Mescaline
Aliases: San, Mesc, Peyote, Cactus, Buttons, san-pedro
Summary
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. Everything is exactly as it should be—the beautiful naivety of youth, manifest as resplendent color and energy.”
“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.”
Dose Information
| ROA | Light | Common | Strong | Heavy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oral BA ~100% | 50-200mg | 200-400mg | 400-800mg | 800mg+ |
| Dried | 10-20g | 20-30g | 30-40g | 40g+ |
| Fresh | 50-100g | 100-150g | - | 200g+ |
Onset, Duration & After-effects
| ROA | Onset | Comeup | Peak | Offset | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oral | 45-90 min | 1-2 hrs | 4-6 hrs | 2-3 hrs | 8-12 hrs |
| Dried | 1-2 hrs | - | 4-8 hrs | 2-3 hrs | 6-12 hrs |
| Fresh | 1-2 hrs | - | 4-8 hrs | 2-3 hrs | 6-12 hrs |
Effect Profile
597 reportsScores (1–10) curated from multiple sources:
- Effect keyword matching from PsychonautWiki catalog
- Validated against 520 Erowid trip reports
- Weighted by importance: core (×3), major (×2), minor (×1)
Strong visuals, headspace, auditory effects, and body load
Tolerance
Tolerance Decay
Classic psychedelic cross-tolerance pattern inferred from user reports and HR references; magnitude varies. Data quality: mixed formal/anecdotal.
Cross-Tolerances
Effects
Aggregated from 520 Erowid and 77 Bluelight experience reports
Positive Effects 83
Adverse Effects 40
Combinations
PiHKAL / TiHKAL
“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.”