Methylone is DEA Schedule I controlled substance. It is commonly used in powder form and ingested orally or by snorting. It has commonly been observed as a mixture with its homology methylone rather than as a pure substance.
Additional reading:
Warrick et al., Serotonin Syndrome after Methylone and Butylone Ingestion, J Med Toxicol. March 8(1),65-68, 2012.
Overall recommended test:
Platinum-based reagents are ideal for methylone. Both platinic chloride and bromide yield good crystals and information rich IR spectra. However, platinic chloride reagent is better for the combined ease of crystal growth and maneuvering the crystals for IR spectroscopy.
The homologs butylone and methylone, which are generally found in mixtures, can be differentiated from each other using a simple microcrystalline test using platinic chloride and the infrared spectra of each crystal also differ.
Browse the Methylone Collections:
Methylone in 5% Aqueous HAuCl₄
Methylone in Gold Bromide (HAuBr₄)