Mescaline
Growing Cacti That Contain Mescaline
Copyright © Klaus Trenary
Cactus is the common name of a family of plants known by the botanical name Cactaceae. Cacti or cactuses can be used to indicate the plural form of cactus. Almost all members of the cactus family are succulent plants (also known as fat plants or succulents).
Succulents are water retaining plants adapted to store water in their leaves, stems and/or roots. Through natural selection most cacti species lost their leaves, the leaves allowed too much water evaporation in the desert.
Their stems became thick, and round to minimize surface area, and to store water. To protect themselves from the sun and predators, many species developed spines, hair, and waxy skin. In addition, they may produce bitter alkaloids (that taste bad) to deter any creature from feeding on them.
The most often used cacti for obtaining mescaline are Lophophora williamsii (common name peyote) and some species in the Trichocereus genus, like Trichocereus pachanoi (common name san pedro), and Trichocereus bridgesii (common name achuma cactus). Other species in the genus also contain mescaline, but in lesser amounts.
If you live in the USA, Lophophora williamsii (peyote) seeds, cuttings, and plants are illegal except for members of certain native religions. In Canada and other parts of the world Lophophora williamsii (peyote) is not illegal unless it is being used to produce mescaline.
Trichocereus cacti seeds, cuttings, and plants are legal just about everywhere. But (in some countries) if you mention anything about drugs or mescaline or anything along those lines they become illegal. Be careful what you say when purchasing or growing any cacti that contain mescaline.
If you don't have any seeds, cuttings or rooted plants to grow from, see this for a list of a few species in the Trichocereus genus that are consumed for their psychoactive effect.
If you plan on growing cacti that contain mescaline from plant cuttings, do so in the spring or summer. It is hard to get a cutting to root in the fall or winter. San pedro cuttings can remain viable for a year (or longer) if stored in a cool, dark space.
A rooted cactus plant can be started at any time of year, if grown indoors. However, these types of cacti are dormant (grow slow and require little water or nutrition) during the cold fall/winter months. It is preferable to preform any planting, grafting, and other work in the spring or summer.
If you live in an area where there are cacti growing and you're not sure what peyote and san pedro look like, there are pictures to help you identify peyote and san pedro.
General Information For Growing Peyote And San Pedro
Most cacti do fairly well as house plants, however they are quite slow growing. Be sure and save the sunniest spots in your house for your cactus plants as they need lots of light. Don't forget to turn them every few weeks so that they are evenly illuminated.
If you are going to grow some of your cacti to flower, or for seeds, then don't move them while in bloom. They are very sensitive to disturbances at this stage and can drop the buds.
Strange as it sounds, you can sunburn even a cactus. If you are going to put your cactus outside, they must first be acclimatized. Keep them in the shade for a few weeks, and then move them into partial sun.
Don't be in a hurry to scorch them under a hot July sun, give them a month or more to get gradually used to it. If after you put it outside your cactus starts to acquire a lighter green or tan tint, it is probably sunburned, move it to some shade.
Water your cacti seldomly, and be very careful not to over water. Cacti and other succulents prefer hot and dry conditions and a soil that affords good drainage and aeration.
Let the soil dry out completely between waterings during the growing season, and water even less during the winter. When watering your cactus don't forget to use lukewarm water, cold water can shock the roots.
A good way to test if your cactus needs water is to poke a small, clean redwood stake in the soil. If it comes up with small particles clinging to it, then the soil is still moist.
Cacti prefer to be in unglazed clay pots with a layer of course gravel and charcoal in the bottom. Most cacti have far ranging lateral roots so a shallow, wide clay pot is preferred.
Be sure not to put your cactus in too large a pot because that can lead to later problems. A tall narrow pot often leads to stress and stunted growth.
Avoid transplanting too many times as this can also shock the plant, pick one size and stick with it a while.
The best time to transplant is during the spring. Have a plastic fork on hand to help poke soil into those tight places. Clean off any loose soil that might be stuck to your plant with a small brush. Don't water for a few days.
A tip to remember. When handling small cacti, use a pair of tongs, and for larger ones, use a rolled up newspaper. Cactus spines can be very sharp and can penetrate gloves, as you may well become aware of.
Soil Mixture For Growing Peyote And San Pedro
A good soil mix is essential if you expect good growth and health for your cactus. They prefer a porous alkaline soil. Contrary to popular belief, cacti don't grow well in plain sand.
