2C-B

THE EROTIC EMPATHOGEN

SAFETY FACTORS:
    2C-B is highly dosage sensitive. Taking an amount just slightly above the recommended dose can produce an intense experience that most people find forced and unpleasant. With any substance there are a few people who will exhibit unusually high or low sensitivity. Therefore, in order to avoid an undesirably intense experience, many users start with a small dose of 2C-B, around 8 mg., and work their way up.

INTENSITY:
    2 to 7, varying with the dosage and the individual's sensitivity to this compound.

MATERIAL:

    2C-B (4-bromo-2,5-dimethoxyphenethylamine) is a psychedelic/empathogen developed by Alexander Shulgin. Shulgin has invented around 200 psychoactive compounds including DOM (a.k.a. STP), an ultra-potent psychedelic that appeared briefly on the street in the late Sixties. Recently a large amount of 2C-B has been distributed under the street name "Nexus." In the past 2C-B has also been distributed as "Eve" and "Venus. "

DOSAGE and ADMINISTRATION:
    2C-B should be ingested, preferably on an empty stomach. As mentioned above, 2C-B is extremely dosage sensitive, and the amount required is so small that a sophisticated scale is needed to accurately weigh a single dose. With "street" 2C-B it is hard to know exactly how much is in a capsule. This is likely to cause some unexpected heavy trips if 2C-B becomes a popular drug and dosage information and knowledge is not made available. People who have a quantity of 2C-B often dilute it in an inert powder before measuring individual doses to provide greater accuracy.

    In PIHKAL Shulgin lists the dosage range as 16 to 24 mg. Another writing on 2C-B lists the range as 12 to 30 mg. Shulgin's descriptions of the effects of different dosages can be summarized as follows: 16 mg. produces a "museum level" experience. One can go about in public with slightly enhanced perception, such as may be appropriate for going to a public museum, etc. 20 to 24 mg. will produce a more psychedelic experience with visuals and intensified feelings

    I've seen no literature on 2C-B which recommends a dose above 30 mg. Gracie and Zarkov, who are very experienced trippers, each took 40 mg. in error and had unpleasant experiences. Shulgin reports on overdoses up to 100 mg. that produced frightening experiences but caused no permanent damage. However, some people, like myself, have an unusually low sensitivity to 2C-B and other substances in the phenethylamine family. I find that I must consume 50 mg. to produce experiences that most people obtain with 25 to 35 mg.

THE HIGH:
    My experiences with 2C-B have been quite varied. With a low, "museum level" dose, I experience what resembles a speedy acid high hardly worth discussing. It is when I take a somewhat larger dose that the unique aspects of this substance begin to manifest. It is definitely an "up" experience. There is lots of physical energy. The visual aspect can be extraordinary, with intense vivid colors and intricate patterning that is reminiscent of mescaline visuals and seems charged with electricity. In one experience the visuals appeared as complete chaos before becoming a portion of a vast cosmic order. On a good dose of 2C-B I'm content to just lay back for hours and trip on watching my mind.

    On some occasions 2C-B has given me visibility into what I will call the "assembly" or "machine" language of the mind. As an example, if you see the number 3, the typical response is to identify the symbol as the number 3, and think about its meaning within the context you are seeing it. On a finer scale, many thousands of neurons are connected in the brain's interpretation and identification of the symbol and linkage to the stored memory of 3. While on 2C-B, I've seen that only 80-90% of this mental "signal" comes back as 3, the remaining 10-20% having connected elsewhere in the mind or run into closed synapses, etc. I have found this awareness of the mind's "assembly" language to be simultaneously insightful, discombobulating, and humorous.

    2C-B is considered an empathogen and many users have reported powerful and transformative empathogenic experiences from its use. I've only had strong empathogenic content in about 25% of my 2C-B experiences. However, I found this empathogenic quality to be very deep and transformative, much more meaningful than the comparatively shallow emotional bliss that I tend to experience on ecstasy. Where the feelings of ecstasy can be repetitive or predictable, 2C-B allows me to continually explore different types of feelings.

    On the negative side, the 2C-B experience has a tendency to feel "forced" in comparison with the more flowing nature of ecstasy or LSD. When taking a large dose of 2C-B, one's ability to accept whatever the mind presents, without trying to push away unwanted thoughts, will reduce the likelihood of an unpleasant experience. 2C-B also seems to produce a constant low-level agitation or interference in the mind. I notice this if I try to quiet my mind to meditate or listen to music. This slight "buzz' that is always present is quite distinct from the ocean of luxuriantly transparent silence that often surrounds one during an LSD trip.

    Like ecstasy, 2C-B can not match the depth, purity, or realism of the traditional psychedelics. However, it is much more psychedelic than ecstasy, and its unique attributes make it an interesting substance to explore. One of 2C-B's unique attributes is that it simultaneously strengthens certain aspects of the ego or identity while dissolving others. For myself and many friends who've used 2C-B this has resulted in a highly positive influence on our self-image, both during and after the experience, including the idea that the physical body is a sacred manifestation of the creative consciousness.

    Although I have yet to see this amongst the 2C-B users I know, I suspect that for less balanced or grounded individuals 2C-B could strengthen negative aspects of the ego, thereby producing the type of changes one often sees in amphetamine users.

    2C-B is known for its ability to enhance sexual perception and performance, and I've found 2C-B to work excellently for this purpose. Whereas on ecstasy, although it is common to feel much love, emotional closeness, and empathy for your partner, it can be difficult to focus on sex or maintain an erection, and it's especially difficult to reach orgasm.

    With 2C-B, sexual feeling is greatly enhanced. I can remain in an excited state for hours and the experience of the sexual energy exchange is intense and electric. I've found that with any psychedelic it's best to begin sexual activity either early in the experience before awareness is too spread out, or shortly after the peak. I consider mescaline and LSD to be the best psychedelics for aphrodisiacs, although some people get too spaced out or emotionally involved to concentrate on sex.

COMBINATIONS:
    Ecstasy - 2C-B is frequently combined with ecstasy. In therapeutic use the 2C-B is generally taken at the tail end of the ecstasy experience. Many people have found that 2C-B allows them to develop and retain the insights from the ecstasy experience which would otherwise have a tendency to slip away. I've also had excellent results taking a small amount of ecstasy (80 mg.) some 1 1/2 hours after the 2C-B. This produces a trip with an incredibly deep empathogenic content that I have never experienced on either of the substances alone.

    2C-B combines quite remarkably with Ketamine. See the Multiple Combinations chapter.

    2C-B may be significantly intensified and possibly dangerous if combined with MAO inhibitors.