You might find this surprising, but not all illicit drugs come out of legal and illegal laboratories. Some substances come directly from the hands of mother nature. Marijuana is an excellent example of such a substance. It is grown, not manufactured. It doesn’t require any special processing for consumption. All a user has to is take the seeds and leaves, dry them, roll them in the paper, and smoke away.
Mescaline (also known as peyote) is another such substance. It comes right from certain types of plants and requires very little processing before being ready for use. It is readily available in regions where the associated peyote plant grows. It is available to others through the sale of the drug as an illicit substance.
While mescaline has a long history of use for medicinal reasons and otherwise, it’s not a substance, people talk about much these days. Just the same, mescaline remains a dangerous substance that causes a lot of problems for frequent users. The sections below will be going into depth about the substance and its addictive traits.
More About Mescaline
Mescaline is a hallucinogenic chemical found naturally in peyote (Lophophora williamsii) plants, namely a specific kind of cactus native to certain areas in Mexico and Texas. While the mescaline usually comes directly from peyote in those regions, it can also be found in certain cactus species in South American countries like Peru. It’s also worth noting that chemists have found ways of synthesizing mescaline in laboratory settings.
There are a lot of gray areas as it relates to mescaline being an illicit substance in America. For most of the population, mescaline has been classified as a level 1 substance, which makes it illegal to use or sell. However, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) of 1993 made it clear that Native American Indians are permitted to use the substance they have for centuries in religious ceremonies.
People can use the substance by extracting it from the peyote root and then chewing, smoking, or ingesting the active ingredient parts. The effects of mescaline will start almost immediately and can last up to 12 hours. During this time, users will experience a varying degree of auditory and visual hallucinations. The degree to which someone experiences hallucinations will depend on the dosage and the way the individual’s body metabolizes the substance. High volume use can be hazardous, even deadly.
Is Mescaline Addictive?
Throughout the years, researchers have done many studies related to the addictive nature of mescaline. This is what is known to be true. Mescaline is rarely physically addictive, though it does happen to specific individuals. The drug is highly psychologically addictive, which is the primary source of mescaline addiction in the U.S. and other parts of the world where the substance is prevalent.
When some unfortunate individual does form a physical addiction to the drug, it can be devastating. They experience the same physical and behavioral problems found in individuals who abuse more popular illicit drugs like heroin and meth. Some of these signs of addiction include:
- Prolonged obsession with finding the drug
- Increase in dosage to get the desired effect
- Withdrawal from family and personal relationships
- Difficulty handling responsibilities at home, work or school
- Involvement in criminal endeavors, high-risk behaviors
- Weight loss and sleeping issues
To be clear, the frequency with which a user experiences hallucinations can cause severe psychological problems. That’s one of the primary reasons why treatment for addiction is necessary.
Treating Mescaline Addiction
While the physical aspects of mescaline addiction are rare, psychological issues are prevalent. The euphoria people get from their hallucinations it what keeps driving them to continue using it. Unfortunately, some people only experience horrible hallucinations that cause psychological damage.
As is the case with other substances, there is only one way someone will battle their mescaline addiction. They need to commit to treatment from a professional and reputable drug and alcohol treatment center.
In clients with a physical dependency on mescaline, they must go through a detox program. Treatment professionals will prescribe detox treatment to help protect clients while they go through the withdrawal process. Here is a list of potential withdrawal symptoms a user might experience:
- Breathing problems
- Difficulties with increased heart rate and blood pressure
- Nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea
- Psychosis and non-drug-inspired hallucinations
- High levels of depression and anxiety
- Altered perception & cognition of reality
After completing the detox process, the client needs to get therapy. As is the case with other forms of drug abuse and alcoholism, there is a reason, maybe reasons, why mescaline users become mescaline abusers. There is almost always a psychological reason why they feel the need to escape reality. That reason needs uncovering.
During therapy, the client will work directly with a therapist or group of therapists. They will usually do so in both individual and group therapy environments. The goal is straightforward, find the root causes of the addiction.
This will take a total commitment to openness and honesty on the part of the client. They have to be willing to expose their innermost selves during the therapeutic process. By doing so, they will have a reasonable chance of finding out the truth about their vulnerabilities and psychological issues. This level of knowledge will form the basis for creating the coping and life skills they need to avoid relapses in the future.
To be very clear, the therapeutic process is the only realistic way home from addiction’s insanity. None of those internet self-help solutions work because they seldom require the drug user to deal with their addiction’s psychological aspects.
If you or someone you love has been using and abusing mescaline, this is not a safe substance. It can cause a myriad of physical and psychological issues. Before things go too far, it is possible to avoid or get past addiction to mescaline or any other substance. To do so, you or your loved one must do one essential thing: Someone needs to contact a drug and alcohol treatment center as soon as possible. Nothing good ever comes from pushing the drug addiction to envelop too far.