There are several good brands of commercially available cactus soils that come prepackaged. For those of you who want to do it yourself, here are a few recommended soil formulas. Ingredients are available at most garden centers, or larger department stores.
1. Equal parts commercial potting soil and builders sand. Also add one tablespoon each of ground bone meal and ground limestone per gallon of mix.
2. Three parts course sand, one part loam (good rich soil), one part leaf mold.
3. Two parts soil mix, one part fine to small size pumice, one part leaf mold.
If you are making your own soil it would be a good idea to sterilize the mixture by baking in an oven at 400 degrees F for 60 minutes. This kills most bacteria, larvae, weed seeds and insect eggs.
Tip: Be sure and put a 1 cm deep layer of gravel on top of the soil surface. This will help secure the plant and help avoid base rot.
All mature actively growing cacti need to be fed occasionally. It is best to use a formula specifically designed for cactus like 7-40-6 (nitrogen-phosphorus-potash). Use a mixture with a low ratio of nitrogen, as cacti can be burned by it.
A commercial formula such as miracle grow or rapid grow can be used, but should be diluted to half strength. I have heard that Cactus Juice brand by Sudbury (1-7-6), is highly recommended.
Regular bone meal, available at most garden centers, makes an excellent organic fertilizer. Don't forget the macro-nutrients like Iron (Fe), Calcium (Ca), Sulfur (S), and Magnesium (Mg). Also important are the micro-nutrients Copper (Cu), Zinc (Zn), and Manganese (Mn).
San Pedro especially, does very well indoors behind glass. A location where the plant gets at least 4 hours a day of bright, direct sunlight is ideal.
The best possible situation would be a south facing sliding glass door, and a reflective screen placed behind the cactus to redirect and concentrate the light.
Many cacti have beautiful and fragrant flowers, but they can be quite hard to get to bloom. The optimal conditions to induce flowering are, a cooler temperature (especially at night), reduced day length (12 hours or less), and variations in nutrients (lower nitrogen levels).
Try putting your cactus in a dark, unheated garage (not below freezing) for a few weeks. Forcing can also be done inside, but you need a place next to lots of glass that stays cooler than the rest of the house.
Cacti are well suited to being packaged for extended periods without light or water, they will almost always arrive at your house in good condition. As most species are cold resistant, they can be shipped any time of year.
Since cacti are tough and hardy, they don't have to be shipped by an overnight service, like most tropicals.
Keeping Peyote And San Pedro Alive In Winter
During the dormant period (winter) your cactus should be watered only enough to prevent it from shriveling. Don't water at all if it is humid for an extended period. During dormancy water is not taken in as rapidly by the plants roots, nor does it evaporate as quickly, and the result might be root rot.
If possible bring your cactus inside the house and place it by a sunny window so it can continue to grow (slowly) through the winter. There are however other methods, as this cactiphile explains.
About a couple weeks before the first hard frost (see the farmer's almanac for dates) I make sure that the soil dries up completely (shielding the plants from rain if required). Then I just move the containers inside my garage to protect the cacti from freezing.
The temp in the attached, but unheated garage drops to about 38 degrees during the coldest part of winter. There is no window, or lights available. The cacti remain sheltered in the garage, in total darkness, all winter. Then I bring them out in the spring after all danger of frost is past.
I usually keep them under a shaded patio for a week or so, and slowly move them to partial direct sun, then full sun over the course of two weeks (they are subject to sunburn if exposed to direct sun immediately after emergence from the dark.) They are watered lightly each week unless water is provided naturally by rain.
When they are accustomed to full sun (May or June in my zone 5/6 location) I use miracle grow plant food (as directed for container plants, even though they are exposed to the rain outdoors.) I usually repeat fertilizing every 3 weeks or so during the summer.
By July there is usually some good new growth which is very explosive in August and continues (slower) into late September. By late October the cycle continues and they are again placed in the dark shelter of a garage.
Growing Peyote And San Pedro From Cuttings
When harvesting a large cactus for cuttings, make sure that it is at least 18 inches (46 cm) long. Cut the cactus into 3 equal size sections with a sterilized blade.
Do this by making one slice 1/3 of the way from the growing tip, and another slice 1/3 of the way from the base of the plant (at soil level). This will leave you with 3 sections that are 6 inches long, if you started with a cactus that was 18 inches long.
