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Synthetic

JWH-073

A first-generation synthetic cannabinoid, a full CB1 agonist, classified as a narcotic in France.

Narcotic: named in schedule
Level of detail

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.

C₂₃H₂₁NO

CAS 208987-48-8

Family
Synthetic CB receptor agonistNew psychoactive substance
Molar mass
327.40 g/mol

Updated on

In plain terms

JWH-073 is a synthetic cannabinoid made in a laboratory, with no connection to hemp: it exists neither in cannabis nor in cannabidiol products. It was among the main active ingredients of the smoking mixtures sold as Spice or K2 from 2009, sprayed onto inert herbs. It acts on the same receptors as THC, but activates them far more completely, and it is scheduled as a narcotic in France.

Receptors and activity

Target network

CB1AgonistKi = 12.9 nM · mouse[3H]CP-55,940 displacement, mouse brain homogenates
  • Activates
  • Blocks or inhibits

The lower the cited value, the closer the target sits to JWH-073: 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 JWH-073.

Brain, side view
Body, front view
Blood

CB1CB1 found in 7 regions of the body

  1. Basal gangliadenseMost dense in basal ganglia outflow nuclei1
  2. CerebellumdenseVery dense in the cerebellum1
  3. HippocampusdenseVery high concentrations in the hippocampus2
  4. AmygdaladenseHigh concentrations in the amygdala2
  5. CortexpresentPresent throughout the neocortex2
  6. Adipose tissuepresentExpressed in adipose tissue3
  7. GutpresentColonic epithelium, smooth muscle and plexus4

Map sources

  1. Herkenham M et al. Cannabinoid receptor localization in brain. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 1990 (new tab)
  2. 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)
  3. Engeli S et al. Activation of the peripheral endocannabinoid system in human obesity. Diabetes, 2005 (new tab)
  4. Wright K et al. Differential expression of cannabinoid receptors in the human colon: cannabinoids promote epithelial wound healing. Gastroenterology, 2005 (new tab)

Cited values

  1. CB1AgonistKi = 12.9 nM · mouse65 out of 100

    Brents et al. 2012, Biochem Pharmacol (new tab) · [3H]CP-55,940 displacement, mouse brain homogenates

  2. CB2AgonistKi = 9.8 nM · human67 out of 100

    Rajasekaran et al. 2013, Toxicol Appl Pharmacol (new tab) · displacement on membranes of CHO cells expressing hCB2

  3. 5-HT2BAntagonistIC50 = 19.3 µM · human12 out of 100

    Wiley et al. 2016, Neuropharmacology (new tab) · functional inhibition of the serotonin response (recombinant receptors, PDSP/NIMH)

Bar length follows the measured value (Ki, Kd, EC50 or IC50), on one scale shared by every entry, from 100 µM to 0.1 nM. A target with no cited value has no bar.

Pharmacology

JWH-073 belongs to the first generation of synthetic agonists of the cannabinoid receptors, the naphthoylindole family: it differs from JWH-018 only by a butyl chain instead of a pentyl chain on the indole nitrogen. In vitro, it behaves as an agonist at CB1 and CB2, with a CB1 affinity of the order of 9 to 13 nM and a CB2 affinity of the order of 10 to 38 nM depending on the study, and it displays at CB1 an efficacy equal to that of the reference full agonist CP-55,940, whereas THC is only a partial agonist there. It is this difference in efficacy, more than affinity alone, that sets this molecule apart from cannabis. The best-documented feature of JWH-073 concerns its metabolites: unlike those of THC, several monohydroxylated derivatives keep a nanomolar affinity for CB1 and an activity of their own, one of them even behaving as a neutral antagonist, so that use produces a complex mixture of ligands with opposing effects. In mice, a single dose transiently reduces spontaneous activity and impairs long-term potentiation in the hippocampus and recognition memory for up to twenty-four hours; in another study, a CB1 antagonist prevented its behavioral and neurochemical effects. In humans, no controlled study is cited in the sources consulted: human data are lacking, on effects as on doses, tolerance and dependence, and the little that is known comes from clinical cases and toxicological analyses.

Key sources.

