Deschloroketamine

At Commonwealth level, deschloroketamine (DCK; 2'-Oxo-PCM, O-PCM, DXE) is covered as a controlled-drug and border-controlled-drug analogue of listed ketamine. Section 301.9 covers structural modifications including replacement of specified groups or atoms, including halogen and hydrogen, and any other chemical derivative or substance substantially similar in chemical structure; the Regulations list ketamine in both controlled-drug and border-controlled-drug schedules. The Poisons Standard also lists ketamine in Schedule 8 and states that references to a substance include its derivatives unless otherwise stated.

Chile lists deschloroketamine in the Article 1 controlled-substances schedule of Decreto Supremo N.º 867, the regulation implementing Ley N.º 20.000. The substance is identified as 2-metilamino-2-fenil-ciclohexanona and is also known as 2-(metilamino)-2-fenil-ciclohexanona (DXE). The Ministry of the Interior’s national NPS report records the substance’s detection in Chile and recommends its inclusion in Article 1 because of its PCP-type dissociative profile and serious health risks.

The Czech Republic lists deschlorketamin in Annex 4 to Government Regulation No. 463/2013 Coll., with the chemical name 2-(methylamino)-2-fenylcyklohexan-1-on. Section 1(d) of the regulation defines Annex 4 as the list of psychotropic substances whose use is limited to research, scientific and very limited therapeutic purposes specified in a handling permit. The Czech Customs Administration identifies substances listed in Annexes 1–7 of this regulation as addictive substances, so this is an express schedule entry rather than an unscheduled-status inference.

Finland lists deschloroketamine under the Finnish name Desklooriketamiini, with the chemical descriptor 2-(metyyliamino)-2-fenyylisykloheksanoni, in the annex to Government Decree 1130/2014 as amended by Decree 1101/2025. Section 5(2) of the Narcotics Act (373/2008) prohibits the manufacture, import, storage, sale and transfer of consumer-market-prohibited psychoactive substances, while section 23b permits limited research and industrial handling under stated conditions. This sourced consumer-market restriction does not by itself establish that personal possession or use is prohibited as a narcotic offence.

The legacy entry's 'Legal (under review)' wording is corrected to the canonical unscheduled status for the Netherlands Opiumwet record. The January 21, 2025 hearing note is historical and is not treated as a current classification. The current direct-list check is positive for the distinct fluorinated analogue 2-fluordeschloorketamine but negative for DCK and its inspected synonyms. The generic List IA regime began on 1 July 2025 and, after the 9 July 2026 nitazene amendment, covers the four statutory groups described in the inspected sources; neither the original groups nor the latest addition is an arylcyclohexylamine group. 'Unscheduled' here means not scheduled under the inspected Dutch Opiumwet lists and does not assert that every product or transaction is lawful under other Dutch rules (including medicines, product, customs or other criminal-law provisions), nor does it decide a fact-specific misdescription or sample-identity issue.

As of 24 August 2026, Poland's current official schedule lists deschloroketamine (DCK; deschloroketamina) by the exact structural name 2-fenylo-2-(metyloamino)-cykloheksan-1-on in Annex 3, Part 1, item 42, the list of new psychoactive substances. The 2024 publication is an Obwieszczenie announcing the consolidated text of the underlying 17 August 2018 Regulation, not a regulation dated 17 June 2024. The 30 April 2025 amendment (Dz.U. 2025 poz. 598) adds or changes other substances, including moving 2-FDCK to psychotropic group II-P, but does not alter DCK item 42. The 7 July 2026 amendment (Dz.U. 2026 poz. 934) likewise does not alter DCK item 42 and entered into force on 28 July 2026. The Act on Counteracting Drug Addiction defines new psychoactive substances and provides that possession of them contrary to the Act is punishable by a fine (Article 62b(1)); significant quantities can incur a fine, restriction of liberty or imprisonment up to three years (Article 62b(2)).

South Korea covers deschloroketamine (DCK; 2′-oxo-PCM; 2-(methylamino)-2-phenylcyclohexanone) under Appendix 3 item 21 of the Enforcement Decree of the Act on the Control of Manufacture of Narcotics, etc., which lists phencyclidine analogues. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety’s consolidated temporary-narcotics notice records that DCK’s temporary designation loses effect on 5 January 2021 because the substance is designated under Appendix 3 item 21. The current control basis is therefore analogue coverage under the decree, not an inference from omission.

Decreto 122/2026 replaces Annex I of Decreto 560/2019. The current Annex I lists Descloroketamina, synonym 2'-oxo-PCM, with the chemical designation 2-(metilamino)-2-fenil-ciclohexanona (IUPAC: 2-(metilamino)-2-fenil-ciclohexan-1-ona), as entry 379. The decree was published on 2 March 2026 and provides that it enters into force the following day, 3 March 2026. Under Decreto 560/2019, substances in Annex I are estupefacientes; Ley 23.737 criminalizes unauthorized production, commerce, distribution, transport, supply, and possession of estupefacientes.

