The reports of use are dubious.

Most people who have researched it have found that cuzcoensis is used medicinally largely for external use.

As for KK242, it's a number that pertains to an elevation and Knize himself said there were 9 different types of KK242, the active ones aren't cuzcoensis. KK242 isn't a species or even a type in any way shape or form, it has nothing whatsoever about it that acts to identify.

Whoever wrote that KK242 means Matucana and that cuzcoensis is used locally appears to be either confused or just wrong. Cuzcoensis is used, but not in shamanic rituals, that has never once been documented, it's just wrong.

I'd like to know what the source is that claims cuzcoensis is active and used, when did they observe it's use, in what context?

https://sacredcacti.com/blog/tag/kk242/
Above Matucana is rather vague and broad. It is not the same as saying something was collected at Matucana.

I say just go for it and report back what happens. Maybe it will be similar to the last time or maybe you will feel more. Who knows until you do it. Did you notice any unpleasant physical effects last time? That would be the main concern I think, that with a large amount of cactus you may get a large dose of secondary alkaloids that cause muscle cramps or other unwanted effects.

Someone PM'd me and notified me about further info on this. Since I can't reply to PMs yet - thank you! It seems that most cacti benefit from darkness, but some reduce mescaline? Confusing... still - I'll risk it and store mine for a while. We'll see.


@O_o: Yeah, I know, the KK stuff is very problematic. Obviously, the site I stated didn't cite academic research, it's more anecdotal knowledge. I am a bis skeptical on how accurate our research on shamanic use is. I suspect that there is a certain potential, if one doesn't expect a mighty trip. For the latter, a powerful bridge is certainly better.
Are you well-versed in academic research on shamanic use? What do you say to the fact that I reads about shamanic use of sub-perceptual doses of pachanoi etc.? From the back of my head, I can't tell you where I read it though.

@Grey Fox. Yeah, I guess I'll do that. Maybe I can make even more and try it first. Maybe I'll just dig in lol.
Yeah, no, last time, I didn't have any discomfort. It was difficult to get it down in the first place, the slimy consistency made me gag several times. But once that was done, I didn't feel different form having too big a green smoothie. No cramps, no pain, no digestions troubles of any kind. Only the light buzz after several hours, and several hours later, medium-strong headache.
Can't tell for sure if it's related. If would fit the bill, and I rarely ever have headaches. But it could be a coincidence.

go for it, I would say that you will consume a healthy cactus smoothie with good polysacharides or fibre, maybe some vitamins and other valuable plant components, hopefully with small amount of alkaloids.
If alkaloids will be present in higher ratio in that cactus, you will notice it by taste.

I've sampled cuzcoensis 3 or 4 times without definitive effects but it's worth experimenting with as far as I know.

I'm familiar with the use of cactus for sorcery, like finding lost objects, divining the future, hexing, cursing and or attacking as well as defending against them, the latter being considered healing by the modern commercial psychedelic industry. I am not familiar with the use of low doses, but considering the techniques involved with sorcery do not require psychedelic effects there is nothing to contradict it.

However in some anthropological circles any use of anything is shamanic so the use of cuzco cactus as a shampoo is shamanic etc. It depends on what you mean by shamanic and lately that word lacks coherent use.

I had a few low doses early on that I considered dissappointing when they happened, but I look back now and have more appreciation. For example, the first time I went for a walk that really stands out for being so stimulating and vivid feeling. Then on another occassion I did a long hike and stayed out in the desert all day greatly enjoying the solitude and silence. There was sometbing special about both of those outings, but I wasnt really high either time. Similarly, I know someone who did half a shotglass of a 12 ounce tea right around dinnertime and then stayed awake all night unable to sleep and wanting to do chores, but didnt report feeling high at all.

There is something going on with those low level experiences where the person is being affected but not feeling "high" while it happens. I still think that the plant is working in a beneficial way.

Yes, Grey Fox, that's how I feel, too.

Especially since I prepare my journeys rather meticulously: I take at least 3 days, fast, meditate and try not to do anything 'mundane' at least one day before, so to get some distance to my usual everyday occupations. Also, at the very least, 2 days after the journey to get settled and process what happened. I always regretted it if I didn't do that - so many new impressions and thoughts come bubbling up, and if I have to work already, then I have to push them aside and they're gone. Also, this gives me some wiggle room if a trip gets stressful.

This means that a) if nothing happens, it still serves as a mini-retreat.
b) if only a bit happens, I can enjoy this to the fullest.


I'm willing to give the Cuzcos one more try. This is from two other plants than the one I had last time. The one that gave the two big parts is quite old and has a great blue shimmer. The pieces weigh 600g, 600g, 400g. Stored them in darkness for a few weeks now.

Not sure yet about preparation. I'm thinking about a split technique: Eat the dark green flesh raw, make tea with all the rest. I like eating it raw, but the 800g from last time were an intense experience... I won't eat twice that much, no.

Those blue ones look nice. I still think your seed grown plants look like peruvianus with cuscoensis genetics mixed in. Maybe the bluer ones are expressing more of the peruvianus traits?

I wish you all the best with your trip. I think it is excellent that you put a lot of thought and intention into the experience. Please let us know how it goes.

Interesting... at least this one study seems to have found some mescaline in Cuzcos: Agurell et al. (1971)

Cited here: https://www.dmt-nexus.me...&m=691431#post691431 (Study attached to the very last post).

So their Cuzco specimen had:

0.005–0.05 % mesc Material: Fresh Plant / Whole Plant.

Well... it's not 0. But apart from that, one can't say much.

