AM-7438
A synthetic analogue of Δ8-THC, a full CB1 agonist designed to be cleaved by blood esterases.
Harm-reduction warning
No characterised human dose: animal / in vitro data only. Effect profile, safety margin and acute toxicity are not documented in human clinical practice. Extremely potent compound: severe effects, seizures and deaths reported in the literature.
C₂₄H₃₁NO₄
CID 89994983
- Family
- Synthetic CB receptor agonistResearch ligand or medicine
- Molar mass
- 397.50 g/mol
Updated on
In plain terms
AM-7438 is a laboratory molecule, a chemical cousin of THC, developed in 2014 by an American academic team. It was designed to act quickly, then be rapidly cleaved by the enzymes of the blood. It does not exist in cannabis, is found in no commercial product and has never been studied in humans.
Receptors and activity
Target network
- Activates
- Binds or modulates
The lower the cited value, the closer the target sits to AM-7438: one ring per factor of 100. A target with no measured value stays on the edge.
Where these targets live
Where each target has been found in humans, according to the cited studies. The map shows the target, not an effect of AM-7438.
CB1CB1 found in 7 regions of the body
- Basal gangliadenseMost dense in basal ganglia outflow nuclei1
- CerebellumdenseVery dense in the cerebellum1
- HippocampusdenseVery high concentrations in the hippocampus2
- AmygdaladenseHigh concentrations in the amygdala2
- CortexpresentPresent throughout the neocortex2
- Adipose tissuepresentExpressed in adipose tissue3
- GutpresentColonic epithelium, smooth muscle and plexus4
Map sources
- Herkenham M et al. Cannabinoid receptor localization in brain. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 1990 (new tab)
- Glass M et al. Cannabinoid receptors in the human brain: a detailed anatomical and quantitative autoradiographic study in the fetal, neonatal and adult human brain. Neuroscience, 1997 (new tab)
- Engeli S et al. Activation of the peripheral endocannabinoid system in human obesity. Diabetes, 2005 (new tab)
- Wright K et al. Differential expression of cannabinoid receptors in the human colon: cannabinoids promote epithelial wound healing. Gastroenterology, 2005 (new tab)
Cited values
- CB1AgonistKi = 0.5 nM · rat88 out of 100
Nikas et al. 2015, J Med Chem, table 3 (new tab) · [3H]CP-55,940 displacement in rat brain membranes
- CB2Binding (function not established)Ki = 0.8 nM · mouse85 out of 100
Nikas et al. 2015, J Med Chem, table 3 (new tab) · [3H]CP-55,940 displacement on membranes of HEK293 cells expressing mouse CB2
Pharmacology
AM-7438 is an analogue of (-)-Δ8-tetrahydrocannabinol whose pentyl chain is replaced by a dimethylated chain bearing a cyanopropyl ester, a function deliberately fragile to plasma esterases. It binds to the cannabinoid receptors with a subnanomolar affinity (Ki of 0.5 nM at rat brain CB1, 0.8 nM at mouse CB2) and behaves at CB1 as an efficacious agonist: in the cAMP test it reaches 89 % of the maximal effect, whereas Δ9-THC is only a partial agonist. In rodents it produces the hypothermia and analgesia characteristic of CB1 activation, with a faster onset and shorter duration than the neighbouring analogue 2b of the same series, and its acid metabolite lacks activity at both receptors. Beyond this single animal pharmacology study, human data are entirely lacking: no pharmacokinetics, no clinical toxicology, no reported case.
Key sources.
- Nikas et al., Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 2015: exploration of the carboxyester chain in controlled-deactivation (-)-Δ8-tetrahydrocannabinols (AM7438 = compound 10a) (new tab)PMID 25470070
- ANSM, consolidated list of substances classified as narcotics, updated 16 February 2026: « any substance derived from the benzo[c]chromene nucleus » clause (annex IV) and the entry « Tetrahydrocannabinols, their esters, ethers, salts » (annex III) (new tab)
- INCB, Green List of psychotropic substances under international control, 35th edition, 2024 (Schedule II: AM-7438 absent) (new tab)
- PubChem, compound CID 89994983 (AM-7438) (new tab)
History
- Source
- An entirely synthetic molecule, absent from cannabis as from any living organism. It comes from a university medicinal chemistry programme run at the Center for Drug Discovery of Northeastern University, and exists only as a research compound. No circulation on the synthetic product market, no seizure and no commercial use are reported in the sources consulted.
