TWEETIO (psychedelics)

TWEETIO is a family of phenethylamine psychedelic drugs.^[1][2][3][4] They are analogues of the 2C drugs (4-substituted 2,5-dimethoxyphenethylamines) in which one or both of the methoxy groups at positions 2 and 5 of the phenyl ring have been lengthened to ethoxy groups.^[1][2][4] Examples include 2CD-2-ETO (a TWEETIO of 2C-D), 2CE-5-ETO (a TWEETIO of 2C-E), and 2CT2-5-ETO (a TWEETIO of 2C-T-2).^[1][2][3][4]

Examples of major TWEETIO drugs. These are 2CD-2-ETO (left), 2CE-5-ETO (center), and 2CT2-5-ETO (right).

The TWEETIO drugs are said to have been named in a humorous way by pronouncing the simplest structural form of "2-EtO-X".^[1] Limited human data are available on the TWEETIO compounds.^[1][4] In any case, some generalizations have been made, including that the 2-ETO compounds tend to have a shorter duration and decreased potency, the 5-ETO drugs tend to have enhanced potency and remarkably increased durations, and the 2,5-Di-ETO drugs tend to be inactive.^[1][2]

The TWEETIO compounds were not the work of psychedelic chemist Alexander Shulgin, but were communicated to and reported by Shulgin in the scientific literature in the 1990s and 2000s.^[1][2][4] It was said by Shulgin in 2003 that the propoxy analogues had not yet been synthesized.^[1] In 2023, a propoxy derivative, ASR-2001 (2CB-5PrO), was first reported.^{[5][6][7][8][9]}

List and properties of TWEETIO drugs

TWEETIO analogues of selected 2C drugs^[1][2][3][4]

R4	Dosage (parent)	R2	R5	Code name	Trial dose	Comments of trial
Br-	12–24 mg	Et-	Me-	2CB-2-ETO	15 mg	"30–50 prolongs action"
		Et-	Et-	2CB-DI-ETO	>55 mg	"restless sleep, only"
Me-	20–60 mg	Et-	Me-	2CD-2-ETO	60 mg	"intimate, no intox, 4 hrs"
		Me-	Et-	2CD-5-ETO	50 mg	"12 hour duration"
		Et-	Et-	2CD-DI-ETO	>55 mg	"mild, 4 hr duration"
Et-	10–15 mg	Me-	Et-	2CE-5-ETO	15 mg	"16–24 hr duration"
	14–22 mg	Et-	Me-	2CI-2-ETO	5 mg	"50 mg longer duration only"
MeS-	60–100 mg	Et-	Me-	2CT-2-ETO	50 mg	"mild, 4 hr duration"
		Me-	Et-	2CT-5-ETO	30 mg	"15 hr duration"
EtS-	12–25 mg	Et-	Me-	2CT2-2-ETO	50 mg	"9 hr duration"
		Me-	Et-	2CT2-5-ETO	20 mg	"16 hr duration"
		Et-	Et-	2CT2-DI-ETO	50 mg	"only longer with higher dose"
iPrS-	8–20 mg	Et-	Me-	2CT4-2-ETO	25 mg	"dosage affects duration only"
PrS-	10–30 mg	Et-	Me-	2CT7-2-ETO	20 mg	"fast, out at 5 hrs"

Another known TWEETIO-related drug, a 2C-E analogue with a 5-isopropoxy group, is 2CE-5iPrO.^[10]

ASR-2001 (2CB-5PrO), a non-hallucinogenic TWEETIO analogue of 2C-B with a 5-propoxy group, is under development by the Alexander Shulgin Research Institute for use as a mild stimulant-like medication for the treatment of psychiatric disorders.^{[5][6][7][8][9]}

Related compounds

Various scalines (mescaline analogues), such as escaline (the 4-ethoxy analogue), featured extended methoxy groups.^[11][12]

EMDA-2 (2-ethoxy-4,5-methylenedioxyamphetamine) has been described by Alexander Shulgin as the "TWEETIO" analogue of MMDA-2.^[11] It is active as a psychedelic, producing closed-eye visuals and other effects, with a potency of about one-third that of MMDA-2 and a duration of 10 to 12 hours.^[11]

See also

• Substituted methoxyphenethylamine