Ethylphenidate Facts
Stimulant;
Description
Ethylphenidate (ethyl 2-phenyl-2-piperidin-2-ylacetate) — Gogaine, Burst — is a synthetic stimulant of the phenidate class. It blocks dopamine reuptake in the brain, producing stimulation, euphoria, and a strong drive to redose.
Subjective effects include Stimulation, Euphoria, focus enhancement, and a powerful urge to redose. The experience is more recreational than functional — longer and less intensely euphoric than cocaine, and less useful for cognition than methylphenidate, with the drive to re-administer often outrunning the reward.[1][2]
Dependence liability is moderate; nearly all documented fatalities involved combinations with depressants.[3][4] The dominant risk is the compulsive redosing urge — escalating doses compound cardiovascular strain and psychological destabilization, and the drive to re-administer often persists after the reward has faded.[5]
Dose and durationby route · individual sensitivity varies
Starts in 40 – 120 minLasts 4 – 7 hoursAfter-effects 2 – 6 hours
Body and dependence
- Acute toxicity
- Moderate
- Chronic toxicity
- Moderate
- Physical dependence
- Low
- Psychological dependence
- Moderate
- Withdrawal
- Mild
- Compulsive redosing
- High
Tolerance
- Builds
- Moderate
- Fully resets after
- 10.5 days
- Carries over to
- methylphenidate;
amphetamine; cocaine; dopaminergic stimulants
Effectslikely at a common dose
- Perception
- none likely · 6 possible
- Body
- Stimulation;
Wakefulness; +26 possible, including Vasoconstriction, Heart rate perception changes, Insomnia - Thinking
- none likely · 19 possible, including Compulsive redosing urge, Decision impairment
- Feeling
- none likely · 9 possible, including Anxiety, Paranoia, Depression
- Self
- none likely · 7 possible, including Craving, Ego inflation
- Awareness
- One-pointedness (ekaggata);
Sustained attention (vicara); +1 possible
Who shouldn't take it
Combinations62 recorded
Seek help immediately if
- Chest pain; racing, pounding, or irregular heartbeat
- Very high body temperature; heavy sweating; hot, flushed skin
- Severe agitation, paranoia, panic, or confusion
- Severe headache; muscle rigidity or twitching
- Seizures
- Signs of stroke — face drooping, one-sided weakness, slurred speech
- Difficulty breathing; collapse or unconsciousness
What to do
- Call emergency services for chest pain, overheating, seizure, or unresponsiveness
- Move them to a cool, quiet place and reduce stimulation
- Cool the body — remove excess clothing, apply cool damp cloths, fan them
- Keep them calm; reassure — panic worsens the cardiovascular strain
- If seizing, protect from injury (don't restrain); recovery position afterward
- Monitor breathing and be ready to give rescue breaths / CPR
Most stimulant overdoses settle with cooling, a calm environment, and time. The medical danger is hyperthermia, cardiac events (arrhythmia, heart attack, stroke), and seizures — get help immediately if any appear.
988 Suicide & Crisis LifelineFireside Project: 62-FIRESIDE
References
- [1]^Soussan C, Kjellgren A (2015) "Chasing the high" - experiences of ethylphenidate as described on international internet forums. — Substance Abuse: Research and Treatment doi:10.4137/sart.s22495
- [2]^Patrick KS, Corbin TR, Murphy CE (2014) Ethylphenidate as a selective dopaminergic agonist and methylphenidate-ethanol transesterification biomarker. — Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences doi:10.1002/jps.24202
- [3]^Maskell PD, Smith PR, Cole R, Hikin L, Morley SR (2016) Seven fatalities associated with ethylphenidate. — Forensic Science International doi:10.1016/j.forsciint.2015.12.045
- [4]^Parks C, McKeown D, Torrance HJ (2015) A review of ethylphenidate in deaths in east and west Scotland. — Forensic Science International doi:10.1016/j.forsciint.2015.08.008
- [5]^Robins MT, Blaine AT, Ha JE, Brewster AL, van Rijn RM (2019) Repeated Use of the Psychoactive Substance Ethylphenidate Impacts Neurochemistry and Reward Learning in Adolescent Male and Female Mice. — Frontiers in Neuroscience doi:10.3389/fnins.2019.00124