Sillyyz - Everything You Need To Know About Mescaline

Monday, August 5, 2024

Here, we'll cover everything you need to know about Mescaline and its three most prominent sources: Peyote, San Pedro, and Peruvian Torch Cacti.

What is Mescaline?

Mescaline (3,4,5-trimethoxyphenethylamine) is a naturally occurring psychedelic found in several species of cacti all of which are native to North America.

The effects of mescaline are very comparable to magic mushrooms but with some subtle differences. The main difference is the sociability aspect of mescaline it tends to make people more confident, energetic, and talkative.

Despite having strong cartoon-esque visuals, the mind remains clear and composed.

Mescaline has a long history of use by Native Americans in the United States and Mexico as a form of sacrament. These groups have been granted religious access to mescaline-containing cacti under the 1994 American Indian Religious Freedom Act (AIRFA).

Aldous Huxley brought this substance to the mainstream through his iconic book The Doors of Perception which was based mainly on his experience with mescaline.

Mescaline is also being explored through several clinical trails for its potential application in psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy.

The Details of Mescaline:

Level of Risk: Very low

Street Names: Buttons, cactus, peyote, San Pedro, Huachuma, Peruvian torch

Most Common Side-Effects: Stomach discomfort

Duration of Effects: 12 hours

Legality: Illegal with religious exceptions

Peyote

Peyote is a species of cactus found in the Southern United States and Mexico. It's a very unassuming cactus it's small, has no spines, and doesn't grow much larger than a pin cushion. A single peyote cactus is often referred to as a "button".

Despite its appearance, the peyote cactus contains the highest concentration of mescaline of any other cactus at around 3-6% of the dried weight.

Peyote grows exceptionally slow — taking up to 20 years to reach maturity. The average user requires several buttons of peyote cactus for a single dose. An experienced peyote user may take as many as 10 to 20 buttons at a time.

San Pedro Cactus

(Echinopsis pachanoi)

The San Pedro cactus (which also goes by the name Huachuma) is native to South America found in the mountainous areas growing as high as 3000 meters in elevation in the Andes Mountains.

This psychoactive species of cacti is many times larger than peyote and offers a more sustainable source of mescaline as a result.

It contains a decent concentration of mescaline at around 4.5% of the dried weight. San Pedro cactus can grow up to 12 meters (40 ft) tall making its larger size have more mescaline available overall.

Peruvian Torch

(Echinopsis peruviana)

This cactus is a close relative of the San Pedro cactus. It grows much faster than San Pedro and peyote but produces much lower mescaline content - just 0.24% of the dried weight.

This means the dose of raw cactus is too high to use the Peruvian torch on its own. However, it does offer a more sustainable source of mescaline concentrate.

Other Sources of Mescaline

There are three pure forms of mescaline available: freebase mescaline, mescaline sulfate, and mescaline hydrochloride.

Mescaline was first synthesized in 1919 by Ernst Spath who was a famous Austrian chemist who studied plant extracts. Of the 120 compounds Spath and his team discovered, mescaline was, by far, the most impactful.

In the 1960s and 70s, a man named Alexander Shulgin used mescaline as the starting point to make dozens of other psychoactive substances, including MDMA.

Mr. Shulgin has been dubbed "the grandfather of psychedelics" for his role in developing and documenting well over 200 psychoactive substances - many of which were derived from mescaline.

Shulgin published his work in two volumes:

TIHKAL (tryptamine-based psychoactive based on psilocybin and LSD)
PIHKAL (phenethylamine-based psychoactive based on mescaline)

List of Mescaline-Inspired Psychoactive Substances Alexander Shulgin:

n3C-E
3C-P
3C-DFE\n3C-BZ
4-Desoxy Mescaline
AEM (\u03b1-ethylmescaline)
Allylescaline
Ariadne (\u03b1-Et-DOM)\nBis-TOM
BOH
BOM (\u03b2-Methoxy-mescaline)
Buscaline
Cyclopropylmescaline
DME
Escaline
F-2
F-22
FLEA (MDHMA)
Isomescaline
Isoproscaline
Jimscaline
Lophophine
Macromerine
MDMA
MDMP
MDPH
MEPEA
Metaescaline
Metaproscaline
Methallylescaline
Phenescaline
Propynyl
Proscaline
Symbescaline
Thiobuscaline
Thioisomescaline \u2014 2-TIM, 3-TIM, and 4-TIM
Thiometaescaline \u2014 3-TME, 4-TME, and 5-TME
Thioproscaline
Thiosymbescaline \u2014 3-TSB and 4-TSB
Thiotrisescaline \u2014 3-T-TRIS and 4-T-TRIS
TOET \u2014 2-TOET and 5-TOET
TOM \u2014 2-TOM and 5-TOM
TOMSO \u2014 2-methoxy-4-methyl-5-methylsulfinylamphetamine
Trisescaline

What's The Dose of Mescaline?

