It sounds to me like one of us needs to do an experiment.

Make a cutting, weight it, stress it for two months, and then make an extraction. Then make another cutting off the same plant make sure it weighs the same as the first cutting did before it was stressed and then make an extraction from it. See if there's any difference in the yield.

That way we'll know if it actually increases the alkaloid content or if it just becomes more concentrated from drying out. If the alkaloid content's the same then we would obviously be better off to get that extra two months of new growth.

I was planning to leave my cacti alone and just let them grow larger this year, but if no one gives this a try in a couple months I might have to make the sacrifice and see what's up.

I think the reason this is widly accepted is because if you remove light a cacti will soften up a bit likely making it easier to pull the mescaline from the cell wall.

it just doesn't make sense that a cacti would use its precocious energy supply to create mescaline, and there is no proof to support either side really.

I just finished talking to a friend of mine who started growing cacti around the same time I did. I've had a habit of cutting my cacti in half every time they reach a foot tall to try and obtain more plants. My friend on the other hand has been more patient about letting his grow. I have several more plants than him now, but his are much more mature and branched out. Seeing his was what made me realize I need to leave mine alone and just let them grow larger this summer.

Anyways he would be more than happy to spare some cuttings to help get this figured out.

Both cacti will be placed in the freezer then thawed out a couple times before extracting to help break down the cell walls and hopefully optimize the extraction process.

We will seek the proof and hopefully in a couple of months this myth will be busted.