Mescaline

1. Mescaline

2. Mescaline Names • Common Name: Mescaline • Chemical (IUPAC) Name: 3,4,5 – trimethoxyphenethylamine • Chemical Formula: C11H17NO3 • Street Names: Buttons, Cactus, Mesc, Peyoto

3. Classification • Mescaline is a hallucinogen and is the active ingredient in peyote. • It is a Schedule I substance under the Controlled Substances Act, it has a high potential for abuse, no currently accepted medical use for treatment in the United States, and a lack of accepted safety for use of the substance under medical supervision.

4. History • It was first isolated and identified by German chemist Arthur Heffter in 1897. • Originates in northern Mexico and the southwestern United States where it has been used by natives for religious rituals and medicinal purposes. Arthur Heffter identified mescaline as the active ingredient in peyote.

5. History continued • Arrived to the U.S. through peyote evangelists, like Quanah Parker, that encouraged Northern American tribes to begin using it for medicinal purposes. • The Aztec and Toltec Indians have record of using peyote as far as about 3,000 years. Quanah Parker introduced mescaline and peyote to Native American tribes.

6. Production • Mescaline is extracted from many cactus species like Peyote, San Pedro, and the Peruvian Torch by removing button shaped structures and it can also be produced synthetically. • It is usually found in Northern areas of Mexico like the Chihuahuan Desert and southern areas of the United States like Texas.

7. The User • Abusers are trying to escape reality and want to avoid confronting problems or emotions. • Abusers typically obtain it by growing a cactus that contains mescaline, like Peyote, San Pedro, and the Peruvian Torch in their own homes or by buying the dried buttons and mescaline powder. • Aldous Huxley tried mescaline for the first time under the supervision of Dr. Humphrey Osmond. In 1954The Doors of Perception by Aldous Huxley is published describing his 1953 experience with mescaline.

8. Affects • The route of administration of the Mescaline varies; • the buttons of the cactus can be chewed • It can be soaked in water to create a liquid and drunk • It can be ground to a powder placed within a gelatin capsule and swallowed • It can smoked along with a leaf material

9. Affects • Affects the brain by causing: • Illusions • hallucinations • confusion • nightmares • altered perception of space and time • flashbacks • headaches • fear of death • anxiety • euphoric feelings • Affects the body by causing: • increase in body temperature • sweating • nausea • vomiting • dilated pupils • increase in heart rate • increase in blood pressure • raised blood sugar • impaired motor coordination

10. Affects • Potential for psychological addiction = low • Potential for physical addiction = low • Mescaline does not have medicinal value in the United States

11. Risks • Common health risks can be heart failure, unconsciousness, low levels of glucose in the blood, convulsions, bloody diarrhea, Tachycardia (abnormal beating of the heart), respiratory complications, and in some cases even death. • Some adverse psychological effects can be psychosis, anxiety, and possibly mental disorders. • The LD50 for this drug after tests on guinea pigs is been 328 mg/kg, on rats is 132 mg/kg, and on mice is 212 mg/kg.

12. Detection • This drug is detected for in the body through urine screening.

13. Consequences • The treatment programs are unusual but include behavior modification therapy. • It is illegal to possess unless the individual can prove they are a member of the Native American Church and are using it for religious reasons. • Legal consequences for possession of mescaline could result in a prison sentence of not more than 15 years, a fine of not more than $25,000, or both.