Substance info: Methylone

Methylone, also known as "M1", 3,4-methylenedioxy-N-methylcathinone, bk-MDMA, and in the UK as Arlone, is an entactogen and stimulant of the phenethylamine, amphetamine, and cathinone classes. It was originally patented by Peyton Jacob and Alexander Shulgin in 1996 as an antidepressant.The more intuitive abbreviation MDMC unfortunately can not be used for this chemical, since it had already been given to another earlier Shulgin creation, 3,4-ethylenedioxymethamphetamine. Methylone is a close structural analogue of MDMA, differing by the addition of a β-ketone group.

Dose

Methylone dosages are not well documented, as this molecule is relatively uncommon and has only a short history of human use. Dosages vary considerably between individuals, with some users reporting that they "never" exceed 100 mg, while others report "barely reaching" threshold at 200 mg.

A dose between 60-150mg is commonly considered as light, but some respondents say that increasing dose with methylone beyond 100-180 mg causes heavily increased physical effects.

Insufflated dosages appear to be slightly lower than oral dosages.

Effects

Methylone effects are similar to, but not identical, to those of MDMA.  Restlessness, increased sensitivity to music and sounds, euphoria, empathy and an increase in sociability are commonly reported.

Onset

The effects start to be noticeable in about 20-60 minutes after intake, plus another 30-45 minutes for the coming up.

Duration

The total duration may vary from 3 to 5 hours, including a plateau phase of about 60-90 minutes and a comedown phase lasting 1 to 2 hours. After effects may last from 1-6 hours after consumption.

Positive

-Extreme mood lift
-Feeling of well-being
-Feelings of love and empathy
-Ego softening
-Forgiveness
-Feeling of closeness to others
-Increased willingness to communicate
-Increased appreciation of music
-Increases awareness of senses (eating, drinking, smell, touching things)
-Urge to hug and kiss people
-Sensation that one's current activities are, in the moment, perfect

Neutral

-General change in consciousness (as with most psychoactives)
-Pupil dilation
-Difficulty focusing, restlessness
-Change in perception of time
-Slight increase in body temperature
-Slight increase in heart rate

Negative

(Please note that negative side effects increase with higher doses.)

-Muscle tension and aching
-Jaw tension
-Increased perspiration
-Gastrointestinal discomfort, nausea and vomiting
-Dizziness, confusion
-Over-awareness & over-sensitization to music and noise
-Paranoia, fear
-Unwanted life-changing spiritual experiences
-Possible difficulty integrating experiences
-Heart racing, heart palpitations

Risks

Some have reported worrying heart rate and blood pressure increases at doses over 180-200 mg. While some people report stimulation, there are also reports of seemingly paradoxical sedation effects.A few methylone users have reported chest pains and heart palpitations during and after use, especially with repeated or high doses.

Methylone is marked as a research chemical and should be considered experimental. Although some people are willing to ingest it for its effects, it is not reasonable to assume that methylone is in any way 'safe' to use recreationally. Although all psychoactive use involves risk, this class of chemicals has undergone virtually no human or animal toxicity studies and there is little to no data on possible long term problems, addiction potential, allergic reactions, or acute overdoses.

It is important to remember that reactions to psychoactives vary dramatically from person to person. Extrapolating anything from any single person's experience with a chemical is inappropriate and may result in dangerous and possibly fatal adverse reactions. Some reports of use may include extremely glowing "wow"-type experiences. Reports of this nature should not be misunderstood to suggest that they are common or typical of those who ingest the substance, or that the effects will be pleasant or desirable.

Additionally, the reliability of many sources of these products can be questionable. Mislabeling, misidentification, issues of purity, adulteration, and misrepresentation (substitution) are unfortunately a common problem with research chemicals. Consider carefully before choosing to use these substances.

Magic mushroom trip report: Darkness and Decay

Date: June 26, 2011

Setting: a huge 6-room apartment, which I was about to leave, fully empty except a double bed, a Buddha statue and a few candles in the living room and a computer blasting music in the satanic temple.

