Mescaline - Substance Search

Summary PsychonautWiki

3,4,5-Trimethoxyphenethylamine (also known as mescaline) is a naturally-occurring classical psychedelic substance of the phenethylamine class. It occurs naturally in the peyote cactus (Lophophora williamsii), San Pedro cactus (Echinopsis pachanoi), Peruvian Torch cactus (Echinopsis peruviana) as well as the Cactaceae plant and the Fabaceae bean families. It is one of the oldest known hallucinogens and the parent compound of the psychedelic phenethylamines, one of the two major subclasses of psychedelic compounds (along with tryptamines).

Perspectives

“This is a magical substance- it is intricate and complex, with odd little surprises hiding in all of its secret places.”

— Nervewing, nervewing.blogspot.com 500 mg oral

“I would have liked to, and was expecting to, have an exciting visual day, but I seemed to be unable to escape self-analysis. At the peak of the experience I was quite intoxicated and hyper with energy, so that it was not hard to move around. I was quite restless. But I spent most of the day in considerable agony, attempting to break through without success. I learned a great deal about myself and my inner workings. Everything almost was, but in the final analysis, wasn’t. I began to become aware of a point, a brilliant white light, that seemed to be where God was entering, and it was inconceivably wonderful to perceive it and to be close to it. One wished for it to approach with all one’s heart. I could see that people would sit and meditate for hours on end just in the hope that this little bit of light would contact them. I begged for it to continue and come closer but it did not. It faded away not to return in that particular guise the rest of the day. Listening to Mozart’s Requiem, there were magnificent heights of beauty and glory. The world was so far away from God, and nothing was more important than getting back in touch with Him. But I saw how we created the nuclear fiasco to threaten the existence of the planet, as if it would be only through the threat of complete annihilation that people might wake up and begin to become concerned about each other. And so also with the famines in Africa. Many similar scenes of joy and despair kept me in balance. I ended up the experience in a very peaceful space, feeling that though I had been through a lot, I had accomplished a great deal. I felt wonderful, free, and clear.”

— Alexander Shulgin, PiHKAL (with 300 mg)

Dose Information source varies by route

ROA	Light	Common	Strong	Heavy
Oral BA ~100%	50-200mg	200-400mg	400-800mg	800mg+
Dried Dried peyote cactus, not pure mescaline	10-20g	20-30g	30-40g	40g+
Fresh Fresh peyote cactus, not pure mescaline	50-100g	100-150g	-	200g+

Light Common Strong Heavy

Sources

Oral

Dose ladder — PsychonautWiki

Dried

Dose ladder — Dried peyote cactus, not pure mescaline — TripSit

Fresh

Dose ladder — Fresh peyote cactus, not pure mescaline — TripSit

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

ROA	Onset	Comeup	Peak	Offset	After Effects	Total
Oral	45-90 min	1-2 hrs	4-6 hrs	2-3 hrs	6-36 hrs	8-12 hrs
Dried	1-2 hrs	-	4-8 hrs	2-3 hrs	6-8 hrs	6-12 hrs
Fresh	1-2 hrs	-	4-8 hrs	2-3 hrs	6-8 hrs	6-12 hrs

Effect Profile

375 reports

Scores (0–10) curated from multiple sources:

Effect keyword matching from PsychonautWiki catalog
Validated against 298 Erowid trip reports
Weighted by importance: core (×3), major (×2), minor (×1)

Full methodology

Psychedelic 8.8

Intense+ 9/10

Strong visuals, headspace, and auditory effects with strong body load

Visual Intensity ×3

10

external hallucinations internal hallucinations color enhancement autonomous entities drifting synaesthesia +9 more

Headspace Depth ×3

10

conceptual thinking personal meaning enhancement feelings of interdependent opposites emotion enhancement perspective alterations delusions +4 more

Auditory Effects ×1

10

auditory enhancement auditory distortion auditory hallucinations synaesthesia

⚠ Body Load / Somatic Effects ×1

10

nausea muscle tension increased heart rate

Based on reports from:

PiHKAL PiHKAL #96: M Bluelight Big & Dandy Thread Erowid Experience Reports PsychonautWiki Mescaline

Tolerance

Build-up develops rapidly after a single use

Reset 7–14 days for baseline

Tolerance Decay

Full tolerance 1d Half tolerance 7d Baseline ~14d

Classic psychedelic cross-tolerance pattern inferred from user reports and HR references; magnitude varies. Data quality: mixed formal/anecdotal.

