Mescaline of the genus "Echinopsis" are technically controlled substances under the Controlled Substances Act, they are commonly sold publicly as ornamental plants. In the United Kingdom, mescaline in purified powder form is a Class A drug. However, dried cactus can be bought and sold legally. Mescaline is considered a schedule 9 substance in Australia under the Poisons Standard (October 2015). A schedule 9 substance is classified as "Substances with a high potential for causing harm at low exposure and which require special precautions during manufacture, handling or use. These poisons should be available only to specialised or authorised users who have
Mescaline i.p. (guinea pigs). Mescaline induces a psychedelic state similar to those produced by LSD and psilocybin, but with unique characteristics. Subjective effects may include altered thinking processes, an altered sense of time and self-awareness, and closed- and open-eye visual phenomena. Prominence of color is distinctive, appearing brilliant and intense. Recurring visual patterns observed during the mescaline experience include stripes, checkerboards, angular spikes, multicolor dots, and very simple fractals that turn very complex. Aldous Huxley described these self-transforming amorphous shapes as like animated stained glass illuminated from light coming through the eyelids. Like LSD, mescaline induces distortions of form and kaleidoscopic