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             Smokable Dimethyltryptamine from Organic Sources
                             By Mescalito Ted


        Ahh..  You may be saying "Wow, big words - this text probably
  won't do me much good".  Wrong.  DMT is one of the most intense trips
  known to mankind, and is easy to obtain from licit sources.  This text
  file will start by telling you where you can order the seeds are the
  actual plants themselves...  It will end by showing you how to be
  in a maelstrom of circling liquid flesh while elves lick your
  genitalia.  OK?  OK.  I'll try to make this as understandable by the
  'unknowledgable' as possible.  
        There are a large number of plants from around the world that
  contain DMT and other similar alkaloids.  Some of these are several
  Psychotria spp., Phalaris spp., Acacia spp., Arundo donax, Desmanthus
  illinoiensis, etc.  The plant we will be dealing with in this text
  is called Phalaris aruninacea.  This plant is easy to obtain, looks
  almost identical to common lawn grass, has some of the highest
  concentrations of DMT, and is beyond easy to grow.

        Phalaris arundinacea is available from MANY mail-order companies.
Here is a list of addresses and prices.. (These are spring 1995 prices)
Do not be stupid with these companies inquiring about drugs, etc...  These
are (semi)legitimate businesses.

[Erowid note: The vendor information was removed because it was 8 years
old and invalid.]


  I would also suggest
growing the plant yourself as opposed to buying the live plant.  It is
extremely easy to grow, and you save a lot of money.

        P. arundinacae is a highly evasive grass that spreads through
runners on the surface.  The seeds work best if grown in a sterilized
potting soild mixture, and sown in a large flat vat, or pan.  Of course
you can grow it in pots, but there is not as much surface area.  The seeds
are sown approx. 1/8" under the soil and around 1/2" away from each other.
Give them plenty of light, and water them daily.  You will see them sprout
in less then 4-5 days.  They will be tall enough to pick in about 2-3 weeks.

        There are a lot of facts about DMT you should know about if you
don't already.  Before trying it, do some reading on the effects...  DMT
flashes can become extremely intense, and could literally quickly clear
your bowels if you are not mentally prepared.  DMT is not *normally*
orally active.  But, through the use of monoamine oxidase inhibitors
(MAOI's), it can become active by drinking or eating.  A mixture of an
MAOI and Dimethyltryptamine is called Ayahuasca.  This text will be dealing
with *smokable* DMT, so don't worry about MAOI's right now.
        As far as I know, the whole idea of smokable DMT from plants is
a very new area of exploration.  (At least using methods that we can all
handle in our household lab... AKA - Kitchen. heh.)  James Dekorne (author
of the 'Psychedelic Shamanism' and other books.  He his also the compiler
and distributor of the Entheogen Review)  discovered the methods that will
be discussed below.  Here is a extract from his book...

        (Psychedelic Shamanism - Chapter 11 |  Avail. From Loompanics)

        An extremely potent smokable form of DMT can be extracted from the
reed canary grass (Phalaris arundinacae).  I made this discovery more than
a month after the manuscript of this book was completed and sent to the
publisher.  Therefore I offer this added chapter as something totally new.
To the best of my knowledge this information has never been published in a
book before, though I make no claim that I am the first person to discover
it.
        Like many such discoveries, this one was almost an accident.  I had
two crushed capsules of Phalaris concentrate which I wanted to salvage as
an ayahuasca admixture.  I placed the material in a shot glass full of
alcohol in order to redissolve the extract.  After removing the cracked
shards of gelatin, I set the glass aside and forgot about it.  Of course,
the alcohol soon evaporated, leaving behind a gummy tar.  This lay around
for a period of two weeks.  At one point I was about to throw it out, then
on a sudden whim wondered what would happed if I smoked the stuff.
        Accordingly, I redissolved the tar in alcohol and added a pinch of
oregano as an inert smoking medium.  The alcohol was allowed to evaporate,
leaving a very small amount (est. 250 mg) of Phalaris-soaked material.  This
sat around for several days - I had no real expectation that the mixture
would be smokably psychoactive.  (If it were, I'd have already heard about
it, right?)  Imagine my surprise when, in a very casual set and setting (the
bedroom, early afternoon), I took one inhalation of this essense and found
my mind immediately blasted into a cerebral hurricane of rapidly pulsing
white light.  Fortunately, I already knew what a DMT flash is like, so I
was not totally taken by surprise.  The following entries from my journal
tell the unfolding story.

Journal entry 10/1/93

        Yesterday afternoon I smoked a small portion of oregano which had
        been soaked in about 50 mg Phalaris grass extract dissolved in
        alcohol and allowed to evaporate.  This was material that R. made
        to be used in combination with harmala extract as an ayahusca
        analog.  The consequence was an extrmely powerful DMT trip - equal
        to my injected DMT experience last January at UNM, though I didn't
        see any entities this time.