Cross-Tolerances

LSD

Psilocin/psilocybin

2C-x phenethylamines

Effects Erowid Bluelight

Aggregated from 298 single-substance Erowid and 77 Bluelight experience reports (the Bluelight figures come from the 50 of them read for effects); 222 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 84

53.8% 79%

48.8% 88%

42.0% 83%

39.1% 82%

38.0% 84%

37.6% 89%

33.0% 87%

28.7% 84%

28.0% 86%

27.6% 88%

26.0% 84%

Auditory Effects 24.7% 81%

23.8% 79%

22.0% 86%

22.0% 87%

22.0% 85%

21.5% 86%

20.0% 84%

20.0% 87%

18.0% 83%

Show 64 more positive effects

18.0% 81%

16.0% 90%

16.0% 81%

16.0% 84%

14.0% 83%

14.0% 84%

12.6% 89%

12.0% 83%

10.0% 85%

10.0% 88%

9.5% 82%

8.0% 89%

8.0% 84%

8.0% 89%

8.0% 78%

8.0% 90%

8.0% 88%

6.1% 80%

6.0% 80%

6.0% 82%

6.0% 81%

6.0% 83%

6.0% 85%

6.0% 76%

6.0% 78%

5.7% 90%

4.0% 82%

4.0% 85%

4.0% 80%

4.0% 78%

4.0% 82%

4.0% 85%

4.0% 82%

4.0% 88%

2.0% 85%

2.0% 80%

2.0% 95%

2.0% 80%

2.0% 85%

2.0% 75%

2.0% 90%

2.0% 80%

2.0% 85%

2.0% 80%

2.0% 85%

2.0% 75%

2.0% 80%

2.0% 78%

2.0% 80%

2.0% 85%

2.0% 90%

2.0% 85%

2.0% 75%

2.0% 80%

Adverse Effects 40

51.7% 85%

39.7% 75%

25.6% 77%

24.0% 85%

19.8% 78%

12.0% 81%

10.6% 75%

8.0% 85%

8.0% 80%

8.0% 85%

8.0% 81%

7.7% –

6.3% 90%

6.0% 80%

6.0% 81%

6.0% 75%

5.4% –

4.9% 85%

4.0% 81%

4.0% 70%

2.7% –

Show 19 more adverse effects

4.0% 80%

4.0% 76%

4.0% 80%

4.0% 82%

4.0% 80%

2.0% 82%

2.0% 75%

2.0% 80%

2.0% 88%

2.0% 82%

2.0% 85%

2.0% 80%

2.0% 65%

2.0% 80%

2.0% 85%

2.0% 70%

2.0% 75%

Also reported in combinations. In the 222 Mescaline reports where another drug was taken too, 15 (6.8%) mention hospital, emergency services or an overdose, 5 (2.3%) a seizure and 10 (4.5%) psychosis. In the 298 single-substance reports: 2.7%, 0.7% and 2.7%. One or more of the three comes up more often in the combination reports (12.2% against 5.4%), by more than chance would explain; that does not show the combination caused it. These are not in the figures above: they cannot be put down to Mescaline alone, and a mention is not always something that happened to the writer.

Combinations TripSit

Cross-Check Mescaline 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.

Reddit 8 reports 7 neutral 1 cautionary visit

Highly Sensitive & Considering San Pedro but Scared neutral r/mescaline ▲6 34 comments

I am a highly sensitive person - I've never done any cactus. Never any psychs. Never shrooms. But I'll be in Quito next month. And I have a connection to the land that very few ppl in my life know about. I found out about this experience super randomly.

A visual guide to hardware San Pedro and identifying true Pachanoi vs Pachanot in its various forms found across the country at Home Depot and Lowes. (X-post from R/druggardening) neutral r/Mescaline ▲154 17 comments

Before we get into comparing cacti I just want to outline who Home Depot and Lowes gets their cacti from and why the characteristics I'm going to unpack are so easy to look for in a side by side retail setting with only one growing source.

Took 100g San Pedro cactus brew at 2:20am and am tripping amazingly neutral r/mescaline ▲31 15 comments

This is my first time consuming San Pedro on its own. I used a diluted vinegar solution for each boil and I boiled for 1 hour, topped off the water and boiled again for an hour, decanted/strained and repeated 2 more times.

