Buttons, mescaline

Cactus Lophophora williamsii Top mescal button Mescaline Swallowed Hallucinogenic Native American Church Mexico, Texas... 

United Nations Drag Control Programme, Recommended Methods for Testing Peyote Cactus (Mescal Buttons)/Mescaline and Psilocybe Mushrooms/Psilocybin, Manual for use by national narcotics laboratories. United Nations Division of Narcotic Drags, New York, 1989. 

Peyote Cactus (Mescal Buttons)/Mescaline and Psilocybe Mushrooms/Psilocy-bin (1989)... 

Anhalonium Bad seed Big chief Button Cactus Indian dope Lophophora williamsii Mesc Mescal Mescal button Mescaline Moon tops Peyotl Turnip cactus... 

Peyote/ mescaline Button(s), cactus, mesc, mescal, mescal buttons, moon, peyote... 

Peyote is ingested fresh (as whole dried buttons) or as powder (loose in capsules or pressed into tablets). Mescaline sold on the street (see Table 6—2) is generally not what it is claimed to be but is most likely one of the following DOM, PCP, LSD, caffeine, or amphetamine-related stimulants (Kulberg... 

The peyote cactus is prepared for use by cutting the crown and drying it into buttons, which retain potency for a long time. They are then eaten or made into a tea for drinking. Purified mescaline crystals are dissolved and taken orally or injected. Doses vary considerably, ranging from 4 to more than 30 buttons. 

Mescaline is an alkaloid isolated from the peyote cactus, species Lophophora williamsii or Anhalonium lewinii, that grows in the southwestern United States and in Mexico. Mescaline is found in buttons that grow on top of the plant. Aztec and Native American Indians used the buttons in religious rites and for treatment of snakebite, flu, and arthritis. Some street names include bad seed, blue caps, cactus buttons, devils root, mesc, moon, peyote, shaman, and tops. 

Mescaline-containing buttons on top of the peyote cactus can be chewed or used to make a tea, or ground into a powder. Mescaline is absorbed rapidly, and effects begin between one-half and two hours after ingestion. Its half-life is six hours. Much of mescaline is excreted unchanged in urine as soon as one hour after use and for up to four days. In animal studies, there is evidence that mescaline passes into the fetus and can induce malformations. Mescaline, LSD, psilocybin, and DMT all activate the same serotonin receptor subtype in the brain. 

Mescaline is believed to be responsible for the "color visions" experienced by users. The spineless crown of the cactus is cut from the room and dried into a "mescal button". The dried heads... 

Mescaline [54-04-6] (2-(3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl)ethylamine) is the active ingredient in mescal buttons (peyotl or peyote), which are the dried tops of the Mexican dumpling cactus l ophopora wilhamsi. Mescaline produces visual hallucinations on ingestion. Its possible use as a psychotomimetic drug in the field of mental health has been studied (see Alkaloids Psychopharmacologicalagents). 

OFFICIAL NAMES Mescaline, peyote STREET NAMES Buttons, cactus buttons, cactus head, Aztec, chief, big chief, mesc, mescal, mezc, moon, topi, blue cap... 

Dried peyote buttons ground into a powdered form and made into tablets can be dangerous as the tablets can be adulterated, or mixed with other substances or drugs. In the United States, it has been reported that street samples of what are believed to be pure synthetic mescaline often have another substance added. 

Purity of the drug is always a concern. If mescaline is taken in its dried button form, users are fairly assured it is the real thing. In tablet form, there is always the possibility of adulteration. Possible harmful side effects from the unknown drug or additive always pose a danger. 

MESCALINE A hallucinatory drug that is the chief acting agent found in mescal buttons of the peyote plant. 

Buttons see Mescaline Methaqualone Butyrolactone gamma see GBL Buzz bomb see Inhalants... 

C see Cocaine Cactus buttons see Mescaline Cactus head see Mescaline Cadillac see PCP (phencyclidine)... 

When Indians collect peyote, they generally use a wooden knife and take only the part that grows above ground so that the root, which contains mescaline, will then produce a cluster of "buttons. These clusters, which have been known to spread to as much as four or five feet across, are regarded by the Huichols as especially sacred and powerful. 

Mescaline is one of eight hallucinogenic alkaloids derived from the peyote cactus, slices of which ( peyote buttons ) have been used in religious rites by North and South American Indian tribes. Mescaline itself is only one of the alkaloids present in peyote, but it produces the same effects as the crude preparation. Chemically, it is related to amfetamine. In doses of some 300-500 mg it depresses nervous system activity and produces visual and occasionally auditory hallucinations, illusions, depersonalization, and depressive symptoms (1). The total picture can closely resemble that caused by lysergic acid diethylamide. Its physical effects include nausea, tremor, and sweating. 

A typical dose of dried peyote "buttons/ with vials of mescaline sulfate. Mescaline, the primary hallucinogenic agent in peyote, was first isolated around the turn of the century, jjeremy Rigwood)... 

A persistent myth in the drug subculture is that the white hairs in the centers of peyote buttons contain strychnine, which is supposed to account for the sickness. In fact, there is no strychnine in peyote (or any other hallucinogenic plant), and the hairs are just cellulose, probably indigestible but certainly not poisonous, Peyote is bitter and causes nausea because it has a lot of drugs ill it — more than forty separate compounds. Chief among these is mescaline, which accounts lor much of the hallucinogenic effect. 

Mescaline is an alkaloid from the Mexican peyote cactus (derived from the Indian word peyotl, meaning divine messenger ), the top of which is cut off and dried and used as mescal buttons in religious ceremonies. Mescaline does not induce serious dependence and the drug has little importance except to members of some North and Central American societies and to psychiatrists and biochemists who are interested in the mechanism of induced psychotic states. 

Mescaline is normally taken by consuming peyote buttons, as described. Usually 5 to 20 buttons are eaten, delivering 200-800 milligrams of mescaline. Mescaline is about 1/3000 as potent as LSD, with 200 milligrams considered an effective dose. Duration of action is about 10 to 14 hours (Strassman, 2005). 

The primary exposure pathway is oral ingestion of buttons . These buttons are the round, fleshy tops of the cactus that are sliced and dried. Each button reportedly contains 45 mg of mescaline. 

Each button of peyote reportedly contains 45mg of mescaline, with 6-12 buttons typically ingested to attain hallucinogenic effect. Mescaline is well absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract. Peak blood levels occur 2h postingestion. Clinical effects occur within 1 h and last for typically 6-12 h. Mescaline does not bind to plasma proteins. The exact volume of distribution is unknown, but certainly above llkg . Mescaline is metabolized by the liver to inactive metabolites. Over 90% of a dose is recovered in the urine during the first 24 h, with... 

Peyote is ingested in various forms, including dried buttons, tincture of peyote (70% alcohol), and panpeyote (chloroform extract of ground peyote). Synthetic mescaline has been administered orally, intravenously, subcutaneously, and intramusculary. 

---