AM-905
A laboratory synthetic cannabinoid, of high affinity for CB1, with no published human data whatsoever.
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.
C₂₃H₃₄O₃
CAS 181139-62-8
- Family
- Synthetic CB receptor agonistResearch ligand or medicine
- Molar mass
- 358.50 g/mol
Updated on
In plain terms
AM-905 is a laboratory molecule, described in 1996 by chemists to understand how cannabinoids bind to their receptors. It is not found in hemp and has never been reported in a consumer product. The only published measurements concern its binding to receptors in the test tube: nothing is known of what it does in humans.
Receptors and activity
Target network
- Binds or modulates
The lower the cited value, the closer the target sits to AM-905: 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-905.
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
- CB1Binding (function not established)Ki = 1.2 nM · rat82 out of 100
Busch-Petersen et al. 1996, J Med Chem 39:3790 (values via ChEMBL CHEMBL127848) (new tab) · [3H]CP-55940 displacement on CB1-enriched rat brain microsomes
- CB2Binding (function not established)Ki = 5.3 nM · mouse71 out of 100
Busch-Petersen et al. 1996, J Med Chem 39:3790 (values via ChEMBL CHEMBL127848) (new tab) · [3H]CP-55940 displacement on a CB2-enriched mouse spleen preparation
Pharmacology
AM-905 belongs to the classical cannabinoid family: its benzo[c]chromene skeleton is that of hexahydrocannabinol, with a hydroxymethyl group at position 11 (position 9 of the ring) and an (E)-hept-1-enyl side chain whose double bond blocks rotation around the C1'-C2' bond. This constraint was the very object of the series: Busch-Petersen et al. sought to define the orientation the chain must adopt to be recognised by the receptors. In displacement of [3H]CP-55940, AM-905 binds CB1 with a Ki of 1.2 nM (rat brain) and CB2 with a Ki of 5.3 nM (mouse spleen), i.e. a nanomolar affinity with a preference of about four-fold for CB1. The literature stops there: functional efficacy was not found, no in vivo study is known, and human, pharmacokinetic, metabolism and toxicology data are entirely lacking. This absence of data does not allow its behaviour to be deduced from that of other agonists of the class.
Key sources.
- Busch-Petersen et al., Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 1996: β-11-hydroxyhexahydrocannabinol analogues with an unsaturated side chain (rotation about the C1'-C2' bond blocked) (new tab)PMID 8809166
- ChEMBL, compound CHEMBL127848 (AM-905): CB1 Ki 1.2 nM (rat brain microsomes) and CB2 Ki 5.3 nM (mouse spleen), [3H]CP-55940 displacement, document CHEMBL1129689 = J Med Chem 1996;39:3790 (new tab)
- Zangani et al., Current Neuropharmacology, 2020: AM-905 picked up by a forum crawler (14 November 2017 - 31 May 2019), absent from the UNODC (13 June 2019) and EMCDDA (1 April 2019) lists (new tab)PMID 32116194
- ANSM, consolidated list of substances classified as narcotics, updated 16 February 2026, annex IV: « any substance derived from the benzo[c]chromene nucleus » clause (decisions of 22 May and 3 June 2024) (new tab)
- ANSM, ANSM adds new cannabinoids to the narcotics list, in force on 3 June 2024 (new tab)
- INCB, Green List of psychotropic substances under international control, 35th edition, 2024 (Schedule II: AM-905 absent) (new tab)
- PubChem, compound CID 9998522 (AM-905): identifiers, structure, CAS 181139-62-8 (new tab)
History
- Source
- No natural origin: AM-905 exists neither in hemp nor in any other organism. It is an entirely synthetic molecule, prepared in an academic laboratory for a structure-activity relationship study (Busch-Petersen 1996). Its name is cited online: a forum-crawling robot, active from 14 November 2017 to 31 May 2019, picked it up among 1,103 synthetic cannabinoids, without it being on the UNODC list (13 June 2019) or in the EMCDDA database (1 April 2019) (Zangani 2020). No seizure and no use in a consumer product is reported in the sources consulted.
