You may also want to avoid obligations, as there’s a good chance you won’t be able to fulfill them while on mescaline, which could give you anxiety. Close your work email, arrange for childcare, and put aside everything that might demand your attention until your session is over. Here’s a look at how mescaline works, as well as its effects, possible benefits, risks, dosage, and more. 25I-NBOMe is an especially risky substance to watch out for with mescaline.
- Other than the naturally occurring state of these cacti, you can also find mescaline in a crystalline powder form after a cactus has gone through a mescaline extraction process.
- It should be avoided if you have a history of mental illness, heart conditions, or high blood pressure, as well as by pregnant or breastfeeding women because of the risk of birth defects.
- If someone is taking synthetic mescaline produced in a lab then it will most commonly come in the form of a pill that is swallowed.
For more information on taking peyote safely, see Precautions and Safety and toxicity. The Peyote cactus is a small, bulbous cactus that does not have spines. It grows in clusters that are often referred to as “buttons.” The San Pedro and Peruvian Torch are columnar cacti. Their ribs are thin, yet grow tall and are often found in bunches.
Doing so can have unpredictable effects that may be dangerous, especially if you mix mescaline with other serotonergic drugs like MDMA or cocaine. For that reason, you may want to start with a smaller dose of mescaline, wait an hour to see how you feel, and then take decide whether or not to take the remaining portion of the full dose. Some mescaline powder may be very slightly tan instead of white, which is fine. However, if the powder is yellow or dark tan, ambien or if it burns your tongue when you taste it, it’s a sign that the mescaline was extracted poorly and contains leftover contaminants. Some people also take mescaline as peyote, a small, round, green cactus with a bitter taste, or as a San Pedro cactus, a tall, cylindrical green cactus with fluted ribs. Of course, we cannot generalize current usage statistics from such limited data, but it does give us some idea of its popularity relative to other substances.
A Simple Guide To Mescaline: How It Feels, Risks, Benefits, Dosage
Mescaline is a naturally occurring psychedelic hallucinogen that is found in certain species of cacti located in South America and parts of North America. Mescaline has been used as part of religious ceremonies for thousands of years, as well as recreationally in more recent times. Though not considered addictive, mescaline may still pose other health risks if abused. People have used hallucinogens for hundreds of year, mostly for religious rituals or ceremonies.
When peyote is used in religious ceremonies, it is exempt from its classification as a Schedule I controlled drug under the 1994 American Indian Religious Freedom Act (AIRFA). While there’s no formal research on microdosing mescaline, it is possible. A microdose is usually 10-20% of a full dose, which would be milligrams of mescaline. That translates to about 1-2 grams of dried cactus or grams of fresh cactus. Mescaline causes colorful visual distortions, hallucinations, euphoria, and a sense of wellbeing. People usually take it as a dried cactus, a tea, or a pure powder.
Mescaline is a strong mind-altering drug that distorts your visual and auditory perception, as well as your sense of passing time. Avoid operating a vehicle or other heavy machinery while on mescaline. Also keep mixing adderall and alcohol: a fatal combination in mind that at the time of this article’s publication, mescaline is illegal to possess or consume in the United States. Mescaline is the active psychedelic compound in several species of hallucinogenic cacti.
Notable users
Mescaline, naturally occurring alkaloid, the active principle contained in the flowering heads of the peyote cactus (species Lophophora williamsii) of Mexico and the southwestern United States, that has been used as a drug to induce hallucination. The mescaline molecule is related structurally to two hormones secreted by the adrenal glands, adrenaline and noradrenaline; both are catecholamine compounds that take part in the transmission of nerve impulses. Mescaline was isolated as the active principle of peyote in 1896, and its structural resemblance to adrenaline was recognized by 1919. Pure mescaline can be difficult to find and is often cut with other, more easily obtainable drugs that come in white powder form. The most common sources of mescaline are peyote and San Pedro cactus.
