Alpha-MT (α-Methyltryptamine): Effects, Risks & Treatment Options

Doses of 20–30 mg are known to produce psychedelic effects; doses above 40 mg are considered strong and may lead to heightened risks

Onset is slow (3–4 hours), and effects can persist 12–24 hours, sometimes lasting up to 48 hours.

No. It’s Schedule I in the U.S. and controlled in many countries including the UK, Germany, and Finland

Physical risks include hypertension, hyperthermia, heart rate elevation, seizures, and possible overdose deaths; psychological risks include anxiety, dysphoria, and depression.

Alpha-MT, or AMT, is a substituted tryptamine developed in the 1960s and used clinically for a time in the Soviet Union as an antidepressant, under brand names such as Indopan and Indopane. Chemically it is an alpha-alkylated tryptamine, which makes it more resistant to being broken down in the body than the tryptamines it resembles. It has stimulant, psychedelic and entactogenic properties, and it reappeared as a recreational drug long after its clinical use ended.

It acts on three systems at once: as a monoamine releasing agent and a reuptake inhibitor affecting serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine, as a serotonin receptor agonist, and as a monoamine oxidase inhibitor. That combination is what the page calls unusual, and it is also why the drug behaves partly like a stimulant and partly like a psychedelic rather than cleanly like either.

The common ones are agitation, restlessness, confusion, jaw clenching, an increased heart rate, dilated pupils, nausea, vomiting and headaches. The page separates those from the toxic effects, which are hyperthermia, hypertension, seizures and death, particularly at high doses or alongside other drugs. It also notes what can follow the drug wearing off: anxiety, dysphoria and depressive symptoms.