Origin
Laboratory synthesis
No known biological pathway, the molecule being produced by no living being. It is obtained by chemical synthesis and described here only by its class, that of β-11-hydroxyhexahydrocannabinol analogues with an unsaturated side chain.
Legal framework
- European Union
No Union-wide control targets AM-905: 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). Several Member States nevertheless apply generic definitions covering cannabinoid structures of the benzo[c]chromene type, so that the situation may differ from one country to another.
- France
AM-905 is named nowhere in the consolidated list of ANSM (updated 16 February 2026). It is, however, covered by the generic clause of annex IV stemming from the decisions of 22 May and 3 June 2024 (classification applicable from 3 June 2024): “any substance derived from the benzo[c]chromene nucleus”, non-, partially or fully hydrogenated on ring A, substituted notably “at position 1 by a hydroxyl function”, “at position 3 by an alkyl, alkenyl, alkynyl… chain”, “at position 6 by one or two alkyl groups” and “at position 9 by a ketone, alkyl, hydroxyalkyl or alkoxy function”, excluding cannabinol, cannabinolic acid, THCV and THCVA below 0.3 % and THCA below the legal content. AM-905, a hexahydrobenzo[c]chromene bearing a hydroxyl at position 1, an (E)-hept-1-enyl chain at position 3, two methyls at position 6 and a hydroxymethyl at position 9, literally meets these criteria; this is a reading of the text and not a nominative decision of ANSM. The entry covering tetrahydrocannabinols, their esters, ethers and salts (annex III since the decision of 6 February 2026) does not concern it, the molecule being a hexahydrocannabinol.
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
- Busch-Petersen et al., Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 1996: β-11-hydroxyhexahydrocannabinol analogues with an unsaturated side chain (rotation about the C1'-C2' bond blocked) (new tab)PMID 8809166
- ChEMBL, compound CHEMBL127848 (AM-905): CB1 Ki 1.2 nM (rat brain microsomes) and CB2 Ki 5.3 nM (mouse spleen), [3H]CP-55940 displacement, document CHEMBL1129689 = J Med Chem 1996;39:3790 (new tab)
- Zangani et al., Current Neuropharmacology, 2020: AM-905 picked up by a forum crawler (14 November 2017 - 31 May 2019), absent from the UNODC (13 June 2019) and EMCDDA (1 April 2019) lists (new tab)PMID 32116194
- ANSM, consolidated list of substances classified as narcotics, updated 16 February 2026, annex IV: « any substance derived from the benzo[c]chromene nucleus » clause (decisions of 22 May and 3 June 2024) (new tab)
- ANSM, ANSM adds new cannabinoids to the narcotics list, in force on 3 June 2024 (new tab)
- INCB, Green List of psychotropic substances under international control, 35th edition, 2024 (Schedule II: AM-905 absent) (new tab)
- PubChem, compound CID 9998522 (AM-905): identifiers, structure, CAS 181139-62-8 (new tab)
Identifiers
Names
- IUPAC name
- (6aR,9R,10aR)-3-[(E)-hept-1-enyl]-9-(hydroxymethyl)-6,6-dimethyl-6a,7,8,9,10,10a-hexahydrobenzo[c]chromen-1-ol
- Other names
- AM905 · AM 905
Identifiers
- Formula
- C₂₃H₃₄O₃
- CAS
- 181139-62-8
- PubChem CID
- 9998522(new tab)
- InChIKey
- NJIKRWBGUIYKJM-OKMMTOMJSA-N
- SMILES
- CCCCC/C=
C/C1= CC2= C([C@@H] 3C[C@@H] (CC[C@H] 3C(O2) (C) C) CO) C(= C1) O
LLM ingestion format: a structured superset of the entry (identifiers, binding, versioned legal status). Full corpus.