DOSE:

12 in

oral

Cacti - T. pachanoi

(extract)

BODY WEIGHT:

70 kg

I will begin by outlining what effects that this cactus is capable of producing are. The thing that I noticed most of all when I first tried it was that it is a_Real_Psychedelic_Drug, as opposed to a non-descript synegestic effect, caused by various alkaloidal and non-alkaloidal componants, that some plants can produce. Meaning, it feels like real drug. There are strong similarities to both MDMA (Ecstasy) and LSD. It opens the senses in a similar way to LSD, but with the warmth and love of MDMA, it is so obviously a Phenethylamine. It is by far the cleanest and most 'pure feeling' psychedelic substance I will likely try. After I tried it, I look back at both E and Acid and view them in a very different light than I did before. It makes the cleanest Ecstasy high seem artificial and chemically induced. Compared to LSD, San Pedro is far smoother and is not the rollercoaster ride that Acid is. Acid can make my mind race so fast and be such a speedy, cracked out experience, leaving space for a lot of paranoia and anxiety. Where as Pedro just opens up all of my senses and allows me to_see_everything. The feeling through the body is one of euphoric God-like bliss. It is often a feeling that is constant, as opposed to MDMA, which comes in rushes. It is clear why Mescaline is regarded as The Holy Grail of psychedelics.

On consuming the tea, the first effect that is noticed is usually one of stimulation, leading to a great opening and empathy with everything that is around you. It is very visual, enhancing my ability to see plants, trees and everything in amazing detail, like being a child again. The cactus is capable of some very deep spiritual opening and feels very magical. It is possible to experience the golden light of oneness through its use. One other plus point worth a mention is that when the tea begins to wear off, I come back to reality. LSD can leave me cracked out for days/weeks some times, where as with Mescaline, I come back to earth when it ends, with no residual effects.

There are many recipes on the Net that suggest everything from making a 'tea' to 'drying and capsulising' the plant material, to eating the cactus raw. The recipe that I will suggest is one that actually tastes OK. It is not bitter or nausea inducing and easy to get down and keep it down.

A few notes on dosage: The recipe below is for what is usually considered a standard dose i.e 12' of cactus. Don't feel that you have to take this dose to get desirable effects. If in doubt, start low. Just remember, there is always next time. 4' of cactus is a good stating point to 'get a feel' for the cactus and what it has to offer. 6 or 8 inches are also very good dosages, whilst both are on the lower end of the scale of intensity, they also offer the chance of a good trip without getting so deep that one feels a bit lost. Plus the shorter duration on the smaller dosages is less, which can be a plus point.

For the Recipe I suggest, You will need the following:

One 12' San Pedro Cactus cutting (approx 3-4' in diameter)
500ml Unsweetened Pink Grapefruit Juice (preferabley from Florida if you can get it)
500ml Mineral water (tap water won't do) - choose a well known brand (do not choose one that is fluridated)
2 lemons
A small sharp knife
One large mixing bowl
An old white teashirt / square peice of cloth roughly 18' on each side
A tupperware or similar 2 litre plastic container with lid
A stick blender (a food processor will just cause excessive foam)
A 2L stainless steel saucepan with lid (do not use aluminum as it will damage the alkaloids)

Step 1. Take a moment and give a prayer of thanks to the cactus.

Step 2. Despine the cactus. If they are large (1' or so) spines, cut them off with a pair of wire cutters first, then cut out the areols with the knife. If they are small, you can pick them out with a pair of nail scissors or the end of a small knife.

Step 3. Run the knife down the length of the cactus from top to bottom in the line where the ribs meet. Do this about 1cm deep. This will make skinning it a whole lot easier.

Step 4. Skinning the cactus. Pull the first piece of cactus off from the bottom and move slowly upwards and away from the cut you made between the ribs (you will see what I mean). Doing it this way will enable you to pull strips of skin off - often in large pieces the full length of the cactus.

Step 4. Coring the cactus. Cut the 12' cactus into four 3' long pieces. You only want the dark green flesh under the skin and none of the white core, so now using the same cuts that you made to skin the cactus, put the end of the knife into the cuts and turn the knife sideways on, so that you can cut behind the rib. Run the knife downwards to remove the dark green flesh. You should end up with what looks like cucumber sticks. Take a small bite of one and see how bitter it is. This is the bitterness, that the next steps will pacify and make paletable.

Step 5. Discard the spines, skin and core. Chop up the dark green flesh into small pieces and place into the mixing bowl. Juice the lemons and add to 500ml Pink Grapefruit Juice. Add the Pink Grapefruit Juice/lemon mixture to the chopped cactus and blend using the stick blender until most of it is liquified.

Step 6. You should now have a lime-green liquid goo with small flecks of green cactus floating around in it. You are probably thinking 'Eeeeewwwww!' Am I right? It does look like snot I agree, so that is why you now need to freeze it over night. This will break down the the cell walls a lot, and thus a lot of the snottiness. Carefully pour
the mixture into the plastice tupperware container and put the lid on. Place it in a freezer and leave over night(preferably a deep freeze - an ice box won't do).

Step 7. Take the cactus out of the freezer and let it thaw out for a few hours. When it is liquid again, you will notice that it is less turbid an snotty and has lost some of its gooiness. That is good. Next, add 500ml of mineral water to the catus liquid and carefully pour it into the stainless steel saucepan. Put the lid 3/4 on, leaving a 1cm gap and turn on a low heat until the mixture is simmering gently. YOU MUST NOT LET IT BOIL OVER OR BOIL DRY! Stir it every 10-15 mins and cook it for about 3 hours until it is reduced in volume to about 250-300ml.

Step 8. Turn off the heat and let cool. Now, take the clean mixing bowl and place the veg strainer accross the top. Loosely place the cloth / teashirt into the veg strainer. After the liquid has cooled to about body temperature, pour into the cloth, making sure that the sides do not fall in. Pick up the cloth and make a ball around the liquid and begin squeezing the liquid through the cloth. Continue squeezing and ringing the cloth until all of the liquid is out and the cactus solids inside the cloth are dry. You can now dispose of the cactus solids.

Step 9. Taste the brew. It should now have virtually no bitterness and taste pleasantly fruity from the grapefruit and lemons. Admittidly, it won't win any prizes for taste, but it is easy to get down. If you want to make it more fruity, try adding the juice of a freshly squeesed Lime into the brew. Also, if time is no issue, putting it in the fridge until cold will also tone the taste down as well.

Step 10. You are done. The recipe is complete, Your journey begins here.

Exp Year: 2007	ExpID: 65670
Gender: Male
Age at time of experience: Not Given
Published: Nov 14, 2007	Views: 17,866
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Cacti - T. pachanoi (64) : Not Applicable (38), Preparation / Recipes (30)