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PMA
4-Methoxyamphetamine
4-MA, 4-MeOA, Dr Death, Death, Chicken PowderOpen in Piru
PMA is a potent hallucinogen1 with psychedelic properties in the substituted amphetamine class.2 It is found as an adulterant in tablets sold as MDMA3, although its effects differ and do not reliably resemble an entactogenic experience. PMA can cause life-threatening overheating and serotonin syndrome even at moderate doses. PMA sold as ecstasy in pill or capsule form is usually indistinguishable from ecstasy.4
Dosage & Duration
Dosage
Doses are population estimates that vary widely between individuals.
Threshold10 mg
Light20-40 mg
Moderate40-60 mg
Strong50-60 mg
Heavy60+ mg
Duration
Onset1-2 hours
Total2-4 hours
Subjective Effects
Subjective Effects not written up yet
Pharmacology
Pharmacodynamics
PMA promotes serotonin release and inhibits serotonin reuptake5, with evidence suggesting that reuptake inhibition may be more prominent than its releasing action. It also potently inhibits monoamine oxidase A (MAO-A)6, with no significant effect on MAO-B. Its effects on dopamine and norepinephrine transporters are weak, and rodent studies show a robust increase in brain serotonin but only a small increase in dopamine. PMA has very low affinity for 5-HT1A, 5-HT2A, and 5-HT2C receptors, but substantially higher affinity for mouse and rat TAAR1.7
Pharmacokinetics
Human studies detected unchanged PMA in urine after administration, demonstrating that some of the substance is excreted without being metabolized.
Metabolitesnone documented yet
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.
Tolerance
Tolerance not written up yet
Harm Potential
Toxicity
PMA can cause potentially fatal increases in temperature and blood pressure at 60–80 mg, and overdose may occur only slightly above the usual recreational dose range. Susceptibility varies substantially between individuals; a dose causing mild effects in one person may be fatal in another. Severe hyperthermia is the most common cause of PMA-related death.8
PMA ingestion can cause severe tachycardia, irregular heartbeat, and hypertension; doses as low as 60 mg can produce substantial increases in pulse and blood pressure.
PMA can cause life-threatening hyperthermia and serotonin syndrome even at moderate doses, with severe hyperthermia also occurring during overdose.
Severe hypoglycaemia accompanied by hyperkalaemia was reported in two patients with confirmed PMA poisoning.9
PMA overdose can sometimes cause rhabdomyolysis.10
PMA overdose can sometimes cause cerebral hemorrhage requiring emergency surgery.
PMA can cause labored breathing.
Seizure Risk
PMA ingestion has been associated with seizures, and convulsions are a characteristic feature of overdose.
History & Culture
Legality
International
PMA (1-(4-methoxyphenyl)propan-2-amine) is internationally controlled in Schedule I of the Convention on Psychotropic Substances of 1971.
By Country
Illegal32
United StatesIllegalControlled Substances Act63
ArgentinaIllegalResolución 977/198652
PMA, identified as parametoxianfetamina, is placed in Lista I de Psicotrópicos by Resolution 977/1986. The resolution amends the statutory psychotropic lists to implement Argentina’s obligations under the 1971 Convention.
AustraliaIllegalCriminal Code Regulations 201953
The Criminal Code Regulations 2019 list 4-Methoxyamphetamine in Schedule 1 as a controlled drug. Schedule 1 assigns 0.75 kg as the commercial quantity, 250 g as the marketable quantity, and 0.75 g as the trafficable quantity.
AustriaIllegalSuchtgiftverordnung38
BelgiumIllegalRoyal Decree of 6 September 2017 regulating narcotic and psychotropic substances39
PMA (para-methoxyamphetamine) is listed in Annexe IIA of Belgium’s Royal Decree of 6 September 2017 regulating narcotic and psychotropic substances. Its import, export, transport, manufacture, possession, sale, supply, delivery, and acquisition require prior activity authorisation; for Annexe IIA products, authorisation is confined to scientific purposes or very limited medical purposes in authorised institutions. Unauthorised conduct under the decree is punishable under the Drug Law of 24 February 1921.
