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    Ephedrine Well-documented
    Well-documented
    Multiple authoritative sources agree on dosing and effects.
    • 5 corroborating sources
    • 1 ROA with full dose ladder
    • duration data present
    • 29 combo interactions documented
    • toxicity data (PsychonautWiki, PubChem)

    Aliases: Sudafed, Ephedra, Ma huang, Isofedrol, Mini thins

    Summary dose.wiki Erowid TripSit PsychonautWiki

    Ephedrine is a naturally occurring alkaloid found in Ephedra species. It is used medically as a bronchodilator, decongestant, and to treat hypotension. Structurally similar to amphetamines but less potent.

    Dose Information PsychonautWiki TripSit

    ROA Light Common Strong Heavy
    Oral 10-20mg 20-30mg 30-50mg 50mg+
    Light Common Strong Heavy
    Sources

    Oral

    Dose ladder — PsychonautWiki, TripSit

    Onset, Duration & After-effects dose.wiki TripSit PsychonautWiki

    ROA Onset Peak Offset After Effects Total
    Oral 20-90 min 1-2 hrs 2-4 hrs 2-4 hrs 3-7.5 hrs
    Insufflated 5-15 min 30-60 min 1-2 hrs 2-4 hrs 3 hrs

    Effect Profile

    20 reports

    Scores (0–10) curated from multiple sources:

    • Effect keyword matching from PsychonautWiki catalog
    • Validated against 20 Erowid trip reports
    • Weighted by importance: core (×3), major (×2), minor (×1)

    Full methodology

    Stimulant 6.8
    Strong+ 7/10

    Strong stimulation and euphoria with strong anxiety/jitters, low focus

    Stimulation / Energy ×3
    10
    stimulation wakefulness alertness enhancement
    Euphoria / Mood Lift ×2
    10
    physical euphoria cognitive euphoria euphoria
    Focus / Productivity ×2
    2
    memory enhancement
    ⚠ Anxiety / Jitters ×1
    10
    anxiety restlessness increased heart rate
    Based on reports from:

    Tolerance

    Build-up develops over days to weeks of regular use
    Reset 3–7 days for acute; 1–3 weeks for full reset

    Tolerance Decay

    Full tolerance 2d Half tolerance 3d Baseline ~21d

    Tachyphylaxis to pressor and subjective stimulant effects is common with repeated dosing over hours–days; substantial recovery generally occurs over several days of abstinence. Data are largely theoretical/anecdotal for recreational patterns.

    Cross-Tolerances

    Other stimulants

    Effects Erowid

    Aggregated from 20 single-substance Erowid experience reports; 43 Erowid reports where another drug was taken too are left out

    Each bar shows the share of analyzed reports whose text mentions that effect — a mention is not always a first-hand experience (fear of an effect or something witnessed can count). Mentions saying the effect did not happen are left out; that check reads keywords, so it can miss some. The shaded band on a bar, and the small range after its number, is the 95% interval: where the share could plausibly be with other reports of the same kind. Fewer reports, wider band. Tap or hover any number for details. The second value is the Bluelight extractor's per-effect confidence; a dash means the row is Erowid-derived, which has no confidence measurement.

    Positive Effects 3

    90.0% (95% interval 70 to 97 percent) –
    25.0% (95% interval 11 to 47 percent) –
    15.0% (95% interval 5 to 36 percent) –

    Adverse Effects 3

    25.0% (95% interval 11 to 47 percent) –
    20.0% (95% interval 8 to 42 percent) –
    15.0% (95% interval 5 to 36 percent) –

    Also reported in combinations. In the 43 Ephedrine reports where another drug was taken too, 2 (4.7%) mention hospital, emergency services or an overdose, 1 (2.3%) a seizure and 1 (2.3%) psychosis. In the 20 single-substance reports: 15.0%, 0.0% and 0.0%. These are not in the figures above: they cannot be put down to Ephedrine alone, and a mention is not always something that happened to the writer.

    Combinations TripSit

    Cross-Check Ephedrine with another substance

    Community Trip Reports

    Anecdotal first-person accounts from Reddit, Erowid, Bluelight, and Dose.wiki. Click a source to expand. Reports are harm-reduction context, not medical guidance. Tags summarise each author's own verdict — how reports are classified.

    Erowid 8 reports 4 neutral 4 cautionary visit
    A Weekend on Ephedrine neutral exp #41

    We started just before work. I was bored and feeling strangely adventurous. My friend Amy was having a cigarette and she pulled out a dime-sized ziploc with a lot of small white pills in it, took 4, and handed me 3. After we'd taken them, she explained that they were basically a natural form of speed.

