Month: March 2022

People with heart conditions or uncontrolled high blood pressure should avoid using mescaline. If you have any health issues, always consult your doctor before taking a psychedelic substance. The risk for side effects highly depends on the person’s mindset and the environment where the journey takes place. Similar to other psychedelics, individuals with certain pre-existing health conditions or who are taking certain medications are at greater risk for side effects. Most negative effects are psychological in nature and may cause distress in the user. Furthermore, similar to MDMA (and unlike any of the other classical psychedelics that bind to and activate serotonin receptors), it is thought that mescaline may increase the release and/or re-uptake of serotonin4.

• It’s a deeply personal journey that can offer profound insights and experiences, but also comes with potential challenges and should be approached with respect and caution.
• Written by Alexander Shulgin and Ann Shulgin, the book describes the science and effects of psychedelic substances, specifically phenethylamines.
• To the best of our knowledge, this is the first international epidemiological studyon mescaline use.
• Read Third Wave’s blog about San Pedro journeys, set and settings, and recovery.

Does mescaline have therapeutic potential?

• Make sure you know how much mescaline is included in each capsule, and test a sample before you start.
• Though perhaps less popular than psilocybin mushrooms and LSD, mescaline continues to captivate the minds of those interested in exploring altered states of consciousness.
• Today, members of the NAC report using Peyote anywhere from once per year to two tothree times per week (Dasgupta,2019).
• Surprising to most, mescaline predated the discovery of LSD as well as the isolation of psilocybin from “magic mushrooms”.

Mescaline should not be mixed with other medications or substances, especially medications for hypertension, alcohol, tramadol, immunomodulators, and stimulants (e.g. amphetamines or cocaine). In its natural form, mescaline has been an important aspect of Native American religious rituals and ceremonies for at least 5,000 years (Abbott, 2019). Mescaline in its cactus form is still used in the Native American Church (NAC). To minimize risk, San Pedro should not be mixed with stimulants or monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) and should never be used in combination with Tramadol. SSRI-based antidepressants are thought to be reasonably safe to combine with mescaline, but can noticeably decrease the psychedelic intensity of the experience. Mescaline has a rich historical background, with its cultural and indigenous use in rituals and ceremonies.

San Pedro’s Psychedelic Journeys Last Longer than Ayahuasca

Fentanyl is an incredibly powerful and deadly narcotic, with doses as low as two milligrams (a dose so small it could fit on the tip of a pencil) being potentially deadly. While it is never recommended to consume any illicit substances, it is critical that you or the people you know test any drugs you may ingest for fentanyl. Several non-profit harm reduction organizations, such as DanceSafe, offer fentanyl testing strips and at-home drug testing kits.

Mescaline: Peyote, San Pedro, & Peruvian Torch Cactus

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. In fact, a researcher at Harvard Medical School who has spent years studying peyote use found that the substance has reduced rates of alcoholism and drug abuse among Native Americans. Mescaline is a naturally occurring psychoactive alkaloid that is the main psychedelic compound in a range of psychedelic cacti native to the Americas, including peyote, San Pedro, and Peruvian Torch. In its natural state, mescaline has been used in Native American religious and shamanic ceremonies for thousands of years. Mescaline is known to provide spiritual insights, psychological healing, and deep contemplative states22.

Potential Therapeutic Benefits

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). 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. He’s 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. 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 mescaline experience isn’t going to inject you into other dimensions like ayahuasca or DMT, and it’s unlikely to give you deep insights into the human condition — but it does have the tendency to show you that after all is said and done… life, in its essence, is good.

Phenylethylamines are compounds that work on the sympathetic (also known as the ‘fight or flight’) nervous system. There are many types of phenethylamines, including the endogenous (produced by the human body) neurotransmitters norepinephrine and dopamine, as well as non-psychoactive pharmaceuticals like salbutamol (commonly used in inhalers for asthma) and phenylephrine (a nasal decongestant). Examples of psychoactive phenethylamines include amphetamines (used for the treatment of ADD/ADHD), MDMA, and mescaline. At very high doses, however, adverse effects can include hyperreflexia, tachycardia, agitation, muscle stiffness, ataxia, seizures, mydriasis, sialorrhea, hyperthermia and paresthesia (Dinis-Oliveira, Pereira, Dias de Silva, 2019). Some adverse effects appear to be limited to naturally-occurring mescaline.

