JWH-051
Analogue of HU-210 lacking the hydroxyl at position 1, a very high affinity agonist at CB1 and CB2, classed as a narcotic in France under a generic clause.
C₂₅H₃₈O₂
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.
Data sheet
Names
- IUPAC name
- [(6aR,10aR)-6,6-dimethyl-3-(2-methyloctan-2-yl)-6a,7,10,10a-tetrahydrobenzo[c]chromen-9-yl]methanol
- Other names
- Deoxy-HU210
Identifiers
- Formula
- C₂₅H₃₈O₂
- Molar mass
- 370.60 g/mol
- PubChem CID
- 9799540(new tab)
- InChIKey
- ORTVDISIJXKUAV-FCHUYYIVSA-N
Class
- Family
- Synthetic cannabinoid (SCRA)
Updated on
Receptors and activity
- CB1Agonist93 out of 100
Ki 1,2 ± 0,1 nM (Huffman et coll., 2010)
- CB2Agonist97 out of 100
Ki 0,032 ± 0,019 nM (Huffman et coll., 2010)
Subjective signature
- Calm
- 8 out of 100
- Relaxation of body and mind; reduced mental noise without marked drowsiness.
- Clarity
- 5 out of 100
- Sustained attention and clear thinking; functional lucidity, not euphoria.
- High
- 8 out of 100
- Euphoria and sensory intensity; altered perception of time and space.
- Appetite
- 8 out of 100
- Stimulation of hunger and of taste appreciation (the “munchies” effect).
- Sleep
- 10 out of 100
- Sedative effect: aids sleep onset and the continuity of deep sleep.
Pharmacology
JWH-051, or 1-deoxy-11-hydroxy-Δ8-THC-dimethylheptyl, is a synthetic cannabinoid of the 1-deoxy-Δ8-THC series developed by John W. Huffman at Clemson. Huffman et al. reported in 2010 an affinity of 1.2 ± 0.1 nM for CB1 and 0.032 ± 0.019 nM for CB2. On isolated rodent tissue it inhibits electrically evoked contractions (Griffin et al., 1997), and Klein et al. (1998) call it a CB2 agonist. In mice, its antinociceptive effect is incompletely blocked by a CB1 antagonist after central injection. No human data were found, and no human dose can be inferred from this work. In France it is classed as a narcotic under the clause covering derivatives of the benzo[c]chromene nucleus, although the molecule is not named.
Key sources.
- Huffman et coll., analogues 1-bromo-1-désoxy-Δ8-THC pour CB2, Bioorg Med Chem 2010 (new tab)PMID 20943404
- Huffman, revue sur les ligands sélectifs du récepteur CB2, Curr Pharm Des 2000 (new tab)PMID 10903395
- Griffin et coll., récepteurs CB2 sur terminaisons nerveuses périphériques, Eur J Pharmacol 1997 (new tab)PMID 9450616
- Klein et coll., récepteurs cannabinoïdes et réseau des cytokines, Adv Exp Med Biol 1998 (new tab)PMID 9666274
- Welch et coll., blocage de l'antinociception centrale par SR141716A, J Pharmacol Exp Ther 1998 (new tab)PMID 9732392
- ANSM, liste consolidée des substances classées comme stupéfiants, mise à jour du 16 février 2026 (new tab)
- INCB, Green List 2026 (conventions de 1971) (new tab)
- PubChem, CID 9799540 (new tab)
History
- Source
- Fully synthetic molecule: no plant is recorded as producing it in the databases consulted, cannabis included. It belongs to the 1-deoxy-Δ8-THC series developed at Clemson University by John W. Huffman and his team, whose work aims to relate chemical structure to activity at cannabinoid receptors.
Origin (pharmaceutical research → illicit market)
No known biosynthetic pathway: no living organism is recorded as producing the molecule in the databases consulted, which results from organic synthesis. Its manufacture is described here by chemical class only.
Legal framework
- European Union
No harmonised European Union control measure targets this molecule according to the sources consulted; control is national. At international level, it is not named in the INCB Green List 2026, including among the listed tetrahydrocannabinol isomers.
- France
Not named in the consolidated French list of narcotics updated on 16 February 2026, but covered by a generic clause. The decision of 22 May 2024 classes as narcotics « any substance derived from the benzo[c]chromene nucleus » whether or not substituted at the positions it lists. JWH-051 meets each condition: benzo[c]chromene nucleus present, alkyl chain at position 3, two alkyl groups at position 6, hydroxyalkyl group at position 9, and position 1 free, which the clause permits. It is not one of the substances excluded by the clause (cannabinol, cannabinolic acid, THCV, THCA). HU-210, its analogue carrying a hydroxyl at position 1, is itself named in the same list.
Sources: EUR-Lex, UNODC, CND, ANSM, IUPHAR/BPS, ChEBI, EUDA. Our method.
References
- Huffman et coll., analogues 1-bromo-1-désoxy-Δ8-THC pour CB2, Bioorg Med Chem 2010 (new tab)PMID 20943404
- Huffman, revue sur les ligands sélectifs du récepteur CB2, Curr Pharm Des 2000 (new tab)PMID 10903395
- Griffin et coll., récepteurs CB2 sur terminaisons nerveuses périphériques, Eur J Pharmacol 1997 (new tab)PMID 9450616
- Klein et coll., récepteurs cannabinoïdes et réseau des cytokines, Adv Exp Med Biol 1998 (new tab)PMID 9666274
- Welch et coll., blocage de l'antinociception centrale par SR141716A, J Pharmacol Exp Ther 1998 (new tab)PMID 9732392
- ANSM, liste consolidée des substances classées comme stupéfiants, mise à jour du 16 février 2026 (new tab)
- INCB, Green List 2026 (conventions de 1971) (new tab)
- PubChem, CID 9799540 (new tab)
Structured data
- SMILES
- CCCCCCC(C)(C)C1=CC2=C(C=C1)[C@@H]3CC(=CC[C@H]3C(O2)(C)C)CO
- InChIKey
- ORTVDISIJXKUAV-FCHUYYIVSA-N
LLM ingestion format: a structured superset of the entry (identifiers, binding, versioned legal status). Full corpus.