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| Mescaline | |
|---|---|
| Chemical name | 3,4,5-Trimethoxy- phenethylamine or 2-(3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl) ethanamine |
| Chemical formula | C11H17NO3 |
| Molecular mass | 211.26 g/mol |
| Melting point | 128–129 °C |
| CAS numbers | 54-04-6 |
| SMILES | NCCC1=CC(OC)=C(OC)C(OC)=C1 |
Mescaline (3,4,5-trimethoxyphenethylamine) is a hallucinogenic alkaloid of the phenethylamine class.
It occurs naturally in the peyote cactus (Lophophora williamsii), the San Pedro cactus (Echinopsis pachanoi), in the Peruvian Torch cactus (Echinopsis peruviana), and it is also found in a number of other members of the Cactaceae. It can be extracted from these sources. Mescaline was first isolated and identified in 1897 by the German Arthur Heffter and first synthesized in 1919 by Ernst Späth.
Usage and history
The use of extract from peyote in Native American religious ceremonies has been noted since the earliest European contact, notably by the Huichols in Mexico.
Dosage and effects
The effective human dosage is 200–400 milligrams (3.75 mg/kg), with the effects lasting for up to twelve hours. Users typically experience visual hallucinations and radically altered states of consciousness, often experienced as pleasurable and illuminating but occasionally as accompanied by feelings of anxiety or revulsion. It is not physically addictive.Legal status
In the US it was made illegal in 1970 by the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act. It was prohibited internationally by the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances* and is categorised as a Schedule I hallucinogen by the CSA.
Chemistry
A common synthetical approach starts from 3,4,5-trimethoxybenzaldehyde (PiHKAL entry).
Side effects
One or more of the following side effects may or may not accompany any individual experience with mescaline.
Positive side effects
- Open eye visuals
- Closed-eye visuals
- New thought processes
- Dream-like scenarios
- Euphoria
- Mystical experience
Neutral side effects
- Pupil dilation
- Sensations of warm and cold
- Temporary splitting/destruction of ego
Negative side effects
- Dizziness
- Vomiting
- Tachycardia
- Diarrhea
- Headaches
- Anxiety
- Feeling of dying or annihilation
- Fear of not being able to return to normal consciousness
- Hallucinogen persisting perception disorder (HPPD)
- Irrationality of the thought-process
Famous users
- Jerry Garcia
- Aldous Huxley
- Ernst Jünger *
- Leo Kenney *
- Henri Michaux *
- Jim Morrison
- Carlos Castaneda
- Hunter S. Thompson
- Robert Del Naja
- Timothy Leary
- Christopher Mayhew, Labour MP and BBC television personality, who took Mescaline Hydrochloride in 1955 for an unbroadcast episode of Panorama *
- Jean-Paul Sartre
- Antonin Artaud
- Sébastien Branconnier
- Comedian Jim Breuer, in his stage act, talks about trying it once as a teenager, in a bit called "The Wizard".
- Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz, Polish writer, dramatist, photographer, philosopher and painter.
See also
- The Doors of Perception
- MKULTRA
- Phenethylamines
- Psilocybin
- Psychedelics in popular culture
- Peyote
- Native American Church
- PiHKAL
- Psychedelic drug
- Psychoactive drug
External links
- Mescaline at Erowid
- PiHKAL entry
- Mescaline: The Chemistry and Pharmacology of its Analogs Essay by Alexander Shulgin
Categorization
Alkaloids | Native American Church | Psychedelic phenethylamines
Meskalin | Meskalin | Mescalina | Mescaline | Meskalino | Mescalina | מסקלין | Mescaline | メスカリン | Meskalina | Mescalina | Мескалин | Meskalín | Meskaliini | Meskalin
"Mescaline"