Origin
Laboratory synthesis
No biosynthetic pathway: the molecule exists in no living organism. It is obtained by synthetic chemistry and described here only by its class, that of Δ8-tetrahydrocannabinol analogues bearing an ester in the side chain.
Legal framework
- European Union
No Union-wide control measure targets this molecule: it is not among the substances named in the annex of Framework Decision 2004/757/JHA as supplemented by Directives (EU) 2017/2103, 2019/369, 2020/1687, 2021/802, 2022/1326 and 2025/2062, nor in Schedule II of the 1971 Convention (Green List of the International Narcotics Control Board, 35th edition, 2024). Member States applying a generic definition of THC derivatives may nevertheless cover it.
- France
AM-7438 is named neither in the consolidated list of ANSM (updated 16 February 2026) nor in any ANSM decision. The entry “Tetrahydrocannabinols, their esters, ethers, salts and the salts of the aforementioned derivatives” (annex III, decision of 6 February 2026) covers THC and its esters, ethers and salts; here the ester function lies on the side chain and not on the phenol, and the application of this entry is not established by the sources consulted. Annex IV also covers, since the decisions of 22 May and 3 June 2024, “any substance derived from the benzo[c]chromene nucleus” substituted at position 3 by an alkyl, cyanoalkyl, etc. chain; AM-7438 (hydroxyl at 1, two methyls at 6, methyl at 9) partly matches these criteria, the chain at position 3 carrying an ester function that is not expressly named. Its French status therefore remains to be confirmed. In practice it is a laboratory compound, with no marketing authorisation and no legal use in France.
Sources: EUR-Lex, UNODC, CND, ANSM, IUPHAR/BPS, ChEBI, EUDA. Our method.
Classification
Family, origin and source verification
- Family
Synthetic CB receptor agonist › Research ligand or medicine
- Class
classical
- Verification
Classification, sources and binding values checked on 20 October 2026; text read against its sources and Wikipedia.
- Wikipedia (English)
Article paired by the molecule's structure (InChIKey), revision read on 19 October 2026. Read as a second opinion, never cited as a source.
References
- Nikas et al., Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 2015: exploration of the carboxyester chain in controlled-deactivation (-)-Δ8-tetrahydrocannabinols (AM7438 = compound 10a) (new tab)PMID 25470070
- ANSM, consolidated list of substances classified as narcotics, updated 16 February 2026: « any substance derived from the benzo[c]chromene nucleus » clause (annex IV) and the entry « Tetrahydrocannabinols, their esters, ethers, salts » (annex III) (new tab)
- INCB, Green List of psychotropic substances under international control, 35th edition, 2024 (Schedule II: AM-7438 absent) (new tab)
- PubChem, compound CID 89994983 (AM-7438) (new tab)
Identifiers
Names
- IUPAC name
- 3-cyanopropyl 2-[(6aR,10aR)-1-hydroxy-6,6,9-trimethyl-6a,7,10,10a-tetrahydrobenzo[c]chromen-3-yl]-2-methylpropanoate
- Other names
- AM7438 · AM 7438 · 6'-cyano-2'-carboxy-Δ8-THC
Identifiers
- Formula
- C₂₄H₃₁NO₄
- PubChem CID
- 89994983(new tab)
- InChIKey
- PGSJGFYQNYPKOJ-QZTJIDSGSA-N
- SMILES
- CC1=
CC[C@@H] 2[C@@H] (C1) C3= C(C= C(C= C3OC2(C) C) C(C) (C) C(= O) OCCCC#N) O
LLM ingestion format: a structured superset of the entry (identifiers, binding, versioned legal status). Full corpus.