SOrry to rain on your parade, but I'm one of the many people who are intrigued by 25I trip reports. To suggest that LSD is somehow godly gifted while anything made in china is shite? You end you post by saying that we should stick to the "natural versions" of which LSD is most certainly not one!
Care to actually tell us what it is about 25I that makes you think it is just a foul little beast? Many people have reported that it is far cleaner feeling than any other PEA, rivaling LSD in its ability to guide a beautiful trip.
LOL Greenmeanies, you didn't rain on my parade man! But I want you to know that you are questioning a practical library of information regarding this subject. So, I feel obliged to clarify. Of course LSD is not a naturally occurring psychedelic. Neither are synthetically derived versions of mescaline, psilocin/psilocybin, DMT, muscimol, etc. Any naturally occurring psychedelic can be made by synthetic means. But whether man isolates them from a natural source or makes them synthetically should make no difference in toxicity levels. With the exception of course being cases of contamination in the final product due to poor quality control, which is unusual, probably even in China. The point I was trying to make is that toxicity levels of naturally occurring psychedelic alkaloids have been well studied in humans prior to when the drug scheduling system came about. The metabolic pathways for research chemicals are not being studied in humans because the FDA wouldn't approve such research. So, we are guinea pigs, plain and simple.
LSD is NOT totally synthetic anyway. It can be, just like the naturally occurring psychedelic alkaloids as mentioned above. However, economically speaking it was deemed by Sandoz to be more feasible to use a semi-synthetic route. By cleaving the amides through hydrolysis of the various lysergic acid amides of the ergot fungus one is left with pure lysergic acid. This is a chemical process performed on a "natural" occurring fungus material. In most cases ergotamine tartrate is the starting material for LSD synthesis. If pure d-lysergic acid hydrate is the starting material, then amide cleaving is a skipped step. In the case of ergotamine tartrate however, after amide cleaving, then, through a peptide coupling reaction with a catalyst such as POCL3, diethylamine is bonded to the lysergic acid to form d-lysergic acid diethylamide. Then, after chromatography and re-crystallization an acid (usually tartaric acid) is added to form a salt, which can be stored as is or better yet in distilled H2O away from light/heat/air.
Some of the procedure that i just mentioned was extraneous and beside the point. The point is that for the sake of clarification, LSD is generally not totally synthetic. But that matters not. What does matter is that human toxicological data exists, albeit old data, but nevertheless it's available. Real, genuine, pure LSD is known to be extremely tolerable to the human body and practically non-toxic (although nothing is completely non-toxic, one can die from drinking excess water). On the other hand - real, genuine, street blotter - LMFAO contains?????? Who knows what it is? I believe in most cases that what is sold as LSD on the streets are the infamous hallucinogenic substituted amphetamine molecules (AKA DOx).
I tasted that shit many many times back in the 90's and some in the 00's until I finally gave up on street acid. Only once out of 60+ attempts, back in 1997, did the real thing fall in my lap. Real Lucy didn't come on some thick blotter tab which one could fit as much of a milligram or more of some substance on. No indeed, it came on an eighth by sixteenth inch piece of plain white paper that was as thin as grade school notebook paper. Truly, that small of an amount of paper could only hold no more than 200 mics of any substance. After years of researching the literature I believe it was around 75 to 100 mics. The paper made my taste buds "vibrate" with a buzz similar in nature to touching my tongue to a weak 9v battery. There was no flavor, just a buzzing feeling.
Because of your experience, most of you would think tongue buzzing blotter is something totally different than Lucy. You might think it sounds more like battery acid. When it first went in my mouth I thought EXACTLY the same thing. I soon found out that I was wrong and had been wrong about all the prior weird half-assed fun-house trips. Real Lucy didn't just make me trip. If you went sky diving while on pure MDMA you might get close to the feeling. Combine that with a strong surge of electrical vibrating energy flowing through the body. I don't mean some woo woo new age - feel the energy emitted by quartz crystals, subjective, placebo, half-assed mostly in the mind effect. And contrary to what Stanislav Grof would have you think, the vibration does not feel the same as with holotropic breathing, because I've tried that too. I'm talking full-blown surges of euphoric ecstasy in the form of electric feeling vibrating energy moving from the tips of your toes, through your body, and out through the top of your head - while seeing the energy flow in and out of you.
