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  • Trip Reports Moderator: Cheshire_Kat

2C-D - First Two Times - Unique and Impressive as a Study Aid

Meo_dmster

Bluelighter
Joined
Feb 5, 2004
Messages
369
2C-D, First Two Times, Unique and Impressive as a Study Aid

Well, I figured it's about time that I contribute a trip report here. Trip reports aren't really my thing, but there is precious little information about using 2C-D as a study aid (I find "smart drug" very misleading) so I figured I'd share my two experiences. I'll give a brief outline of each trip, focusing on what the specific effects of a low dose and how these affected my ability to review old material, as well as learn new material. Prior to my first trial with it, I couldn't find many reports regarding these low doses of 2C-D. Erowid has an article which has mini reports for a bunch of different people who tried it in the early 80's. This report makes it sound like then next wonder drug, which made me kind of skeptical. However, there have been enough comments about this here on BL that I decided to see if there was any truth behind it. I had no prior experience with 2C-D and now real expectations, but was pleasantly surprised to find that it really did help me focus, retain and recall information.


First Trial Using 2C-D as a Study Aid
Dose:10mg
Duration: 5 hours of study time and then lingering effects about another 2 hours.

7:00PM(-2:00): Ate a nice big Easter dinner. I usually refrain from eating prior to tripping, but all the reports that I read lead me to believe that I wouldn't have any problem with nausea at 10mg.

9:20PM(0:00): Take the capsule of 10mg and finish watching a show on TV while I let it kick in. This studying was in preparation for a day long exam (certifies my degree). It’s a rather involved exam coving four years worth of higher level math and science. It's not a terribly hard exam to pass, but it wasn't something I took lightly. However, at that point I had five days to study before the exam, and saw this as and excellent chance to try 2C-D as a study enhancer without the pressure of a test the next day. Even if the evening ended up as a waste in terms of studying, I'd still have time to review everything that I needed to. So I gathered up a few study guides and started figuring out where to start studying after the show ended.

9:45PM(+0:25): I was a little surprised to get the first alerts this soon, perhaps the quickest acting 2C-XX I've taken before. The first thing I noticed was actually a trail as a pulled a cigarette away from my mouth. I really wasn't expecting to get anything in the way of visuals with such a small dose, but there they were. Before long I found myself getting annoyed that the show was still on as I was eager to study.