History

Source
An entirely synthetic molecule, absent from cannabis as from any living organism: it forms in no plant and has no connection with hemp or with cannabidiol products. It appeared in smoking mixtures sold under names such as Spice or K2: analyses of products bought in March 2009, after the German ban on JWH-018, found JWH-073 in its place (Lindigkeit 2009). These products are made by spraying the compounds onto herbs and sold as “natural” and “legal” over the internet (Ozturk 2015). In 2011, JWH-018 and JWH-073 were described as the two most common synthetic cannabinoids in K2 products (Chimalakonda 2011).

Origin

Laboratory synthesis

No known biosynthetic pathway: the molecule is produced by no living organism and comes from organic synthesis. Manufacture is described here only by its chemical class, the naphthoylindoles.

Classification

Family, origin and source verification

Family

Synthetic CB receptor agonist › New psychoactive substance

Class

naphthoylindole

Verification

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

Wikipedia (English)

JWH-073 (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.

References

  1. Wiley et al., Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, 1998: structure-activity relationships of indole- and pyrrole-derived cannabinoids, 1-alkyl-3-(1-naphthoyl)indole series (new tab)PMID 9618400
  2. Lindigkeit et al., Forensic Science International, 2009: first report of JWH-073 as a synthetic drug in German smoking blends (new tab)PMID 19589652
  3. Brents et al., Biochemical Pharmacology, 2012: monohydroxylated metabolites of JWH-073 retain CB1 affinity and range from neutral antagonist to partial agonist (new tab)PMID 22266354
  4. Rajasekaran et al., Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology, 2013: affinity and agonist activity of JWH-073 and its metabolites at the human CB2 receptor (new tab)PMID 23537664
  5. Wiley et al., Neuropharmacology, 2016: binding of first-generation synthetic cannabinoids to non-cannabinoid receptors and a battery of in vivo assays in mice (new tab)PMID 27449567
  6. Ossato et al., Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry, 2016: effects of JWH-250 and JWH-073 in mice, prevented by the CB1 antagonist AM-251 (new tab)PMID 26780169
  7. Barbieri et al., Frontiers in Psychiatry, 2022: JWH-073 alters acute behaviour and in vivo and in vitro electrophysiological responses in mice (new tab)PMID 36339851
  8. Chimalakonda et al., Drug Metabolism and Disposition, 2011: glucuronidation of JWH-018 and JWH-073 metabolites by human UDP-glucuronosyltransferases (new tab)PMID 21746969
  9. Moran et al., Analytical Chemistry, 2011: quantitative assay of JWH-018 and JWH-073 metabolites excreted in human urine (new tab)PMID 21506519
  10. Poklis et al., Forensic Science International, 2012: blood and brain distribution of JWH-018 and JWH-073 in mice after inhalation of smoke from a commercial blend (new tab)PMID 22405481
  11. Hegstad et al., Journal of Analytical Toxicology, 2015: urinary detection times of the acid metabolites of JWH-018 and JWH-073 (new tab)PMID 25737323
  12. Ozturk et al., Forensic Science International, 2015: validated LC-MS/MS method for JWH-073 and its metabolites in blood and urine, applied to forensic case files (new tab)PMID 26360591
  13. Simmons et al., Clinical Toxicology, 2011: three cases of Spice exposure with urinary confirmation of JWH-018 and JWH-073 metabolites (new tab)PMID 21740143
  14. Kim et al., Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, 2013: incorporation of JWH-018, JWH-073 and their metabolites into hair, effect of pigmentation (new tab)PMID 24162819
  15. ANSM, consolidated list of substances classified as narcotics, updated 16 February 2026, annex IV, entry JWH-073 (new tab)
  16. INCB, Green List of psychotropic substances under international control, 35th edition, 2024 (Schedule II: JWH-018 and AM-2201 named; JWH-073 absent) (new tab)
  17. PubChem, Compound Summary CID 10471670, JWH-073 (new tab)

Identifiers

Names

IUPAC name
(1-butylindol-3-yl)-naphthalen-1-ylmethanone
Other names
JWH 073

Identifiers

Formula
C₂₃H₂₁NO
CAS
208987-48-8
PubChem CID
10471670(new tab)
InChIKey
VCHHHSMPMLNVGS-UHFFFAOYSA-N
SMILES
CCCCN1C=C(C2=CC=CC=C21)C(=O)C3=CC=CC4=CC=CC=C43

Machine-readable entry (JSON)

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