Has anyone else had feelings of boredom during a trip? neutral r/mescaline ▲11 10 comments

There was a portion of my last trip where I felt bored or underwhelmed I guess? I had this really strong feeling of "been there, done that." It also felt like I was the elder generation watching the youth generation go through the motions of growing up.

Mescaline Questions neutral r/mescaline ▲7 21 comments

Hey Reddit! Looking to try mescaline for the first time tomorrow as a very experienced heavy-dose psychonaut. Considering taking 300-400mg for the first time, potentially mixing in 2C-B and LSD.

psych meds blocking trip neutral r/mescaline ▲6 16 comments

Yesterday I took a healthy dose of tbmc. I had read about two golf balls worth is a good dose. I blended it with water and choked it down (so gross). I had some weird vision changes 90 minutes in and felt a bit incapacitated.

First time with San Pedro was an interesting experience … neutral r/mescaline ▲20 9 comments

My first time taking San Pedro in Peru. I went with my friend and we did it with two shaman. It started inside, where they blessed us and asked us our intentions. then after we drank the juice, we went outside and sat in the grass.

HCL vs powder anxiety? Want to try it for healing. Have questions cautionary r/mescaline ▲9 13 comments

Wondering if somebody would be willing to help me. I was on a medication called mirtazapine for several years. For PTSD, depression, anxiety. I couldn't get off of it without getting sick. Finally it caused me so many side effects I had to get off of it and it took me a year.

Erowid 8 reports 7 positive 1 neutral visit

A Higher Consciousness neutral exp #83578

I wasnt a spiritual person, I was skeptical if anything, but a foot of cactus changed everything. I should first mention that I and everyone involved are moderate pot smokers, and that we had never tried any other hallucinogen apart from the person who suggested the idea.

The Plant with the Answer positive exp #27201

I am a male (vintage hippy) who has had a fair share of psychadelic experiences in my time. None, however could equal up to the life-changing trip I experienced after ingesting 'the divine catus'. It was saturday in El Paso,Texas.

Healing My Inner Child positive exp #112277

Background: I'm a computer programmer with one kid, and a wife who doesn't nag, so I can go out and have all kinds of fun by myself. Recently I've felt relatively good about myself, but I've also feĺt like I can't feel love for people the way I should, and sometimes the more awesome someone is, the more I resent him/he...

Baby, Your Time is Now positive exp #25335

Like many who take mescaline I cannot quite comprehend how to explain such a wonder to those who have and haven't tried, but it's like being home; wherever you are, knowing the truth lies in now, not tommorow, not yesterday, and not your hairbrush.

Double Hoot All-Stars positive exp #113460

It could be worse. We could be stars: responsible for entire solar systems. 97 degrees Fahrenheit and not a butt in the sky at Enchanted Rock a jaunt outside of Llano, Texas.

Hangin Around the Transitions positive exp #103872

Mescaline was never a drug I had considered trying before. It had never been on my radar, had never been easily accessible. My friend J, who Ive had several psychedelic adventures with, loves mescaline, and happened to come across some and offered me the opportunity to try it with him.

Dipped My Toes in the Warm Waters positive exp #118385

Dipped My Toes in the Warm Waters of Mescaline I have had great difficulty finding Mescaline dosage information and trip reports online and so I feel it is my duty to publish my experiences.

The Passover and the Rapture positive exp #94512

This is an experience with mescaline on the beach in Port Aransas/Corpus Christi, Texas. Me and my ex-girlfriend K got two capsules of mescaline from her brother and decided to go down to the coast and camp out.

Bluelight 7 threads 6 positive 1 cautionary visit

Mescaline T Peruvianus Third Time Magical Healing Journey positive

Let me preface this report by laying down the groundwork upon which the trip was built. It was Sunday. On Friday night I had taken two hits of potent LSD on my own, at night, in my apartment.

Peyote New Experience Lakota Prayer Ceremony positive

I haven't posted on Bluelight in aeons, but I felt inspired to share a recent experience I had with Peyote in conjunction with the Lakota Native American Church. I used to use many substances recreationaly, however after an intense experience with psychedelic medicines and plant medicines I underwent an extreme spiritu...

Mescaline Cactii P Torch S Pedro Inexperienced Collected Experiences positive

I wrote this in response to a thread in psychedelic discussion, had no intention to go into so much detail and unexpectedly ended up with a bit of a report. Introduction These three experiences all happened within the space of 6 months when I was 19.

