It seems that either I am completely full of shit, or no one has thought of this approach to MDMA from eugenol before. The process is identical to many on this site except that it uses the fact that the methylenedioxy ring can be considered an acetal of formaldehyde and DHMA (dihydroxy methamphetamine). I haven't the slightest clue as how to carry out this acetal formation, but it seems like it is feasible considering that methylal (dimethoxy formaldehyde acetal) is formed easily from formaldehyde and methanol. In this case, the second alcohol addition is in the same molecule, so it should be faster, and we all know it is irreversible under mild conditions. Also, I consider converting eugenol to methyl eugenol b/c this compound is almost identical to safrol and the same techniques of amphetamine production should also apply. Here is an outline of my proposed method:
1) eugenol + CH3Br --> methyl eugenol
2) methyl eugenol --> DMP-2-P (dimethoxy phenyl-2-propanone) via nitrite wacker
3) DMP-2-P --> DMMA (dimethoxy methamphetamine) via nitromethane/Al/Hg reductive amination
4) DMMA + HBr --> DHMA (dihydroxy methamphetamine) occurs in aqueous phase due to amine group - psychokitty's method
5) DHMA + CH2O --> MDMA
If anyone knows if this scheme is at all possible or impossible your input would be appreciated, as well as specifics for any of the steps. Also, how can I go about researching the last step?