BrazilIllegalPortaria SVS/MS nº 344, de 12 de maio de 199828
PMA is listed as P-metoxi-alfa-metilfenetilamina in Lista F2 of Portaria SVS/MS nº 344, which classifies it among substances of prohibited use in Brazil. The Portaria prohibits the production, manufacture, import, export, trade, and use of proscribed substances, except for authorized medical and scientific research activities.
CanadaIllegalControlled Drugs and Substances Act29
ChileIllegalPMA is listed as "4-metoxi-alfa-metilfeniletilamina (PMA)" in Article 1 of Supreme Decree No. 867 of 2007, which classifies it as a narcotic or psychotropic substance capable of causing serious toxic effects or considerable harm to health. Under Law No. 20.000, unauthorized manufacture and trafficking of the substances covered by Article 1 are criminal offences; the regulation took effect on 19 February 2008.
DenmarkIllegalBekendtgørelse om euforiserende stoffer (BEK nr 405 af 26/03/2026)40
PMA (4-methoxyamphetamine) is listed as item 398 in List B of Executive Order No. 405 of 26 March 2026 on euphoriant substances, which took effect on 29 March 2026. List B substances may be used only for medical or scientific purposes; receipt and possession, manufacture, sale, and import or export are allowed only under the Order's prescription, pharmacy, or Danish Medicines Agency authorisation rules. Contravention is punishable under the Act on Euphoriant Substances and, in the circumstances specified by section 191 of the Penal Code, under that provision.
FinlandIllegalGovernment Decree on substances, preparations and plants considered narcotics (543/2008), Annex II as replaced by Decree 1119/2025; Narcotics Act (373/2008), section 54142
Decree 1119/2025 replaced Annex II to Decree 543/2008 and entered into force on 29 December 2025. Its Annex II expressly lists para-methoxyamphetamine (PMA) in the 1971 Convention List I; that list also covers the listed substances' stereoisomers where chemically possible, their salts where possible, and preparations containing them. Section 5 of the Narcotics Act prohibits production, manufacture, import, export, transport, transit, distribution, trade, handling, possession and use of drugs, subject to statutory medicinal, research, control and industrial exceptions.
GermanyIllegalBetäubungsmittelgesetz43
Therefore, owning and distribution of PMA is illegal.
IndiaIllegalNarcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 198521
PMA is listed as a psychotropic substance in The Schedule to the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, under the chemical name p-methoxy-alpha-methylphenethylamine. The Schedule entry has applied since 26 October 1992. The Act prohibits production, manufacture, possession, sale, purchase, transport, use, consumption, and import or export except for medical or scientific purposes as authorized under the Act, rules, or orders.
IndonesiaIllegalMinister of Health Regulation No. 15 of 2025 on Changes to Narcotics Classification54
PMA is listed as p-Metoksi-α-metilfenetilamina in Narkotika Golongan I under Minister of Health Regulation No. 15 of 2025 on Changes to Narcotics Classification. Group I narcotics may be used only for scientific development and not for therapy.
IrelandIllegal (analog/blanket ban)Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2017 (S.I. No. 173 of 2017)44
PMA is controlled through the Schedule 1 generic phenethylamine provision in the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2017. The provision covers alpha-methylphenethylamines with an alkoxy ring substitution, which encompasses 4-methoxyamphetamine. Production, supply, importation, and exportation of a controlled drug are prohibited except as authorised.
ItalyIllegalPMA (para-metossiamfetamina) is listed in Tabella I of Italy's Consolidated Act on narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances. Unauthorized production, manufacture, sale, distribution, import, export, and non-personal possession of a Table I substance are criminal offences; possession for personal use is subject to administrative sanctions.
JapanIllegalPMA (4-methoxy-α-methylphenethylamine) and its salts are designated as narcotics under the Cabinet Order Designating Narcotics, Narcotic Raw Material Plants, Psychotropics, and Narcotics and Psychotropics Raw Materials. The designation has applied since 17 December 1989; manufacture, transfer, possession, import, export, and administration are restricted under the Narcotics and Psychotropics Control Act to licensed or otherwise authorized persons.