Mescaline For Those Who Are And Arent Afraid Your Time Is Now 5th Time positive

Like many who take mescaline I cannot comprehend how to explain such a wonder to those who have and haven't tried, but it's like being home; wherever you are, knowing the truth lies in now, not tommorow, not yesterday.

Mescaline Semi Experienced Universe Shattering Huxlian Mindfuck positive

Mescaline (San Pedro) - Semi-experienced - Universe Shattering Huxlian Mindfuck 9:24 pm: I've reduced the mescaline to a (slightly more than) reasonable amount. Just brewed a pot of ginger tea, sweetened slightly by some honey.

Mescaline San Pedro Advices And Report positive

Hi, This is a very old experience I'd like to talk about. By the way, I am currently in Australia but not a native speaker, so I am sorry if I make any mistake. I tried San Pedro three times. The first time, I used the classic method, so boiled it down and drunk it.

Mescaline Higher Dose Experienced Soul Annihilating Overdose cautionary

I just wanted to throw this piece of information out there so maybe people can benefit from it with future use. It's my theory now, that combining psychedelics with zofran (selective serotonin antagonist) vastly increases their potency.

Bluelight Reference Guide Bluelight

Phenethylamines The Big & Dandy Mescaline and Mesc. Cactus Thread - 3rd Button

Welcome to the Big & Dandy Mescaline/Cactus Thread Mescaline --------- Peyote Cactus Mescaline Trip Reports on Bluelight External links: Wikipedia: Mescaline Page Peyote Page San Pedro Page Peruvian Torch Page Erowid: Mescaline Vault Cacti Vault Peyote Vault San Pedro Potency FAQ San Pedro / Cacti Dosage PIHKAL Mescali...

Read full thread on Bluelight →

PiHKAL / TiHKAL Shulgin

PiHKAL #96: M

“I would have liked to, and was expecting to, have an exciting visual day, but I seemed to be unable to escape self-analysis. At the peak of the experience I was quite intoxicated and hyper with energy, so that it was not hard to move around. I was quite restless. But I spent most of the day in considerable agony, attempting to break through without success. I learned a great deal about myself and my inner workings. Everything almost was, but in the final analysis, wasn’t. I began to become aware of a point, a brilliant white light, that seemed to be where God was entering, and it was inconceivably wonderful to perceive it and to be close to it. One wished for it to approach with all one’s heart. I could see that people would sit and meditate for hours on end just in the hope that this little bit of light would contact them. I begged for it to continue and come closer but it did not. It faded away not to return in that particular guise the rest of the day. Listening to Mozart’s Requiem, there were magnificent heights of beauty and glory. The world was so far away from God, and nothing was more important than getting back in touch with Him. But I saw how we created the nuclear fiasco to threaten the existence of the planet, as if it would be only through the threat of complete annihilation that people might wake up and begin to become concerned about each other. And so also with the famines in Africa. Many similar scenes of joy and despair kept me in balance. I ended up the experience in a very peaceful space, feeling that though I had been through a lot, I had accomplished a great deal. I felt wonderful, free, and clear.”

— Alexander Shulgin, PiHKAL (with 300 mg)

Mescaline's nerd page Pharmacology, chemical data, effect profiles, and more

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Helpful Links

📘 Experience Reports 📖 dose.wiki 📖 PsychonautWiki 📖 TripSit 📖 Bluelight

Report an issue or suggest an edit

Spotted incorrect or dangerous information, have a correction, a new study, or a useful addition for Mescaline? Let us know. Reports are reviewed by moderators — this is not posted publicly.

Mescaline Well-documented Well-documented Multiple authoritative sources agree on dosing and effects. 6 corroborating sources 2 ROAs with full dose ladders duration data present 29 combo interactions documented toxicity data (PsychonautWiki)

Summary PsychonautWiki

Perspectives

Dose Information source varies by route

Oral

Dried

Fresh

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

Effect Profile

Tolerance

Tolerance Decay

Cross-Tolerances

Effects Erowid Bluelight

Positive Effects 84

Adverse Effects 40

Combinations TripSit

Community Trip Reports

Bluelight Reference Guide Bluelight

Phenethylamines The Big & Dandy Mescaline and Mesc. Cactus Thread - 3rd Button

PiHKAL / TiHKAL Shulgin

Helpful Links

Report an issue or suggest an edit

Mescaline Well-documented

Well-documented

Multiple authoritative sources agree on dosing and effects.

6 corroborating sources

2 ROAs with full dose ladders

duration data present

29 combo interactions documented

toxicity data (PsychonautWiki)