Leave the bottom, rooted section to regrow, use the middle section for your purposes, and use the top piece to root as a cutting. Your purposes here refers to ingesting san pedro for personal consumption
When rooting a Trichocereus species (like san pedro), take a cutting that is at least 6 inch (15.0 cm) in length. I have heard that cuttings as small as 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick can be rooted, but I advise a larger section.
Be sure and take the cutting from a growing tip. Cut several shallow nicks in the ribs close to the bottom of the cutting. Set it in a cool dark place until the bottom becomes dry and hard to the touch (somewhat like cork).
The section is now ready for planting after being dipped in a rooting hormone like RootTone (use per instructions). The section should be inserted about 3 inch (7 cm) into a commercial cactus mix. Be careful as the pot will probably be top heavy.
Keep the cutting in the shade and let the soil dry out completely between waterings (watch for rot). Cuttings might need an occasional misting at their bases if they fail to root or shrivel.
Some cluster forming cacti, such as Mammillaria can be easily separated from the mother plant after they start forming separate roots.
Just carefully break them off of the parent plant with a gentle, twisting motion (a sterilized knife may be needed for those stubborn plants).
Plant the young starts as you would any other cutting, just remember to slightly bury the plants and cover all roots.
Grafting Techniques For Peyote And San Pedro
Cacti are almost unique in the fact that they can be easily grafted. This is the process of joining the stem or a piece of a plant on to the rooted section of a different plant.
Trichocereus species (like san pedro) make an excellent grafting stock for slower growing cactus. Grafting is best performed in the springtime, when the plant is growing at its most vigorous. The process is as follows:
With a sterile knife, (either by alcohol or flame) cut the top off of the plant that will be used as the base. Bevel the edge of the top slightly, to form a shape like an upside down pie plate.
Make sure to trim off all of the spines along its edge to prevent misalignment. Sterilize your knife and cut a thin slice off of the top of your base cactus again. Leave this slice in place as it protects the cut surface.
Next, un-pot the plant that is going to be on top and slice off its roots a small way up the stem (remove any dead, dry areas). Again sterilize, and bevel, and cut a protective slice just like before.
Just before you join the two pieces (the scion and stalk), discard the protective slices. Be careful to align both plants sets of growth rings. You should push them together firmly because you want to be sure that all air bubbles are squeezed out.
Carefully secure the plants in place using twist ties, rubber bands, or string weighted down with bolts. Do not over tighten, you don't want to strangle it, just hold it firmly together.
Do not water your plant or place it in the sun for a few days to a week, give the graft time to seal. Then remove the bindings and slowly acclimatize your new friend to its surroundings.
Peyote has been known to increase its growth rate markedly if they are grafted on to the tips of faster growing cacti like Opuntia. That leads me to an interesting question.
Has anyone ever grafted several peyote buds on the tips of a large, multi-branched san pedro? It would probably look something akin to a scraggly xmas tree, with a general conical shape, but a dozen or so thick arms, each tipped with a large cluster of bulging buttons. That gets one to thinking.
Growing Peyote And San Pedro From Seed
A preferred method of growing from seed, from the people at the soma graphics. My thanks to them for many good tips and ideas.
Cacti should be germinated in sandy, well-drained soil. A commercial sterilized cactus mix works fine. Use small ceramic pots 2 x 2 inch (5 x 5 cm) since they allow soil to dry out completely (after germination) and prevent root rot.
Most cacti germination temperatures should be around 70 degrees. Peyote should be around 80 - 90 degrees.
Place a small piece of cotton over the pots drainage hole and pull a few strands through to act as a wick. Fill the pot with cactus mix. Place the seed on top of the soil in the center of the pot. Additional soil should be sifted through a tea strainer to barely cover the seed.
Put the pots in a tupperware container with a translucent snap-top lid. Bottom water the pots by pouring about 1/4 inch of tepid water (never cold) into the tupperware.
Bottom watering causes the roots to grow strong, from searching for the water. When you first plant the seeds, you should also top water once with a fine mist water sprayer. The soil should be well watered throughout but not soggy.
Place the lid on the container and place it outside (April - July) or under artificial lights (for an earlier start indoors).
The tupperware creates a mini greenhouse, and should be kept closed except for a daily check on the seeds progress (which allows some necessary air circulation) until the seeds germinate.
They don't need any additional watering or misting during this time (unless for some reason the water level in the container drops below 1/16 inch). Be careful that your mini greenhouse isn't too humid.
