N-t-BOC-MDMA is a chemical compound which can be both a synthetic precursor to, or a prodrug of the empathogenic drug MDMA. It was first identified in Australia in 2015 as a seizure by customs, and has subsequently been found in China, the Netherlands and other European countries. Originally it was thought to be intended as a non-illegal form of MDMA which could be easily converted into the prohibited final product after importation, however one seizure by police found N-t-BOC-MDMA in the process of being pressed into pills, and experiments with simulated gastric fluid confirmed that it can be broken down to MDMA by human stomach acid. Similar N-protected compounds such as N-t-BOC-methamphetamine, N-p-tosyl-methamphetamine, N-t-BOC-ketamine, N-t-BOC-norketamine, and N-methoxycarbonyl-MDA have also been encountered by law enforcement.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]
Legal status
N-t-BOC-MDMA has been specifically listed as an illicit drug in Singapore and South Korea,[8][9] but is also likely to be controlled by general drug analogue laws in various other countries.
^Collins M, Donnelly C, Cameron S, Tahtouh M, Salouros H (March 2017). "Identification and characterization of N-tert-butoxycarbonyl-MDMA: a new MDMA precursor". Drug Testing and Analysis. 9 (3): 399–404. doi:10.1002/dta.2059. PMID27574107.
^Salouros H (2018). "Illicit drug chemical profiling: current and future state". Australian Journal of Forensic Sciences. 50 (6): 689–696. doi:10.1080/00450618.2018.1424244. S2CID80559699.
^Collins M, Bhattarai A, Salouros H (2018). "Another chemically masked drug: p-tosyl methylamphetamine". Drug Testing and Analysis. 10 (5): 898–905. doi:10.1002/dta.2363. PMID29388381.
^Johnson CS, Bogun B (2019). "Chemical camouflage: illicit drug concealment using di-tert-butyldicarbonate". Australian Journal of Forensic Sciences. 51: S217–S219. doi:10.1080/00450618.2019.1569135. S2CID86747489.