Although studies from the 60s are worth mentioning, they have flaws that render their findings unreliable. A couple of researchers were interested in whether mescaline can affect creativity and problem-solving skills back in the 60s. Additionally, some of the studies date back to the 60s and used methods that the scientific community today would mainly disqualify. These research efforts are interesting to read about, but they tell us little about mescaline’s effectiveness and safety. According to another report, users may also feel as if their body is weightless and that their limbs have changed size and shape 35. One estimate suggests that Native Americans in Mexico used peyote as far back as 5,700 years ago.

Mental Health

Mescaline was first discovered by Europeans in the early 16th century after the Spanish conquest of Mexico. The pharmaceutical company Parke-Davis began offering tonics of peyote in 1893 as a cardiac stimulant, bringing the substance to medical attention. Three years later, German chemist Arthur Heffer identified alkaloids from peyote, including mescaline, which were sold to Parke-Davis beginning a series of research experiments into the substance. Mescaline is the active hallucinogenic compound found in peyote and other cacti. The buttons are usually dried and people eat them or soaked them in water to drink 50, 10.

Mescaline can also interfere with the normal functioning of certain brain areas, leading to confusion, impaired motor coordination, and anxiety. When taken in high doses or combined with other drugs, mescaline can cause hallucinations and delirium. It’s important to note that these effects can be dangerous and potentially life-threatening. Much work is needed to address variations in mescaline content within species and within individual cactus, and the influence of soil, season, and even hour of sampling 107. Moreover, besides mescaline, other alkaloids have also been reported in Lophophora williamsii. Among them, lophophine is also psychoactive in man 51, 110; the activity following its ingestion was described as “a peaceful elevation of mood, the generation of an euphoric state, and the enhancement of visual perception especially in the color sense”.

Effects

Mescaline is a relatively rare drug because the peyote cactus, the most prevalent source of the drug, is itself rare. Consequently, mesculan drug drug traffickers sometimes sell more common hallucinogens like PCP and claim that they are mescaline. In addition to its direct physical effects, mescaline can produce profound emotional and psychological changes. Many users experience increased feelings of insight or empathy and vivid memories of past experiences. On the other hand, some people report anxiety or paranoia while under the influence of mescaline.

The first metabolite is formed by TMPA demethylation, being further combined with glutamine, by glutamine N-acyltransferase, to be eliminated as 3,4-dihydroxy-5-methoxyphenacetylglutamine, which has already been identified in human urine 43, 69. This reaction is similar to the degradation of amphetamines in benzoic acid, which is later combined with glycine to be eliminated 80, 81. The TMPA conversion to 3,4,5-TMBA has already been clarified in vivo, in mouse brain and liver 71; and in vitro, in mouse brain, hepatic, cardiac and kidney homogenates 82. The highest concentrations of 3,4,5-TMBA, both in vivo and in vitro, were detected in the brain, in comparison to other studied tissues 71, 82.

Short-Term Effects Of Mescaline

In accordance, there is no evidence to support addiction and dependence to mescaline 43. Going without the drug for any period of time results in painful, distressing physical and psychological symptoms, which, if left uncontrolled, can compel the person to resume the substance abuse. Mescaline is a naturally occurring psychedelic hallucinogen that is found in certain species of cacti located in South America and parts of North America. Mescaline has been used as part of religious ceremonies for thousands of years, as well as recreationally in more recent times. Though not considered addictive, mescaline may still pose other health risks if abused.

• The major and minor metabolic routes of mescaline are presented in (Fig. 5).
• In a study of 24 hospitalized schizophrenics, one patient was able to return to her home after significant improvement in her condition.
• One estimate suggests that Native Americans in Mexico used peyote as far back as 5,700 years ago.
• These buttons are generally chewed or soaked in water to produce an intoxicating tea.
• The top of the cactus above ground, or the crown, consists of disc-shaped buttons that are cut from the roots and dried.
• On October 27 of 1970, the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act was passed in the USA.

Physical effects

A couple of clinical trials suggested that LSD has the potential to help with alcoholism, but large-scale data are lacking 49. We can’t say whether mescaline improves mental health due to flaws in the published research. Remember that mescaline is classified as an illegal drug with a high potential for harm. Although rare, HPPD is hard to treat and can lead to lifelong disability due to mental health disturbances. Research suggests that higher doses can cause “ego dissolution,” a complete loss of the sense of self and the boundaries between self and the rest of the world 12, 32.

In more recent years, it has been possible to chemically synthesize mescaline in laboratories. Yes, there is research suggesting that mescaline, in combination with therapy, could be effective in treating addiction to alcohol and drugs. One of the most notable effects of mescaline is its ability to enhance sensory experiences and alter perception. This has made it a popular choice among artists, musicians, and writers who have used the drug as a tool to explore new realms of creativity. It’s important to note that mescaline is a potent psychoactive substance, and its effects can be unpredictable.

Nevertheless, both the cactus, and mainly mescaline, are being illegally consumed 10. Mescaline was first isolated and identified in 1896 by the German chemist Arthur Heffter 11 and first synthesized in 1919 by Ernst Späth, who converted 3,4,5-trimethoxybenzoic acid into the respective aldehyde, subsequently reduced to mescaline 12. The most significant mescaline trip of the 1960s, with hindsight, was that taken by the chemist Alexander Shulgin, which he later wrote ‘unquestionably confirmed the entire direction of my life’. He was struck by how little work had been done on compounds with similar structures, and he began to synthesize new ones, including 3,4 methylenedioxymethampetamine, or MDMA, which entered the underground drug market as ‘ecstasy’. MDMA was, in many respects, mescaline tamed for the new chemical generation.

• It is also found in varying degrees in many other members of the cactus family 1.
• When ingested, mescaline can produce powerful visual hallucinations and significantly alter one’s sense of reality.
• Previously, it was shown that the administration of chlorpromazine (15 mg/kg) to mice 30 minutes prior to or 45 minutes after a tracer dose of mescaline, caused marked retention of the hallucinogen in the brain and other tissues examined 70.
• Some studies imply that LSD is 1,000 to 3,000 times more powerful than mescaline 36, 37.
• Like drinking and driving, driving when high is illegal – and you can still be unfit to drive the day after using mescaline.
• According to some researchers, mescaline is one of the oldest known hallucinogens used by humans 6.

They can also go to family therapy, couples therapy, or 12-step programs to help them find their needed support. The counselor may also use motivational interviewing to allow patients to make decisions for themselves and take ownership of their recovery. The first step in treating mescaline addiction is detoxification and withdrawal management.

Mescaline and addiction

Its current status, as a controlled substance, limits the availability of the drug to researchers and by virtue of this, very few studies concerning the activity and potential therapeutic effects of mescaline in humans have been conducted since the early 1970s. Symptoms of mescaline poisoning are consistent with a sympathomimetic toxidrome, namely hyperreflexia, tachycardia, agitation, muscle stiffness, ataxia, seizures, mydriasis, sialorrhea, hyperthermia and paresthesia 10, 61, 93. Nausea, emesis and anorexia have been inconsistently reported after peyote ingestion 10.