KenEm

If you're competing in any sports where they drug test according to WADA's (World Anti-Doping Agency) standards, do NOT take anything containing methylhexanamine (also known as Geranamine, 1,3-Dimethylamylamine and
4-methylhexan-2-amine, and sometimes just listed as Geranium Extract)!!

It wasn't officially on WADA's 2009 banned list -- although everyone should have known better, because it shows up in most drug tests as a positive for amphetamine; even Patrick Arnold himself, who brought it to the sports nutrition market, warned against this -- and now it IS officially on WADA's 2010 prohibited list.

A couple months ago a few Jamaican sprinters on Usain Bolt's team got nabbed and suspended for 3 months (missed the World Championships in Berlin because of it) because they were using a product that contained it, from a company that either (a.) didn't know their ass from their elbow as far as ingredients and science, or (b.) blatantly lied in their advertising, because the company CLAIMED that their product was safe for any drug-tested athletes (including WADA-tested athletes) to use -- yet they had this crap plain as day on their ingredient label! THAT'S idiocy. Serious idiocy. Either that, or just plain scumminess.

Anyway, if you're drug-tested (whether for sports competition or at work or something), avoid, avoid, avoid anything containing this stuff, which is essentially geranium extract, and chemically goes by the names I mentioned above. You'll come up positive either for methylhexanamine itself or for amphetamine, both of which could REALLY screw up your life.

nni

actually its been shown to not taint tests for amphetamine.

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KenEm

There have been mixed results on that. Some tests have shown it not to show up as amphetamine, but some people have gotten nabbed in drug tests for it -- for amphetamine. Even if methylhexanamine itself WEREN'T now on the banned list (which it now IS), if you were drug tested you really wouldn't want to take the risk.

BUT, now methylhexanamine itself IS officially on the 2010 banned list.

Oh, and those Jamaican sprinters got nabbed a few months ago, when the 2010 list was not yet in effect, and methylhexanamine was NOT on the 2009 banned list. BUT, they got nabbed anyway! Not for amphetamine per se, but due to metabolites of methylhexanamine that show up as stimulants in the general family of what was prohibited. It has essentially the same effects (as amphetamine and like substances), and that's what they care about.

Long story short: Stay away from it if you're drug tested, for a variety of reasons.

nni

i know no less than 6 people who use it and have not tested positive. forgive me for not buying an athletes word who got caught and blamed a supplement. i completely understand why its on the list, but dont feel its for testing purposes. there are other possible issues with this compound that are coming to light. i wouldnt be surprised if it was banned in more places in the near future.

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www.drivensports.co.uk

KenEm

I know of 2 people who tested positive on employment drug tests because of it. So as far as any drug test confusing it with a positive for amphetamine, it's a strong "maybe," which is WAY more of a chance than most people who have to be drug-tested will want to take. I am also aware that many people who've used it have not tested positive for amphetamine, but that's still a huge risk one would be taking.

However, since methylhexanamine itself is indeed now banned by WADA, and like you said it will end up on a lot more banned lists shortly, and the Jamaican sprinters on Bolt's team got banned specifically because this very substance, methylhexanamine, showed up in their drug tests -- and the testing authorities are saying that, though it's a unique compound, it's just too chemically similar to banned stimulants (and has the same effects), hence the athletes' suspensions -- the bottom line is that drug-tested athletes (and people taking employment-related drug tests) should steer clear of it.

Here's one of the articles about the situation with the Jamaican sprinters:

Bolt’s teammates did nothing illegal says Mills | TrackAlerts

nni

not to be a dick, but dont be so naive, seriously. first off you are assuming the company actually had the proper ingredients in and not just a spiked product. this is a huge leap of faith. you are assuming the athletes aren't lying to cover their asses, this is a huge leap of faith. you are also assuming that they tested for this specific compound, which they do not. it wont cause a false positive if it is the actual compound. this isnt to say that if a company who has no quality control and just trusts their raws wont put out a tainted product that would cause a positive. geranamine wont though.

www.getds.com
www.drivensports.co.uk

KenEm

I think we're just misunderstanding each other here.

What happened in the case of the Jamaican sprinters was that the testing authorities found through their testing methylhexanamine, specifically, in the athletes' samples. This was not a case of it being confused with amphetamine or anything else -- they saw this particular item, methylhexanamine, in the athletes' samples. They then analyzed it and basically said, "Chemically (and functionally), it is extremely similar to tuaminoheptane (a banned substance, even as per the 2009 prohibited list), and therefore it should be considered a breach."

As a matter of fact, in the list of banned stimulants on WADA's 2009 list they have listed, and I quote from that very document, "tuaminoheptane and other substances with a similar chemical structure or similar biological effect(s)."

This was not a case of one substance being mistaken for another. They pinpointed methylhexanamine specifically in analyzing the tests, and decided that, though it is slightly different, it is SO similar chemically and functionally to one or more banned substance, that its use amounts to the same thing, and is thus a violation of the rules.

That aside, though, as I mentioned initially, methylhexanamine itself is now officially on the 2010 WADA Prohibited List, so it's all a moot point now.

But for Musclespeed's manufacturer to have that substance in their product, AND simultaneously to be touting the product as being "allowable for use by all drug-tested athletes," as they were at the time . . . ? That's just pure ignorance and/or stupidity.

They initially had it listed on their label simply as "geranium extract" (which would cause only those of us who are very familiar with these substances to say to ourselves, "Oh, obviously that's methylhexanamine (aka Geranamine, etc)." Legally they are supposed to list the chemical name for it on the label, but they didn't. So a layperson looking at that ingredient label would have been none the wiser. Now, however, after all this has happened and they're likely facing a huge lawsuit, they have finally put the actual chemical name of the ingredient on their label, and have removed any claims of the product being safe for drug-tested athletes to use.

Even the guy who brought methylhexanamine to the market in the first place, Patrick Arnold, is on record saying it's likely to cause you to fail a drug test, so you shouldn't use it if you're a tested athlete. It looks like the manufacturer of Musclespeed either (a.) didn't really know their science nearly as well as they should have to be making those claims (of it being safe for drug-tested athletes to use), or (b.) figured they'd hide the actual chemical name of the active ingredient in their product, and thus didn't care if it caused someone to get nabbed because their product label wasn't providing full and honest disclosure of its ingredients. Amateur hour on that company's part at best, pure scumminess at worst.