It was about 5:00 PM when I made a tea with the mushrooms (dosage between 5 and 6 grams), to which I added lemon and honey. At 6:00, I filtered and ate the pulp rolled in a pita bread with cheese while drinking the tea, mumbling "thanks" in between bites and sips. In about 30 minutes I could feel the effects unfold, rushing over me. I smoked a bud and felt the need to go into the temple, so I did and started to dance to the dubstep that was playing.

With closed eyes, I could see "tsunami wave" patterns and they were trying to get over me, I could feel they were cocky and agressive. With all the confidence in the world I told them "this is my place, this is my temple, I set the rules, the limit is here and you're not going any further". I could feel the patterns were getting mad at me, their wrath and agressivity were going skyrocket but I wasn't impressed and told them the same thing, over and over, until they left. Waves turned into fire pentagrams, runic and planet symbols, dancing behind my eyelids over a background of absolute black emptiness.

The dubstep started to feel off so I switched for some industrial instead. Nine Inch Nail's Downward Spiral sounded like an awesome choice, so I put it in queue and pressed play. It felt great, exactly what I needed to hear. I was dancing and singing to it, making reverences and "devil" signs with both hands. I was uber at ease with my body, feeling flexible, balanced, sexy, with this "feline" feeling hard to describe. I had flashbacks of my last trip (see "You are what you eat") and felt back in tune with my divine self, but then I realized my divine self was closer to a Demon than an Angel.

There was a party at the apartment downstairs and could hear people talk and laugh, and I was creeped out by them. "Ugh, humans!", I thought, in total disgust. I felt rushed with all kinds of sensations, tickling, pressure all over, heat and waves of sensual pleasure rushing into each fiber of my being. I could see insect-faced Demons with my eyes closed, sometimes switching to monsters with eyes all over their bodies. I was fascinated by them and looked at them for a moment.

Then the doorbell rang.

I became kinda nervous but decided to open anyways, because I've been quite noisy so far and wanted to face the situation to avoid any problem (and cops being sent to my place). It turned out it was the upstairs neighbor, who needed some garbage bags. He's pretty chill so we chatted a bit, until I saw him melt and bursted out laughing. At first he was like "wtf?" but I explained I was on shrooms so it was all good.

I gave him some garbage bags promptly and came back to the temple. It was getting dark and the atmosphere got really interesting in there. My body was becoming hard to control and keep on balance, so I decided to sit on the floor and meditate while holding a meteorite. It felt out of this world, my whole being seemed to vibrate as I focused on that tiny bit of rock. I could feel the darkness was filled with "fellow" Demons and I was fully at ease with them, as if I found back some long lost friends. They were part of me, just as much as I was part of them, like a symbiosis of some kind. I was at peace in this darkness with my shadow companions.

I summoned my Demon-guide and we chatted a bit about life, death and after-life. At a moment I suddently felt heavy and tried to scratch my face, when I realized I was not able to move anymore. That's when I knew my body was "dead", even though I could still see through my eyes. I was sitting on the floor with my back against a wall, my legs crossed in front of me and my arms resting on my lap, completely paralysed. I could see my skin turn from pink to gray and the veins of my arms and legs becoming black, nails becoming purple-blueish and falling off, skin tearing up this and there to let a white-yellow liquid go out. I was fascinated more than horrified, until I saw a fly land on my right leg. I saw a few other flies coming over and the first thing I knew is I'm covered with worms who feed off my rotting flesh. I let the experience go as long as I could, but at a moment I couldn't take it anymore and bursted into tears.

My guide came over to calm me down, petting my head and back while whispering "it's ok" in my ear with the softest voice ever. I cried a bit more before leaving the temple for the living room and sit in front of the Buddha. I smoked another bud, vision still blury from the tears, while looking at the statue. I felt so at peace with myself, other people and the world in general, such a contrast with the panic I just went through. I did a short prayer before lying on the bed and fall asleep. My trip was done and I felt like a newborn when I woke up the next morning.

Amanitas Muscaria trip report: Mad Science

Date: Oct.10, 2010

Place: Montreal, Canada

Setting: alone at my small and cozy place, back after a night of hard partying.

