2C-B (Nexus) - What Kind of Drug Is It?

What Kind of Drug Is It?

2C-B is an illegal and dangerous drug that has raised many concerns among medical experts and law enforcement officials worldwide. Its official name, 4-bromo-2,5-dimethoxyphenethylamine, is so difficult to pronounce that it is almost always referred to by its shortened name, 2C-B, or by the street name "nexus." 2C-B is usually sold as a tablet, a capsule, or a white powder. By 2004, however, it began appearing on the streets as both a red pill and an orange powder.

2C-B abuse is most common among teenagers and young adults who attend all-night dance parties, known as ravesOvernight dance parties that typically involve huge crowds of people, loud techno music, and illegal drug use., on a regular basis. It is often taken in combination with other so-called rave or club drugs such as ecstasy (MDMA), GHB, ketamine, LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide), and methamphetamine. (Entries on these drugs are available in this encyclopedia.)

It is important to note that 2C-B is a synthetic drug; in other words, it cannot be grown in a garden or dug up from the ground. This drug is produced solely in illegal labs, has no known medical use, and cannot even be obtained with a doctor's prescription. 2C-B is used for just one reason, and that reason is to get high. It is very similar in chemical makeup to amphetaminesPronounced am-FETT-uh-meens; stimulant drugs that increase mental alertness, reduce appetite, and help keep users awake.. Amphetamines are stimulants, meaning that they increase the activity of a living organism or one of its parts.

2C-B is a psychoactiveMind-altering; a psychoactive substance alters the user's mental state or changes one's behavior. substance that affects the behavior and mental state of those who use it. 2C-B is also considered a psychedelic drug and a hallucinogen. Psychedelic drugs and hallucinogens produce hallucinationsVisions or other perceptions of things that are not really present., or strange sights and sounds, in users' heads. In a report filed in late December of 2004, ABC News writer Marc Lallanilla called synthetic hallucinogens like 2C-B "a new class of drugs [that are] getting increased attention from police and partiers alike."

Official Drug Name: 4-bromo-2,5-dimethoxyphenethylamine (BROH-moh dy-meth-OCK-sy-FENN-eh-THY-luh-meen); almost always referred to by the shortened name 2C-B

Also Known As: Afro, bees, bromo, cloud-9, eve, nexus, toonies, utopia, and venus; Nexus is the street name used most frequently for 2C-B

Drug Classifications: Schedule 1, hallucinogen