10:00PM(+0:40): The 2C-D seems to have leveled to a +/++ trip as I turn off the TV and get to studying. There was never any discomfort or nausea on the come up, which is always a bonus. One of my biggest concerns with using 2C-D to study was that I would get distracted with the trip and just not feel like studying, regardless of my ability to do so. Fortunately this wasn't the case and I spent the next 5 hours intently pouring over pages of equations and diagrams. Since it was just me sitting there pouring over formulas, a detailed play by play of this is sort of pointless.
However, over the evening I came to recognize some specific ways in which the 2C-D was helping. I use Adderall about once or twice a week if I have a full day/night of studying or a project, so couldn't help comparing 2C-D to Adderall and other stimulant ADD medications. Although Adderall and 2C-D are opposites in a lot of ways, the comparison is useful to explain a few of 2C-D's unique properties. The 2C-D didn’t feel much at all like a stimulant, nor did it push me to study in the intense, tunnel vision way that ADD meds do. To an extent I would call it sedating, but that’s probably a little misleading. I could also feel the typical tripping alertness, just in a very gentle way. I don't think that I could fall asleep on it, but I can't see using it to stay away for marathon study sessions either.
It took a few minutes to adjust to studying with this new mindset, but I quickly came to appreciate the relaxed nature of 2C-D. It was really nice not having the jitters, sweats and anxiety that come with Adderall. Even though I wasn't glued to my notes, I had developed a genuine interest in relearning the material. I didn't have much of a problem staying focused, but is a different focus than Adderall. Adderall gives me focus which leads to interest, 2C-D gave me an interest which made me focus more on the material. Granted, this was all stuff that I have learned before, but haven't used some it for a couple semesters now. I was also dreading having to study all this material for the past month, the idea of reviewing everything I've learned in the past four years was pretty daunting. Not to mention that I just plain hate a few topics. 2C-D gave me the perfect balance of complacency and interest that allowed me to immerse myself into the subject matter of each new topic. Basically I was more willing to learn without bitching about it. Each time I came to a new topic, the material looked familiar, like I had looked at it a couple weeks ago instead of a year ago. I was recalling the main points of the subject faster than I was getting to them on my notes. The best explanation I can give is that each subtopic reminded me of two more subtopics, which reminded me of more subtopics and so on until I remembered all these subtopics and how they relate to each other and the main topic. This made filling in the details like specific formulas and physical laws easier. At the end of each section I felt like I had really accomplished something worthwhile, instead of learning just because I had to.
I mentioned before that 2C-D gave me a calm, smooth mindset. At first I wasn't sure what to make of this, it had a slight cloudy feeling to it until I adjusted, but I could see this as a problem for at higher doses. My thoughts were very continuous and interconnected. I wasn't thinking abnormally fast like I do with Adderall, instead I would think about two or three things at the same time, with each train of thought related back to what I was consciously reading. For example, normally when I read over an equation I simply see it and remember it as a set of characters. With 2C-D I would read over an equation and call each variable by its name and at the same time think about where each term comes from. Then I would look for groups of terms that have a special meaning when grouped, such as mass and velocity which is momentum. The end result was that each equation made sense. I'm sure part of this comes from learning the correct equation in the past, but I was still paying a lot more attention to units and logic involved. It took a little longer to read with that much detail, but the general relaxation that came with the 2C-D gave me plenty of patience.
Patterns became a reoccurring theme too. I felt a need to connect every equation, definition and concept to each other, and to the core principles of the subject. In addition to seeking patterns between concepts, I noticed patterns that connected the characters of the written equation. As I looked at an equation I would constantly overlay figures on the equation that matched to key variables, emphasized subscripts or any other feature of the equation that stuck out to me. This wasn't something I worked to do, I really couldn't help it. While these patterns may not mean anything, they did help me memorize several equations which I always had trouble remembering before. Its almost like the figure that I finally decided fits best forms the frame for the equation, so that if I can remember this simple figure its easier for me to visualize the correct terms in their correct places.
Every now and then something would catch my attention and I would sort of space out on what I was reading. Usually when I get distracted while reading, I'll keep reading for a couple sentences before I even realize that I'm off track. But with 2C-D, I stopped reading right at the point where I got distracted, as in the exact word I spaced on. Even with Adderall I keep scanning over the words while my mind goes on a tangent, although these tangents are much less frequent with Adderall. When this happens, staring at one spot is less natural than scanning down the page and would jolt me back to what I was doing.

2:00AM(+4:40): The effects of the 2C-D are starting to taper off. I still wasn't ready to sleep, but I was starting to get drowsy and my concentration started fading. I started to get the beginnings of a headache, so I took some Advil and drank some water.

3:00AM(+5:10): The 2C-D feels like it's all but gone. A little longer would have been nice, but 5 hours is still reasonable. The headache hasn't gone away, but it hasn't gotten any worse than with 2C-I. At this point I decided to put up the books for the night and relax a few minutes before I go to bed. The 2C-D had left a slight restless feeling, although all the visuals, the very little I had, were gone and I'm just feeling tired. I took 10mg Valium and a couple bong hits in the hope sleeping soon.

4:00AM(+6:10): All noticeable effects of the 2C-D are gone as I go to bed, but I still have a hard time getting to sleep. Laying down and closing my closing my eyes gave me some nice soft thin loopy CEV that would slowly get brighter. Before I could fall asleep for good I drifted into that halfway between awake and asleep zone a few times, only to snap wide awake after a couple seconds. Each time this happened though, my CEV got extremely vivid, forming a complete landscape once. It took about 30 minutes before I really got to sleep, but I slept fine and woke up feeling refreshed. The entire day I had a sort or renewed interest and confidence in my ability prepare for this exam.


Second Trial with 2C-D as a Study Enhancer: This time with Adderall
Dose: Adderall:10mg time release
2C-D: 12mg initial dose
2C-D: 10mg booster

After my first trial with 2C-D I wondered how it would combine with Adderall. Three days after my first trial, I decided to investigate a little more. While I had a pleasant evening studying the previous time, and retained all the a lot of information, it didn't have quite the intense focusing aspect that I was looking for.