I came back home that morning at around 8:00-8:30 AM, and soon after stepping in I filtered the Amanitas tea that standed all night while I was out. I had 30g of shrooms in 3 cups of water, then added lemon juice and honey and started to drink the tea while relaxing and listening to some dubstep, body beaten up and calm deep down inside.

I smoked a joint and soon after I could recognize the signs of the mushrooms kicking in, cold shivers, dizziness, drowsiness, etc., so I quickly undressed and went to bed. The effects were stronger than last time, I felt as if I had a raging cold and was so tired and sore. I felt super heavy and my body sank in the mattress I was lying on, falling into black emptiness for what seemed to be eternity. I emerged into one of those plasma balls and there were a few mad scientists, all looking a bit like Dr Quantum, doing some experiments with physical principles allowing our universe and life to exist, heat, eletricity, pressure, gravity, etc. They seemed to have so much fun! I looked at them for a bit in silence, then out of wonder I said out loud:

"Wow, what's going on here is truly awesome!"

They turned around to look at me and walked in my direction, smiling, looking and feeling friendly. One of them chatted with me for a bit then he asked me to lean my arms forward and join my hands, which I did. He took my hands in his for a short moment then asked me to spread my hands apart, which I did too, and had the surprise to see a foot-large atom spinning in between my hands, floating in the air and spinning in motion with my hands. I had fun with it for a bit, observing its reactions to my movements in deep fascination then looked back at the mad scientist, intrigued. Without me saying a word, he got me and said:

"You have all the power of the Universe in your hands. Use it wisely."

I nodded in agreement then kept playing with my atom before going into this comatose transe typical to amanitas, where there's no dreams, no sound and no color. All there is to be found is black emptiness, eternal darkness, everything stands still forever. One stays in this dimension until the mushrooms lose their grasp and they allow the eater to emerge back from the black void, which I did after about 8 hours after having the tea.

This experience was rewarding and enlighting, making me aware of my own power and the influence I have on my environment and people I deal with on a daily basis. Once again the body buzz was pretty unpleasant, feeling somewhat intoxicated, but it was totally worth it.

Magic mushrooms trip report: You are what you eat

Date: Dec. 19, 2010

Place: Montreal, Canada

Setting: alone in my small and cozy studio, painted all white with a Rising Sun flag on a wall, and everything I might need nearby: a computer with tons of music and movies on it, a comfy futon, fridge filled with fresh healthy food and drinks, library full of books, cushions, pillows and comforters.

I felt like challenging myself that night, so I made a tea with 7g of pretty potent shrooms in about 750 ml of hot water. I let the infusion stand for an hour before filtering the pulp and adding lemon juice and honey to the brew. I ate the pulp in a rolled pizza slice and drank the whole tea, repeating to myself "thank you, thank you..." while sipping on the sweet, flavored liquid. I started having effects in no time, I could feel something powerful was unfolding about 15 minutes after being done with the tea. At first I was in bliss then quickly got smashed by a rush of visions and powerful sensations. I felt like I got swept away by the psychedelic wave and didn't know yet if I was surfing it or not. I told myself "oh shit, it's stronger than I thought" and felt my legs go weak, so I promptly sit down on the computer chair, my head spinning like mad.

I was surrounded by fractals and could see a shape being more and more define in the upper left corner of my field of vision. Then I told to myself: "hey it's Kali, isn't it?", to which the shape replied "yes". I could feel some kind of cocky and haughty feeling coming from her. I said "hi" anyways, and she said "hi" too. I told her I was glad to see her and she said "that's good. Aren't you afraid of me?", which got me wondering what the heck she was really looking for. I looked at her straight in the eyes and said: "no I'm not, because I know who I am."

At this moment I could feel a shift in the energy flow between us, it stopped going from me to her but got the other way around and I then was absorbing HER energy. I got so angry then that I attacked with no mercy, feeding on her as much as I could out of rage and revenge. I was litterally absorbing her, making her weak and desperate to a point I couldn't even imagine was possible. At a moment I just couldn't stand it anymore, reaching a point where I was saturated so I let her go and could hear her scream and cry as she ran away. I felt an increasing powerful vibration in all my chakras, feeling dissolved with each pulsation until I didn't feel my body at all anymore. I was pure Energy, Love and Light. And I was pure Chaos, Hate and Darkness too.

