2C-E
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Brief Overview
2C-E (2,5-dimethoxy-4-ethylphenethylamine) is a psychedelic and phenethylamine of the 2C family. Its chemical synthesis was first published in 1991 within the book PiHKaL: A Chemical Love Story by Dr. Alexander Shulgin and Ann Shulgin.It is known as a research chemical and does not have a long history of human use.No intensive studies have been conducted on it and the effects.
Effects
The total duration of 2C-E's effects is generally between six and ten hours for an average dose, with the plateau lasting between three and six hours. For such a dose, the onset of effects takes approximately twenty to ninety minutes and perception may be somewhat altered for up to a day after ingestion. In extreme cases the duration of effects has exceeded twenty-four hours, with plateaus exceeding ten hours in length and an onset of effects within the first five minutes after the ingestion of the drug. 2C-E should not be compared to similar compounds such as 2C-I and 2C-B. 2C-E is more likely to produce strong synesthesia, sound distortion and an enhancement of the experience of music, and, most notably, visuals. It has much more potential to become overwhelming in comparison to 2C-I and 2C-B because of its highly introspective nature. While many users of lower doses of 2C-E have reported that the compound produces mainly closed-eye visuals, users of higher doses have compared its open-eye visuals with those produced by LSD; a significant proportion of these comparisons have favored the visual effects of 2C-E in terms both of their geometric complexity and in the variety of colors seen during an experience. The euphoriant effect shared by several other psychedelic phenethylamines seems only to have been reported relatively rarely by users of 2C-E; the compound has been described as "difficult" by its users, including its inventor Shulgin:
"Let it [2C-E] rest as being a difficult and worthwhile material." At doses approximating or exceeding twenty to twenty-five milligrams, 2C-E can produce intensely colorful, highly complex, moving, fractal-like patterning, Persian carpet-type visuals, three-dimensional visual effects, and, sometimes, visual patterning strongly resembling biological structures, such as vines, tentacles, and even eyeballs. The visual distortions produced by 2C-E are comparable in some respects to those produced by mescaline, and some users of both drugs have reported that the visual effects of 2C-E are more emphatic of color than are mescaline's corresponding effects, while mescaline's visuals are more emphatic of geometric structure. Large doses are known to produce much darker "heavy" experiences where users often experience the feeling of falling and/or of death.
2C-E also seems to make some users more likely to confront personal issues than LSD, and comparisons are often made between the two. However, 2C-E's chemical structure is fairly different from that of LSD, and while the both are serotonin agonists, 2C-E's body load is a highly unusual one. Several users have described it, roughly, as a "profound feeling of general discomfort". It is sometimes characterized by urges to shift the position of one's body, strong nausea at high doses leading often to vomiting, itching, prolonged tensing of unusual combinations of muscle groups which can occur without the user's knowledge over a long period of time, diarrhea, and an accompanying feeling of "disconnection from one's digestive tract". Larger doses can also cause feelings of extreme fatigue despite being well rested.
2C-E's distortion of sounds is also quite profound, and includes the flanging of sounds, echoing, pitch shifting, and the perceived synthesis of new sounds not derived from one's immediate environment, such as scraping, drilling, and popping. Again, many of the more unusual distortions of sound are only experienced after the ingestion (or, rarely, insufflation) of a higher dose. Insufflation greatly increases the potency of the drug, and should be used with even more caution (The related compound 2-C-T-7 has caused death at 20–35 mg insufflated,[3] a strong dose, but there are reports of 120 mg IV doses of 2C-E[citation needed]).
2C-E can also produce distortions in the user's perception of the passage of time leading to an illusion of moderate to extreme time dilation.
2C-E's effects are often described as "neutral", in comparison with other psychedelic chemicals and even other [2C-x] related molecules. In PiHKAL, Shulgin states:
"Here is another of the magical half-dozen. The range is purposefully broad. At 10 milligrams there have been some pretty rich +++[nb 1] experiences, and yet I have had the report from one young lady of a 30 milligram trial that was very frightening. My first experience with 2C-E was really profound, and it is the substance of a chapter within the story. Several people have said, about 2C-E, "I don't think I like it, since it isn't that much fun. But I intend to explore it again." There is something here that will reward the experimenter. Someday, the full character of 2C-E will be understood, but for the moment, let it rest as being a difficult and worth-while material. A very much worth-while material." Alexander Shulgin, who first synthesized the 2C-X chemicals, created a list of the "magical half dozen" of phenethylamines which felt were the most "magical" or useful. The list includes 2C-E, 2C-B, 2C-T-7, 2C-T-2, DOM, and Mescaline.
Like all psychedelics, 2C-E produces a very altered state of consciousness. One unusual side of 2C-E's effects is that some users have reported experiencing "relatively normal thought processes" even while experiencing visual and auditory distortions. These users suggest, in other words, that 2C-E doesn't impair judgment as deeply as do many other psychedelics with otherwise-similar effects; however, these claims have not been tested in any controlled study.
The wide difference between different users' accounts of the intensity, duration, and nature of the effects of 2C-E can be largely attributed to users' highly varying dosage of the drug. Resources like Erowid suggest that an average dose of 2C-E might be between ten and fifteen milligrams, and Erowid gives the highest "heavy" dose as twenty-five milligrams. Elsewhere on the Internet, and especially in various forums for users of psychedelics, users have reported taking up to between seventy-five and one hundred milligrams of 2C-E, and the ensuing experiences have sometimes been extremely intense and very long (in some cases upwards of twenty-four hours in duration) or in other cases the experiences were relatively mild with only a slightly longer duration.[citation needed]. However, no experienced user of 2C-E has recommended doses this large for any newcomer; an appropriate starting dose might be between seven and twenty milligrams for someone intending to consume 2C-E recreationally, depending on how experienced the new user is with similar drugs. Little is known about the long-term effects of its use. Importantly, 2C-E is an extremely uncommon substance with a very short history of human use, and it is possible that lasting negative effects could be produced by any dose.[1]
Positive
- sense of well-being (enhanced lucidity, sense of inner peace)
- mental and physical stimulation
- increase in associative and creative thinking
- increased awareness and appreciation of music
- increased awareness of senses (taste, smell, touch, hearing, vision)
- increased tactile sensation
- visual patterning, closed and open eye visuals
- insight into personal issues
- profound life-changing spiritual experiences
Neutral
- general change in consciousness (as with most psychoactives)
- pupil dilation
- confusion, difficulty concentrating, and/or scrambled thoughts
- change in perception of time
- slight increase in body temperature
- slight increase in heart rate
Negetive
- muscle tension and aching
- jaw tension
- increased perspiration
- gastrointestinal discomfort, nausea and vomiting
- dizziness, confusion
- over-awareness & over-sensitization to music and noise
- paranoia, fear
- unwanted life-changing spiritual experiences
- possible difficulty integrating experiences[2]
Dosage
These figures are for oral use.
| Dosage | |||||
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| Threshold | 2 - 5 mg | ||||
| Light | 5 - 10 mg | ||||
| Common | 10 - 15 mg | ||||
| Strong | 15 - 30 mg | ||||
| Heavy | 25 - 40 mg | ||||
