Okay, I'm not going into the full explanation for each one of these, seeing as how this would be an extremely long post. But, since I'm a loser, and staying home on a Saturday night, I'll go into some detail.
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Nitrous oxide, when used properly, isn't depriving your brain of oxygen. It's been used medically since the 19th century, with no recorded fatalities. If you fill up one balloon with N20, and keep reinhaling it, yes, part of it's effects are from oxygen deprivation. So is shutting yourself in a closet and cracking open a cylinder of N20.
A user can easily enjoy the effects of nitrous oxide
and keep his brain supplied with enough oxygen if they take a few simple precautions, such as taking a breath of air in-between hits, and not strapping a mask to your face if at all possible...
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About buying mescaline on the street: Sorry, your friends don't count. If your friend has enough San Pedro cactus, or L33T CH3M1STRY SK1LLZ, Y0, I guess you could conceivably buy mescaline crystals.
The point I'm trying to make is that mescaline, due to the high dosage needed and lack of profitability from the difficult synthesis, will not be found on the street. Anything sold as mescaline will most likely be fake. I'm sure gas chromatography could prove this - consider sending a pill to dancesafe (or ecstasydata.org, or whoever's doing the testing now) when you buy a pill that "contains mescaline". I'm sure you'll see otherwise.
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Regarding duster/nutmeg: I'm not saying it isn't possible to cop a buzz of this. Very much the opposite. I'm saying that the risks/consequences outweigh the benefits in these cases.
Duster involves starving your brain for oxygen, unlike nitrous oxide.
Nutmeg does contain a compound which acts as a hallucinogen. The amount that needs to be ingested, combined with the multi-day hangover most users report make this a less-than-ideal psychedelic. If you're in prison, hey, but in most cases, better drugs are available.
...But, they're legal! Oh, I'm sure most of you care about that fact. The simple fact is, safer, better, more reliable drugs exist, and should be used instead of some cheap, legal high see
bitchin' legal highs for an interesting take on this concept.
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As for meth synthesis: sure it's easy if you know what you're doing, know where to safely acquire materials and equipment needed, and have someone who's been there to provide instruction. For most people, this isn't the case.
Your average drug user, just reading a recipe, isn't going to be able to pull off a meth synth. It's an art (also, a felony) which requires much skill and planning to be successfull.
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Oh, there's more, but I'll get to that later.
[ 13 January 2002: Message edited by: *CrystalMeth Bunny* ]