MexicoIllegalLey General de Salud30
PMA is listed in Grupo I of article 245 of the Ley General de Salud. Group I psychotropic substances are subject to the law’s highest level of health control.
NetherlandsIllegalOpiumwet56
PMA (para-methoxyamfetamine) is listed on Lijst I of the Opiumwet. Article 2 prohibits importing or exporting, preparing, processing, selling, supplying, transporting, possessing, and manufacturing Lijst I substances, subject to statutory exemptions and dispensations. PMA appeared on Lijst I by the 2002 re-establishment of the statutory lists and remains in the current consolidated text.
New ZealandIllegalMisuse of Drugs Act 197557
PMA is listed as a Class A controlled drug in Schedule 1 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975. The Act prohibits possessing or using a controlled drug and separately criminalises dealing in, supplying, and administering controlled drugs.
NorwayIllegalForskrift om narkotika (narkotikaforskriften)31
PMA is named in the Norwegian narcotics list to the narcotics regulation. The regulation identifies listed substances as prohibited under section 5, subject to the regulation’s authorisation provisions.
PhilippinesIllegalComprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 (Republic Act No. 9165)58
Republic Act No. 9165 expressly names paramethoxyamphetamine (PMA) among ‘other dangerous drugs’ in its possession provision. The Act prohibits unauthorized importation, sale, administration, delivery, distribution, transportation, manufacture, possession, and use of dangerous drugs; these provisions apply directly to PMA rather than to a constituent, alkaloid, or inferred analog.
PolandIllegalRegulation of the Minister of Health of 17 August 2018 on the list of psychotropic substances, narcotic drugs and new psychoactive substances (consolidated text: Dz.U. 2024 poz. 1139)3233
PMA (para-methoxyamphetamine) is listed as a Group I-P psychotropic substance in the Regulation of the Minister of Health of 17 August 2018 on the list of psychotropic substances, narcotic drugs and new psychoactive substances. Group I-P substances may be used only for research; unauthorised possession, manufacture, and supply are criminal offences under the Act on Counteracting Drug Addiction.
PortugalIllegalPMA is listed in Tabela II-A of the tables annexed to Decreto-Lei n.º 15/93. Unauthorised production, sale, distribution, import, export, transport, and illicit possession of substances in Tables I to III are punishable by four to twelve years' imprisonment under Article 21. Acquisition and possession exclusively for personal consumption are administrative offences; quantities exceeding a ten-day individual average are evidence that the purpose may not be personal consumption.
RussiaIllegalПостановление Правительства Российской Федерации от 30 июня 1998 г. № 681 «Об утверждении перечня наркотических средств, психотропных веществ и их прекурсоров, подлежащих контролю в Российской Федерации», Список I34
PMA is listed in the narcotic-drugs section of List I of Government Resolution No. 681 of 30 June 1998. It is expressly named as 1-(4-methoxyphenyl)propan-2-amine. List I prohibits circulation of the listed substances in the Russian Federation under Russian law and international treaties.
SingaporeIllegalMisuse of Drugs Act 197355
PMA is a controlled drug listed in the First Schedule to the Misuse of Drugs Act 1973. The Act prohibits dealing in, possession, consumption, importation, and exportation of controlled drugs except as authorised.
South KoreaIllegalPMA is listed as 4-methoxyamphetamine in Annex 4 to the Narcotics Control Act Enforcement Decree, as a psychotropic drug under Article 2(3)(a) of the Narcotics Control Act. The Act prohibits unauthorized possession, ownership, use, management, import, export, manufacture, sale, solicitation, brokering, or transfer of psychotropic drugs in that category. Manufacture, import, export, sale, transfer, or possession or ownership for those purposes is punishable by life imprisonment or imprisonment for at least five years.
SpainIllegalReal Decreto 2829/1977, sobre sustancias y preparados psicotrópicos27
PMA is listed as parametoxianfetamina in Lista I of Real Decreto 2829/1977. Lista I substances are subject to the decree’s restrictive control regime for their manufacture, import, export, trade, distribution, and possession.
