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2C-T-2
2,5-Dimethoxy-4-ethylthiophenethylamine
Rosy
2C-T-2 is a synthetic psychedelic of the substituted phenethylamine class and a member of the 2C-x family1, derived from systematic modification of the mescaline molecule. First synthesized by Alexander Shulgin in 1981 and later described in his book PiHKALcitation needed, it is one of his "magical half-dozen" — his self-rated most important phenethylamine compounds. 2C-T-2 is notably dose-sensitive and recognized for its strong visual effects and intense body load.
Dosage & Duration
Dosage
Doses are population estimates that vary widely between individuals.
Threshold~3 mg
Light3-10 mg
Moderate10-20 mg
Strong20-25 mg
Heavy25+ mg
Onset can be slow, with some reports describing an hour or more before effects fully develop.
Duration
Onset30-60 minutes
Peak2.5-5 hours
Offset1-2 hours
After Effects2-4 hours
Total5-10 hours
Subjective Effects
Legacy content. A statistically backed ontology from Mindstate Design Labs is coming soon.
Effects vary widely by individual, dose, and context.
Physical
Cognitive
The head space of 2C-T-2 is described by many as one which is both insightful and relatively normal in its thought processes even at moderate to high dosages.
Visual
Geometry
The visual geometry of 2C-T-2 can be described as somewhat similar in appearance to that of ayahuasca, psilocin, and 4-AcO-DMT, with mystical and shamanic undertones which combine with synthetic digital undertones reminiscent of LSD or 2C-E. 2C-T-2's geometry can be comprehensively described as intricate in complexity, abstract in form, organic but somewhat synthetic in style, structured in organization, brightly lit and multicoloured in scheme, glossy in shading, rounded in edges, large in size, fast in speed, smooth in motion, mostly angular in corners, immersive in depth and consistent in intensity. The visuals have a contradictory 'natural' and 'synthetic' feel to them which is reminiscent of DOC or 2C-P. Higher dosages are more likely to result in states of Level 8B visual geometry, but may also lead into Level 8A visual geometry.
Hallucinatory States
2C-T-2 produces a full range of high level hallucinatory states in a fashion that is more consistent and reproducible than that of many other commonly used psychedelics, particularly in comparison to other substances within the phenethylamine family.
Auditory
The auditory effects of 2C-T-2 are more common in their occurrence than many more commonly used psychedelics.
See also: Psychedelic Intensity Scale, Effects of psychedelics (visual, cognitive, miscellaneous)
Pharmacology
Pharmacodynamics
2C-T-2 acts primarily as an agonist at serotonin 5-HT2 receptors, including the 5-HT2A, 5-HT2B, and 5-HT2C subtypes.citation needed Partial agonist activity has been reported at the 5-HT2A receptor, and this activity is considered the most likely basis for its psychedelic effects. 2C-T-2 has also been shown to act as a partial agonist at adrenergic receptors. Based on structural analogy with other alkylthio-substituted phenethylamines that act as selective MAO-A inhibitors, 2C-T-2 has been speculated to possess monoamine oxidase inhibitory activity, though this has not been experimentally confirmed.
Pharmacokinetics
A rat-urine GC/MS study tentatively assigned 14 2C-T-2 metabolites. Reported pathways included sulfoxidation, N-acetylation, O-demethylation, S-dealkylation followed by S-methylation, S-ethyl-side-chain hydroxylation, and deamination followed by reduction or oxidation; some products were partly glucuronidated or sulfated. These animal findings do not establish human metabolic proportions, elimination half-life, or route bioavailability.4
Dangerous
Highest riskThese combinations are considered extremely harmful and should always be avoided. Reactions to these drugs taken in combination are highly unpredictable and have a potential to cause death.
Unsafe
AvoidThere is considerable risk of physical harm when taking these combinations, they should be avoided where possible.
Caution
Use cautionThese combinations are not usually physically harmful, but may produce undesirable effects, such as physical discomfort or overstimulation. Extreme use may cause physical health issues. Synergistic effects may be unpredictable. Care should be taken when choosing to use this combination.
Tolerance
Tolerance timelines are rules of thumb, not exact schedules, and vary widely between individuals and use patterns.
Full Tolerance
2C-T-2 can produce tolerance almost immediately after use. With consecutive daily use, roughly twice the dose may be needed each time to produce comparable effects.
Baseline Reset
Full baseline tolerance is typically restored after 5-7 days of abstinence, with some sources indicating complete return to baseline within 7 days.
Half Tolerance
Approximately 3 days after use, tolerance is estimated to reduce to half of its peak level.
Cross Tolerance
Serotonergic psychedelics, Other 5-HT2A agonists
Harm Potential
Addiction & Dependence
Psychological
Extremely Low2C-T-2 is not habit-forming and the desire to use it can actually decrease with use. It is most often self-regulating, though some individuals may use it more frequently than intended.