Source	Microdose	Standard Psychoactive Dose
Peyote	1 gram	5-15 grams
San Pedro (Huachuma)	1-2 grams	8-20 grams
Peruvian Torch	5-10 grams	30-50 grams
Pure Mescaline	10-40 mg	200 mg

1. Microdoses

Microdosing involves using sub-psychoactive doses of a substance. This dose doesn't make you feel high, but it still has a subtle impact on cognition.

The suggested benefits of microdosing mescaline include:

More creativity
Improvements in memory & relational skills
Better focus & concentration
More mental & physical energy
Improvements in mood
A higher level of empathy toward others

The idea of microdosing is to take these low doses regularly over several weeks or months. The improvements from microdosing happen gradually over time. The longer you take the mescaline, the greater the improvement (in theory, at least). There have not been any official studies to explore the long-term benefits of microdosing mescaline.

Mescaline can be stimulating, even in low doses, so it's recommended that you take your dose in the morning. This will ensure it has enough time to wear off by the time you're ready to go to bed.

There are a few different philosophies regarding schedules, but the most common is to take one dose of mescaline every three days (2 days break).

2. Standard Psychoactive Dose

The standard psychoactive dose of mescaline is between 200 to 400 milligrams.

At this dose, you'll experience the full psychoactive effect of mescaline. This includes visual and auditory hallucinations, changes in the perception of time, inhibition of the default mode network (DMN), and an expanded sense of empathy and openness.

This dose is well within the safe range of using mescaline and is unlikely to lead to any serious side effects. Reaching this dose with dried cactus requires several grams at a time, which can irritate the stomach.

The most common side effect of psychoactive mescaline is stomach discomfort, caused by the cactus itself rather than the mescaline.

You can avoid this side effect by drinking ginger tea before taking the cactus.

What Does A Mescaline Trip Feel Like?

The effects of mescaline are similar to LSD and magic mushrooms but with some differences.

Mescaline is a social psychedelic meaning it's much more likely to make you feel conversational, confident, and energized.

In comparison, magic mushrooms are commonly seen as introverted psychedelics. They encourage users to go off to be alone.

LSD is somewhere in the middle, sometimes making users more social and other times, more introverted.

People who've used mescaline often describe it as creating almost cartoon-like hallucinations while maintaining complete mental clarity. You can have a perfectly normal conversation under the effects of mescaline, and the entire trip remains based on reality (as opposed to ayahuasca, DMT, or salvia)

Think of Mescaline as a psychedelic that won't make you see something that isn't there - it just makes the objects there look different.

Common Experiences From Mescaline Include:

A desire to be with friends & family
A feeling of content
A feeling of empathy with the world around you
Cartoon-like hallucinations
Distorted perception of time
Increased energy levels
Paranoia or anxiety

How Strong is Mescaline vs. Other Psychedelics?

Mescaline is the weakest of the classic psychedelics. You need around 200 milligrams of mescaline to achieve a standard psychedelic dose.

Compare this to LSD (60 micrograms), psilocybin (10 milligrams), DMT (20 milligrams), or salvinorin A (200 micrograms). The effects of mescaline are also much milder than other psychedelics. You're not going to meet any aliens or experience separation from ego while using mescaline.

Mescaline vs. LSD & Shrooms

Mescaline is most comparable to LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide) and shrooms (psilocybin). It has a lot of similarities in terms of the visuals brought on by these substances.

The potency of these psychedelics is very different with mescaline being the weakest overall. Psilocybin is roughly ten times as strong as mescaline, and LSD is around 1000 times as strong.

It's also common to see familiar shapes and patterns in different textures such as dirt, sand, wallpaper, or other patterns. Much like finding shapes in the clouds, you may see what appear to be faces, animals, or letters appearing on objects in your environment.

The main differentiator with mescaline is that it's considered a social psychedelic. Some even consider it a party drug. While it's not the type of substance you'd take for a night out at the club, it's popular in a group setting on a camping trip or bonfire.

It promotes a feeling of self-confidence and extroversion. Mescaline makes you want to talk to people as opposed to magic mushrooms that tend to have the opposite effect, promoting you to separate from the group to be alone with your thoughts.

How to Take Mescaline

There are two primary forms of mescaline; raw cactus and pure synthetic mescaline powder.

Raw cactus is preferred and tends to produce a smoother experience however, you need to consume a lot of cactus to reach the psychoactive dose. Eating a lot of cacti can be tricky it doesn't taste good and can cause severe stomach discomfort.

The synthetic powder requires a much smaller dose and is easily mixed into juice or water to mask the taste. You can also take mescaline powder in the form of capsules which is a common method and easier to dose.

1. The Toss & Washed Method

This is the most common method used for eating raw mescaline cactus. But brace yourself - It's going to be bitter and there's going to be a lot of it.

