AMG-41
A laboratory analogue of Δ8-THC: sub-nanomolar CB1/CB2 affinity, no human data.
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.
C₂₅H₃₆O₂
CID 10361702
- Family
- Synthetic CB receptor agonistResearch ligand or medicine
- Molar mass
- 368.60 g/mol
Updated on
In plain terms
AMG-41 is a laboratory molecule, a cousin of THC modified on its side chain. It was described in 2002 to study how the receptors targeted by cannabis work, never to be consumed: it exists neither in hemp nor in any commercial product. What is known comes down to one point: it binds very strongly to these receptors. Human data are entirely lacking.
Receptors and activity
Target network
- Binds or modulates
The lower the cited value, the closer the target sits to AMG-41: 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 AMG-41.
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 = 0.4 nM · rat89 out of 100
Papahatjis et al. 2002, Bioorg Med Chem Lett (new tab) · [3H]CP-55,940 displacement, rat brain membranes; functional efficacy not determined
- CB2Binding (function not established)Ki = 0.9 nM · mouse84 out of 100
Papahatjis et al. 2002, Bioorg Med Chem Lett (new tab) · [3H]CP-55,940 displacement, mouse spleen membranes; functional efficacy not determined
Pharmacology
AMG-41 is a synthetic classical cannabinoid: the benzo[c]chromene skeleton of Δ8-tetrahydrocannabinol, in which the benzylic carbon of the side chain is part of a cyclopropane ring extended by a hexyl chain. Described in 2002 by the team of Papahatjis, Nikas and Makriyannis, it was used to probe a subsite of the binding domain of the CB1 and CB2 receptors located at the level of that carbon. The result is a very high affinity: Ki of 0.44 nM at CB1 and 0.86 nM at CB2 by displacement of [3H]CP-55,940. The literature consulted stops there. No functional assay says whether AMG-41 behaves as a full or a partial agonist, and a high affinity says nothing about efficacy; no animal study, no pharmacokinetics, no toxicology and no human data were found. AMG-41 therefore reads as an uncharacterised research tool, and not as a substance whose effects would be known.
Key sources.
- Papahatjis DP, Nikas SP, Andreou T, Makriyannis A. Novel 1',1'-chain substituted Δ8-tetrahydrocannabinols. Bioorg Med Chem Lett 2002;12:3583-3586 (new tab)PMID 12443781
- Bow EW, Rimoldi JM. The Structure-Function Relationships of Classical Cannabinoids: CB1/CB2 Modulation. Perspect Medicin Chem 2016: AMG-41 listed as number 54 in table 2 (CB1 0.44 ± 0.07 nM, CB2 0.86 ± 0.16 nM) (new tab)PMID 27398024
- Mercier G, Mohamed KA, Zagzoog A, et al. In vitro pharmacological activity of twenty-eight synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists at the type 1 and 2 cannabinoid receptors. Neurochem Int. 2025 (abstract: full agonism and high potency of the synthetic agonists) (new tab)PMID 40876783
- Zangani C et al. The e-Psychonauts' 'Spiced' World: assessment of the synthetic cannabinoids' information available online. Curr Neuropharmacol 2020 (AMG-41 absent from the UNODC and EUDA lists, present in NPSFinder) (new tab)PMID 32116194
- ANSM, consolidated list of substances classified as narcotics, updated 16 February 2026 (annex IV, benzo[c]chromene derivatives family; annex III, tetrahydrocannabinols; AMG-41 not named) (new tab)
- INCB, Green List of psychotropic substances under international control, 36th edition, 2025: AMG-41 is not listed (new tab)
- PubChem CID 10361702, AMG-41 (identifiers; no CAS referenced) (new tab)
History
- Source
- An entirely synthetic molecule, born in a medicinal chemistry laboratory. It exists in no plant, hemp included, and is not produced by the body. No report on the drug market was found: it appears in neither the EUDA nor the UNODC lists recording the synthetic cannabinoids reported, only in the NPSFinder database (Zangani et al., 2020), and its existence is limited to pharmacological research on cannabinoid receptors.