Physical
Extremely Low2C-T-2 is not physically addicting. Withdrawal effects following discontinuation have not been reported.
Toxicity
Central Nervous System
In vitro studies have demonstrated potential neurotoxicity to serotonergic and dopaminergic neurons, though the concentrations used (>50 μM) are unlikely to translate to recreational use of the compound.
Psychosis Risk
As with other serotonergic psychedelics, 2C-T-2 may trigger latent psychological and mental conditions in predisposed individuals. Those with a family history of schizophrenia or early onset mental illness should exercise extreme caution. Severe intoxication has been associated with intense hallucinations, agitation, aggression, violence, and dysphoria.citation needed
Seizure Risk
Seizures have been reported as part of severe intoxication with 2C series drugs.5 Individuals with a seizure or convulsive disorder may be at higher risk when taking 2C-T-2.
History & Culture
Discovery and Synthesis
2C-T-2 was first synthesized by Alexander Shulgin in 1981.citation needed That same year, Shulgin discovered its psychedelic properties through self-experimentation, establishing the compound's activity in humans.
Legality
International
2C-T-2 is not listed under the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs. It is listed in Schedule II of the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances. It is not listed under the 1988 Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances.
By Country
Illegal32
United StatesIllegalFederally scheduled under SEC. 1152 of the Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act of 2012 (S.3187), signed into law in July 2012.65 Possession, manufacture, and import are illegal. Additional state-level controls exist in Alabama (February 2013), Louisiana (June 2013), Oklahoma (May 2011), Pennsylvania, and Vermont (July 2012).
ArgentinaIllegalDecree 593/2019, List of Controlled Substances8
Listed as a controlled substance alongside other phenethylamines including 2C-B and 2C-I.
AustraliaIllegalPoisons Standard9
Classified as a prohibited substance under the Poisons Standard since 2005. Schedule 9 substances are those which may be abused or misused and are prohibited except for approved medical or scientific research, analytical, teaching, or training purposes with government authorization.
AustriaIllegalSuchtgiftverordnung10
Prohibited under the Suchtmittelgesetz (Narcotics Act). Possession, production, and sale are illegal.
BelgiumIllegal6 September 2017 Royal Decree regulating narcotic and psychotropic substances, Articles 2(18), 3, 6 and 61, with Annex IVa section 7 (generic 2C-X derivatives); the 22 January 1998 Royal Decree is repealed by Article 64.11121314
The substance was added in 2004. The current status rests on the 6 September 2017 Royal Decree and current Annex IVa generic 2C-X coverage, not on the repealed 1998 instrument. AFMPS labels its consolidated Annex IV PDF as non-official and directs readers to Belgian Official Gazette annexes and amendments for official legal value; its current page was last updated 16 July 2026. The ordinary rule is prohibited for unlicensed handling, while the Royal Decree provides authorization pathways limited to scientific or medical purposes.
BrazilIllegalPortaria SVS/MS nº 344/1998, Lista F215
Controlled as of February 18, 2014. Listed on Portaria SVS/MS nº 344, making possession, production, and sale illegal.
ChileIllegal2C-T-2 is listed in Article 1 of the regulation under Law No. 20,000 by Decree No. 1,690 of 2014, published on 30 March 2015. Unauthorized manufacture, preparation, extraction, and trafficking—including possession, supply, transfer, import, and export—of Article 1 substances are criminal offences; possession of small quantities is separately punishable unless the statutory medical-treatment or immediate personal-use exception is established.
ChinaIllegalMeasures for the Control of Non-medical Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances22
Added to the list of controlled substances as of October 2015.
Czech RepublicIllegal2C-T-2 (dimethoxyethylthiofenethylamine) is listed as a List No. 4 psychotropic substance under Government Regulation No. 463/2013 Coll., on lists of addictive substances. The Addictive Substances Act limits substances in Lists No. 3 and 4 to limited research, scientific, and very limited therapeutic purposes defined in a handling permit; unpermitted manufacture, processing, acquisition, sale, storage, or use is unlawful.
DenmarkIllegalExecutive Order on Euphoriant Substances25
Added to Category B of the controlled substances list on August 23, 2003.
EstoniaIllegalRegulation No. 39: Lists of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances26
Added to Schedule I in February 2011 alongside several other phenethylamines and synthetic cannabinoids.
FinlandIllegalGovernment Decree on Substances, Preparations and Plants Considered Narcotic Drugs27
Classified as a narcotic substance under Finnish drug control legislation.
FranceIllegal (analog/blanket ban)Arrêté du 22 février 1990 fixant la liste des substances classées comme stupéfiants, annexe IV28
France classifies as narcotics every phenethylamine-derived molecule substituted on the phenyl ring, subject to the exceptions stated in the order. 2C-T-2 is a phenethylamine with methoxy and ethylthio substituents on that ring and falls within that classification. The narcotics classification subjects it to France’s controlled-substances regime.
