5-MeO-MiPT, also known as 5-methoxy-N-methyl-N-isopropyltryptamine or by its nickname Moxy, is an atypical psychedelic drug of the tryptamine and 5-methoxytryptamine families. It has unique and unusual effects compared to other psychedelic tryptamines. At low doses, its effects include stimulation, tactile and sexual enhancement, some MDMA-like entactogenic effects, and introspective and mild perceptual changes with few or no psychedelic visuals or time dilation, whereas at higher doses, it produces 5-MeO-DMT-like classical psychedelic effects. It is usually taken orally or smoked.
The drug acts as a non-selective serotonin receptor agonist, including of the serotonin 5-HT1A, 5-HT2A, and 5-HT2C receptors, among others. It is closely related in chemical structure and effects to 5-MeO-DiPT, and is also related to other tryptamines like 5-MeO-DMT, 4-HO-MiPT, and MiPT.
5-MeO-MiPT was first described in the literature by Alexander Shulgin and David Repke and colleagues in 1985. It was later described by Shulgin in greater detail in his 1997 book TiHKAL (Tryptamines I Have Known and Loved). The drug was encountered as a novel designer drug in 2004. Recreational use of 5-MeO-MiPT is significant but relatively rare. It is often used as a substitute for 5-MeO-DiPT, which has similar effects but became a controlled substance in the United States in 2003. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) proposed banning 5-MeO-MiPT as well in the 2020s, but later withdrew its proposal amid public opposition. 5-MeO-MiPT, under the developmental code name MSD-001, is being developed for the treatment of psychiatric disorders by Mindstate Design Labs and is in phase 1 clinical trials for this purpose as of 2025.
Use and effects In his book TiHKAL (Tryptamines I Have Known and Loved), Alexander Shulgin lists the dose of 5-MeO-MiPT as 4 to 6mg orally and 12 to 20mg smoked. A wider recreational dose range of 0.5 to 20mg or more orally has also been reported however. Oral doses of 1 to 3mg have been described as light, 3 to 8mg as common or moderate, and 8 to 12mg as strong. Its onset of action when taken orally is described as very rapid, occurring within 15 to 45minutes, peak effects appear to occur after around 1 to 2hours, and its duration as 4 to 6hours. However, other sources state its duration as 3 to 8hours. A clinical trial confirmed that 5-MeO-MiPT has an onset of about 30minutes and that peak effects occur after about 1.5 to 2hours. Its duration smoked is said to be 2 to 5hours.
5-MeO-MiPT has been described as having unique and unusual effects relative to other psychedelic tryptamines. The effects of 5-MeO-MiPT differ depending on whether it is taken orally or smoked and are highly dose-dependent. When taken orally at relatively low doses like 4 to 6mg, it is usually described as not producing psychedelic visuals or related sensory effects and as producing only hints of time dilation. However, it is said to produce a stoned state that includes an ease of interpretive fantasy, dream-like perception, intense conceptual thought and philosophical thinking, and mild perceptual effects like altered depth perception, minor wave pattern in peripheral vision, and slightly enhanced auditory acuity. Moreover, the drug is described as producing stimulation, greatly enhanced tactile sensation and eroticism, enhanced music appreciation, tingling, shakes, and mild motor impairment. Its head space is described as relatively "shallow", less confusing, and more easily tolerated compared to classical psychedelics. Its effects have been described by users variably as both pleasant and negative.
When smoked, 5-MeO-MiPT is described as having effects similar in many regards to those of 5-MeO-DMT. These effects of smoked 5-MeO-MiPT include a powerful rush (but less intense than 5-MeO-DMT), loss of coherent thought, not much in the way of visuals, closed-eye visuals of moving and colored geometric patterns, intense waves of mental imagery of emotionally infused memories, impressive recall of early memories, intense depersonalization or disorientation of the normal sense of being a person in a body, loss of immediate contact with surroundings, emotional lability including laughing, crying, and vocal outbursts, groaning, writhing, shaking around, and general disorientation. It is described as having a very rapid onset, with the peak phase lasting less than 30minutes and waves continuing for up to a few hours. It was described by one user as feeling like a hybrid between diethyltryptamine (DET) and 5-MeO-DMT.
