MDPV (Methylenedioxypyrovalerone)
Definition
An alpha-pyrrolidinyl cathinone acting primarily as a dopamine/noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor. Central to the US 'bath salts' crisis 2011-2012; substantially more potent and more likely to produce psychosis than mephedrone. Schedule I US since 2011.
- Chemical class
- Alpha-pyrrolidinyl cathinone
- Mechanism
- Dopamine/noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor
- US legal status
- Schedule I since 2011
- Known as
- A major component of 'bath salts' blends
- Peak incident period
- 2011 to 2012, United States
Common questions
How does MDPV differ from mephedrone in effect?+
MDPV is a stronger reuptake inhibitor and lacks meaningful serotonin release, so its stimulant effects run harder and longer than mephedrone's, and case reports link it to a higher rate of agitation and psychosis at comparable doses.
Why was MDPV hard to detect in early bath-salts cases?+
Standard immunoassay drug panels target established stimulants such as amphetamine and cocaine and do not cross-react with cathinone analogues, so confirmation required targeted GC-MS or LC-MS/MS methods that many hospital and forensic labs did not yet have validated.
What clinical picture prompted the 2011 scheduling action?+
Emergency departments reported clusters of severe agitation, hyperthermia, and prolonged psychosis linked to bath-salts products, which pushed the DEA to place MDPV and related cathinones into Schedule I on an emergency basis.
Related terms
- Alpha-PVP (Alpha-Pyrrolidinopentiophenone)
- The MDPV successor ('flakka') dominant in Florida 2014-2016; associated with excited delirium presentations and multiple fatalities. Identified in over 60 deaths in...
- Cathinone
- The natural beta-ketoamphetamine alkaloid from Catha edulis (khat) plant; the parent scaffold for the synthetic cathinone NPS class. The ketone group at...
- EMCDDA Early Warning System
- The EU mechanism under Council Decision 2005/387/JHA by which national focal points (forensic labs, clinical sites) report new NPS to the EMCDDA...
- Federal Analogue Act (FAA)
- 21 USC 813; a provision of the US Controlled Substances Act declaring substances 'substantially similar' in structure or pharmacology to Schedule I...
- Isotonitazene (ISO)
- A benzimidazole-class novel synthetic opioid (nitazene family) estimated at ~500x the potency of morphine at the mu-opioid receptor. First identified in European...
- Mephedrone (4-MMC)
- 4-Methylmethcathinone; the dominant first-wave synthetic cathinone, active as a mixed monoamine releaser/reuptake inhibitor. Class B UK since April 2010; Schedule I US...
- Novel Psychoactive Substance (NPS)
- A substance designed to mimic the effects of a controlled drug while falling outside the definition of any currently scheduled substance; identified...
- Psychoactive Substances Act 2016 (UK)
- UK catch-all legislation prohibiting supply, distribution, import, and export of any substance with psychoactive effects on the CNS, with exemptions for alcohol,...
- Schedule Lag
- The delay between first identification of an NPS in forensic seizures and its formal addition to a controlled substances schedule. In India,...