GermanyIllegal
IrelandIllegal (analog/blanket ban)Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2017 (S.I. No. 173/2017), Schedule 1; Misuse of Drugs Act 1977, section 33031
2C-T-2 is controlled under Schedule 1 of the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2017 through the generic phenethylamine definition, which covers ring-alkoxy phenethylamines with additional univalent ring substituents. Production, supply, import, and export are prohibited except as authorized under the Regulations, while unauthorized possession is an offence under section 3 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977.
ItalyIllegalPresidential Decree 309/1990, Tabella I32
Added to Tabella I (the list of prohibited plants and substances) by Ministry of Health statement on January 11, 2005.
JapanIllegalCabinet Order Designating Narcotics, Narcotic Raw Materials, Psychotropics, and Narcotic and Psychotropic Raw Materials, etc.3334
2C-T-2 and its salts are designated as narcotics under Japan's Cabinet Order Designating Narcotics, Narcotic Raw Materials, Psychotropics, and Narcotic and Psychotropic Raw Materials, etc. The Narcotics and Psychotropics Control Act restricts possession, manufacture, import, export, transfer, and use to authorised narcotics handlers and specified statutory exceptions.
NorwayIllegalForskrift om narkotika (narkotikaforskriften), FOR-2013-02-14-19939
Norway's Regulations relating to Narcotics list 2C-T-2 by name in the Narkotikalisten under its chemical designation 2,5-dimetoksy-4-etyltiofenetylamin. It is therefore regulated as a narcotic under the controls established by the regulation.
PolandIllegalRozporządzenie Ministra Zdrowia z dnia 17 sierpnia 2018 r. w sprawie wykazu substancji psychotropowych, środków odurzających oraz nowych substancji psychoaktywnych404142
2C-T-2 is listed as a Group I-P psychotropic substance in Poland. Group I-P substances may be used only for research, so unauthorised possession, production and supply are criminally punishable under the Act on Counteracting Drug Addiction. The listing has applied since 21 August 2018.
PortugalIllegalDecree-Law No. 15/93, Table II-A43
Law enacted in January 2005 to control 2C-T-2, 2C-I, 2C-T-7, and TMA-2.
SlovakiaIllegalAct No. 139/1998 Coll. on Narcotic Drugs, Psychotropic Substances and Preparations45
Added to Grade 2 (equivalent to Schedule II under the 1971 UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances) in October 2009.
South AfricaIllegal (analog/blanket ban)South Africa's Schedule 7 expressly lists 2C-T-7 and also covers all homologues of listed substances that are chemically related or have a similar structural fragment or pharmacodynamic properties. 2C-T-2, the ethylthio homologue of listed 2C-T-7, is therefore controlled as a Schedule 7 substance. The Medicines and Related Substances Act prohibits acquiring, using, possessing, manufacturing, or supplying a Schedule 7 substance without a permit from the Director-General.
South KoreaIllegal2C-T-2 is a psychotropic drug under Annex 4 of the Narcotics Control Act Enforcement Decree, the list implementing Article 2(3)(b) of the Narcotics Control Act. The annex identifies it as 2시-티-2 (2C-T-2) and gives the chemical name 2-[4-(ethylsulfanyl)-2,5-dimethoxyphenyl]ethanamine. The Act prohibits possession, manufacture, import, export, sale, transfer, and other handling of this category except as authorized under the Act.
SpainIllegalOrden SCO/2359/2004, de 2 de julio, por la que se modifica el anexo I del Real Decreto 2829/1977, de 6 de octubre, por el que se regulan las sustancias y productos psicotrópicos52
Spain places 2C-T-2 (2,5-dimetoxi-4-etiltiofenetilamina) in Lista I of Annex I to the psychotropic-substances regime. Since 17 July 2004, its use, manufacture, importation, transit, trade, possession, and inclusion in preparations are prohibited; scientific research requires prior authorization from the Spanish Agency of Medicines and Medical Devices.
SwedenIllegalLäkemedelsverkets regulations LVFS 1997:12, as amended by LVFS 2004:353
First regulated on April 1, 1999 under the Act on the Prohibition of Certain Goods Dangerous to Health (SFS 1999:58), making sale and possession illegal. Subsequently added to Schedule I of the Narcotic Drugs Punishments Act on March 16, 2004, as published in MPA regulation LVFS 2004:3.
SwitzerlandIllegalNarcotics List Ordinance54
Specifically named as a controlled substance under Verzeichnis D of the Swiss narcotics legislation.