Origin
Laboratory synthesis
No biosynthesis: AMG-41 is produced by no living organism. It belongs solely to synthetic chemistry, in the class of the classical cannabinoids: the benzylic carbon of the side chain (position 1') is part of a cyclopropane ring extended by a hexyl chain, the tricyclic nucleus remaining that of Δ8-THC.
Legal framework
- 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 appears neither in the lists of the EUDA nor in those of UNODC recording the synthetic cannabinoids reported (Zangani et al., 2020). It does not appear in the schedules of the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances (green list of the INCB, 35th and 36th editions). France ties it to a generic definition by chemical family in annex IV of its list (see the French status).
- France
AMG-41 is cited by name in no entry of the consolidated ANSM list (updated 16 February 2026). It falls under a generic clause: annex IV of the list includes, since the ANSM decisions of 22 May 2024 and 3 June 2024, « any substance derived from the benzo[c]chromene nucleus », hydrogenated or not on ring A, substituted in particular at position 1 by a hydroxyl function, at position 3 by an alkyl chain, possibly substituted by cyclic substituents, at position 6 by one or two alkyl groups and at position 9 by an alkyl group. Judging by its structure (hydroxyl at 1, 1-hexylcyclopropyl chain at 3, two methyls at 6, methyl at 9), AMG-41 meets these criteria and falls under none of the exclusions provided for (CBN, CBNA, THCV, THCVA, THCA). This is a reading of the text applied to the structure, not a nominative listing. The entry « Tétrahydrocannabinols, leurs esters, éthers, sels » is itself placed in annex III since the decision of 6 February 2026.
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
- Papahatjis DP, Nikas SP, Andreou T, Makriyannis A. Novel 1',1'-chain substituted Δ8-tetrahydrocannabinols. Bioorg Med Chem Lett 2002;12:3583-3586 (new tab)PMID 12443781
- Bow EW, Rimoldi JM. The Structure-Function Relationships of Classical Cannabinoids: CB1/CB2 Modulation. Perspect Medicin Chem 2016: AMG-41 listed as number 54 in table 2 (CB1 0.44 ± 0.07 nM, CB2 0.86 ± 0.16 nM) (new tab)PMID 27398024
- Mercier G, Mohamed KA, Zagzoog A, et al. In vitro pharmacological activity of twenty-eight synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists at the type 1 and 2 cannabinoid receptors. Neurochem Int. 2025 (abstract: full agonism and high potency of the synthetic agonists) (new tab)PMID 40876783
- Zangani C et al. The e-Psychonauts' 'Spiced' World: assessment of the synthetic cannabinoids' information available online. Curr Neuropharmacol 2020 (AMG-41 absent from the UNODC and EUDA lists, present in NPSFinder) (new tab)PMID 32116194
- ANSM, consolidated list of substances classified as narcotics, updated 16 February 2026 (annex IV, benzo[c]chromene derivatives family; annex III, tetrahydrocannabinols; AMG-41 not named) (new tab)
- INCB, Green List of psychotropic substances under international control, 36th edition, 2025: AMG-41 is not listed (new tab)
- PubChem CID 10361702, AMG-41 (identifiers; no CAS referenced) (new tab)
Identifiers
Names
- IUPAC name
- (6aR,10aR)-3-(1-hexylcyclopropyl)-6,6,9-trimethyl-6a,7,10,10a-tetrahydrobenzo[c]chromen-1-ol
- Other names
- 1',1'-cyclopropyl-Δ8-THC · CHEMBL19847 · BDBM50063884
Identifiers
- Formula
- C₂₅H₃₆O₂
- PubChem CID
- 10361702(new tab)
- InChIKey
- UVQIBKXDOZWHFU-WOJBJXKFSA-N
- SMILES
- CCCCCCC1(CC1)
C2= CC3= C([C@@H] 4CC(= CC[C@H] 4C(O3) (C) C) C) C(= C2) O
LLM ingestion format: a structured superset of the entry (identifiers, binding, versioned legal status). Full corpus.