SwedenIllegalPMA is listed in Förteckning I of the Läkemedelsverkets föreskrifter (LVFS 2011:10) om förteckningar över narkotika, the Swedish list for substances that normally have no medical use. Swedish law permits narcotics to be imported, exported, manufactured, offered for sale, transferred, or possessed only for specified authorised purposes; unlawful possession, use, manufacture, and transfer are criminal offences.
SwitzerlandIllegalVerordnung des EDI über die Verzeichnisse der Betäubungsmittel, psychotropen Stoffe, Vorläuferstoffe und Hilfschemikalien (Betäubungsmittelverzeichnisverordnung, BetmVV-EDI), SR 812.121.1162
Paramethoxyamphetamin (PMA) is listed in Verzeichnis d of the Betäubungsmittelverzeichnisverordnung (BetmVV-EDI). Verzeichnis d is the Swiss list of prohibited narcotics, so PMA may not be possessed, manufactured, imported, or supplied except under an applicable federal exception authorisation. The current consolidated text is in force from 15 May 2025.
ThailandIllegalThai FDA NARCO list51
The Thai Food and Drug Administration identifies PMA (4-methoxyamphetamine) as a Category I narcotic drug. Category I narcotics are controlled under Thailand’s narcotics law and are not available for ordinary lawful possession or trade.
UkraineIllegalCabinet of Ministers of Ukraine Resolution No. 770 of 6 May 2000, On approval of the lists of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and precursors45
PMA (paramethoxyamphetamine) is listed in List No. 2 of Table I of Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 770 of 6 May 2000. The list designates especially dangerous psychotropic substances whose circulation is prohibited in Ukraine; PMA's possession, manufacture, and supply are therefore prohibited except where legislation provides a specifically authorised activity.
United KingdomIllegalMisuse of Drugs Act 197166
Controlled / restricted2
ChinaRestrictedMinistry of Public Security, National Health Commission, and National Medical Products Administration, Announcement on Publishing the Catalogue of Non-medical Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Drugs (21 July 2025), read with the Regulation on the Administration of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Drugs17181920
The current non-medical catalogue expressly lists PMA as 4-methoxyamphetamine (1-(4-Methoxyphenyl)propan-2-amine), CAS 64-13-1, at entry 276. The three-agency announcement took effect on 21 July 2025 and replaced the former non-medical supplementary catalogue; it moved specified substances from the 2013 catalogues into the new non-medical catalogue, which no longer assigns PMA a Class I or II medicinal-psychotropic designation. Under the Regulation, non-medical narcotic and psychotropic substances may be used for experimental research under the Regulation but may not be produced, traded, used, stored, or transported.
ColombiaRestrictedPMA itself is named as "PMA" with the chemical name "p-metoxi-a-metilfenetilamina" in Anexo Técnico 1, Lista Verde, Lista I, of Resolución 000116 de 2026. The resolution took effect upon its issuance on 27 January 2026 and modified the technical annexes adopted by Article 2 of Resolución 315 de 2020; it therefore supplies the current list entry. Under Article 3 of Resolución 315 de 2020, fiscalization of substances in Anexo Técnico 1 extends to mixtures and products containing them; Annex 4 of Resolución 000116 also covers Lista Verde I salts and stereoisomers unless expressly excepted and where chemically possible.
Legal / decriminalized1
Czech RepublicLegal (regulated)PMA (methoxyamphetamine) is listed in Seznam č. 4 psychotropic substances of Government Regulation No. 463/2013 Coll. It is therefore an addictive substance under Czech controls; its import and export require an individual permit issued by the Ministry of Health.
References
Source Pages
Citations
Further Reading
Alcohol and Drug Foundation - PMA and PMMA
Caldicott et al. 2003 - Dancing with Death: PMA Overdose
DrugWise: PMA Factsheet- Lurie et al. 2011 - Severe paramethoxymethamphetamine (PMMA) and paramethoxyamphetamine (PMA) outbreak in Israel
- Staack & Maurer 2005 - Metabolism of Designer Drugs of Abuse
- Nichols et al. 1982 - Effects of certain hallucinogenic amphetamine analogs on the release of [3H]-serotonin from rat brain synaptosomes
- Corrigall et al. 1992 - The reinforcing and discriminative stimulus properties of para-ethoxy- and para-methoxyamphetamine
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