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MDA
Effects
by Erowid
DURATION #
Caution :   Reactions and experiences may vary dramatically from person to person. [see below]
MDA Duration
Oral
Total Duration
4 - 8 hrs
Onset
20 - 90 mins
Coming Up
5 - 20 mins
Plateau
2 - 4 hrs
Coming Down
2 - 4 hrs
 
 
After Effects
3 - 24+ hrs
Hangover / Day After
2 - 72+ hrs
  DURATION CHART
EFFECTS LIST #
POSITIVE
  • extreme mood lift
  • increased willingness to communicate
  • increase in energy (stimulation)
  • ego softening
  • feelings of comfort, belonging, and closeness to others
  • feelings of love and empathy
  • forgiveness
  • increased awareness & appreciation of music
  • increased awareness of senses (taste, smell, touch, hearing, vision)
  • profound life-changing spiritual experiences
  • neurotically based fear dissolution
  • sensations bright and intense
  • urge to hug and kiss people
NEUTRAL
  • decreased appetite
  • visual distortion
  • rapid, involuntary eye jiggling (nystagmus)
  • mild visual hallucinations
  • moderately increased heart rate and blood pressure (increases with dose)
  • restlessness, nervousness, shivering
  • change in body temperature regulation
  • strong desire to do or want more when coming down
NEGATIVE
    (negative side effects increase with higher doses and frequent use)
  • inappropriate and/or unintended emotional bonding
  • tendency to say things you might feel uncomfortable about later
  • mild to extreme jaw clenching (trisma), tongue and cheek chewing, and teeth grinding (bruxia)
  • difficulty concentrating & problems with activities requiring linear focus
  • short-term memory scramble or loss & confusion
  • muscle tension
  • erectile disfunction and difficulty reaching orgasm
  • increase in body temperature, hyperthermia, dehydration (drink water)
  • hyponatremia (don't drink too much water)
  • nausea and vomiting
  • headaches, dizziness, loss of balance, and vertigo
  • post-trip Crash - unpleasantly harsh comedown from the peak effect
  • hangover the next day, lasting days to weeks
  • mild depression and fatigue for up to a week
  • severe depression and/or fatigue (uncommon)
  • possible strong urge to repeat the experience, though not physically addictive
  • possible psychological crisis requiring hospitalization (psychotic episodes, severe panic attacks, etc) (rare)
  • possible liver toxicity (rare)
  • possible neurotoxicity (controversial)
  • small risk of death. Assuming similar risk to MDMA, approximately 2 per 100,000 users have extreme negative reactions resulting in death. (rare)
DESCRIPTION #
MDA's effects are very similar to the effects of MDMA. See also MDMA Effects.

Note: Erowid previously reported the duration of MDA to be "8-12 hours" based on the entry in PIHKAL which appears to be wrong. After checking with a variety of sources, the consistent opinion is that MDA lasts just slightly longer than MDMA, but is otherwise very equivalent in duration. Many users report it has a longer, more stimulated after-effects period but others do not find this. If you have comments about experiences with known pure MDA or know of other verifiable resources, please let us know.

We do have a couple reports of idiosyncratic reactions where users had effects for 12-18 hours after ingestion, but there are equivalent reports for MDMA. In research published in 2010, Baggott, Siegrist et al., gave twelve subjects MDA (1.4mg/kg, around 100mg (and placebo during a different session) and administered a series of tests to assess effects. For five of the twelve participants, the MDA high lasted a total of about six hours, but in several of the participants, the effects were still quite strong at 6-8 hours. The "MDA Effects Curve" duration graph (data from that study) shows effects still clearly off baseline at 8 hours after dosing. It is unknown why some people would stay high much longer than others, but it could be based on individual metabolism.

L's Comparison of MDA to MDMA:
The total experience is 8 hours, but the 'trip' is 4-5 hours like X. The after-effects are like being way-laid, definitely washing around in the after-swell of a full experience of an amphetamine-hallucinogen. We call MDA 'industrial electronic mushrooms' and compare the post-peak to riding the diesel-electric locomotive all the way home. Your feet vibrate for some time after you step off a huge machine like that: tingling and numb. There's no finer intoxicant, but you need careful and considerable support or the body load can turn you into a vegetable for the latter half of the experience and the day after. With X you feel all the emotional and spiritual connectivy possible (much the 'empathogen'), with MDA you see (hallucinate, visually experience) all the emotional and spiritual connectivity possible.

Gracie & Zarkov's Comparison of MDA to MDMA:
"The differences from MDM(A) are striking: MDA is more hallucinogenic with noticeable closed eye imagery, is a much greater aesthetic enhancer, especially of people and of music; is more euphoric; more "drug-like", a heavier and more obviously body-involved trip. Tactile sensation is more powerful, erotic and noticeable on MDA. Physical effects are more up-front: gastric upset, pupil dilation, water retention, limbic arousal. On the whole, we find MDA a more enjoyable and interesting trip; longer lasting and more sexual/sensual. Our favorite characteristic is that one retains an interesting psychedelic ideation on MDA, rather then the feeling-oriented, but rather idealess thinking of MDM(A).

CAUTION & DISCLAIMER #
Erowid's effects information is a summary of data gathered from users, research, and other resources. This information is intended to describe the range of effects people report experiencing. Effects may vary dramatically from one person to another or one experience to another based on a variety of factors such as body chemistry, age, gender, physical health, dose, form of material, etc.