Wipe off any beads of condensation that form on the containers lid. Also be careful that the temperature isn't too hot, as this can cook the seedlings.
Many species germinate within a few weeks. When the seedlings first appear, they look like tiny green spheres. After they have sprouted, replace the tupperware lid with a piece of stretched muslin secured with string or a rubber band.
This will allow air circulation, which can be increased by placing a fan above the container. Adequate air circulation is essential as all green plants require plenty of CO2 (carbon dioxide) to grow. Seedlings are more sensitive to light than mature plants.
They should be dark green. If they are a reddish or brown color, they are receiving too much light, and additional pieces of muslin must be placed over the top of the container to shade them. If they are yellowish then they are not getting enough light.
When the seedlings have germinated, place a thin layer of very fine aquarium gravel on the surface of the soil. This gravel will help to support the new seedlings and protect the surface from drying out too quickly. Be careful to gently scoop out any green moss-like growth that might appear because of high humidity.
After four to five months (when spines have formed on seedlings) remove the muslin shading for one or two hours a day to give the seedlings more light. Stop bottom watering and use a watering can twice a week. Water around the seedlings, not on top of them.
The seedlings should be misted occasionally (not a lot) in hot weather. Seedlings should be brought inside for their first winter, and kept moist (they cant handle very cold weather). They should be placed in a sunny window away from cold drafts.
The use of some sort of fungicide when germinating cacti seeds is almost mandatory due to the high humidity levels involved. I have heard reports that the fungicides Daconil and Consan 20 can cause reduced germination rates, and are not recommended. I have heard a recommendation for the brand name Chinosol, but have not used it personally.
Growing Cacti Indoors Under Lights
It is recommended that a minimal level of illumination to grow cacti indoors is around 15 watts per square foot (150 watts/ sq. meter). Fluorescent lighting should be placed 8 - 15 inches (28 - 35 cm) from the top of the plants. High intensity discharge grow lights (metal halide, high pressure sodium, etc) should be placed considerably further away (depending on wattage).
Plants do much better if the day length is kept more or less constant, depending of course on the season. Be sure and use a timer set to 12 - 18 hours a day. Most plants grow best if the light, dark period matches that of their native habitats.
When using artificial lights, be sure and use reflectors (aluminum foil, mylar, but not mirrors) to catch and concentrate as much light as you can on the individual plants. For maximum growth, your plants should be rotated about every two weeks to assure even illumination.
Cactus, like most plants are more sensitive to certain frequencies (colors) of light. This is usually towards the blue and red parts of the spectrum.
Metal halide fixtures produce a great deal of light in the blue end of the spectrum while high pressure sodium fixtures produce a great deal of light in the red end of the spectrum.
They both produce a great deal of heat and some UV radiation, your cactus will love it. These fixtures have proven to work well in an indoor environment as they have been used by marijuana growers successfully for years.
Diseases And Parasites
Usually cacti are very disease free, but occasionally. Especially if the plant is over watered, any part may be susceptible to molds or rot. If the roots are infected, then most probably the core is also and the plant is lost.
If an above ground part of your plant is affected, the area should be cut out with a sharp knife to remove any infected matter. The cut parts should then be dusted with sulfur or a fungicide.
If any of the roots are affected then the plant should be unpotted and thoroughly cleaned. Of course all rotted or dead parts are removed. The plant should then be re-potted in pure sand and kept dry at a temperature between 64 - 70 degrees.
Cacti are tough and are designed to withstand long periods of drought, they should start growing again when healed and watered.
The only pests that may plague your cactus collection are scale insects belonging to the superfamily coccoidea, and nematodes. Of interesting note, one species of scale is grown on Opuntia cactus so that their eggs can be harvested and made into a red dye.
An environmentally friendly method of controlling scale is to spray the plants with a mixture of rubbing alcohol and nicotine. If nematodes are present, the plant must be unpotted and the roots cut off. It is then re-potted in a sterile mix till re-rooted. The soil should then be sterilized and all infected matter burned.
Increasing The Alkaloid Concentrations
There are several different methods of increasing the concentrations of alkaloids in most if not all species of cactus. One of the main defenses of cacti is to increase the production of protective alkaloids in response to numerous external stresses.
The growing cactus plant can be "stressed" in a number of ways to help increase the concentration of alkaloids prior to harvest. It should be noted that, since cacti have a slow metabolism, it may take an entire growing season of stress to significantly affect alkaloid levels.