To do the toss and wash method, add the desired dose of peyote, San Pedro, or Peruvian torch to a glass of water. Allow the powder or small cacti chunks to soak up some water before throwing it down. Keep some juice nearby to help wash it down. Pineapple juice works great for hiding the flavour.

2. Capsules

Capsules are the most common form of using mescaline but it only works with concentrated or synthetic mescaline. The raw cactus requires far too much to reasonably taken. You need to swallow 20 or 30 capsules just to hit the psychoactive dose - not cool.

Make sure you know how much mescaline is included in each capsule, and test a sample before you start. The most dangerous part of using synthetic mescaline isn't the mescaline itself it's the risk of accidentally consuming capsules that have been adulterated with other, more harmful substances.

3. Smoked

This is a more traditional method of using mescaline that's rarely practiced today.

Dried peyote or San Pedro cactus are ground up and mixed with tobacco. This can then be smoked for a mild psychoactive effect.

Traditionally, tobacco is considered a useful "teacher" plant. It's often combined with psychedelics during ceremonial use to help guide the user through their trip safely.

Unfortunately, a lot of the mescaline is destroyed during the combustion process making this method not really the most efficient of the 4 methods.

4. Mescaline Tea

Tea can also be made from raw peyote or San Pedro cactus. To make tea, add a few pieces of cacti to a pot of water and gently boil it for about 10 minutes.

The heat may damage a lot of the mescaline prepared this way, so this method, similar to smoking it, is not going to be as efficient. But for those struggling with the raw taste - create a Mescaline tea makes it much easier to consume.

You can also add other herbs to the tea to help with digestive side effects such as ginger or peppermint.

How Does Mescaline Work?

Mescaline binds to several different types of receptors in the human brain to produce its effects.

Most of the psychoactive effect comes from its ability to activate the 5-HT2A and 5-HT2C serotonin receptors which is the same mechanism of action used by other psychedelics, including DMT, LSD, and psilocin.

In a nutshell Mescaline stimulates these receptors:

Inhibits the alpha-1 adrenergic receptors
Stimulates the 5-HT1A serotonin receptors
Stimulates the 5-HT2A serotonin receptors
Stimulates the 5-HT2C serotonin receptors
Stimulates the TAAR1 receptors

Is Mescaline Safe?

Mescaline poses little risk to the body. While there are side effects, there have never been any reported deaths caused by mescaline directly.

The LD50 of mescaline in humans is reported to be approximately 880 mg/kg [5].

That's an extremely high dose. The average-sized human (140 lbs) would need nearly 60,000 milligrams of mescaline. This is about 300 times the standard psychoactive dose.

A 12-year review of the California Poison Control Database only found 31 cases of mescaline poisoning from 1997 to 2008.

Of these 31 cases, none were lethal or produced any life-threatening side effects. It's even a bit debatable that some of them could even be considered "poisoning".

For example, vomiting was only reported in one patient. The most common side-effect was agitation and tachycardia (rapid heart rate).

Psychologically, there are some other risks to using mescaline. The potential to lead to ego death, and side effects like paranoia and anxiety could cause other mental health effects.

However, this is just in theory; several studies have already published that psychedelics, including mescaline, have a very low risk of causing mental health disorders even after a "bad trip".

However, Mescaline isn't safe for everybody. If you or a close family member have been diagnosed with psychiatric disorders like schizophrenia or psychosis, it may not be safe to use mescaline (or any psychedelics).

Mescaline is also not recommended for anybody with gut sensitivities as the cactus already tends to irritate the digestive tract.

People using antidepressants, anti-anxiety medications, blood pressure medications, heart medications, or statin drugs should also avoid mescaline.

Is Mescaline Legal?

Mescaline and the cacti that produce it are illegal in most parts of the world, with a few exceptions.

In Canada, Germany, and New Zealand, psychoactive cacti are all legal to own as an ornamental plants. Mescaline and prepared psychoactive cacti remain illegal.

In the United States, peyote and San Pedro are permitted for religious uses by Native Americans. Some parts of the US have recently moved to decriminalize natural psychedelics. But there is still no clear path to recreational purchases in the form of storefronts.

In the United Kingdom, Ukraine, and Thailand, psychoactive cacti have been excluded from the banned substances list.

How Long Does Mescaline Stay In The Body?

Mescaline can be detected in urine for up to three days but may remain detectable in hair samples for up to 90 days.

Blood tests can only detect mescaline within 24 hours of use and saliva for up to 10 days.

Conclusion

It's likely the popularity of mescaline will continue to increase over the coming years but we place Mescaline behind DMT, LSD, and magic mushrooms when it comes to it's overall popularity.

Due to it's slow growth and rarity in many regions Mescaline will likely be limited in the marketplace, even as laws begin to loosen.

Synthetic mescaline is available, but it will never be held in the same regard as raw psychoactive cacti which is simply too expensive and difficult to produce. Mescaline will be one of those psychedelics that will always be more expensive and harder to find.