AM-1248.

AM-1248 belongs to the aminoalkylindoles and carries an adamantyl group on the carbonyl at position 3 of the indole. In a membrane-potential assay on cells expressing human CB1, it acts as a CB1 agonist with an efficacy (63.5% of that of WIN 55,212-2) higher than that of JWH-018 (55.8%), but the lowest potency of the panel compared (EC50 of 2530 nM; Andersen et al., 2021). Hur et al. (2021) showed that AM-1248 maintains intravenous self-administration in rats, with more presses on the inactive lever than in controls, which the authors interpret as an impulsive component: they conclude that it has abuse potential. At the concentration producing its maximal CB1 effect, AM-1248 did not activate the TRPV1 channel, unlike other compounds tested in parallel (XLR-11, UR-144, AM-1220). The published binding values come from a patent of the originating team (Ki of 100 nM at CB1 and 332 nM at CB2) and are not confirmed by an independent study. Human data are lacking: no clinical study, no published case series on this specific molecule.

Source

An entirely synthetic molecule, absent from cannabis as from any other plant. It comes from the medicinal chemistry programme of Alexandros Makriyannis at the University of Connecticut, whose patents name the code AM1248, hence the « AM » prefix. It was detected in 2012, among five synthetic cannabinoids, in illegal products in Japan (Uchiyama et al., Forensic Toxicol 2012).

No biological pathway: the molecule is produced by no living organism and belongs solely to synthetic chemistry, with no known natural route.

European Union

The substance is not listed in the Annex to Council Framework Decision 2004/757/JHA (consolidated version of 12 January 2026), which lists the new psychoactive substances controlled at European Union level; control is a matter for national law. It does not appear in the schedules of the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances (green list of the INCB, 35th and 36th editions). France cites this molecule by name in annex IV of its list.

France

A narcotic in France, and cited by name. The ANSM consolidated list (updated 16 February 2026) cites AM-1248, in annex IV, as an example (« notamment ») of the generic family of the « indol-3-yl methanones »: a substituent on the nitrogen of the indole ring of the alkyl, haloalkyl, cycloalkylmethyl, 1-(N-methylpiperidin-2-yl)methyl or 2-(4-morpholinyl)ethyl type, and a naphthyl, benzyl, phenyl, cyclopropyl or adamantyl group on the carbon of the methanone bridge; the entry is worded « 1-[(N-methylpiperidin-2-yl) methyl]-3-(adamant-1-oyl) indole ». This family was introduced into annex IV by the decree of 31 March 2017 (JORF of 6 April 2017), which also cites AM-1248. It is therefore not the case of a substance caught only by the clause covering tetrahydrocannabinols (annex III since the decision of 6 February 2026): AM-1248 is not a THC derivative and appears on the list by name. Possession, transfer and use fall under the criminal regime for narcotics.

Sources: EUR-Lex, UNODC, CND, ANSM, IUPHAR/BPS, ChEBI, EUDA. Our method.

Family

Synthetic CB receptor agonist › New psychoactive substance

Class

adamantoylindole

Verification

Classification, sources and binding values checked on 20 October 2026; text read against its sources and Wikipedia.

Wikipedia (English)

AM-1248 (new tab)

Article paired by the molecule's structure (InChIKey), revision read on 19 October 2026. Read as a second opinion, never cited as a source.

1. 1Andersen HK, Walsh KB. Molecular signaling of synthetic cannabinoids: Comparison of CB1 receptor and TRPV1 channel activation. Eur J Pharmacol, 2021 (EC50 CB1 for AM1248 of 2530 nM, efficacy greater than JWH-018; no TRPV1 activation) (new tab)PMID 34224700
2. 2Hur KH, et al. Abuse Potential of Synthetic Cannabinoids: AM-1248, CB-13, and PB-22. Biomol Ther (Seoul), 2021 (intravenous self-administration in the rat) (new tab)PMID 33935046
3. 3Ashino T, et al. Inhibitory effect of synthetic cannabinoids on CYP1A activity in mouse liver microsomes. J Toxicol Sci, 2014 (AB-001 and AM-1248 do not inhibit CYP1A) (new tab)PMID 25374372
4. 4Giorgetti A, Busardò FP, Tittarelli R, Auwärter V, Giorgetti R. Post-Mortem Toxicology: A Systematic Review of Death Cases Involving Synthetic Cannabinoid Receptor Agonists. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 2020 (class data) (new tab)PMID 32523555
5. 5Uchiyama N et al., Identification of two new-type synthetic cannabinoids (APICA, APINACA) and detection of five synthetic cannabinoids, including AM-1220 and AM-1248, in illegal products, Forensic Toxicol 2012;30:114-125 (new tab)DOI 10.1007/s11419-012-0136-7
6. 6Makriyannis A, Deng H. Cannabimimetic indole derivatives. US patent 7241799 B2, University of Connecticut (priority 18 October 1999, granted 10 July 2007), table 1: AM1248, Ki CB1 100 nM, CB2 332 nM (new tab)
7. 7Makriyannis A, Deng H. Receptor selective cannabimimetic aminoalkylindoles. US patent 7820144 B2, University of Connecticut, priority of 29 January 2001 (new tab)
8. 8ANSM, consolidated list of substances classified as narcotics, updated 16 February 2026 (annex IV, « indol-3-yl methanone » family, AM-1248 cited as an example) (new tab)
9. 9Order of 31 March 2017 amending the order of 22 February 1990 setting the list of substances classified as narcotics, annex IV (« indol-3-yl methanone » family) (Légifrance, JORF of 6 April 2017) (new tab)
10. 10INCB, Green List of psychotropic substances under international control, 36th edition, 2025: AM-1248 is not listed (new tab)
11. 11PubChem CID 10293794, AM-1248: identifiers and synonyms (new tab)

SMILES

CN1CCCCC1CN2C=C(C3=CC=CC=C32)C(=O)C45CC6CC(C4)CC(C6)C5

Machine-readable entry (JSON)

LLM ingestion format: a structured superset of the entry (identifiers, binding, versioned legal status). Full corpus.