5-MeO-MiPT is also known by its nickname "Moxy" and is closely related both in terms of chemical structure and effects to 5-MeO-DiPT (also known as "Foxy Methoxy"). These two serotonergic tryptamines at low doses have been described as very aphrodisiac and much more stimulant-like and party drugs than classical psychedelics. However, they have been described as not innately aphrodisiac, but instead as enhancing tactile sensation in a way that lends itself to sex. Matthew Baggott has described 5-MeO-MiPT as having some MDMA-like entactogenic effects at low doses, including tactile enhancement and feelings of empathy, intimacy, and closeness with others, and as producing classical psychedelic effects at higher doses.
Mindstate Design Labs has described 5-MeO-MiPT as the "least psychedelic psychedelic that's psychoactive". It is described as being quite psychoactive, but as lacking "hallucinations" and as not producing "mind-bending trips". The drug was assessed at five different doses (up to at least 10mg) by oral administration in a phase 1 clinical trial in 47individuals. Its effects were minimal at 0.5 to 1mg orally and were most consistent at doses of 6 to 10mg orally. The effects included heightened emotions, euphoria and relaxation, associative thinking, enhanced imagination, and perceptual or visual effects such as brighter colors. However, there were no "hallucinations", self-disintegration, oceanic boundlessness, or other typical features of psychedelic experiences. Its onset was 30minutes, its peak of effects was 1.5 to 3hours, and its duration was 6hours. Mindstate Design Labs has hypothesized that a mild psychedelic experience, as with 5-MeO-MiPT, could still provide therapeutic benefits without overt hallucinogenic effects.
In addition to its use on its own, 5-MeO-MiPT, along with the related tryptamine psychedelic 4-HO-MET, is employed as a component of the MDMA-mimicking Borax combo.
Side effects Adverse effects of 5-MeO-MiPT include loss of appetite and insomnia. It produced no meaningful cardiovascular or psychiatric adverse effects in a phase 1 clinical trial, including no anxiety. Low-dose 5-MeO-MiPT did not cause any serious histopathological effects on the liver, kidney, and brain. High doses induce apoptotic cell death through caspase activity especially in some parts of the organs. There is no known documentation of death attributed to the use of 5-MeO-MiPT alone.
Interactions
Pharmacology Pharmacodynamics + 5-MeO-MiPT activities Target Affinity (Ki, nM) 5-HT1A 12–143 (Ki)37–>10,000 ()108–109% () 5-HT1B 303–728 5-HT1D 23–103 5-HT1E 3,496–>10,000 5-HT1F 5-HT2A 113–449 (Ki)5.9–566 ()82–107% () 5-HT2B 53–59 (Ki)44–1,500 ()12–88% () 5-HT2C 790–2,186 (Ki)39–745 ()90–115% () 5-HT3 >10,000 5-HT4 5-HT5A 953–>10,000 5-HT6 130–281 5-HT7 20–122 α1A >12,000 α1B >10,000 α2A 175–>10,000 α2B 1,693–>10,000 α2C 637–2174 β1–β2 >10,000 D1 >25,000 D2 >25,000 D3 2,470–>25,000 D4 1,422–6,331 D5 >10,000 H1 3,900–>10,000 H2–H4 >10,000 I1 879 TAAR1 >15,000 (rat/mouse) σ1 1,666–>10,000 σ2 90–918 3,300–>10,000 (Ki)2,680–29,768 ()>100,000 () >22,000 (Ki)84,000 ()>100,000 () >26,000 (Ki)>100,000 ()>100,000 () Notes: The smaller the value, the more avidly the drug interacts with the site. Refs:
The mechanism that produces the hallucinogenic effects of 5-MeO-MiPT is thought to result primarily from serotonin 5-HT2A receptor agonism combined with the 5-HT1A receptor activation. 5-MeO-MiPT also potently binds to 5-HT2B receptor with high affinity but low efficacy, 5-HT2C receptors with moderate potency, and displays sub-micromolar affinity towards multiple other serotonin receptors.
