Actual Peyote buttons are easy to recognize, but much of what is sold as mescaline on the street is bogus. Of hundreds of samples sent in to an independent laboratory for analysis, only 2 - 5% were really mescaline. The majority was filler cut with LSD or PCP, some were found to contain amphetamines, STP, or belladonna alkaloids. Real, pure mescaline is in the form of white, needle point crystals, that have a terrible, bitter taste. Another clue to if the pill is real mescaline is its size. Real mescaline requires a dose of at least 300 mg., which would require a very large " horse pill". Only a few of the most well-connected psychonauts have had the pleasure of meeting this teacher. ;)

For this and other reasons it is useful and interesting to know how to concentrate the desired alkaloids. Be aware that extraction of some of the chemicals with intent to consume is illegal. Check with an Attorney about the legalities and consequences, before exploring this area of research.

" Expedient Chemists" have developed and tested many ingenious methods of extracting pure mescaline from fresh or dry plant materials. The first step is to boil the plant material in a solvent, to suspend most of the desired constituent compounds in solution. The resulting solution is made basic by the addition of an alkali. This solution is then mixed with a non-polar solvent (like benzene), to further separate the alkaloids. The aquas and solvent layers are mixed, shaken, then allowed to separate. Next, dilute acid is gently and slowly added to the solvent, then it is once again shaken, and left to separate. This process is repeated several times, each step using more dilute acid. A white crystalline substance should condense out of solution ans settle on the bottom. This will be mescaline hydrochloride (or sulfate), and can be further purified.

Preferred method of mescaline extraction:

[1] Thoroughly dried plant material is boiled in at least 4 times its volume of methanol, for 1 hour.

[2] Separate the solid sludge by filtration and discard. (Some people save it to extract again)

[3] Evaporate the resultant solution to dryness.

[4] Redissolve in chloroform and add .05N HCL.

[5] Shake this solution with water, and let settle, several times. Discard the chloroform .

[6] Add sodium carbonate to the aquas solution, and adjust the ph to 8.

[7] Wash this solution with chloroform, several times, and separate as before.

[8] Adjust the ph to 10 of the aquas solution, and wash one final time with a 3:1 (chloroform, ethanol mix).

[9] The final chloroform extract is then dried.

[10] The resultant crystalline substance is reasonably pure mescaline. It can be further refined, using different methods, to obtain an extremely pure sample.

Types of solvents:

Ethanol (Grain alcohol), Methanol (Wood alcohol), Benzene, Chloroform, Methylene Chloride, Ether, Petroleum ether.

Equipment needed:

Glass beaker ,glass tubing , reflux tube, stand and clamps, surgical tubing, separation funnel, flame-less heat source, scales, stoppers, fire extinguisher.