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Synthesis and Effects
Methaqualone
by Qual
Citation:   Qual. "Synthesis and Effects: An Experience with Methaqualone (exp114521)". Erowid.org. Jul 2, 2020. erowid.org/exp/114521

 
DOSE:
200 - 1000 mg oral Methaqualone (powder / crystals)
    repeated smoked Methaqualone  
BODY WEIGHT: 100 kg
Methaqualone

About 10 years ago I was able to acquire some ortho-toluidine from which I made a number of small batches of Methaqualone. The synthesis went basicly as described by cheapskate on the net. The acetylation step using glacial acetic acid was rather low yielding and manganese dioxide formed a great amount of difficult to filter sludge after the permanganate oxidation. The final condensation was low yielding and adding to much o-toluidine prevented the methaqualone from crystallizing out of the reaction mixture. The whole synthesis was fairly labour intensive and low yielding. Probably one reason why this is a rare drug.

My memory of the effects are a little hazy but I used it many times and want to share a general summary and a small story. First off after oral administration between 200 to 1000mg the effects come on quite subtly and are rather boring. I felt a calmness but no euphoria. I was uncoordinated and bumped into walls inside my house but I just didn't care. I think I probably looked completely wasted but cant confirm. I remember getting a few looks when out of the house but I didn't care. I didn't feel wasted, just calm and unconcerned, not stimulated but not bored. I slept for around 12 to 13 hours at night after using this during the day. I slept well and the bed always felt very nice the next morning. I found larger doses made the above effects stronger but I never got any euphoria. I had one prior experience with 10mg diazepam which was similar to methaqualone from memory. I was anticipating strong euphoric effects far beyond a good night's sleep. I spent alot of time preparing for this synthesis and I was very disappointed as this drug has quite a reputation.

I found on the internet that this stuff could be smoked but I didn't have any cannabis. I tried vaporizing it from aluminium foil which didn't work and I ended up resorting to sprinkling in on top of Tabacco in a homade pipe. Now this was where it got interesting. After taking a big hit of around 100mg sprinkled on the Tabacco the first thing I noticed was my head spinning perhaps from the Tabacco then a wave of calm swept over me. This wave lasted a few minutes followed by the feeling of strong effects like alcohol but very different which subsided over maybe 10 or 15 minutes. This feeling was very pleasant but not earth shattering. I found I could sit and smoke this stuff repeatedly and loose track of dosage and time. It was more like I just didn't care about my dosage or what time it was. I think I was having a pretty big dose overall but never measured. Also this stuff had a tendency to recondense in the stem of the pipe making it hard to know what dosage I was actually getting. Also I didn't really want to know. Eventually I ended up smoking well over a gram on each sitting. It was easy not to care how much I had consumed after the effects started.

After a few pipes the waves got weaker and I was left with the calm feeling of oral dosage. Although this wasn't the most euphoric experience after a day of work I couldn't wait to get home and have some big pipes. This was not good for my lungs but I was making it in small batches so it didn't last long and I would have breaks of a week or two between bingeing on this stuff over the weekend and in the evenings. I used all of it up during the days after making a batch which was around 5000mg or less from memory. I never really felt like I was that affected by the drug in a psychoactive way but the urge to smoke was very strong. After smoking a few pipes over 2 or 3 hours I think alot of methaqualone used to build up in my system. There were a few reasons I stopped using it, mostly that I never felt that much from it even though I knew this routine was very unhealthy for my lungs and I worried often about my health although I never actually had any health problems. Looking back now I think I may have had some rebound anxiety caused by the drug but I never got a hangover or even felt the comedown. I was always sleeping during the time the drug wore off anyway.

The final straw that ended this experiment happened as follows. Setting is my bedroom and I have been smoking big pipes every half hour or so for about 3 or 4 hours before this event and I'm not really feeling effects anymore. To get big hits on my pipe I broke the safety guard off all the cheap lighters I was using and turned the gas right up. The consequence was my lighter flame would not always go out completely after I finished using it. After getting very hot from smoking a few massive pipes I stood up and placed my lighter laying sideways on a very nice antique chest of drawers and then went and sat down on the bed. As I sat I noticed the little flame was coming out of the lighter as usual, as I watched the flame slowly got larger and larger. I sat calmly and at peace as a very massive flame came out of the lighter and the whole thing melted into the oak top eventually putting itself out by natural causes. I just sat and watched. I felt completely normal as this was happening as if I had been completely sober watching a bee land on a flower or something. The chest was very badly damaged and I was so angry the next day. I am usually a very careful person who takes very good care of my things but I just didn't care or even think to care.

I probably made 8 or so batches over 3 months or so in total. In summary this drug had effects that were the opposite of what I would have liked. I felt normal but acted completely wasted and although I didn't enjoy it that much I couldn't stop using it when it was in my possession. My hypothesis regarding the legendary reputation methaqualone or quaaludes have was because they disappeared quickly. By outlawing the substance and controling a few key chemicals the authorities made illegal manufacturing and supply of this popular drug completely impractical. The relatively high dosage this substance requires contributed greatly to this situation. I believe that quaaludes just got mixed in with all the good memories from that time. What a time it must have been. I have my own fond memories from the time I was taking methaqualone, a few decades late perhaps. For me I know those fond memories are not caused by the effects of methaqualone.

Exp Year: 2008ExpID: 114521
Gender: Male 
Age at time of experience: 23
Published: Jul 2, 2020Views: 4,633
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Methaqualone (218) : Unknown Context (20), Cultivation / Synthesis (31), Retrospective / Summary (11)

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