2C-B (Nexus) - Overview

Overview

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) first came across 2C-B in 1979. The DEA noted in its Drug Intelligence Brief "An Overview of Club Drugs" (2000) that 2C-B first gained a following among drug users in Germany and Switzerland. However, the drug's effects soon began to "appeal to the U.S. rave culture" as well. These effects include increasing the user's awareness of things seen and heard, "increased sexual desire, and heightened senses of taste and touch."

By 2000, 2C-B had become a considerable concern to U.S. drug officials. At that time, significant seizures of the drug had occurred in nearly twenty states. Among the largest were raids carried out in Richmond, Virginia, and the Washington, D.C., area. By 2002, use of the drug was reported nationwide. Drug officials said they did not expect to see this trend reverse for years.

2C-B's Inventor

American chemist Alexander T. "Sasha" Shulgin (1925– ) first produced 2C-B in 1974. Over the next year or so, he and his wife did extensive testing of the drug by using it themselves and recording the results. Shulgin has discovered or synthesized more than 150 drugs, most of them hallucinogens. He has angered U.S. law enforcement agencies for documenting his personal experiences while using drugs. In addition, Shulgin has published the chemical formulas "for almost every mind-bending drug known to humankind," wrote Dennis Romero in the Los Angeles Times.

Dr. Shulgin began his controversial career in chemistry in the 1960s. He conducted research at the University of California at San Francisco and worked as a senior research chemist at Dow Chemical. He received a license from the DEA to study seized drugs and "give expert testimony in drug trials," Romero noted. However, this did not "allow him to invent the stuff, though," continued Romero. "A few drugs Shulgin invented, substances with names like STP and 2C-B, escaped to the streets of San Francisco." STP, also called DOM, is another psychedelic hallucinogen.

2C-B Basics

2C-B has been illegal since 1995, when it was classified as a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA, 1970). Few state and federal agencies track 2C-B use specifically. Rather, it is lumped in with statistics on club drugs or hallucinogens. 2C-B is often sold and used in combination with other club drugs. It is also sometimes sold as ecstasy (MDMA), especially at raves.