As of October 15, 2026, 5-MAPB is in a legal gray area (sold in practice, exposed to an interpretive ban theory) in Pennsylvania. Gray/analog-exposed: designer-drug substantial-similarity offense. Controlling source: 35 P.S. Sec. 780-102 - 'Designer drug' definition.
Verified October 15, 2026 (hash check) · confidence: confirmedMechanism: operative 'designer drug' offense. 35 P.S. 780-102 defines a designer drug as a substance (other than a controlled substance) intended for human consumption that has a chemical structure OR effect substantially similar to a Schedule I/II/III controlled substance; 35 P.S. 780-113(a)(36) makes the knowing/intentional manufacture, distribution, PWID, or possession of a designer drug an offense (felony under 780-113(l)). Basis: INTERPRETIVE - 5-MAPB is not scheduled; the Schedule I 'psychedelic phenethylamines' entry (780-104(1)(viii)) is a closed named list of 2C-x/NBOMe phenyl-ring compounds with no benzofuran, so no class captures it, and reach runs through the designer-drug substantial-similarity test with Schedule I MDMA/MDA as anchor. TRAP: the benzofuran ring is not a substituted phenyl - the phenethylamine class theory is defeated; only the designer-drug catch-all (structure OR effect) can reach it, and the 'effect substantially similar' prong is the stronger route. Loose zone: a fact-intensive designer-drug prosecution could reach 5-MAPB without any benzofuran being named, but it is contestable on the ring and prosecution-dependent. Correction vs seed: none substantive - seed's restricted/analog call confirmed; 780-102 definition and 780-113(a)(36) offense both verified verbatim against the official PA Dept. of Health DDC Act PDF this session.
"Designer drug" means a substance other than a controlled substance that is intended for human consumption and that either has a chemical structure substantially similar to that of a controlled substance in Schedules I, II or III of this act or that produces an effect substantially similar to that of a controlled substance in Schedules I, II or III ... The knowing or intentional manufacture, distribution, possession with intent to distribute, or possession of a designer drug
Among Pennsylvania's 6 neighbors, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey and Ohio are gray area; New York and West Virginia are legal.
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Federal gray area. Unscheduled by name; Schedule I by Federal Analogue Act when intended for human consumption Federal detail
2 instruments on file for this compound's framework in Pennsylvania; 3 of 4 citations above are official sources. Each text carries its source and a fingerprint that changes when the law does.
a0f18075efdb9e19**35 P.S. § 780-104(1)(iii) (Schedule I hallucinogens)** — "Any material, compound, mixture, or preparation which contains any quantity of the following hallucinogenic substances, their salts, isomers, and salts of isomers … 4. Bufotenine. 5. Diethyltryptamine. 6. Dimethyltryptamine … 14. Psilocybin. 15. Psilocyn."
— 35 P.S. § 780-104(1)(iii), current as of Jan. 1, 2025, https://codes.findlaw.com/pa/title-35-ps-health-and-safety/pa-st-sect-35-780-104/ (MIRROR: FindLaw). 4-HO-MET does not appear; no tryptamine structural class exists in the section.
**35 P.S. § 780-102(b) ("Designer drug")** — "'Designer drug' means a substance other than a controlled substance that is intended for human consumption and that either has a chemical structure substantially similar to that of a controlled substance in Schedules I, II or III of this act or that produces an effect substantially similar to that of a controlled substance in Schedules I, II or III. Examples of chemical classes in which designer drugs are found include, but are not limited to, the following: Phenethylamines, N-substituted piperidines, morphinans, ecgonines, quinazolinones, substituted indoles and arylcycloalkylamines. (Def. amended Feb. 11, 2000, P.L.9, No.3)"
— 35 P.S. § 780-102, https://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/LI/US/HTM/1972/0/0064..HTM (OFFICIAL — Pennsylvania General Assembly, full text of Act 64 of 1972).5afcded3d3e3199835 P.S. Sec. 780-102. "Designer drug" means a substance other than a controlled substance that is intended for human consumption and that either has a chemical structure substantially similar to that of a controlled substance in Schedules I, II or III of this act or that produces an effect substantially similar to that of a controlled substance in Schedules I, II or III. Examples of chemical classes in which designer drugs are found include, but are not limited to, the following: Phenethylamines, N-substituted piperidines, morphinans, ecgonines, quinazolinones, substituted indoles and arylcyloalkylamines. (Def. added Dec. 22, 1989, P.L.769, No.107, amended February 11, 2000, P.L. 9, No. 3) 35 P.S. Sec. 780-113(a)(36). The knowing or intentional manufacture, distribution, possession with intent to distribute, or possession of a designer drug. Nothing in this section shall be construed to apply to a person who manufactures or distributes a substance in conformance with the provisions of an approved new drug application or an exemption for investigational use within the meaning of section 505 of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. Section 355). For purposes of this section, no new drug shall be introduced or delivered for introduction except upon approval of an application pursuant to section 505 of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. ((36) amended February 11, 2000, P.L. 9, No. 3)
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