Mescaline and Peyote

Mescaline, Peyote Drug Possession Defense Attorneys, Monmouth, Ocean, Union, Mercer and Middlesex County, New Jersey

Drug Information About Mescaline and Peyote

Mescaline street names: Mesc, Mescal, Mescalito

Peyote street names: Buttons, Big Chief

Classification: Mescaline and peyote are Schedule I substances in the US with no recognized medical usage. They are illegal to produce, buy, posses, or sell without a DEA license. An exemption exists for religious ceremonies of the Native American Church, though the practice is heavily regulated and controlled.

General Drug Information

Mescaline is a psychedelic of the phenethylamine class best known as the active ingredient in the peyote cactus. It has long been used in tribal and religious ceremonies and rituals belonging to the indigenous people of Central and North America. Mescaline is a hallucinogen, creating intense perceptual, visual, and physical changes. Many users consider its mind-altering effects uniquely powerful and often spiritual and its use is thus known around the world.

Peyote is a small, spineless cactus that grows close to the ground. The top of the cactus is cut off and dried. It can be eaten or soaked into a tea, but because of the horrible taste the peyote ‘buttons’ are often ground up and placed into capsules for easier ingestion. Both extracted mescaline and synthetic mescaline in crystalline form is available on the street, but both are quite rare and expensive.

Hallucinogenic Properties

A hallucinogenic dose of Mescaline is between 0.3 and 0.5 grams (equivalent to 5 grams of dried peyote cactus). Mescaline is known to produce radically altered and mystical states of consciousness, consisting of open-eye hallucinations, euphoria, dream-like states, and illuminating experiences. Effects have been described as ‘one ecstatic or frightful confrontation after another.’ Users will exhibit changes in body temperature, sweating, pupil dilation, restlessness, and unusual thoughts and speech. The early stages of a peyote or mescaline experience are known to sometimes be quite unpleasant and consist of severe vomiting, aches, and chest or neck pain. While some experiences are fulfilling and pleasurable for the user, other experiences may consist of overwhelming anxiety or depression, frightening or unpleasant hallucinations or visions, paranoia, and panic.

Side Effects

Beyond immensely intense mental and psychedelic effects, large doses of mescaline may accelerate the heart rate of users to a dangerous level. They may also lower the level of glucose (blood sugar) in the body, causing unconsciousness from hypoglycemia.

Drug Overdose

Overdose is characterized by convulsions, heart problems, and death from respiratory failure. While mescaline is not physically addictive, it does have the potential to be moderately psychologically addictive and habit forming.

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