Deschloroketamine (DCK; 2-(methylamino)-2-phenylcyclohexan-1-one) is covered by Anlage II Z 8 of the NPSV because its arylcyclohexylamine structure is a derivative of the listed Arylcyclohexylamin structure, with ketone and amine functions included among the chemical structures referenced by § 1 Abs. 2. Under §§ 3–4 NPSG, a covered new psychoactive substance may not be produced, imported, exported, transferred, or supplied with intent to obtain an advantage and intent that another person use it for a psychoactive effect; the ordinary penalty is up to two years' imprisonment. The NPSG also provides for seizure unless a lawful use is credibly shown (§ 5). This is a restricted NPS regime rather than a blanket statement that every possession or use is illegal.

The Act defines an analogue as a substance having a substantially similar chemical structure to a controlled substance. Schedule I, item 14 covers phencyclidine, its salts, derivatives and analogues, and salts of derivatives and analogues, expressly including ketamine. Deschloroketamine (DCK) is a structural ketamine analogue (the 2-chloro substituent is absent), so it is treated as covered by this analogue language. Subject to statutory or regulatory authorization, possession, trafficking, importation, exportation, and production of Schedule I substances are prohibited under sections 4(1), 5(1), 6(1), and 7(1).

China lists deschloroketamine (DCK; 2′-Oxo-PCM; 2-phenyl-2-(methylamino)cyclohexanone; CAS 7063-30-1) as entry 153 in the 2025 《非药用类麻醉药品和精神药品目录》. The catalogue is jointly issued by the Ministry of Public Security, National Health Commission, and National Medical Products Administration and takes effect on 21 July 2025. Under the amended 《麻醉药品和精神药品管理条例》, non-medical narcotic and psychotropic substances are controlled and may be researched only under the regulation, while production, business operations, use, storage, and transport are prohibited.

Ireland's Criminal Justice (Psychoactive Substances) Act 2010 defines a psychoactive substance by its capacity, when consumed, to stimulate or depress the central nervous system or cause dependence. The Act excludes controlled drugs but prohibits selling, importing, or exporting a psychoactive substance when the person knows or is reckless as to human consumption. Deschloroketamine is not expressly named in the controlled-drug schedules reviewed; on the evidence located, the Act therefore restricts its commercial supply and import/export as a psychoactive substance, while it does not create a general possession offence.

Deschloroketamine (DCK; 2-methylamino-2-phenylcyclohexanone) has an unsubstituted phenyl aryl group, a methyl-substituted amino group, and a cyclohexane-ring carbonyl, matching the current generic 1-arylcyclohexylamine definition. The current consolidated Annex 2 places that definition in Section II, paragraph 11, item 9, and the current text identifies the Annex 2 consolidation as amended through 1 December 2025. Section 3(2)-(3) of the companion law makes Annex 2 the controlled-substance list and identifies Schedule I as prohibited especially dangerous substances; Section 5 prohibits cultivation, manufacture, preparation, import, export, distribution, advertising, transport, storage, transfer, purchase, use, and transit of Schedule I substances. Section 7 provides only a narrow permit framework for specified research, physical/chemical testing, or educational purposes.

New Zealand treats a substance with a structure substantially similar to a controlled drug as a controlled-drug analogue under section 2(1) of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975, and the analogue provisions capture such substances as Class C controlled drugs. Deschloroketamine (DCK; 2'-Oxo-PCM, O-PCM, or DXE) is the deschloro analogue of ketamine and therefore falls within that Class C analogue treatment unless a statutory exclusion applies. Medsafe identifies ketamine itself as a Class C4 controlled drug and states that activities involving controlled drugs, including possession, prescribing, supply, and administration, are more tightly controlled.

Russia’s Government Decree No. 681 places Ketamine in List II, where turnover is restricted. Note 6 covers derivatives formed by formally replacing hydrogen, halogen or hydroxyl groups in a listed substance with other permitted monovalent or divalent atoms or substituents. NIH PubChem identifies deschloroketamine as 2-(methylamino)-2-phenylcyclohexan-1-one and ketamine as 2-(2-chlorophenyl)-2-(methylamino)cyclohexan-1-one, showing the chlorine-to-hydrogen change that brings DCK within the derivative rule; the decree also says classification does not depend on synonyms or abbreviations.

South Africa’s Schedule 2 Part III lists phencyclidine and named congeners, including PCE, PHP/PCPY and TCP, as undesirable dependence-producing substances. The same Part expressly includes all homologues of listed substances when they incorporate a similar structural fragment or exhibit similar pharmacodynamic properties. Deschloroketamine is not named expressly, but its arylcyclohexylamine structure is covered as a homologue of the listed phencyclidine group under this clause.