Designer Mescaline-like Drugs

Designer" Mescaline-like Drugs

A large number of variations on the structure of mescaline were first "designed" during the original chemical studies of mescaline. The names sound like an alphabet soup: DOM (2, 5 dimethoxy-4-methylphenyliso­propylamine, also known as STP), MDA (methylenedioxyamphetamine), DMA (dimethoxyamphetamine), MDMA (methylenedioxymethamphet­amine, or Ecstasy). All of these drugs are less specific than mescaline and produce strong amphetamine-like effects in addition to hallucinations. As a result, all are more toxic than mescaline and appear much more rarely on the street today. Ecstasy provides a unique profile of effects, dis­cussed in the "Ecstasy" chapter.

'fhe spices nutmeg and mace deserve a final note as we discuss the mescaline-like hallucinogens. Someone who takes several teaspoons of nutmeg (if he can figure out how to avoid the overwhelming taste) might experience a very mild hallucinogenic state that includes perceptual dis­tortions, euphoria, and sometimes mild visual hallucinations and feelings of unreality. The active compounds in nutmeg and mace are myristicin and elemicin, compounds with structures somewhat like mescaline. These compounds are very weak hallucinogens, and the dose required to evoke changes in perception causes a number of unpleasant side effects including vomiting, nausea, and tremors. Furthermore, an aftereffect of sleepiness or a feeling of unreality can persist into the next day.