3:00PM(-4:00): I took a 10mg time release Adderall. My usual dose is 10-20mg and will generally last 8-10 hours for me.

7:00PM(0:00): I took 12mg even though I had to meet with some people until 9:00, but I didn't want to get too late of a start.

7:30PM(+0.30): The 2C-D is well under way. But I'm in a group setting with sober people, and kind of forgot about dosing and didn't notice the first alerts. Then I noticed my thoughts weren't as rushed My mind seemed to shift gears, calm down and organize itself. The Adderall and the confusion I was dealing at this meeting(just various problems that arose) had me thinking about half a dozen different things at once, the 2C-D didn't really slow down my thoughts, but they didn't seem rushed or forced from the Adderall. I spent most of this time doing hands on mechanic work which didn't require too much thought. The 2C-D peaked around 8:00, but I never really noticed anything besides it relaxing me, nothing bad about it, but not that great either. There was nothing psychedelic about it and none of the specific mental effects of my first experience. I think it was just a simple case of not doing anything that showcased the finer aspects. But it didn't stop me from doing what I had to.

9:30PM(+2:30): I arrived back at my apartment feeling a little unsatisfied with how that first dose set in and decide to take a 10mg booster. After I sat down and started going through notes, I started to notice the effects like last time, but slightly weaker.

10:15PM(+3:15): The booster dose did the trick just fine. The Adderall was still doing alright and I was a low ++ trip. The two were mixing fine for now. I had about the same mental effects as my other trip just a little stronger, with a pleasant body buzz and a lot more focus than with 2C-D alone. This total dose of 22mg is was pushing that limit of getting too enjoyable and just wanting to enjoy it. The Adderall kept me from getting side tracked, but also added a tweaky feeling to that got old after a while. I'm sure I covered material faster this time than the first, but I'm sure the 2C-D alone would have felt more comfortable overall.

11:30PM(4:15): I put took a break from studying and decided to catch up on an online course I’m taking. I figured this would let me see how 2C-D worked for memorizing new facts, particularly facts that I have no interest in. I detest having to memorize names, dates and such. But, it brought out another aspect of the trip.
I was going to great lengths to define everything as precisely and accurately as possible. I didn't notice that I was doing this for quite a while, it just felt like the natural thing to do. These online lessons consisted of 5 lessons with 2 quizzes. This was material that should have bored the hell out of me, but I was almost enjoying it. Normally I read through the lessons once and then go back and skim it right before I take the quiz. That night I took a little longer to read each lesson, 35min instead of 25min, but it only took one reading. Again I spent a lot of effort figuring out how each bit of information related to everything else. Having a single isolated fact, even if it is true, just seemed worthless if I couldn't see exactly how it relates to the big picture. On the other hand, knowing the relationship between two things was just as worthless if I couldn't precisely define each. I rarely worry about the pronunciation of people or places, especially if it's not in English. But with 2C-D, pronunciation was just as important as the meaning, which goes right back to the definition thing. Oddly though, it felt like I was wasting my time even as I was doing it, but I kept doing it anyway. Then I realized that once I got the pronunciation right, it was almost impossible to forget the word. This is something that I'm starting to actively do when I read now, it really makes a difference. There was practically no looking back in the lesson to identify who people or places from that lesson. As I read the lessons and paid extra attention to how each topic related to the other, the really important ones became obvious, even if the text just skimmed over it. Normally I spread my time evenly over the each topic and hope for the best on the quiz. This usually works just fine and I usually get a 7/10 or 8/10(pass/fail grading anyway). That night I made a point to devote more time to the things I thought would end up the quiz. I ended up with a 7/10 and a 9/10 that night, slightly better than average.

1:30AM(+6:30): By the time I finished the online lessons the Adderall was pretty much gone and I had a slight headache. So I called it a night, took a couple Advil and waited for the rest of the 2C-D to wear off. My headache kept getting worse despite the Advil and water. There wasn't much to do but just ignore it until I could get to sleep.

3:00AM(+8:00): The 2C-D is pretty much done, so I headed to bed. Like the other night though it took a while to fall asleep. The headache was getting worse which didn't help. When I got up the next day, the headache was lingering a little bit, but some food and couple more Advil did the trick.

Summery and Conclusions:

Well, congratulations to anyone that managed to read my whole report. For everyone else who just skipped to the end, and just to wrap things up, here's a quick summery. My two trips with 2C-D have impressed the hell out of me. It's defiantly something I'll do again, but not as a daily/weekly study aid. The come up was nice and smooth, completely void of nausea. I found very relaxing and not speedy as I had expected. From these first two trips I noted several specific effects:
-Increased interest in the material once I get to it, but little push towards studying
-Thinking and memorizing stuff in a very organized way, practically visually how each topic linked to the others, each branching off like limbs on a tree
-Reading variables in an equation as words/ideas instead of just letters, also grouping related variables together(reading Mass x Velocity as Momentum)
-Overlaying patters on equations which made it easier to remember them
-My eyes stopped scanning if I spaced out as I was reading, I usually keep "reading" the words even if I'm not paying attention to them
-Need to precisely define everything that I read
-Need to pronounce new words
Many of these are things that I am now consciously doing now, which is one reason I won't use this as a regular study aid. In a way it teaches you better study habits. However, I'm planning on learning a new language in my free time this summer, and may use 2C-D regularly for this. I wouldn't need the push of Adderall for this, but the obsession about pronunciation and structure seem perfect for learning a new language. So far the only thing about that bothers me is the headache. It wasn't as bad as 2C-I (Adderall made it much worse), but its something that I’m going to watch for next time. Please add your comments and hopefully this will prompt some more observations about this as a study aid.
 
Thanks for contributing, that was a very well written and descriptive report.

Although I'm more interested in trying 2C-D at the ~ 40mg level =D

Again, very well done! Rarely in a trip report do I get such a true sense of "what it was like".
 
you taking physics? If you are that's awesome, I'm a physics major!

anyways, I've been thinking about trying 2C-D as a study aid, and I just may have to try it now
 
2cd doesn't seem like a good study aid to me. It's a nice psychadelic around 50-100+mg.infact I'm not exactly sure how this got a reputation for being a study aid, but there are alot of psychadelics that could become good study aids I think, phenethylamines especially. Personally I think that BzP is good for studying seeing as how it has not much recreational value infact I think that's the only thing it's good for.
 
ER0X said:
2cd doesn't seem like a good study aid to me. It's a nice psychadelic around 50-100+mg.infact I'm not exactly sure how this got a reputation for being a study aid, but there are alot of psychadelics that could become good study aids I think, phenethylamines especially. Personally I think that BzP is good for studying seeing as how it has not much recreational value infact I think that's the only thing it's good for.

What exactly about 2C-D don't you think is good for studying? and have you tried it at 10mg or just the higher recreational doses? I'm not trying to start a heated debate, just trying to see WHY you wouldn't use it as a study aid. Oh, and I believe the hype in this regard comes from the Erowid article, which is from human trial from over 20 years ago. And any comments from others who have used 2C-D as a study aid are more than welcome.
 
This is very interesting. Thanks for the report.

I have an Art History exam coming up in a week (notice the contrast? ;)) And seeing that I have some 2C-D but have no gotten around trying it, I might experiment with it as a study aid... If i do, I'llpost here...
 
excellent trip report!

i think there is potential in PEAS as a study aid, I once tried 1mg of 2C-I and found whatever i needed to study a bit more interesting to delve into but.. i can not confer if this was a placebo effect or the actual chem itself.
 
2mg of 2C-I is without QUESTION active.

I had a... somewhat bad experience with 2C-D recently that may have me sworn off tripping forever (maybe in a few months.. even then, we'll see).. But this is a fantastic and well-written report.
 
TheMMT said:


I had a... somewhat bad experience with 2C-D recently that may have me sworn off tripping forever (maybe in a few months.. even then, we'll see).. But this is a fantastic and well-written report.


Interesting - Can you possibly go into a bit more detail? I've tasted 2c-d three times to date, and had nothing but positive and useful experiences.

