The origin of 2,5-dimethoxy-4-methylamphetamine (DOM, STP).

The story of the 1967 appearance of the powerful psychedelic 2,5-dimethoxy-4-methylamphetamine (DOM, STP) commonly omits details and often includes hyperbole and inaccuracies. It is well known how and when the drug was first distributed to the public for free by Owsley Stanley, but the role that Alexander Shulgin played in providing that material is not as well understood. In the interest of transparency and historical accuracy, this article attempts to present an accurate account of this well-known but inadequately detailed event.

New mescaline concentrations from 14 taxa/cultivars of Echinopsis spp. (Cactaceae) ("San Pedro") and their relevance to shamanic practice.

Aim Of The Study: The aim of the present study is to determine in a procedurally uniform manner the mescaline concentrations in stem tissue of 14 taxa/cultivars of the subgenus Trichocereus of the genus Echinopsis (Cactaceae) and to evaluate the relationship (if any) between mescaline concentration and actual shamanic use of these plants.

Materials And Methods: Columnar cacti of the genus Echinopsis, some of which are used for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes by South American shamans in traditional medicine, were selected for analysis because they were vegetative clones of plants of documented geographic origin and/or because they were known to be used by practitioners of shamanism. Mescaline content of the cortical stem chlorenchyma of each cactus was determined by Soxhlet extraction with methanol, followed by acid-base extraction with water and dichloromethane, and high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC).