San Pedro (Trichocereus pachanoi)

San Pedro (Trichocereus pachanoi) is the sacred cactus from Ecuador and Peru. This is a cutting, which you can grow larger. Once it has taken root, it will grow very fast. In fact it's one of the fastest growing cacti in the world.
Cultivation

Plant the cutting on the surface of topsoil mixed with sand and perlite. Keep the cutting in the shade or indirect sunlight and water regularly. After about half a year the cactus will have formed roots and the cutting can be repotted in the same soil mixture.

The active alkaloids of the San Pedro cactus are:

* mescaline (3,4,5-trimethoxy-B-phenethylamine)
* 3-methoxy-4-hydroxy-B-phenethylamine
* 3,5-dimethoxy-4-hydroxy-B-phenethylamine
* tyramine
* hordinenine

Mescaline is the most important alkaloid. The San Pedro contains a bit less mescaline than the Peyote cactus, making its trip more friendly.

Effects

Mescaline cacti allow you to explore your inner fantasy world. They will give you a trip with spiritual, colourful visions and feelings of inner tranquility, oneness with life, heightened awareness and rapid thought flow. The subject-object consiousness disappears, and you feel you are melted away in the sensory (mainly visual) perception. This comes mostly together with undescribable feelings of happiness.
The San Pedro trip is less heavy, and more friendly than the Peyote trip. The nausea during the first hour after consumption will not be as strong as with Peyote cacti.

Usage

The traditional way to consume the cacti is to eat them. They can be eaten fresh or dried. Try not to eat at least 6 hours before consuming the cacti.
Remove the skin and thorns. Make sure you peel thinly as most of the active substances are concentrated just beneath the skin.
You can now eat the meat around the wooden core of the cacti. Beware of splinters. The cacti taste very bitter. The best thing to avoid the bitterness is to eat them with fruit juice. A tastier way of consuming the cacti is make tea of them. Remove the thorns and cut the cacti in small pieces. Boil them for 2-3 hours in a closed pan with low heat. After letting it cool down you can mix it with fruit juice or honey.

The cacti can be dried by cutting them into slices and putting them in an oven on 50êC for 4 or 5 hours. Then you can eat the slices.
An often occurring first effect is nausea. Some people say eating ginger helps to avoid the nausea.

The sacred beverage will be quite bitter (although it would have been more bitter if you had cooked the cactus), but with all the fibre removed it can be swallowed easily and will cause minimal gastro-intestinal discomfort. The visionary experience that ensues may last up to ten hours and can be quite overwhelming. Prepare yourself well before you embark on this journey.

Dosage
Threshold dose- physical body, 100 mg
Light dose- illumination of colours 100 - 200 mg
Common dose, Heavy visuals, possible hallucinations 200 - 300 mg
Strong does, Experiencial Connection to Earth, 300 - 500 mg
Glimpse of the Divine 500 - 700 mg

40g of Cacti is 130 mg of Mescaline conent, in common Species of San Pedro
80g of Cacti is 260 mg of Mescaline
150g of Cacti is 500 mg of Mescaline conent,
200g of Cacti is 700 mg of Mescaline

When taking cacti that have an average height of 15-20 cm, an average diameter of 3,5 cm, one to one and a half cactus should be enough for a light to moderate trip, two to two and a half cacti for a strong trip.
Remember that potency can vary greatly. Therefore it is best not to take the dosage all at once, but to build up the dosage gradually: take half of the dosage, wait an 60 to 90 minutes to see what the effect is, then if desired take half of what is left over and if necessary repeat. A San pedro trip takes about two to two and a half hours to peak.

Fresh cactus to mescaline ratio
400 g contains about 480 mg mescaline - 0.12% mescaline per gram of cactus (according to Schultes & Hofmann)
400 g contains about 200 - 300 mg mescaline - 0.05 - 0.075% mescaline per gram of cactus (according to another source)

Dried cactus to mescaline ratio
100 g contains about 200 - 300 mg mescaline - 0.2 - 0.3% mescaline per gram of cactus
Dry weight is 25% of the fresh weight (75% water)

Mescaline dosages

150 mg Minimum dose.
150 - 300 mg light to moderate dosage
300 - 400 mg strong trip last 6 - 12 hours
450 - 500 mg possible ego dissolution, trip will last about 12 hours
500 - 600 mg definite ego dissolution , trip can last up to 24 hours

Warning

Do not combine with alcohol, MAO-Inhibitors or other stimulants.
Do not use when pregnant, depressed, on medication, driving motorized vehicles, under 18 years old.
When you're using San Pedro make sure there's someone with you to assist you when neccessary.