meta-chlorophenylpiperazine meta-chlorophenylpiperazine meta-chlorophenylpiperazine (mcpp) is a psychoactive drug of the phenylpiperazine class. it was initially developed in the late-1970s and used in scientific research before being sold as a designer drug in the mid-2000s. it has been detected in pills touted as legal alternatives to illicit stimulants in new zealand and pills sold as "ecstasy" in europe and the united states. meta-chlorophenylpiperazineclinical dataroutes ofadministrationoral, intranasal, rectalatc codenonelegal statuslegal status de: anlage ii (authorized trade only, not prescriptible) pharmacokinetic datametabolismliver (cyp2d6)elimination half-life4–14 hoursexcretionurineidentifiers iupac name 1-(3-chlorophenyl)piperazine cas number6640-24-0 npubchem cid1355iuphar/bps142chemspider1314 yuniirey0cno998chebichebi:10588 ychemblchembl478 ycomptox dashboard (epa)dtxsid9045138 echa infocard100.026.959 chemical and physical dataformulac10h13cln2molar mass196.68 g·mol−13d model (jsmol)interactive image smiles clc1cc(ccc1)n2ccncc2 inchi inchi=1s/c10h13cln2/c11-9-2-1-3-10(8-9)13-6-4-12-5-7-13/h1-3,8,12h,4-7h2 ykey:vhfvkmtvmizmik-uhfffaoysa-n y ny (what is this?) (verify) despite its advertisement as a recreational substance, mcpp is actually generally considered to be an unpleasant experience and is not desired by drug users. it lacks any reinforcing effects, but has "psychostimulant, anxiety-provoking, and hallucinogenic effects." it is also known to produce dysphoric, depressive, and anxiogenic effects in rodents and humans, and can induce panic attacks in individuals susceptible to them. it also worsens obsessive–compulsive symptoms in people with the disorder. mcpp is known to induce headaches in humans and has been used for testing potential antimigraine medications. it has potent anorectic effects and has encouraged the development of selective 5-ht2c receptor agonists for the treatment of obesity as well. pharmacology pharmacodynamics meta-chlorophenylpiperazine siteki (nm)speciesrefs sert202–432human net1,940–4,360human datndndnd 5-ht1a44–400human 5-ht1b89–501human 5-ht1d210–1,300human 5-ht1endndnd 5-ht1fndndnd 5-ht2a32–398human 5-ht2b3.2–63human 5-ht2c3.4–251human 5-ht3427human 5-ht4ndndnd 5-ht5a 1,354human 5-ht61,748human 5-ht7163human α197–2,900human α1a1,386human α1b915human α1dndndnd α2112–570human α2a145human α2b106human α2c124human β2,500human β12,359human β23,474human d17,000human d2>10,000human d3>10,000rat d4ndndnd d5>10,000human h1326human machrs>10,000human nachrs>10,000human σ1ndndnd σ28,350rat i1759rat vdcc6,043rat values are ki (nm). the smaller the value, the more strongly the drug binds to the site. mcpp possesses significant affinity for the 5-ht1a, 5-ht1b, 5-ht1d, 5-ht2a, 5-ht2b, 5-ht2c, 5-ht3, and 5-ht7 receptors, as well as the sert. it also has some affinity for α1-adrenergic, α2-adrenergic, h1, i1, and net. it behaves as an agonist at most serotonin receptors. mcpp has been shown to act not only as a serotonin reuptake inhibitor but as a serotonin releasing agent as well. mcpp's strongest actions are at the 5-ht2b and 5-ht2c receptors and its discriminative cue is mediated primarily by 5-ht2c. its negative effects such as anxiety, headaches, and appetite loss are likely mediated by its actions on the 5-ht2c receptor. other effects of mcpp include nausea, hypoactivity, and penile erection, the latter two the result of increased 5-ht2c activity and the former likely via 5-ht3 stimulation. in comparison studies, mcpp has approximately 10-fold selectivity for the human 5-ht2c receptor over the human 5-ht2a and 5-ht2b receptors (ki = 3.4 nm vs. 32.1 and 28.8 nm). it acts as a partial agonist of the human 5-ht2a and 5-ht2c receptors but as an antagonist of the human 5-ht2b receptors. pharmacokinetics mcpp is metabolized via the cyp2d6 isoenzyme by hydroxylation to para-hydroxy-mcpp (p-oh-mcpp) and this plays a major role in its metabolism. the elimination half-life of mcpp is 4 to 14 hours. mcpp is a metabolite of a variety of other piperazine drugs including trazodone, nefazodone, etoperidone, enpiprazole, mepiprazole, cloperidone, peraclopone, and brl-15,572. it is formed by dealkylation via cyp3a4. caution should be exercised in concomitant administration of cyp2d6 inhibitors such as bupropion, fluoxetine, paroxetine, and thioridazine with drugs that produce mcpp as a metabolite as these drugs are known to increase concentrations of the parent molecule (e.g., trazodone) and of mcpp. chemistry analogues analogues of mcpp include: 1-benzylpiperazine (bzp) 1-methyl-4-benzylpiperazine (mbzp) 1,4-dibenzylpiperazine (dbzp) 3-trifluoromethylphenylpiperazine (tfmpp) 3,4-methylenedioxy-1-benzylpiperazine (mdbzp) 4-bromo-2,5-dimethoxy-1-benzylpiperazine (2c-b-bzp) 4-fluorophenylpiperazine (pfpp) 4-methoxyphenylpiperazine (meopp) some additional analogues include quipazine, org-12962, and 3c-pep. society and culture tablets containing mcpp confiscated by the dea in vernon hills, illinois. tablets containing mcpp confiscated by the kriminalpolizei in europe at the end of 2008. belgium mcpp is illegal in belgium. brazil mcpp is illegal in brazil. canada mcpp is not a controlled drug in canada. china as of october 2015 mcpp is a controlled substance in china. czech republic mcpp is legal in the czech republic. denmark mcpp is illegal in denmark. finland mcpp is illegal in finland. germany mcpp is illegal in germany. hungary mcpp is illegal in hungary since 2012. japan mcpp is illegal in japan since 2006. netherlands mcpp is legal in the netherlands. new zealand based on the recommendation of the eacd, the new zealand government has passed legislation which placed bzp, along with the other piperazine derivatives tfmpp, mcpp, pfpp, meopp and mbzp, into class c of the new zealand misuse of drugs act 1975. a ban was intended to come into effect in new zealand on december 18, 2007, but the law change did not go through until the following year, and the sale of bzp and the other listed piperazines became illegal in new zealand as of 1 april 2008. an amnesty for possession and usage of these drugs remained until october 2008, at which point they became completely illegal. however, it is important to note that mcpp is legally used for scientific research. norway mcpp is illegal in norway. russia mcpp is illegal in russia. sweden mcpp is illegal in sweden. poland mcpp is illegal in poland. united states mcpp is not scheduled at the federal level in the united states, but it is possible that it could be considered a controlled substance analog of bzp, in which case purchase, sale, or possession could be prosecuted under the federal analog act. however, "chlorophenylpiperazine" is a schedule i controlled substance in the state of florida making it illegal to buy, sell, or possess in this state. turkey mcpp is illegal in turkey since 20/05/2009.