Peyote (Lophophora williamsii) has been traditionally consumed by Indigenous North American tribes for at least 5,500 years. The crowns of the cacti growing above ground are called the peyote buttons, which are carefully harvested to allow the plant to continue to grow. San Pedro (Trichocereus pachanoi), also known as Huachuma, is a mescaline-containing cacti that is often found in the Andes mountains. The plant has been consumed traditionally by Indigenous cultures, mostly in South America, where the cacti and other plants are prepared as a brew named cimora. The ceremonies with cimora include a curandero (healer) for guiding the experience, as well as, shamanic drumming, singing, and dancing. Mescaline is one of the four main ‘classical’ psychedelics (the three in the group – LSD, DMT, and psilocybin are classified as tryptamine alkaloids).

What is Kambo Frog Medicine? What Are The Benefits?

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 tastes horrible and can cause severe stomach discomfort. The visuals from DMT are also much more geometric than the more fluid visuals experienced by mescaline.

Of course, there are exceptions to this, and some people report geometric visuals on mescaline. You need around 200 milligrams mescaline experience of mescaline to achieve a standard psychedelic dose. The effects of mescaline are similar to LSD and magic mushrooms but with some differences.

Though the exact mechanisms remain unclear, some researchers hypothesize that alterations in serotonin signaling and cortical excitability may contribute to these lingering effects. While mescaline is generally considered physiologically safe at typical doses, rare adverse reactions have been reported, particularly in individuals with underlying health conditions or unique neurochemical sensitivities. One of the more concerning but infrequent effects is prolonged psychotic episodes, particularly in those with a personal or family history of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. A review in Psychiatry Research (2022) noted that, in rare instances, mescaline has triggered persistent delusions or hallucinatory states lasting beyond the expected duration of intoxication. These cases suggest mescaline may act as a catalyst for latent psychiatric conditions. Mescaline profoundly influences sensory processing, often leading to vivid visual distortions, intensified colors, and an altered sense of time.

The experience can be influenced by a variety of factors, including your mindset, the environment, and the presence of comfort items. Demographic characteristics of total sample and each subsample based eachof the “most memorable” mescaline experience subgroups. Pharmacologically, mescaline is a long-acting, low-potency psychedelic phenethylaminesubstance (Dasgupta,2019). Mescalineexhibits very low binding affinity at dopaminergic and histaminergic receptors anddoes not inhibit uptake at monoamine transporters (Rickli et al., 2016). The 3,4,5-trimethoxyconfiguration of mescaline appears central to its psychedelic activity (Smythies et al.,1967).

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. The effects of mescaline are very comparable to LSD or 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.

Characteristics of the “most memorable” mescaline experience in the fullsample and comparisons of characteristics across mescalinesubgroups. See the Risks section and Tripsit’s chart for details on which drugs to avoid. It’s probably best to err on the side of caution and avoid combining mescaline with any other drug, at least for the first time you take it. You can ingest San Pedro in various different ways including the raw plant itself.

It’s important to note that the following descriptions are generalizations and the actual experience can be influenced by a variety of factors including dosage, set and setting (your mindset and environment), and individual psychology. Dr. Paloma Lehfeldt, MD, MA, is deeply committed to advancing plant medicine and advocating for the integration of psychedelics into mental health care. In her current role as Senior Director of Clinical Science and Partnerships at Vireo Health, a leading cannabis company, she focuses on driving the company’s Social Equity and Educational Development initiatives, aiming to contribute meaningfully to progressive healthcare. Dr. Lehfeldt actively engages with academia, medical and scientific associations, local agencies, and community organizations to develop innovative curricula, foster workforce pipelines, and promote initiatives for restorative justice and mental health equity.