Mescaline is a naturally occurring psychoactive alkaloid that is the main psychedelic compound in a range of psychedelic cacti native to the Americas, including peyote, San Pedro, and Peruvian Torch. In its natural state, mescaline has been used in Native American religious and shamanic ceremonies for thousands of years.

Though it’s not as prevalent today, mescaline was the first psychedelic to enter mainstream Western culture—before the widespread use of LSD and psilocybin. More recently, the extracted compound has shown promise in the medical and psychotherapeutic treatment of substance abuse and depression, among other conditions.

Pure mescaline is usually available as a white or brownish crystalline powder, either loose or packed into capsules as a pill. It can also be found as a liquid solution or brew. However, compared to other psychedelics, mescaline extraction tends to be rare in most parts of the world.

Pharmacology

Mescaline Sulfate is a substituted phenethylamine, a molecule based on the basic phenethylamine structure. Along with MDMA, 2C-B, and others, this sets it apart from the tryptamine class of psychedelics, which includes psilocybin, LSD, and DMT.

Receptor binding

Mescaline binds to virtually all serotonin receptors in the brain but has a stronger affinity for the 1A and 2A/B/C receptors. Structurally, it is similar to LSD and is often used as a benchmark hallucinogen when comparing psychedelics.

Like nearly all hallucinogens, the psychedelic effects of mescaline are likely due to its action on serotonin 2A receptors.

Mescaline also tends to bind with dopamine receptors, either as a selective reuptake inhibitor or as a dopamine receptor agonist.

Dosage

Mescaline Sulfate  dosage varies—albeit only slightly—according to how the compound is extracted. For instance, 100 mg mescaline hydrochloride (HCl) is approximately equivalent to 111 mg mescaline sulfate or 85 mg mescaline freebase. These are threshold doses and are given as starting points for calculating your own dosage. A more common range for mescaline HCl is 200-300 mg. Anywhere between 300-500 mg is considered strong, while 500-700 mg is considered heavy.