I was feeling reprogrammed, transformed, transmutated into something delightful and sublime, but boy it was painful! I don't know when and how, but I managed to lie on my back on the futon, shaking and panting for air, my body extremly tense with rushes of energy giving it spasms all over. I then heard a voice telling me to calm down, that everything would be alright, and that was enough to make me feel safe so I could surrender and relax. This voice was mumbling something repeatedly, at first it was mere whispers but it got louder slowly but surely. "You are what you eat, you are what you eat...", that sentence kept spinning in circles in my mind until the voice said loudly:

"You are what you eat and you ate Kali!"

At this moment I opened my eyes wide, sit on the bed suddently and said out loud, holding my head with both hands: OMG WHAT HAVE I DONE!? I was more worried about going too fast for my own well-being than for Kali, because I think she really got what she deserved. I kept asking myself disturbing questions about what I'm gonna do, what will I become, etc., for a bit, then told myself that if I was to become a God, so be it. Weirdly, at that point it was about 2 hours after drinking the tea and felt almost sober, super lucid and no more visuals or almost, some mandalas and fractals on the walls, floor and ceiling when I was looking at them but nothing as overwhelming as the beginning of my trip.

For the next 4-5 hours I listened to some music, read a bit, meditated and did some yoga, feeling über good in my own skin. I indulged in some brie cheese, belgian bread and raisins as a snack, took a shower and went to bed. The trip was over and a new Goddess was born.

LSD trip report and healing session: The Pit of Darkness

Date: March 24, 2008

Place: Montreal, Canada

Setting: at my friend's loft downtown, huge space decorated with 12 feet tall portraits of hindu gods on the walls, dreamcatchers, party lights, lanterns and whatnot hanged from the ceiling and a lot of cushions and beanbags all over the place.


Alex, a close shaman friend of mine, performed this healing on me to cure the terrible addiction to opiates I was stuck with at the time. Both me and him had a few tabs (well, he just took one, while I was given 3) and they were pretty potent. As soon as the acid was kicking in, my friend lead me to a mattress placed directly on the floor and asked me to lie down, which I gladly did. I spent most of the night lying on my back on this mattress, with Alex being busy around me, placing rocks on my chakras, saying prayers, spells and petting my forehead and hair while reading extracts from the Satanic Bible, the Malleus Maleficarum and De Guaita's Snake of Genesis (not sure which tome though). Words were echoing in my head, smashing and crushing my soul, mind and body, it was so powerful. The feelings of pressure and suffocation were almost unbearable at that point, but I surrendered to it and I felt swallowed by a pit of darkness. Black and white fractals were dancing behind my closed eyelids, I looked at them for a moment then I heard a scream and saw fireworks bursting, golden white and red.

Alex then decided to lie down beside me as he was getting really far down the rabbit hole too and decided to put some music on. Nine Inch Nails Downward Spiral went on and we proceeded to listen to it, in absolute silence and stillness. Well, at least, I was still and silent until the song Eraser came on. As it played I instinctively started doing the "Ohm" mantra but when the energy built up I started to sing, then singing turned to screams and laughter. I was rolling over myself all over the place, screaming "kill me" (those were the lyrics of the song and not a real desire to terminate my life) and laughing on top of my lungs, while my friend was looking at me with the biggest grin ever on his face. I came back on the mattress and we hugged for a long time before falling asleep, as the effects were wearing off and we were both exhausted.

After that night, my psychological addiction to opiates and most of my inhibitions and unhealthy tendencies were gone. Soon after, I did a cure in a centre for a month or so during the withdrawal period and I was done with it, forever. I know that story sounds surprising and maybe even crazy, but everything I told you is true. I'm really glad I've been through that, it's the best thing that ever happened to me.

Thank you Alex. Thank you Lucy.

