3,4-Dichloroamphetamine (3,4-DCA), is an amphetamine derived drug invented by Eli Lilly in the 1960s, which has a number of pharmacological actions.

It acts as a highly potent and selective serotonin releasing agent (SSRA) and binds to the serotonin transporter with high affinity,[1][2][3][4] but also acts as a selective serotonergic neurotoxin in a similar manner to the related para-chloroamphetamine (PCA), though with slightly lower potency.

[5] It is also a monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI),[6] as well as a very potent inhibitor of the enzyme phenylethanolamine N-methyl transferase which normally functions to transform noradrenaline into adrenaline in the body.

Reaction with sodium methoxide and ethyl acetate gives α-acetoxy-3,4-dichlorophenylacetonitrile, (3).

Removal of the nitrile group in the presence of sulfuric acid gives 3,4-dichlorophenylacetone (4).