The drug generally displays higher binding affinity for the 5-HT1A over 5-HT2A receptor. It was also included in the group of 5-methoxytryptamines for which computational docking analyses predicted a more favorable interaction in the 5-HT1A binding pocket compared to 5-HT2A receptor. In contrast, assays yielded a wide range of results, with some showing comparable and one no activity up to 10 μM concentrations. A 2024 BRET in vitro functional assay measuring G protein dissociation in humans found the drug to be one the few 5-HT2A-preferring 5-methoxytryptamines with a roughly 2-fold higher potency. In mice, 5‑MeO‑MiPT produces hypothermia at high doses (30 mg/kg.)
In addition to the serotonin receptors, 5-MeO-MiPT has also been found to show significant affinity to the serotonin transporter (SERT) and norepinephrine transporter (NET), thereby acting as a moderately potent serotonin–norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI). However, subsequent research contradicted the preceding findings and found that 5-MeO-MiPT did not significantly bind to or inhibit the human monoamine transporters. The drug is also inactive as a monoamine releasing agent.
Aside from those targets 5-MeO-MiPT was found to bind with sub-micromolar affinity to σ2, α2-adrenergic, and imidazoline-1 receptors.
Neurotoxicity
5-MeO-MiPT has been found to produce neurotoxicity at high (2.7 mg/kg) but not low (0.27mg/kg) doses in mice. The drug itself does not appear to have been studied, but the closely related drug 5-MeO-DiPT has been found to produce serotonergic neurotoxicity, genotoxicity, and associated cognitive deficits in rodents. Other psychedelics have also been found to produce neurotoxicity in preclinical research.
Pharmacokinetics Absorption Following intraperitoneal administration of 5-MeO-MiPT at doses of 2.7mg/kg in mice the compound was detectable in blood, kidney, liver, and brain. At lower doses of 0.27mg/kg, concentrations of the parent compound remained below the limit of quantification in all samples.
In one human case report 5-MeO-MiPT concentrations were measured at 160ng/mL in blood and 3,380ng/mL in urine samples collected approximately one and two hours post-exposure, respectively.
The time to peak levels of 5-MeO-MiPT taken orally in humans is 1 to 2hours.
Distribution In silico ADMET predictions projected high jejunal permeability and very high kidney permeability in MDCK cells, which suggests efficient gastrointestinal absorption and renal filtration. The compound demonstrated nearly complete blood-brain barrier penetration (99% predicted), and was not predicted to be a substrate for P-glycoprotein, or organic anion transporters. The predicted human percent unbound to blood plasma proteins was 45.5%, compared to 31.6% in mice. The predicted volume of distribution (Vd) for 5-MeO-MiPT was 3.743L/kg, lower than its structural analogue 5-MeO-DiPT (4.219L/kg) and DMT (4.396L/kg).
Metabolism 5-MeO-MiPT undergoes extensive phase I hepatic metabolism, mediated by cytochrome P450 enzymes. In vitro experiments using pooled human liver microsomes identified seven phase I metabolites, of which five were found in vivo. The major metabolic pathways include O-demethylation, N-demethylation, hydroxylation, and N-oxide formation. The metabolic profile of 5-MeO-MiPT shows similarity to the structurally related compound 5-MeO-DiPT. 5-MeO-MiPT is metabolized by CYP2D6 in humans, with CYP2D6 poor metabolizers showing 1.6- to 1.8-fold higher exposure and longer elimination half-life than extensive metabolizers.