Synthetic cannabinoid (SCRA)
Narcotic: generic clauseTHJ-018
naphthalen-1-yl-(1-pentylindazol-3-yl)methanone
Aliases.THJ-018 · (naphthalen-1-yl)(1-pentyl-1H-indazol-3-yl)methanone · 1-naphthalenyl(1-pentyl-1H-indazol-3-yl)-methanone
An indazole analogue of JWH-018, a full CB1 and CB2 agonist of nanomolar to subnanomolar affinity.
Updated on
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.
Identifiers
- Formula
- C₂₃H₂₂N₂O
- Molar mass
- 342.40 g·mol⁻¹
- CAS
- 1364933-55-0
- PubChem CID
- 124518671
- Origin
- A wholly synthetic molecule with no natural occurrence. It is produced outside any pharmaceutical circuit, imported as a powder, then deposited on an inert plant support or incorporated into vaping liquids. The only lawful productions are laboratory analytical standards.
- InChIKey
- VAKGBPSFDNTMDJ-UHFFFAOYSA-N
In plain terms
THJ-018 is a copy of JWH-018 in which a nitrogen atom has been added at the core of the molecule, which was enough to move it off the lists of banned products without losing its effects. It is a very potent agonist of the cannabis receptors, sold on plant material for smoking, with no human safety data at all.
Receptors and activity
- CB1Agonist
- CB2Agonist
- Agonist
- Partial agonist
- Antagonist
- Modulator
- Inverse agonist
Hover over a row for the precise value (Ki, EC50…)
Subjective signature
Hover over an axis to read its definition.
- Calm18
- Clarity10
- Sleep30
- Appetite40
- High75
Editorial estimate, not clinical.
Pharmacology
THJ-018 is a synthetic agonist of cannabinoid receptors of the naphthoylindazole family, a direct analogue of JWH-018 from which it differs only by the replacement of the indole core with an indazole core. That isosteric substitution, without major consequence for activity, sufficed to place it outside the scope of listings by name targeting JWH-018: it illustrates the very mechanism of the race between legislator and clandestine laboratories. Hess and colleagues (2016) class it among the full agonists of CB1 and CB2 receptors, with affinities in the low nanomolar to subnanomolar range, far above that of Δ9-THC. Its metabolism has been characterised on human hepatocytes by Diao and colleagues (2016), who identified thirteen metabolites, hydroxylation of the N-pentyl chain followed by oxidation or glucuronidation constituting the major routes. No human data on dose, tolerance or safety exist.
Origin (pharmaceutical research → illicit market)
No biological route: THJ-018 is a naphthoylindazole obtained by synthesis. The skeleton combines an indazole core bearing a pentyl chain on the nitrogen at position 1, and at position 3 a ketone function linking the naphthalene ring. It is described here by chemical class only.
Legal framework
France
A narcotic in France by generic clause, without listing by name. The arrêté of 31 March 2017, which amends Annex IV of the arrêté of 22 February 1990, added twelve chemical families of synthetic cannabinoids, among them that of indazol-3-yl methanones. THJ-018, a ketone linking an indazole substituted at position 1 to a naphthalene, meets that definition. Production, possession, transfer and use are criminally punishable.
European Union
No harmonised control measure at Union level: THJ-018 does not appear in the annex to framework decision 2004/757/JHA, unlike its more widely diffused fluorinated analogue. It is monitored by the early warning system of the European drugs agency and controlled nationally in several Member States. It appears neither in the schedules of the convention of 1961 nor in those of the convention of 1971.
Sources: EUR-Lex, UNODC, CND, ANSM, IUPHAR/BPS, ChEBI, EUDA. Our method.
Structural classification
- Class
- Synthetic cannabinoid (SCRA)
- Origin
- A wholly synthetic molecule with no natural occurrence. It is produced outside any pharmaceutical circuit, imported as a powder, then deposited on an inert plant support or incorporated into vaping liquids. The only lawful productions are laboratory analytical standards.
- Status
- Narcotic: generic clause
References
Structured data
- InChIKey
- VAKGBPSFDNTMDJ-UHFFFAOYSA-N
- SMILES
- CCCCCN1C2=CC=CC=C2C(=N1)C(=O)C3=CC=CC4=CC=CC=C43
- Formula
- C23H22N2O
- Molar mass
- 342.40 g·mol⁻¹
- CAS
- 1364933-55-0
- PubChem CID
- 124518671
LLM ingestion format: a structured superset of the entry (identifiers, binding, versioned legal status). Full corpus.