Many are claiming that the slime in unstrainable. I have once felt this pain. I cooked up $30 worth of cactus chips and had to throw it out bc it wouldn't strain through a regular strainer, and I knew I would not be able to hold down the chips, or plug them as a last resort. It was a tragedy.
Also, where are you getting a whole cactus for $8!!!?>!??!?!?!>!!>!!?!?!?
I doubt we can discuss sources, even for legal cacti. Let's just say: buying in bulk saves money, and the prices have gone up significantly since I last bought cactus.
The cactus that I use is fresh (the bottom edge is dried and scabbed over, but the cactus is most obviously still alive). Chips may not work.
If you noticed, I do't use any fancy strainer. The most advanced piece of technology that I use is a blender.
Here is the exact process, though it has been posted elsewhere. People seem to not want to do what is easiest/what works, for whatever reason. I guess I'll just keep posting this until everybody on earth has seen it:
1. Purchase 12" live cactus (San Pedro is yummy). Put in a dark place, then in the sun, then in a dark place to shock it a bit (not really necessary. Don't know if it makes a difference either way).
2. Say a prayer for the cactus, then take a sharp knife and dice the shit out of it. Dice is so the pieces are no bigger than an inch at any point.
Do not remove ANY of the cactus material--you'll use it all
3. Place a small amount into blender, add a splash of water (doesn't matter if it is tap water, bottled water, de-ionized water), blend until it is fully emulsified. repeat for all the cactus material
4. Place the sum of the snotty green liquid into a heavy pot, cook on medium-high heat , stirring frequently, for ~an hour. You'll know when it is ready when it bubbles up, then turns into an even, snotty paste.
5. Get a bowl/pot/whatever, a pair of gloves (or not, if you want to suffer through burnt hands like I always do), and a t-shirt. Let the sludge cool a little, then make a net shape with the t-shirt and pour the liquid into the t-shirt while holding it over the bowl/pot/whatever. Let the liquid strain through the shirt. Once it strains through a bit, roll the t-shirt up around the cactus material and squeeze the shit out of it. Squeeze it until no more liquid strains through the t-shirt. You'll be left with a pithy cactus material (including the now-soft spines, etc..)--throw this in the garbage.
6. Add a little water to the sludge, and simmer for another hour or two, stirring often. You should be left with mostly water, but a little cactus material is bound to make it through the t-shirt. Get a colander or a sieve and strain the little pulpy-particles out of the liquid- it makes it more... enjoyable ... to drink later.
7. Once you have an amount of green cactus liquid that you feel you're able to drink, turn off the heat, pour the liquid into a container, and let cool. I usually let the stuff sit in the fridge, with the (Tupperware) container wrapper in aluminum foil (to keep out light) for a few days- until I feel psychologically ready for the trip. I've left a container of mescaline juice in a freezer, then a fridge, then the front seat of my car, then in a fridge for over 2 moths-- and had the most intense mescaline trip of my life!
I believe this form of preparation is the best for a few reasons: it is extremely simple to do; requires no knowledge of chemistry or access to outlandish equipment; and produces consistent results every time. Anybody with a blender, a couple spare hours, and a willingness to subvert the system can become an honest-to-goodness psychonaut.
I must note: the cactus liquid that this preparation yields is foul smelling and tasting. I'm sure the main motivation to go all "Bill Nye" is to circumvent the ingestion of "nasty-yucky-cactus-goo"... To those of you who think this, I say: man up. Indigenous peoples ingested this bitter-shit for thousands of years without alcohol-teks or chemistry sets. Drinking the liquid makes the resulting trip that much more worthwhile.
I've never gotten nauseous at all from this preparation technique, but it may be because of my careful dietary planning. I try to avoid eating a lot before a trip, and generally eat raw foods (fruits, veggies) the day of. Also, I brew a ginger tea and sip it along with the mescaline juice- just boil water and add some chunks of fresh ginger. It tastes good with some lemon and honey, and will prevent nausea. Furthermore, it slightly masks the terrible taste of the juice. If you're really concerned about the taste, plug your nose and gulp it down. I, however, do not endorse this method, as rapidly ingesting the cactus juice will result in a freight-train-like come-up and plateau. I try to sip the goo for approximately one hour, during which I read POSITIVE trip reports, sip on my ginger tea, meditate, then take a hot shower and begin to observe the mystical power of the cactus taking hold of my mind and body.
If I left any answer unquestioned, feel free to ask for details. If you don't give a fuck about what I wrote, I don't mind, since I glean much enjoyment from writing, and psychedelics in general.
If you'd like to read my last trip-report based on the preparation of 12" using the above method, go here:
http://www.bluelight.ru/vb/showthread.php?t=473844&highlight=substancecode_mescaline
![:\](https://bluelight.org/xf/BL_Images/Orig_Emoji/wrygrin.gif "wry grin :\")
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