Here are some of the most common and widely tested methods:
Shade: There have been several reports that leaving live (or cut Trichocereus) in the shade for several months prior to harvesting to increase the percentage of alkaloids in the tissues of the plant. It is also common in Mexico and South America to leave cut cacti in large covered stacks for some time prior to being sold. There may be a good reason for that practice.
Excess Sun and Heat: Too much Sun or heat will most definitely stress a live cactus. It must be realized however, that increasing the alkaloids through stressing will greatly affect the plants growth rate, and might just kill it. Cactus can and do get sunburned, which can be fatal.
Nutrient level variations: Different formulas of fertilizers will affect the growth rate, and therefore the alkaloid mix and percentages. Very high nitrogen levels in the soil would help to draw water out of the cactus, and promote stress. Use caution as too much nitrogen will burn your plant. Remember though, a fast growing cactus is also lower in alkaloids per volume.
Mechanical stress: A much ignored method of significantly increasing alkaloid buildup. The cactus is cut or gouged in several places to simulate predator damage. The stem can also be girdled by wire, twisted or bent.
Care should be taken when penetrating the skin, use sterile techniques to minimize the chance of infection. Although infection would be a major stress on the plant, it would probably die before any useful effects were manifested. Stressing has been practiced on marijuana for millennia in certain parts of the world, to increase potency.
Watering stress: Depriving the intended victim of water is the most widespread method of trying to increase the alkaloid content. Many people advise to buy your cactus at least one growing season in advance, and then let them sit, without water, until they are ready to harvest.
Chemical doping: There has been some pioneering work in this area done by Adam Gottlieb.
Increasing the levels of the precursors that lead to mescaline has proven to be a relatively quick and effective way to significantly increase the level of mescaline in a cactus.
There are three major precursors to mescaline, namely dopa, tyramine, and dopamine. During mescaline synthesis in the plant, tyrosine is broken down into tyramine and dopa. These then combine to form dopamine, which is later converted to nor-mescaline, and of course mescaline.
It is possible to take advantage of this synthesis route, and use it to vastly increase the mescaline content of the cactus that will be harvested.
This method can be used successfully on any mescaline bearing cacti. The steps are as follows:
... 1. Withhold water from the plant 2 weeks prior to doping. This helps the plant to absorb any injected material more readily.
... 2. Prepare a saturated solution of free-base dopamine in a .05 N solution of HCL. If dopamine is not available a second best alternative is to use a mixture of tyramine and dopa.
... 3. Inject approximately 5cc of the solution, half towards the bottom of the plant by the roots. Inject the other half into the green tissue at the base of the plant, and in several other spots up the stem. Do this slowly, carefully leaving the needle in place for a few seconds to allow absorption.
... 4. Wait 4 to 8 weeks before harvest to let the additives metabolize and convert to mescaline. I would not stress the plant during this period, as an actively growing plant is necessary for efficient metabolism.
... 5. The harvest can be delayed further and a series of booster injections can be given every 6 - 8 weeks to bolster alkaloid levels even more.
Unfortunately many of these precursor compounds are hard to come by or controlled.
Donana (Coryphantha macromeris) can be processed in a similar manner to increase its levels of macromerine. Injections of nor-epinephrine can be given in a similar manner about a month prior to harvest.
Once you have grown cacti, you will probably want to try ingesting them for their mescaline content. There are instructions on different ways to prepare and eat cacti that contain mescaline located here.
Books Peyote And Other Psychoactive Cacti
Describes growing peyote and other psychoactive cacti. Looks at growing, cloning, grafting, and extracting maximum output of mescaline and other alkaloids. Includes Peyote, San Pedro, Donana and other cacti.
Peyote has been used ceremonially by the native peoples of the Americas as a spiritual medicine for close to 3,000 years. Peyote and Other Psychoactive Cacti is a concise and readable guide to the art of cultivating Peyote, San Pedro, and other entheogenic cacti.
Peyote And Other Psychoactive Cacti Peyote:
The Divine Cactus
The most complete authority on the peyote cactus, Lophophora williamsii. Includes every aspects of peyote. History, religious uses, ethnobotany, phytochemistry and pharmacology. For anyone interested in learning all aspects of this mystifying plant.
If you are looking for complete information on the peyote cactus, this is the book for you to buy. It is professional, well written, and informative.
Peyote: The Divine Cactus
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