Mescaline extraction is relatively rare in comparison with more common psychedelics. It occurs naturally in several different species of psychedelic cacti found in North and South America, including San Pedro, peyote, and Peruvian Torch. Mescaline has a rich historical background, with its cultural and indigenous use in rituals and ceremonies.
Whole cactus
Psychedelic Experience (PE) is a comprehensive online resource for information surrounding psychedelic substances. In its natural form, mescaline mescaline experience 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).
The onset of effects typically happens within 45 to 90 minutes of ingestion, with peak effects occurring around two to four hours. The trip often lasts for eight hours, but commonly, the effects are felt for more than 10 to 12 hours in total duration3. Indigenous people desire to ensure that their culture, identity, and sacred traditions around these plants are protected while psychedelics become mainstream. It is crucial we find ways to build trust and connection with the Indigenous communities and honor their wishes around their ancestral peyote traditions. Fellows of the Native American Church regularly use peyote in their sacred rituals, ceremonies, and religious sacraments. They utilize this ancestral plant for connection and healing in their community.
Explore the potential physical and emotional effects of mescaline, including common reactions and less-documented risks that may influence individual experiences. Now, tens of thousands of people around the globe are experimenting with taking small doses of psychedelics in the name of mental health, creativity, and inspiration. While it may seem like you would only feel the effects of the microdose on the days you actually take it, try to observe the effect on the two days between doses, too.
What are the effects from mescaline?
Mescaline has a long history of use by Native Americans in the United States and Mexico as a form of sacrament. These groups have been granted religious access to mescaline-containing cacti under the 1994 American Indian Religious Freedom Act (AIRFA). Written by Alexander Shulgin and Ann Shulgin, the book describes the science and effects of psychedelic substances, specifically phenethylamines. Plants of Gods is written by ethnopharmacologist Christian Ratsch, who provides knowledge on various psychoactive plants, including mescaline. Let’s dive more into the legal status of these plants, and the ongoing discussions regarding the rights to use peyote outside of the Native American Church. In another study, researchers found that mescaline helped goldfish learn to avoid a shock more quickly.
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The most common side-effect was agitation and tachycardia (rapid heart rate). The average-sized human (140 lbs) would need nearly 60,000 milligrams of mescaline. While there are side effects, there have never been any reported deaths caused by mescaline directly. Mescaline binds to several different types of receptors in the human brain to produce its effects.
Lophophora williamsii contains about 0.4% of mescaline by weight (fresh, undried) and up to 3-6% dried4. This “cocktail of compounds” may enhance or alter the pharmacology of mescaline. The various psychoactive compounds are found in different areas of the plant, with some being active on their own. Peyote, in its natural form, contains dozens of different types of phenylethylamine alkaloids, some of which are pictured above. It is possible that different kinds of cacti containing various constituents could result in distinct experiences, similar to how cannabis strains produce a variety of subjective effects5. Mescaline is a naturally-occurring psychoactive alkaloid found in several cacti, including the Peyote cactus (Lophophora williamsii), San Pedro cactus (Echinopsis pachanoi), and Peruvian Torch cactus (Echinopsis peruviana).
The History of Mescaline
These cactuses have been used for thousands of years by multiple tribes for healing and religious purposes. Like most psychedelic hallucinogens, mescaline is not physically addictive; however, it can cause tolerance meaning higher doses are need to achieve the same hallucinogenic effect. Mescaline-containing cacti can induce severe vomiting and nausea, which is an important part to traditional Native-American or Shaman ceremonies and is considered a cleansing ritual and a spiritual aid.
Dosage and purity of mescaline sold on the streets illegally are often unknown and may contain LSD or other related (or unrelated) dangerous drugs 47. The buttons are usually dried and people eat them or soaked them in water to drink 50, 10. There is a case report of one otherwise healthy person undergoing a 2-week long psychotic episode after taking peyote in which they experienced visual and auditory hallucinations and could barely sleep. We can’t say whether mescaline improves mental health due to flaws in the published research.
The effects of San Pedro are mainly caused by the hallucinogenic alkaloid mescaline, though other alkaloids contribute to a unique entourage effect. Yes, Huachuma is the local name for the San Pedro cactus (Echinopsis pachanoi) in Peru and other regions of the Andes mountains where it grows naturally. You can sometimes find these cacti in nurseries in the US — but they won’t be labeled San Pedro. You can identify them by the tiny spines along a few verticals and the pattern on the smooth columns. The intention you have going into the experience plays a major role in whether the substance will be helpful or harmful.