        I can't help but think in terms of McKenna's "ingression of novelty
        into time."  The implications are incendiary: a natural source of
        DMT, perhaps the most powerful hallucinogen on the planet, which
        can be grown in anyone's yard and extracted in their kitchen!  DMT
        is on of the keys to the imaginal realm, but isn't for everyone.
        If it becomes commonly available there will be some serious
        incidents with people being unable to handle it - i.e., it is certain
        to get a lot of very vad press.  Yet, it could be a catalyst for a
        quantum leap in human awareness - something our species, not to
        mention the planet, could use right now.



-------------

        This goes on to talk about some other experiences on DMT...  Check
        out the book if you are interested.

                                                        -Mescalito Ted



==================


        EXTRACTION -

        1.  Pulverize the grass cuttings as much as you can.  You must
            do this to rupture the cellular structure the plant.  A good
            way is to put the plant material in the freezer overnight,
            remove the next day, thaw it, put it in the freezer again, and
            then remove and thaw it again.  After two or three such cycles
            it will usually be mushy and easily minced in a blender.  Place
            the phalaris in the blender when it is frozed and the blender
            will chop it easier.
        2.  Next add enough water to the much to make a pourable soup.
        3.  Now you must add an acid.  Just enough to bring the PH down to
            about 5.  You can use white vinegar, lemon juice, or acetic acid.
            Check the PH with PH paper, it is usually sold at most drug
            stores.  The acid reacts with the alkaloids in the plant
            material and converts them into a salt.  A good way to
            facilitate this reaction is to simmer the acidified soup in a
            slow cooker overnight; leave the lid on, as we don't want any
            liquid to evaporate.
        4.  Strain the plant matter through cheesecloth, then through a
            paper coffee filter.  The bulk roughage may now be discarded
            because the alkaloids we seek have migrated into the aqueous
            solution.
        5.  Add a small percentage of a defatting solvent such as methylene
            chloride, ether, chloroform, or naphtha.  Naptha is easily
            available in the form of Coleman fuel or lighter fluid.  The
            reason we do this procedure is to remove the oils and fats
            which are in the solution - they will migrate into the solvent.
            Shake up the mixture and put it aside long enough to seperate
            into two layers, one aqueous, the other solvent.  If you've ever
            made vinegar and oil salad dressing then you've seen this done.
        6.  A separatory funnel is useful for this next operation.  This is
            a simple lab tool consisting of a tapered glass container
            with a tap at the bottom and a stoppered opening at the top.
            The two liquids are poured in the top (the bottom faucet is
            closed, of course);  The container is corked and shaken about
            to mix its contents.  It is then set aside until the fluids
            seperate into 2 layers.  Then a tap is opened to allow the lower
            stratum to drain into a container.  Just before the descending
            upper fraction reaches the faucet, it is closed off.  You can
            also do the above separation procedure with a turkey baster :)
            Discard the solvent (along with the unwanted oils and fats) and
            now the remaining aqueous solution contains the alkaloids.
         7. The next step is to add a base to our solution.  One often used
            in extraction formulas is ammonium hydroxide, a liquid.  If this
            is unobtainable you can substitute regular lye crystals.  This
            is sold as drain cleaner and is also called sodium hydroxide.
            Dissolve this is water to a high concentration.  This fluid is
            added in small increments to the aqueous solution, shaking the
            mixture each time, then testing it until eventually the pH
            reaches 9 or 10.  Be patient.  It usually takes a while to
            get it just right.  Now you have 'unhooked' the salt and
            transformed the alkaloids into their freebase form.  They are
            now no longer a salt, and hence no longer soluble in water...
            So now the are accessable to extraction by one of the organic
            solvents mentioned above.  Using coleman starting fuel is best
            and easy to obtain.
         8. A ratio of 10 percent of the aqueous solution should be enough
            solvent for each extraction.  The easiest way to estimate this
            is to visualize where the 10% line is on your container of
            aqueous solution, then add that amount of solvent to the whole,
            increasing the volume to 110% (A super accurate measurement is
            not necessary)  The container must be kept closed tightly so
            that the solvent won't evaporate from the solution.
         9. Four extractions are made to make SURE that all of the alkaloids
            are removed.  These are done at one 24-hour, and then at three
            weekly intervals.  The solvent layer will soon take on a darker
            tint, usually yellowish or reddish-brown.  This indicates the
            presence of alkaloids as they slowly move out of the aqueous
            solution.  It will take almost a month to get most of them, and
            the mixture should be shaken at least twice a day to ensure
            that all of the alkaloid molecules come into contact with the
            solvent.  At each weekly extraction carefully separate this from
            the aqeous solution be either of the methods mentioned above.
            Save these solvent fractions and combine them in one container.
            each time add fresh solvent to the aqeous solution until the
            extraction series is complete.
        10. The last step is to pour the combined solvent fractions into a
            shallow baking dish or pan and allow it all to evaporate in an
            open space free from flame or sparks.  The residue remaining
            after the evaporation contains the alkaloids, and may be put
            into gelatin capsules.  If it is unduly gummy, one may add
            small amounts of ordinary flour to the gum until it thickens.
            
----------------

        Ok, well that's about it for now.  Remember to not smoke more than
        25 mg your first time.  You can gradually raise the dose over time
        as you become more experienced.


                                                -Mescalito Ted
                                                 Ganja '95