    Clay · 75 mg oral / 75 mg oral / 50 mg oral / 75 mg oral
    Yellow Jackets cautionary exp #26705

    The first time I bought a yellow jacket, I had been in the vitamin and healthfood store searching for Stacker 3's, another ephedra loaded stimulant. I was amazed at the wide spectrum these pills were available in: pink/purple, neon yellow, yellow/purple, blue/black.

    Trucker speed · 1 capsl oral / 2 capsls oral
    Fluctuant Intangi-Tweaking neutral exp #40336

    One day I was waiting in an acquaintance’s car when I noticed a bottle of pills in the glove compartment. Being the curious individual that I am, I examined the evidence. The bottle had something printed on it about giving one energy and alertness.

    Vyevissorex · 100 mg oral / 50 mg oral / 12.5 mg oral / 12.5 mg insufflated
    Speed Lite neutral exp #108404

    50mg Vyvanse + 150mg Bupropion + 12.5mg Ephedrine Hydrochloride + Cannabis I take 50mg Vyvanse and 150mg Bupropion daily, and have had very limited experience with ephedrine. Taken at ~12:05 12:25 - Felt the first effects, a noticeable change in heart rate and mood.

    MrMoran · 50 mg oral / 150 mg oral / 12.5 mg oral / 25 mg oral
    The Recreational Effects From Ephedrine neutral exp #14733

    This is not one specific experience report but rather the compilation of various ephedrine experiences and a guide for people new to ephedrine. Ephedrine can be found in OTC (over-the-counter) pills such as Mini-Thins, Yellow Jackets, and Stacker 2s.

    DXMTRIPPER · ephedrine
    Yellow Jackets Attack cautionary exp #79490

    So this was going to be like any other experience i've had with ephedra up till now, or so I thought. I had bought a bottle of yellow jackets in my local smartshop, never had that specific brand of ephedra before but figured it was the same thing I was used to dose wise.

    FrequentFlyer · Ephedra · 4 tablets oral
    Yellow Jackets cautionary exp #7361

    It all started a week before when I saw these really cool looking pills behind the counter at a gas station. The pills were yellow and black, and actually looked like yellow jackets. I got some before work where one of my co-workers and I sniffed one for kicks.

    krayzee · 3 tablets oral
    A Profound Sense Of Dread cautionary exp #28182

    I will try and keep this as cut and dry as possible so you can see how fast you can hooked on a substance, even a diet pill. I am already a skinny guy so maybe that influenced my reaction. The following took place over 6 weeks. A friend of mine started taking Ephedrine to lose weight.

    Don · 75 mg oral
    Bluelight 3 threads 1 positive 2 neutral visit
    Ma Huang Ephedra Inexperienced Dude You Rollin neutral

    This is not going to be a very detailed report because there really aren't many details to report, however I feel I should share my findings because there certainly were effects. I obtained 3oz of dried ma huang from a local vendor. I've been looking for it for a long time, and finally found some.

    Ephedrine Semi Experienced This Is Ephedrine Bloody Hell positive

    Ephedrine-moderate-THIS is ephedrine? bloody hell! This might almost come across as a little troll-ish, but hopefully I have been around BL long enough for people to realise I'm not a trolling fucktard The set, is my room, the setting, enjoying some quality time with my fiancee.

    Pill Identifiers

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    Helpful Links

    Add missing routes to PsychonautWiki Journal

    The PsychonautWiki Journal app already has Ephedrine, but its built-in entry only covers Oral. Here are the other routes we have data for. You can't edit a built-in substance, but you can add a Custom Unit for any of these routes to log it.

    ⬇ Download import file Import this file as custom substances and you get "Ephedrine (Substance Search)" with every route's full dose ladder and timeline, no typing. Works on iOS and Android (v15+); the format is confirmed by the app's developer. The manual values below work for older versions.
    Duration (reference)
    Ephedrine: routes the PsychonautWiki Journal app is missing
    Source: SubstanceSearch (substancesearch.com)
    
    
    Insufflated duration: onset 5-15m · peak 0.5-1h · offset 1-2h · total 3h · after-effects 2-4h
    
    Note: ranges are harm-reduction guidance, not a prescription. Start low, go slow, and test your substances.

    Ranges are harm-reduction guidance, not a prescription.