I have to admit I too tried nutmeg when I was about 20. A Canadian backpacker was a whiz at improvisation (we learnt how to live for months on a diet of tea, hot water, biscuits and milk)
He also knew about MDA, which at that time I had never heard of. He described MDA by saying in a strong Canadian accent “The best times in my life have been on MDA” Of course being young and impressionable, I never forgot that name. It would be nearly ten years later before I was offered its N -methyl analogue, Ecstasy.
He mentioned experiences with nutmeg so three of us consumed 2 packets between us. We got it down with milk, still an awful task, though it took some determination to get through, as it stuck horribly to your tongue. I’ll never forget that taste! I still find it hard to smell any nutmeg preparations, especially the oil which I once spilt in a near new fridge. It became an expensive beer fridge and was finally not used at all. That fucking smell got into everything. Open the fridge and the room stunk for hours!
The effects from the powder were weird to say the least - fairly trippy - but I was physically uncomfortable (nausea, stomach pains, cramps etc.) for most of the day once it kicked in. It was definitely not something I ever wanted to repeat. Some effects lasted for ~ 4 days or so. I wondered whether we would ever come down. Sort of like an extended first DOM experience.
Last year when working at a festival, a guy I met said he’d been getting “Es” made from nutmeg. Of course this was not MDMA, but could have been one of several compounds, or even a mixture of them. He described the effects as great – better than E - but some months later he had a different story to tell. Basically, he didn’t want to see the stuff again.
The compounds in Nutmeg which can be converted into active amines are:
myristcin ~ 4%, safrole ~ 0.6%, and isoeugenol at ~ 2% composition.
http://www.fao.org/docrep/v4084e/v4084e04.htm
In theory these compounds could be converted [Ed] in-vivo to MMDA, MDA, and 3,4 DMA respectively. MMDA is quite active, MDA in that concentration would probably not be, and 3,4 DMA is only reported to be active at high doses, (with effects you wouldn’t want to experience) so you could probably count that out too. It is possible though, that some natural synergy may alter overall activity with the natural product.
Shulgin gives a good explanation (not too hard to understand) of the essential oils and how they relate to different amphetamines and phenethylamines.
From Pihkal #157
“ (4) The 3-methoxy-4,5-methylenedioxy pattern. The parent compound is myristicin, 5-allyl-1-methoxy-2,3-methylenedioxybenzene, and the source of this is nutmeg (or the botanically parallel material, mace). The nutmeg is the seed of the tree Myristica fragrans and mace is the fibrous covering of the seed. The two spices are virtually identical as to their chemical composition. Myristicin and the conjugated isomer isomyristicin are also found in parsley oil, and in dill. This was the oil that was actually shown to be converted to MMDA by the addition of ammonia by passage through an in vitro liver preparation. So here is the major justification for the equation between the essential oils and the Essential Amphetamines. …..”
If you are interested in reading it all, go to Erowid, look up Pihkal # 157, skip past the synthesis stuff to about half way down the page, beginning with “A final comment, but maybe a long one... ” Links for the compounds mentioned can be found on this page.
I agree with other posters. Think, and study up on this one before deciding to take it. MMDA can be quite hallucinogenic, but if it was a great experience, you would expect to have seen it around more often.
Perhaps it does get substituted for MDMA. Maybe tripstacy, usually assumed to be 2C-T-7, could in some cases be MMDA. There is also quite a bit of literature on MMDA, and it is mentioned in older psychiatry texts.
JB, any colour change for MMDA reported with marquis solution?
[ 04 February 2002: Message edited by: phase_dancer ]
) this might be worth a go...