JWH-094

JWH-094 belongs to the series of 1-alkyl-3-(1-naphthoyl)indoles, studied by John W. Huffman and his team at Clemson University to link chemical structure with affinity for cannabinoid receptors. It carries a propyl group on the indole nitrogen, a methyl group at position 2 and a methoxy group at position 4 of the naphthoyl group. The ChEMBL database reports an inhibition constant Ki of 476 nM at CB1 (rat brain) and of 97 nM at CB2 (cloned human receptor), values attributed to the article by De Freitas et al. (2009). No intrinsic efficacy and no human data are published for this molecule in the sources consulted. In France, it is not named on the narcotics list, but it falls under the generic definition of naphthoylindoles.

Source

Entirely synthetic molecule, drawn from a series of compounds prepared by organic synthesis (Huffman et al., 2005). No source consulted describes it in a plant or in a living organism.

No known biosynthetic pathway: JWH-094 comes solely from organic synthesis, which joins an indole ring and a naphthalene ring through a carbonyl group. The details of the processes are not described here.

European Union

No harmonised control measure at European Union level has been identified for this compound in the sources consulted: control therefore falls to national legislation. JWH-094 does not appear on the Green List (36th edition, 2025) of the International Narcotics Control Board, which reproduces the psychotropic substances of the 1971 Convention.

France

Not named on the consolidated list of substances classified as narcotics (updated 16 February 2026), which names JWH-015, methylated at position 2 but without a methoxy group, and JWH-081, methoxylated at position 4 but carrying a pentyl chain. The generic definition 'Indol-3-yl methanone' in annex IV covers an indol-3-yl methanone bearing an alkyl substituent on the indole nitrogen and, on the carbon of the methanone bridge, a naphthyl group, substituted or not. JWH-094 meets both conditions: a propyl group on the nitrogen, and a naphthyl group, here methoxylated, on the carbonyl at position 3 of the indole. Classification therefore rests on the generic clause, not on a listing by name.

Sources: EUR-Lex, UNODC, CND, ANSM, IUPHAR/BPS, ChEBI, EUDA. Our method.

1. 1De Freitas GB et coll., modèles CoMFA et CoMSIA d'affinité et de sélectivité pour les ligands indoliques CB1 et CB2, Eur J Med Chem, 2009 (new tab)PMID 19249138
2. 2Huffman JW et coll., relations structure-activité des 1-alkyl-3-(1-naphtoyl)indoles sur les récepteurs CB1 et CB2, Bioorg Med Chem, 2005 (new tab)PMID 15582455
3. 3Wiley JL et coll., synthèse et pharmacologie des 1-alkyl-3-(1-naphtoyl)indoles halogénés, Bioorg Med Chem, 2012 (effet du méthoxy en position 4 rapporté d'après Huffman et coll., 2005) (new tab)PMID 22341572
4. 4ChEMBL, composé CHEMBL550949 (JWH-094), activités de liaison CB1 et CB2 (new tab)
5. 5PubChem, Compound Summary CID 45272115, JWH-094 (new tab)
6. 6ANSM, liste consolidée des substances classées comme stupéfiants, mise à jour du 16 février 2026, annexe IV, familles génériques des naphtoylindoles (new tab)
7. 7Organe international de contrôle des stupéfiants, Liste verte, 36e édition (2025), substances psychotropes de la convention de 1971, absence du JWH-094 (new tab)

SMILES

CCCN1C(=C(C2=CC=CC=C21)C(=O)C3=CC=C(C4=CC=CC=C43)OC)C

InChIKey

KQDSWZCINCRXPV-UHFFFAOYSA-N

Machine-readable entry (JSON)

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