2C-I
Contents
Brief overview - What is 2C-I?
2C-I or 2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodophenethylamine is a psychedelic phenethylamine of the 2C family. It was first synthesized by Alexander Shulgin. It was described in Shulgin’s 1991 book PiHKAL: A Chemical Love Story. The drug is used recreationally for its psychedelic and entactogenic effects and is sometimes confused for the analog 25I-NBOMe, nicknamed "Smiles," in the media. 2C-I is commonly sold in its hydrochloride salt form, which is a fluffy, sparkling-white powder, which can sometimes be pressed into a tablet form. 2C-I has been explored as a potential stimulant nootropic in doses between 1–8 mg.
Effects
The onset of effects occurs between one to two hours when taken orally, and 10–20 minutes when insufflated; lasting between 4 to 12 hours (depending on the dose) though some users have reported a duration of 16–18 hours. A shorter duration is typical for insufflated doses. The effects at small dosages (less than 12 mg) has been reported as more mental and less sensory than those of 2C-B. Users often report strong physical stimulation.
The effects of 2C-I in moderate to high doses are usually described as of a primarily visual and energetic focus, with little alteration in the mental department. However, some individuals do report a very strong psychological effect with 2C-I. Reports of strong ego loss crop up very rarely, but this does not seem to be typical of the trip.
Dosages and consumption methods
ORAL
- Threshold - 2-5 mg.
- Light - 5-15 mg.
- Common - 10-25 mg.
- Strong - 20-30 mg.
History of usage
In the early 2000s, 2C-I was sold in Dutch smart shops after the drug 2C-B was banned. In April 2008, 2C-I was also banned in the Netherlands, along with three other 2C-x phenethylamines previously sold in Dutch smartshops for short periods of time. During the same period, 2C-I also became available in powder form from several online vendors of research chemicals in the United States, Asia, and Western Europe.
It is often misrepresented as mescaline in US street sale of singular dosages, as it shares some level of similarity in psychological effect. Both chemicals are members of the psychedelic phenethylamine class of drugs, except 2C-I is an analog of mescaline in the 2C-x series. A major difference between the research chemicals in the 2C-x series and mescaline is a much greater potency by weight and thus also a steeper dose-response in the newer synthetic drugs. 2C-I's effective dosage range per milligram is approximately 10-fold less than mescaline. This means that a small carrier material, such as a small candy or pressed pill, is suitable for 2C-I. That type of small carrier material has an insufficiently small holding capacity to contain a large enough quantity of mescaline to produce a substantial psychoactive effect.