4-Thiometaescaline
4-Thiometaescaline, also known as 3-ethoxy-4-methylthio-5-methoxyphenethylamine, is a psychoactive drug of the phenethylamine and scaline families related to mescaline. It is the analogue of metaescaline in which the methoxy group at the 4 position has been replaced with a methylthio group. The drug is one of three possible positional isomers of thiometaescaline, the others being 3-thiometaescaline and 5-thiometaescaline.
In his book PiHKAL and other publications, Alexander Shulgin lists 4-TME's dose as 60 to 100mg orally and its duration as 10 to 15hours. The drug has approximately 4times the potency of mescaline, though its effects are very different. The effects of 4-TME have been reported to include mild mental changes that were neither visual nor particularly interesting, a strange off-baseness, feeling sad and morbid, mild gastrointestinal disturbances, sleep disturbances, and subsequent-day negative effects like lethargy and emotional disconnection. It was described as being more toxic than joyous. No clear hallucinogenic or perceptual effects were described.
The chemical synthesis of 4-TME has been described. It is said to have a very small yield.
4-TME was first described in the scientific literature by Alexander Shulgin and Peyton Jacob III in 1984. Subsequently, it was described in greater detail by Shulgin in PiHKAL in 1991.