**forewarning: This post got a little out of control and I proposed some ideas and questions I would really like feedback on. Don't feel bad if it's too much to respond to all of it if you have insightful input on any one of my questions PLEASE post! Thanks!*****

Alrighty it has been far too long since I consulted mother cacti. I need her again...

I'm now trying to figure out a labor low reasonably effective method that can do 250-1000g dried cactus chips / powder at a time.

I have an idea, tell me if it makes any sense. Mescaline in the cactus, at least not all of it, in fresh or dried is in various salt forms, right? Does this not mean what a standard boil will miss these? If so, should the cactus be freebased before initiating the boil?

Here is another query. I boil it, adding water and lemon/lime juice (or citric itself? I have it pure I think) as the water evaporates. 5-8 hours. Now here is where my method diverges. Can I just cool the pan, cover it as airtight as possible, and put it in the fridge? I've read reports that cactus tea will settle and one can decant off the clearer (golden?) liquid on top, that contains at least SOME mescaline. Then this can be evaporated.

I was also concerned if this turns out less potent than just the simple boil and evaporate to resin method, then there must me mescaline stuck in the settled layer after the fridge step. So in theory one could just pour in some warm water, and mix / stir/ shake. Then allow the mixture to settle in the fridge again and decant off the liquid on top?

Does this sound reasonable? I'm finding extremely mixed results on various posts about whether or not the resin tek is all that efficienct at extracting mescaline. If so maybe a freebasing step is needed.

I've done a few A/B extractions and understand the process but I'm looking for something a bit less labor intensive and cheaper.

Any advice or insight is appreciated. Thanks. BTW I've been out of touch with reading the new advancements for a couple years so if there is some fancy new effective method that I am overlooking point me to it! Or some other similar lazy way like an acetone or alcohol extraction. But I read on some post thats an alcohol extraction only works because of the little bit of water in the alcohol, so you pull a little bit of mescaline each time, meaning you need more pulls and get less of a yield.

Another idea, heh. Maybe pulling the cactus material with naphtha (since it cannot hold water from the air... I think... is this right or was this only xylene?) before adding any water would be beneficial. If it wont dissolve the mescaline you can hopefully pull out all sorts of gunk. dry the remaining plant material. And then perform a boil on it. Maybe no goo straining nightmare!

Should I try any of these minor alterations on established procedures/teks? Thanks guys! <3

a defat when using a pressure cooker for cacti is extra unnecessary, the base will break down the snot anyway

also afaik naphtha is an inappropriate solvent to use in this process, even if for a defat it is not by any means a necessary additional to your basic starting materials


imo if you don't have a pc, don't extract cactus

Mescaline in its naturally-occuring salt form(s) is water-soluble. Freebase mescaline is not.

Yes, you can let the tea sit for a while and some sediment will settle to the bottom. If the boils were thorough this sediment will contain a negligible amount of mescaline, if any at all. The vast majority of mescaline will be dissolved in the liquid solution.

I don't think naphtha would be very useful for the purpose you have presented.

I second mew's recommendation of using a pressure cooker. This drastically reduces the length of time required for the initial water extraction. Just boil the cactus with water for a while before pressure cooking, stirring periodically so it doesn't burn, and most of the snot will boil off.