Mescaline Drug Information

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What is Mescaline?

Mescaline is a drug found in a variety of cacti, particularly peyote, San Pedro and Peruvian torch cactus. It is perhaps most popularly used by soaking or chewing peyote buttons, the small knob-like shapes formed by the cactus. But the cactus material may also be powdered, turned into a tea or otherwise processed and the drug can also be synthesized in a lab.

As a drug of abuse, mescaline is classed as a hallucinogen, similar in effect to LSD. A mescaline user may have flashbacks of past drug experiences, as happens with LSD. The effects of mescaline will last about twelve hours.

It is not thought that mescaline creates physical addiction like an opiate would, but it quickly produces a tolerance, meaning that the mescaline user who abuses the drug repeatedly would need to increase the dosage. The drug can also become psychologically addictive, meaning that a person depends on this drug to get through life and suffers adverse effects if it is withdrawn.

It's Origin

Use of mescaline and peyote appears to go back as far as 4000 B.C. Peyote was also used medically as it has antiseptic properties.

Mescaline is a hallucinogen and has long been used by Native Americans as part of religious rituals. It is still used in this way by some tribes today. Use has primarily centered around the American Southwest, Texas, and Mexico.

Why Do People Abuse Mescaline?

Most people will experience an altered reality while using this drug and some people will enjoy this. They may see colors brighter or feel more deeply affected by music. While the drug is classed as a hallucinogen and has some similar properties, it is not usual to actually hallucinate while using the drug.

But the effects of the drug are unpredictable, varying from person to person and even from one use to the next. A person may find one use pleasant but during the next use of this drug and may experience symptoms similar to serious mental illness. Extreme moodiness, sudden highs, and lows of emotion, confusion, depression, and anxiety are not unusual. The mescaline user can be confused by the bewildering and abrupt changes of emotion he (or she) experiences.

The drug often causes nausea and vomiting, and loss of appetite and inability to sleep are common. The user's heart may race and he may feel dizzy, have a headache and diarrhea. He may also sweat heavily and be unable to fully coordinate body movements.

Effects of Mescaline:

Abuse of this drug will result in significant alterations in perceptions, including the perception of complete hallucinations. One person, one day, may take mescaline and enjoy the altered awareness effects he (or she) experiences and then the next day, have a terrible experience.

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Physical Effects:

• Altered vision
• Dilated pupils
• Faster heart rate
• Increased blood pressure
• Higher body temperature
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Changes in motor reflexes
• Shaking hands or feet
• Sweating
• Dizziness
• Numbness
• Contractions of intestines or uterus

Some researchers think that abuse of mescaline could result in effects like damage to blood vessels, convulsions, and permanent brain damage.

Emotional or Mental Effects:

• Lack of motivation
• Panic
• Terror
• Hallucinations of death or frightening experiences
• Uncontrolled moods
• Psychosis
• Altered perception of time
• Floating sensation
• Inability to differentiate reality from fantasy
• Anxiety

Effects From Prolonged Use:

Certain effects of mescaline abuse may show up after prolonged abuse of this drug:

• Increased risk of psychological problems
• Problems remembering
• Tolerance to the drug, meaning more must be used to get the same effects
• Psychological dependence on the drug

The effects of mescaline may be intense for two full hours, but the overall effects of the drug can last as long as twelve hours. Flashbacks are likely to occur with mescaline, as they are with LSD. This means a person could re-experience a mescaline trip months or years after the drug was taken.

Is it Really Mescaline?

If a person has the mescaline buttons from the cactus and consumes those, it is likely that what he (or she) is getting is really mescaline. But if a person is sold the drug in pill form, whether he is told that it is synthetic mescaline or not, the chances are very good that it is not actually mescaline. It is more likely to be PCP or a similar drug.

This is not a widely used drug. In surveys of youth and adults in America, few surveys separate out hallucinogens into different classes of drugs. In 2008, nearly 8% of American students reported having used any other hallucinogen other than LSD—that would include PCP, psilocybin or other drugs.

Canadian authorities report that there is no mescaline available in that country. But it grows wild in some parts of Texas and Mexico.

Saving a Person from Harmful Effects

Mescaline itself does not seem to be addictive but a person can become dependent on the sensations he experiences from using this drug. He may consider that he is unable to deal with reality unless he can use the drug. But mescaline so strongly alters a person’s perceptions and ways of thinking that this person is not likely to be able to perform a job or interact effectively with people who are sober.

Some people need a helping hand to get their lives back on sober footings. This kind of help is available every day at Narconon drug recovery centers. It doesn’t matter what drug is being abused, the path back to sobriety can be walked at a Narconon rehab facility.

There are specific aspects of addiction that are the causes of a person being trapped in that situation. When these aspects are addressed and handled, a person is freed from the need to keep abusing drugs or alcohol. It has proven unnecessary to consider that one is “always going to be an addict.” It is also unnecessary to “take one day at a time.” Sobriety can be lasting without a continuous, daily struggle.

These three aspects of addiction are guilt, cravings, and depression. The continued abuse of drugs or alcohol keep these effects of drug abuse from being a crushing burden. If a person stops using drugs or alcohol, they are likely to feel the full misery of their condition. One effective step at a time, the Narconon rehab program dismantles the causes of guilt, cravings and depression and leaves a person ready for a sober life.