Methylethyltryptamine
Chemical compound
Methylethyltryptamine (MET), also known as N-methyl-N-ethyltryptamine (N,N-MET), is a psychedelic drug of the tryptamine family. It is taken orally or via inhalation.
The drug acts as an agonist of the serotonin 5-HT2 receptors and to a lesser extent as a serotonin releasing agent. It is closely related to dimethyltryptamine (DMT) and to diethyltryptamine (DET).
MET appears to have been first described in the literature in 1981. It was only briefly mentioned in Alexander Shulgin's 1997 book TiHKAL (Tryptamines I Have Known and Loved). The drug was encountered as a novel designer drug in Europe in 2014.
01Use and effects
MET was briefly mentioned in Alexander Shulgin's TiHKAL (Tryptamines I Have Known and Loved) and other publications, where he has stated it to be orally active as a psychedelic at doses of 80 to 100 mg. Its duration, onset, and peak were not provided. The free base of MET has been reported to be active as a psychedelic via vaporization at a dose of 15 mg per informal anecdotal reports. Very little information is available on the effects of MET. However, its effects have been reported to include hallucinations, euphoria, tactile enhancement, cognitive effects, pupil dilation, muscle cramps, teeth grinding, and increased heart rate and blood pressure.
02Pharmacology
Pharmacodynamics
MET is a serotonin 5-HT2A and 5-HT2C receptor partial agonist. It shows very weak activity as an agonist of the serotonin 5-HT1A and 5-HT2B receptors. In addition to acting at the serotonin 5-HT2 receptors, MET is a serotonin releasing agent with lower potency. It produces the head-twitch response, a behavioral proxy of psychedelic effects, in animals.
03Chemistry
MET, also known as N-methyl-N-ethyltryptamine, is a substituted tryptamine derivative. It is closely related to N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) and to other N,N-dialkylated tryptamines.
Analogues
Analogues of MET besides DMT include DET, DPT, DiPT, DBT, MiPT, MBT, EPT, EiPT, and PiPT, among others. Derivatives of MET include 4-HO-MET, 5-HO-MET, 5-MeO-MET, bretisilocin (5-fluoro-MET; GM-2505), and 7-F-5-MeO-MET, among others.
04History
MET appears to have first been described in the literature by 1981. It was specifically mentioned in Michael Valentine Smith's Psychedelic Chemistry. Subsequently, MET was briefly described in Alexander Shulgin's TiHKAL (Tryptamines I Have Known and Loved) in 1997. MET was encountered as a novel designer drug in Europe in 2014.
05Society and culture
Religious use
The Temple of the True Inner Light once considered MET for religious use but ended up selecting dipropyltryptamine (DPT) instead.
Legal status
Canada
MET is not a controlled substance in Canada as of 2025.
United States
MET is not an explicitly controlled substance in the United States. However, it could be considered a controlled substance under the Federal Analogue Act if intended for human consumption.
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Methylethyltryptamine”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- MET image.svg by Anthonyvidal at English Wikipedia, Public domain
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