Substance info: 2C-T-7

2C-T-7 is a psychedelic phenethylamine developed by Alexander Shulgin around 1980. The effects of 2C-T-7 share some general similarities with LSD & 2CB, with its length of action more like that of LSD. A research chemical market has recently been created around its recreational, therapeutic, and entheogenic uses. While most of the chemicals in its class are not known to cause acute physical dangers, 2C-T-7's safety profile for wide use is not well known nor researched. As with all new chemicals, it is difficult to be certain what the variety of reactions to the substance will be and the reports of use so far have a lot of conflicting and confusing elements, including duration, physical stimulation, dosage, etc.

Dose
 
A standard oral dose of 2C-T-7 is between 10 - 50 mg. It is generally found in powder form although it is also produced and sold in pill format, most recently at 7 mg per tablet. Insufflated doses are considerably lower. Users should be extremely careful with dosages as 2C-T-7 can cause unexpected delirium and dissociation at high doses.

Price
 
Rare, but sometimes sold at parties for 5-20$ per dose, available from exotic chemical suppliers for 375-450$ per gram, about the same from underground suppliers. (August 2000)

Law
 
2C-T-7 is was placed in Schedule I by emergency order of the DEA on September 20, 2002. This makes it illegal to buy, sell, or possess in the United States without a DEA license. Although Sweden controls 2C-T-7, we are not aware of any other countries that specifically list it as illegal to possess or sell.

Chemistry
 
2,5-dimethoxy-4-(n)-propylthiophenethylamine (2C-T-7) is a synthetic chemical in the phenethylamine class. It is related structurally to 2C-B and Mescaline.

History
 
2C-T-7's chemistry was first published in Alexander Shulgin's book PiHKAL in 1991. It was produced underground in college labs and by small commercial research labs until the late 1990's when it began being produced and sold commercially around the world.

Effects
 
2C-T-7's effects are unique but classically psychedelic, with some general similarities to LSD & 2C-B. 2C-T-7's effects can include psychedelic visuals (patterning, light sensitivity, color enhancement, etc), mood lift, empathogenesis, anxiety or calmness, emotional volatility, increased sociability, associative / psychedelic ideation, etc. Some users have report unexpected and disconcerting dissociation at high doses. Relatively prominent visuals are common with 2C-T-7 and at higher doses the visuals can overwhelm the visual field creating a 'psychedelic soup'.

Onset
 
Depending on how much and how recently one has eaten food, 2C-T-7 generally takes 1-2.5 hours to take effect. On a full stomach, onset can be considerably slower than normal.
 
Duration
 
2C-T-7's primary effects can last as long as 10-12 hours, with after effects for another 4-6 hours
 
Risks
 
The most common problems reported by 2C-T-7 users appear to be nausea, vomiting, unpleasant dissociation, and overwhelming visuals at high doses. As with most psychedelics, there is also the possibility of anxiety or panic attacks. In a few higher dose cases, severe dissociation has been reported where the user experienced loss of memory, mental confusion, and extreme inability to deal with real-world situations while fully physically functional. Some reports include the user becoming unusually enraged and violent. This can lead to potentially dangerous situations if an individual is left unsupervised. Heavy dissociation and vomiting can be a life-threatening combination. At least 3 deaths have been reported (by April 2001).
 
Contraindications
 
-Do not take 2C-T-7 if you are currently taking an MAOI. MAOIs are most commonly found in the prescription anti-depressants Nardil (phenelzine), Parnate (tranylcypromine), Marplan (isocarboxazid), Eldepryl (l-deprenyl), and Aurorix or Manerix (moclobemide). Ayahuasca also contains MAOIs (harmine and harmaline). 2C-T-7 and MAOIs are a potentially dangerous combination. Check with your doctor if you are not sure whether your prescription medication is an MAOI.

-Do not operate heavy machinery. Do Not Drive.

-If you have a seizure or convulsive disorder or heart problems, you may be at higher risk for health problems when taking 2C-T-7. Diabetics should monitor their blood sugar closely as there have been some reports of problems.