I realize, that on these PEA's, some of these effects could seem to be subjectively duplicated. But, although visually crazy and at times amazing, these research chemicals and even the naturals in most cases, don't feel in my body ANYTHING as amazing as the real true Lucy. If you believe that you've had real L and it didn't feel - in your body - like the most amazing, beautiful, euphoric ecstasy - better than any opiate or MDMA - then (most likely) you had something else.
If you say I'm full of shit, don't know what I'm talking about, etc. I don't care! I've researched the subject to death, read many books, papers, and anecdotal experiences online, and have my own experience of over 15 years. For me, it's really all about the one experience I had with it that gives me all the confidence I have. One date with true Lucy is enough to change one's mind permanently about the subject of LSD. And please don't bother me with the set and setting argument, I will chew that argument to pieces and spit it back at anyone.
Regarding 25i-nbome. If people are having pleasant feelings it may be that they aren't having bad physical reactions to iodine containing compounds. I'm not sure if that was the case with me, but I'm aware of allergic reactions to iodine in some people. Being that it is in the microgram range it seems unlikely to me, but hey, all I know is that I felt very speedy as with most PEA's along with cold/hot, sweaty, achy, twitcy and overall feeling poisoned. But that's how I reacted to it. Everyone is different, obviously.
No drug should be meant to replace any other drug. LSD will never be replaced, it is nearly perfect. But it is not perfect, and no drug I've ever tried is. In my opinion Psilocin is slightly closer to what I would consider a perfect psychedelic, but still LSD is preferable in some ways (mostly being that it is more fun). To suggest that nobody has got real LSD since the year 2000 is laughable and a stereotypical "old hippie" comment based on nostalgic ignorance.
I haven't tried 25i-nbome but I probably will soon. I don't expect it to replace any other psychedelic or even resemble any other psychedelic. But I do expect it to be a relatively clean, nicely visual psychedelic with a positive mindspace... at least that is what I have heard.
Laughable, stereotypical "old hippie" nostalgic ignorance aye? I'm not really that old of a hippie at 35 years of age but I'm probably older than most of the new generation of entheogen users on this forum. If you want to debate me on the subject of LSD Mr. Dolphin, I'd be glad to unpack the many layers of knowledge and experience that I have on the subject. All I ask is that you pay close attention to what I say before opening your mouth against me with your intense underestimation of my knowledge. You don't know me or what I know well enough to make such an assumption.
Why would I say that true L is practically non-existent on the streets today? First of all, there is the law, which implies that there is no source from a legitimate pharmaceutical chemical supplier except for strictly regulated research. Precursor chemicals are HEAVILY watched. Synthesis is highly advanced and delicate. It requires much knowledge of organic chemistry, lab practice, and a full and expensive setup, more so than your average meth cook. In light of these complications, it is much easier to slap some other potent hallucinogen on paper and sell it as LSD. Then someone takes the blotter, never having had real LSD, and says "oh, shit, I tripped out man, that was cool". How would that person know the difference? Therefore, you simply get what you get from street sources. If you believe that your street sources are reliable, that is YOUR choice.
So, how the hell do you know what you are consuming when you put a piece of paper on your tongue? You don't. The best you CAN do is piece together every physiological and subjective mental aspect of your experience: set, setting, onset time, duration, peak, exactly how it feels in the body, and the nature of your perceptual disturbances (visual and otherwise). You can then take that data and compare it to the results of clinical experiments with known identification of the compound in question. In the case of LSD that information comes from the 1950's and 60's. If your experience is undoubtedly reflective of the clinical data, then you should research trip reports on various forums to see if anyone else had that type of experience with a street version of the drug that you had.
