2C-B, the first major
2C drug and an
analogue of
mescaline, was first described by
Alexander Shulgin in the 1970s. It was observed at the time that 25B-NB had slightly higher
affinity for the serotonin 5-HT2A receptor than 2C-B and that other 25-NB derivatives with substituents on the
benzyl ring showed very high affinity for the receptor, though functional data were not reported.
NBOMe-mescaline and
NBOMe-escaline were first described by Pertz and colleagues by 1999, while
25B-NBOMe was first described by Heim and colleagues in 1999.
25I-NBOMe and other 25-NB compounds such as
25TFM-NBOMe and
2CBFly-NBOMe were described by Heim and colleagues by 2000. 25I-NBOMe and other 25-NB drugs were subsequently further described by Heim in his dissertation in 2003. The discovery of the 25-NB compounds by Heim and colleagues has been described by
David E. Nichols as structurally remarkable, since
N-
alkylation of psychedelic phenethylamines, for instance
Beatrice (
N-methyl-DOM), has otherwise invariably abolished the hallucinogenic effects of this class of compounds. The NBOMe drugs, primarily 25I-NBOMe, were encountered as novel
recreational drugs by 2010, and by 2012 had eclipsed other psychedelics like
LSD and
psilocybin-containing mushrooms in popularity, at least for a time. Various NBOMes, such as 25I-NBOMe, became
Schedule I controlled substances in the
United States in 2013. ==Society and culture==