TurkeyIllegal (analog/blanket ban)Council of Ministers Decision No. 2015/7238 on Subjecting Certain Substances to Law No. 2313 on the Control of Narcotic Drugs5556
2C-T-2 is covered as a phenethylamine derivative by the amphetamine-derivatives group in the annex to Council of Ministers Decision No. 2015/7238. The decision subjects every substance in its annex to Law No. 2313 on the Control of Narcotic Drugs. Under that law, the import, export and domestic sale of controlled narcotic substances are subject to the statutory control regime.
UkraineIllegalПостанова Кабінету Міністрів України № 770 від 06.05.2000 «Про затвердження переліку наркотичних засобів, психотропних речовин і прекурсорів»575859
Resolution No. 770 places 2C-T-2 in List No. 2 of Table I, the list of especially dangerous psychotropic substances whose circulation is prohibited. Resolution No. 4 of 5 January 2011 adds 2C-T-2 to that list and takes effect on publication, except for an unrelated provision; the current official consolidated text continues to list it.
Controlled / restricted1
SingaporeRestrictedPoisons Act 193844
2C-T-2 is regulated as a poison under Singapore’s Poisons Act 1938 because the Poisons List covers mescaline and other phenethylamine derivatives formed by substitution in the aromatic ring. The Act requires a licence to import, possess for sale, sell, or offer for sale a poison. The List also applies to a listed substance when it is contained in a preparation, solution, admixture, or natural substance.
References
Source Pages
Citations
- Lea Wagmann, Simon D. Brandt, Alexander Stratford, Hans H. Maurer, & Markus R. Meyer. (February 2019). Interactions of phenethylamine-derived psychoactive substances of the 2C-series with human monoamine oxidases. Drug Testing and Analysis, 11(2), 318–324. https://doi.org/10.1002/dta.24941
- Dino Luethi, Daniel Trachsel, Marius C. Hoener, & Matthias E. Liechti. (May 2018). Monoamine receptor interaction profiles of 4-thio-substituted phenethylamines (2C-T drugs). Neuropharmacology, 134(Pt A), 141–148. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropharm.2017.07.0121
- Amy J. Eshleman, Michael J. Forster, Katherine M. Wolfrum, Robert A. Johnson, Aaron Janowsky, & Michael B. Gatch. (March 2014). Behavioral and neurochemical pharmacology of six psychoactive substituted phenethylamines: mouse locomotion, rat drug discrimination and in vitro receptor and transporter binding and function. Psychopharmacology, 231(5), 875–888. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-013-3303-61
- New designer drug 2,5-dimethoxy-4-ethylthio-beta-phenethylamine (2C-T-2): studies on its metabolism and toxicological detection in rat urine using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Journal of Mass Spectrometry, 40(9), 1157–1172 (September 2005). https://doi.org/10.1002/jms.89012
- 2C-T-2 is drug metabolism|metabolized by the monoamine oxidase. (n.d.). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13181-013-0295-x1
- Central nervous system (CNS) activity of two new psychoactive compounds. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 23(1), 95–96 (January 1991). https://doi.org/10.1080/02791072.1991.104725831
- Preliminary results with new psychoactive agents 2C-T-2 and 2C-T-7. (1993). http://www.maps.org/images/pdf/1993_stolaroff_1.pdf12
- Decree 593/2019, List of Controlled Substances. argentina.gob.ar (n.d.). https://www.argentina.gob.ar/sites/default/files/listado_de_sustancias_controladas.pdf1
- Poisons Standard. legislation.gov.au (n.d.). https://www.legislation.gov.au/F2025L00049/asmade/2025-01-28/text/original/epub/OEBPS/document_1/document_1.html1
- Suchtgiftverordnung. ris.bka.gv.at (n.d.). https://ris.bka.gv.at/NormDokument.wxe?Abfrage=Bundesnormen&Anlage=5&Artikel=&FassungVom=2026-02-07&Gesetzesnummer=10011053&Paragraf=&Uebergangsrecht=1
Further Reading
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Recent changes8 human edits · latest
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31 July 2026
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Josie Kins · Updated the article · also 1,4-Butanediol, 1B-LSD, 1cP-AL-LAD and 573 more
Josie Kins · Updated the article · also 1,4-Butanediol, 1B-LSD, 1cP-AL-LAD and 573 more
Josie Kins · Updated the article · also 1,4-Butanediol, 1B-LSD, 1cP-AL-LAD and 573 more
Josie Kins · Updated the article · also 1,4-Butanediol, 1B-LSD, 1cP-AL-LAD and 573 more
Josie Kins · Updated the article · also 1,4-Butanediol, 1B-LSD, 1cP-AL-LAD and 573 more
Josie Kins · Updated the article · also 1,4-Butanediol, 1B-LSD, 1cP-AL-LAD and 573 more
Josie Kins · Updated the article · also 1,4-Butanediol, 1B-LSD, 1cP-AL-LAD and 573 more
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