- The United States is experiencing a synthetic opioid epidemic that has claimed thousands of lives due to street drugs being adulterated with other drugs, such as fentanyl.
- Mescaline produces similar changes in perception as LSD, but not quite in the same way.
- Be aware, however, that peyote is endangered, so other species (such as San Pedro) should be preferred.
- In fact, this study cited above found a lower incidence of mental health disorders in people who have used psychedelics.
Indigenous communities in North and South America have used mescaline-containing cacti in their religious and spiritual ceremonies for millennia, facilitating communication with deities, ancestors, and spirits. The Huichol people of Mexico, for example, use mescaline in their peyote ceremonies as a way to connect with the spirit world and gain insights into the nature of Being and the mysteries of the universe. Other traditional uses of cacti containing mescaline include healing and divination. Today, mescaline is used recreationally for psychedelic effects, for healing experiences and consciousness work, and in continued traditional cultural uses among some Indigenous groups.
- For example, mescaline is more likely to distort the user’s body image, while the loss of control of thoughts is more commonly reported on LSD 40.
- Flashbacks occur when visual and auditory disturbances previously experienced during a trip reappear when not using the drug 42, 43, 44, 45.
- You can get a heavy fine, be disqualified from driving or even go to prison 1.
- This family of chemical compounds are considered Schedule I drugs, the most tightly controlled and generally illegal class.
Drawing on his academic background and lived experience, Samuel writes about current events in psychedelics and what they might mean for therapy, society, and the ordinary person just trying to make sense of it all. When not writing, teaching, or volunteering with the Australian Psychedelic Society, Samuel likes to read science fiction, garden, and spoil his cat. It’s likely the popularity of mescaline will continue to increase over the coming years behind DMT, LSD, and magic mushrooms. As the use of psychedelics becomes less taboo, people will undoubtedly start to explore some of the more “unconventional” psychedelics (if you can even call mescaline unconventional). They’ve done it all and have come full circle back to mescaline in their old age.
In general, even where it’s legal to grow San Pedro, peyote, and other mescaline-containing plants, it is illegal to consume them and especially to extract the mescaline. A lethal dose has never been identified, probably because it’s too high to be taken accidentally.9 In other words, to the best of our knowledge, nobody has ever died from a mescaline overdose. Although it is not one of the most widespread psychedelics currently, mescaline was the first psychedelic substance to enter Western society and culture. Mescaline was used in mind-control experiments in Hitler’s Third Reich during World War II (Abbott, 2019). A few years later, The Doors of Perception, written by the English philosopher and writer Aldous Huxley, was published in 1954. It famously describes Huxley’s experience on mescaline and is one of the first mainstream accounts of a psychedelic journey.
The novel is an autobiographical story written by Aldous Huxley, where he shares his experiences on mescaline with philosophical implications. Later, the book became one of the most influential pieces of psychedelic literature, and it still remains a classic in psychedelia culture. Mescaline is believed to have been consumed by humans for more than 5000 years8,9. Radiocarbon dating of peyote found in a cave above the Rio Grande in Texas suggests its use dates back to at least 5,700 years, making it the oldest known psychedelic agent in North America9.
There have not been any official studies to explore the long-term benefits of microdosing mescaline. Peyote grows exceptionally slow — taking up to 15 years to reach maturity. The average user requires several buttons of peyote cactus for a single dose. An experienced peyote user may take as many as 15 or 20 buttons at a time.
A lethal dose has never been identified, probably because it’s too high to be taken accidentally.9 In other words, to the best of our knowledge, nobody has ever died from a mescaline overdose. Mescaline mainly affects the 5-HT2A and 5-HT2C, serotonin receptors.With that said, the only way to truly know what this psychedelic does to your brain is to try it yourself. Therefore, there is virtually no way to know what your trip will feel like.The only way to truly know what mescaline feels like is to take it.Mescaline will most likely give you a pleasant experience. Bad trips can happen but you can prevent them by following the tips below. The effects of the psychedelics below are not the same as the effects of mescaline. “Trips”, the intense psychedelic experience for the user, may be pleasurable and enlightening or anxiety-producing and unpleasant (known as a “bad trip”).