-Individuals currently in the midst of emotional or psychological upheaval in their everyday lives should be careful about choosing to use psychedelics such as 2C-T-7 as they can trigger even more difficulty.

-Individuals with a family history of schizophrenia or early onset mental illness should be extremely careful because psychedelics have been known to trigger latent psychological and mental problems.

Addiction potential

2C-T-7 is neither physically addicting nor likely to cause psychological dependance. Withdrawal effects following discontinuation have not been reported. As with most substances, some people will use it more frequently than they are comfortable with. There is a short period of tolerance after 2C-T-7 use. Using 2C-T-7 two days in a row is likely to lead to a diminished experience the second day, though spaced 5-7 or more days apart, this effect is nearly non-existent.

Risk of death
 
There have been 3 deaths which have been tied directly to 2C-T-7. The exact mechanism of death is not yet known, but it is beginning to appear that some direct pharmacological effect may be responsible (rather than an indirect effect such as aspirating vomit). There have been no formal evaluations of the Toxicity of 2C-T-7 that we're aware of.

Amanitas Muscaria trip report: The Dolphin and The Shark

Date: Oct. 2, 2010

Place: Montreal.

Setting: my brand new apartment, small and cozy bachelor with a private balcony, space to relax but also lots of yet undone boxes.

I was home alone and made an infusion with 15g of mushrooms in about 500ml of warm water (around 70 C, not to destroy the precious muscarine), let stand for one hour before filtering and adding lemon juice and honey to improve the taste and prevent nausea. I drank the tea in about 30 mins and the effects started to onset a bit after the tea was over. I felt somewhat dizzy, euphoric, had some motricity trouble, the colors and sounds were more pleasurable and got hungry big time, so I had some room temperature pizza which tasted SO good. At this point I was having closed-eyes hallucinations and decided that smoking a joint was a good idea, so I did.

After the joint, I felt really dizzy, cold and shaky so I undressed and went under the blankets to warm up. With closed eyes, I could see vivid and colorful kaleidoscopic images. It was nothing precise, just abstract images switching over and over at the pace of the music. I then fell into this black void, it looked like a tunnel but everything was black. I can't tell if I collapsed or fell asleep at that point, but the hallucinations kept going even though.

When I came out of the tunnel I could see fishes, alive, dead, all species, floating all around me and swimming into the unknown. I was in the sea, swimming not too far from the beach. A dolphin came to me and brang me at large, and I could see flashes of my future along the way. Once we were super far from the shore, the dolphin left and I was all by myself in the middle of the sea. I quickly saw a shark coming over, rushing in my direction. I started swimming in the opposite direction in this state of pure panic when I heard the dolphin telling me telepatically:

Wait and see what the shark wants.

I suddently calmed down and standed still while I was facing the shark. None of us moved for a moment as we were staring at each other, then the shark moved forward to leave. He didn't mean it but he swimmed so close to me I got stuck in his current and flipped over, spinning over myself uncontrollably. I accidently touched the shark and he quickly turned around to face me, jaws open, but by doing so he morphed into a skeleton. I stared at it for a bit, being utterly fascinated and impressed by both the imposant size of the jaws (they were huge!) and the tranquil beauty of this bone structure standing still in the water in front of me.

The dolphin showed up again and brang me back on the beach. On our way back, I could see more alive and dead fishes swimming around us in the crystal clear water. I fell into the same black void again and when I emerged was surrounded by fractals into a place where time, space and physical limitations didn't exist. I was surrounded by concepts, thoughts, ideas, inspirations, and they seemed to be alive and powerful though possessing a rather etheric energy. I could play with them, influence them, combine them to create new realities. I had so much fun!

The rest of my trip after that is rather blury, I was highly intoxicated by the mushrooms and fell into this comatose transe until I woke up, about 9 hours after drinking the tea. It was totally worth it, even considering the unpleasant body effects. I used to have a phobia of sharks before this experience, I couldn't even stand to see one in picture without feeling panicky, but it seems to be gone since then.

I definetely recommend it, it's awesome for shamanic journeys and lucid dreaming. It's not super powerful though, psilocybine-containing mushrooms are way more potent and easier on the body.