Mescaline has also been shown to help people solve problems, access their creativity, be more environmentally conscious, and improve learning. In its original use, the plant medicine was also used the textures of heroin to treat a number of ailments, including snake bites, wounds, skin conditions, and general pain. Mescaline is a substituted phenethylamine, a molecule based on the basic phenethylamine structure.
Google searches for mescaline have also decreased since 2004, although searches for peyote have remained relatively consistent. The returns are always diminishing, but the result is that the user becomes more and more dependent on the mescaline to achieve that sense of bliss and transcendence. Taking mescaline might negatively affect those who are prone to anxiety. In such cases, the episodes of anxiety might last as long as a day or so.
Keep in mind that it is illegal to harvest San Pedro for the purpose of obtaining mescaline. With that in mind, you may want to avoid mescaline if you’re in a negative mental state, a stressful or uncomfortable environment, or around people you don’t like or trust. First and foremost, mescaline is illegal in most places and can come with penalties and incarceration. Aside from legal implications, the risk is almost entirely psychological. This form of mescaline is common in ceremonial practices, especially in South America.
These can lead to people harming themselves or others if they are in a bad place. Mescaline also distorts the user’s perception of the world around them, which can lead to accidents and injury. While combining the two is not known to be physiologically dangerous, psychedelics already have intense and somewhat unpredictable effects when taken alone.
Is Mescaline Addictive?
You should avoid taking mescaline or any other psychedelic in a setting that you find stressful, or around people you dislike or don’t trust. Set refers to your mindset—your thoughts, mood, and expectations heading into a mescaline trip. Stress, fear, or a controlling mindset may lead to an unpleasant experience (called a “bad trip”). Some people may feel tired or have a slight headache after taking mescaline. However, there are no known serious or lasting physical effects from mescaline and most people experience no hangover symptoms. Some researchers have found that the antidepressant benefits of mescaline correlate to a subjects’ willingness to engage with the experience, to face themselves and to act upon the insights received.
If you’re going to buy mescaline, do your due diligence to reduce harm. Avoid purchasing from strangers, and keep in mind that purchasing and possessing any illegal drug could get you into legal trouble. San Pedro cactus is a widespread, fast-growing cactus that grows in the Andes region of South America. It’s also common as a garden or landscape plant in other parts of the world, including the United States. Peyote grows slowly and is becoming vulnerable to overharvesting, partly thanks to increased interest in it as a psychedelic.
How long does mescaline last?
From the earliest recorded time, peyote has been used by natives in northern Mexico and the southwestern United States, where it grows, as a part of traditional religious rites. It has an effect that is similar to LSD or psilocybin (magic mushrooms) and other hallucinogenic drugs. The risk of having negative mental health reactions to hallucinogens is dependent mainly on the existing mental state of the user. As hallucinogens like mescaline can distort reality and heighten emotional states, being in a bad mood or negative mental state can lead to people having bad trips. Going without the drug for any period of time results in painful, distressing physical and psychological symptoms, which, if left uncontrolled, can compel the person to resume the substance abuse.
Unfortunately, precise usage statistics for mescaline aren’t available because surveys tend to lump it together with other substances like LSD, psilocybin, and MDMA. Mescaline could also help reduce suicidal thoughts, according to researchers at the University of Alabama. Using data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, the researchers found that people who have used a psychedelic drug at least once in their life show lower rates of suicidal thinking.
Potential medical usage
They’re difficult to adulterate, but may be faked (i.e. replaced with a standard cactus cutting that is not psychoactive). San Pedro has a mescaline content similar to that of peyote—around 5% by dry weight. 5 San Pedro is easier to find than peyote and is legal to grow for ornamental purposes (although you can’t legally harvest it for mescaline). Because it’s a natural product, peyote cactus varies in potency and is a little more difficult to dose than pure mescaline. On the other hand, it’s unlikely to contain contaminants or be cut with other drugs, although some producers may try to pass off another type of non-psychoactive cactus as peyote. Addiction is another promising application for mescaline’s therapeutic potential.