I've read thousands of posts and many of the books on the subject including Hofmann's Problem child. That's how diligent I am before making statements such as the ones I make here. An excerpt from Hofmann's book that defines my experience almost identically is this one: "(0.150 mg LSD on 15 April 1961, 9:15 hours) The environment of the room transforms itself into phosphorescent waves, running hither from the feet even through my body. The skin—and above all the toes—is as electrically charged; a still constantly growing excitement hinders all clear thoughts...."
When you feel these "waves" as quoted above from Hofmann's book running through your body, it makes you feel like you are about to lift off the ground as though gravity is working in reverse. You start to truly believe that you can fly. Electricity is the best analogy but it doesn't hurt you as if you're being shocked. It's a wave-like vibration (very strong and distinct) that overtakes you and it creates a pleasure/euphoric sensation in the body that I've not found in any other drug ever. I've done mescaline and a few other PEA's, mushrooms, DMT, salvia, 4-aco-dmt, a few other tryptamine RC's, DOx, cocaine, meth, MDMA, Methylone, many blotters sold as Lucy (that truly was not) and nothing else compares to genuine Lucy. I've taken shit that was called family fluff, drops of "silver" out of a Visine bottle, a blotter labeled as "needlepoint" which actually was mailed from Switzerland and was supposedly cooked up in a Swiss lab, and many blotters with different artworks. I've been sold el es dee many many times. But in actuality after 15 years of research I KNOW (for myself - not you), that I, I, I only had the real thing ONCE out of 60+ attempts!
If you think you're getting it and aren't having the most pleasurable feeling (like 10 orgasms simultaneously) in your body, then I'm sorry to say that you're being lied to. If you think I'm putting you on, then I have one question for you: since I don't sell LSD, what damned reason do I have to lie????
The simple fact is this: if someone intentionally or unintentionally has been selling you German chocolate cake mis-labeled as Boston cream pie, then you would obviously think that German chocolate cake tastes like Boston cream pie. This would be the case for you 1000 times or more until some kind soul shows you the difference. Unfortunately, my words cannot do that.
Again, I make no accusations that anyone here has not had the real thing. Only that after more than 60 attempts with street acid, only once was it real for me. And that was in the 90's prior to the last major distribution network being shut down. If you believe you're getting the real thing nowadays, well, nice for you, but the intensity of my doubt is equally potent to your disbelief in what I have said. Words against words amounts to shit as usual right?
Once LSD was experimented with by Leary, Huxley, Ginsberg, etc. They all made the switch. Were they promoting synthetic or natural psilocybin or mescaline after they used LSD? Nope. Did Huxley order his wife to administer to him mescaline on his death bed, even after having written the doors of perception? Nope. Huxley ordered LSD to ride out on that beautiful wave. We all should know that he had the real thing. He died with a big smile on his face, so said his wife. Huxley was a brilliant literary and social paradigm genius, so I trust his judgment. That said, I guarant-fucking-tee you I would absolutely NOT take street blotter on my death bed.
In conclusion, if anyone here tells me that LSD was/is the most amazing experience of their life - right alongside the birth of their child or some equally earth shattering amazing magical experience, and better than any other psychedelic drug ever tried, then I will agree that most likely it was the real thing. Otherwise, kiddies, enjoy the "fractal land" funhouse shit that is available to you on the streets because unfortunately for now that is all you can get...
And if anyone else decides to come back at me claiming that I'm ignorant, you'd better be prepared with a wealth of knowledge on the subject, because if not, my ego will bitch slap your ego in the face. Got it?
Otherwise, I'd absolutely love it if once, just once somebody had the balls to step up and say "damn, maybe that dude's got a point and knows something I don't" - no expectations here...