What happened?

Ez,

...Ad
 
soul said:
excellent trip report!

i think there is potential in PEAS as a study aid, I once tried 1mg of 2C-I and found whatever i needed to study a bit more interesting to delve into but.. i can not confer if this was a placebo effect or the actual chem itself.

so could i take a guess and say that all of the 2C's would be good study aids if taken at a dose say about five times weaker than recreational doses, maybe this is a subject for possible future human studies of these chems
 
^^^^^^^^^

It would be neat to conduct a study. If it were legal for me to do so, I would conduct a study to verify if 2C-D shows unique "smart drug" properties (in my hypothetical study participants anyway), or if similar 2Cs also show these "smart drug" properties at low levels. I would hypothetically test 2C-D against 2C-B, 2C-C, and 2C-I. I feel these most resemble 2C-D.

The test would be a double blind test and half of the participants would try three of the four drugs (which will be picked at random), plus a plecebo. The other half would act as a control group. I would have some problem-solving tests that are used in many standard cognitive psychology tests, and they would be administered after one hour. I would have the hypothetical experimetees fill out a questioneer I would write around three-hours after taking the drug. I say three hours because if I waited any longer, the subjects would probably recognize that they are either coming down, or still going (2C-D lasts four-hours while 2C-I lasts nine) and I wouldn't want that to bias anything.

I could also consider using caffeine for the "non-2C" part of the test instead of a plecebo. Or I could use caffeine with the control group in the hopes that it would cause them to think they have taken a 2C and not get bored after an hour and not even try because they know they have taken nothing. I've not yet gotten the fine details worked out of such a hypothetical test. I would also consider switching 2C-C with 2C-T-21 if I felt it was closer to 2C-D in action than 2C-C. 2C-C has no stimulating properties whatsoever, and I think it might be easy to distinguish from 2C-D. I have not yet tried 2C-T-21, but from what I read I think it may fit in better than 2C-C. But that would have to wait for if I were to conduct my own personal taste-test of 2C-T-21, which I have yet to do.

I would also need to conduct solo studies with 5mg of 2C-D, and then find the dosages of the other three 2Cs that most resemble 5mg of 2C-D. Needless to say, it would be some time before I conduct this hypothetical study because of the trouble in finding enough people I know and trust to do this, plus the time it would take to actually conduct any hypothetical trials and then write up the data. Too bad that I can't legally do this because it would be nice to have something out there besides the Lazar thing on the alleged "smart drug" properties of 2C-D.

If only it were legal to do this study. :( I'd love to it to be considered by others outside the "neo psychedelic movement" but the law prevents me from sharing this in any recognized scientific circles because 2C-B is flat-out illegal for me to work with, and the others can be said to be illegal if one is going by the loose wording of the USA's analogue laws. Plus, I doubt any journal would consider my study valid because of the limited number of study participants I'd be able to get. If I could legally do this test, it would also be less valid because all of the people I would hypothetically use have proir experience with most of the 2Cs I want to work with. I wish I could hypotherically test people who have never tried any of these psychedelics, but I've inducted most of my friends by now.

If anyone has anything to suggest, or can lend any advice, for my study; please feel free to share it. I want to do this thing as well as possible with the limited amount of resources I have, and any outside helo will be appreciated.

* Edited for legal purposes-MGS
 
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^^ I applaud your effort. Can't wait to hear the results. (Wish I lived nearby and could volunteer myself. :) )
 
We aren't expecting a 'truly' scientific study with double blinds and an alpha level of .001, an a corresponding n of ... hundreds and hundreds of people :)

Any work you do MGS (however qualitative and 'unscientiific') will frankly be more than anyone else is really doing and making available at this time, and will still generate ideas regarding the subject and further knowledge / discussion. Mankind was able to build houses, and civilization before before the 'scientific method' , as we know it now, was forumlated (testing hypotheses with stict manipulation, etc.)

So relax, have fun designing your study, and whatever you come up with? I'm sure the community as a whole will be receptive and thankful. And who can say just will or will not be revealed?
 
Very interesting report on this commonly reported effect on 2C-D
 
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