EDIT: You've got to be kidding me. The articles is on MAPS. Great stuff:

http://bibliography.maps...y/default/resource/12394



Whatever this means lol. They don't mention the number of specimens, so I assume it was one. I don't assume that this say too much execpt that some mesc can be found in some cuzcos. The question is whether some of the other alkaloids are borderline psychoactive? Who knows.

See attached pic

Nice one! Thanks.

never made xtals, but i dont extract whats not bitter

drank cusco many times over the years of trying peruvianus's and also living in cusco and the surrounding area

the wild cusco clones randomly will have some effect, nothing compared to a normal ego melter though

they essentially serve to be physical medicine and yes, shampoo

Sooooooo... I did it again

TL/DR: To my surprise, this time I got a genuine psychedelic experience out of it! It was mild in comparison, but real and in some ways, intense after all.

I had cut the cuttingz three months ago and stored them until now, so I felt I had to do it . I had twice the amount from last time (1.6kg fresh) which had been stored for three months in silent darkness (room temperature). You can see the pieces in my post from March 4th. I did as planned - I removed the skin and the core, and cut the green flesh (and some of the white attached) into stripes and froze that. I could definitely not eat 1.6kg raw - even if I did - every digestive tract has its limits lol. So I only prepared the filet, and made tea with everything else.

The filet, I thawed and blended, which was as disgusting as usual. It tasted distinctively more bitter than last time when I blended the whole cactus, unstored. It also was much less disgusting, because there weren't the woody pieces from the core and the skin. Tastewise, it was not bad at all - but the consistency is really horrendous. The pics don't do it justice - it's so viscous that I could lay a spoon on top and it would just stay there. The cuttings hat shrunk quite a bit - they lost almost 300g of weight, and I had about 600g of fresh flesh to blend.

But then, the cactus I had this time was much bluer than the other ones (see the pic!) and it was suspected that it hat more peruvian genes in it. Anyhow - after less than an hour, I started to feel the effects, and another hour later, I was quite on the road. In the end, it was a milder trip. For people with a normal tolerance, It might not have done much, but from a dose X I always have had the effects of the average person taking 2-3 times doese X. So the not huge amount of mescaline was enough for me. I had moderate CEV - nothing too intense or elaborate, but very vivid, fluid colors, some small shapes that changed quickly. But nothing too intense. Also, some very slight OEVs, a bit of breathing and generally, a somewhat 'warped' perspective.

But the visuals were really the least interesting part of this trip. I had a quite significantly changed perspective, it was like the resolution of my perception in general was greatly increased. For example, I don't have the same level of eyesight in both eyes. Normally, I only realize this when I close one eye and compare. Now, I could suddenly perceive this very clearly. Also, the sense of touch was very strongly highlighted and i was somewhat disoriented and very giggly.

Like last time, most of the trip was on a bodily level. I had a very intense adrenaline / serotonine rush, a sense of general excitement, like when on a rollercoaster. It is normally only this intense when I take higher doses. I meditated for a while and just resided in these incredibly intense sensations. Quite a few people don't like them, to me, they always have felt very pleasant, almost like cocaine. This time, too. But all of a sudden, my whole self was like warped through this feeling, folded inside-out, and suddenly I saw how this can also be seen as hugely painful. Very peculiar - I didn't have the impression that the feeling changed. But I saw it 'from the other side'.

I then went outside, and was very comfortable. Last time, on 100ug, it was fascinating but stressful, because I had problems orientating and talking to people was very stressful... because they didn't have faces anymore, and neither did I. This time, I was clear enough to feel safe and in control, and the weather was great. I spent at least an hour watching some subterranean ants working - watching insects on psychedelics is sooooo fascinating. Then I walked like 15km through the forest on my bare feet and spend some time in a stream. Things I wouldn't dare do on my own on a higher dose. So, I got a lot out of it because I had enough control to move around. Also, there were no unpleasant sensations - no paranoia, no painful events, no disorientation.

There was no discomfort or nausea, only a medium headache for a few hours on comedown. Maybe because I ate tyramine-containing foods? I only read about the possible MAOI properties of fresh cactus afterwards. Next time, I'll watch this, if only to be on the safe side. The next day, I was surprised how exhausted I was. Maybe because I took the plant material whole? On shrooms and woodrose, I always had a hangover, never on LSD.

But the experience had its profound moments after all. Some sense of existential upheaval has been present throughout, and I had callbacks to this the last few days. I was also a good dose to do some intense meditation on, which was very impressive as an experience.

All in all, I'M very happy I did this, and I finally got some experience. I'm unsure if I'll get myself to eat 1kg of cactus slime anytime soon though . But as a conclusion: if you want to try Cuzco, store them, and if it's enough, only eat the green meat, at least remove skin and core. Then it might be worth your while, especially if you're not someone who needs high dosages in the first place.

Two more pics from the tip. Fatter, bluer and with more ribs than the others I had before. On the pic from March, you see two pieces of this vs. one piece of the other, greener ones. Still, it's obviously at least in part cuzcoid.
Of course I didn't eat the tip! I'm not a complete barbarian, after all. It has been give time to callous over, rooted and has grown 3cm already

Thanks for keeping this thread going and for updating us on your most recent experience! Those cuttings are beautiful! Very blue, which is much more characteristic of Peruvianus than Cuzcoensis. I would say that the plant(s) those cuttings came from are worth keeping.

Thanks Grey Fox! Jeah, the fact that some people here have been very interested in what I wrote motivated me to keep you updated. Still, I'm not sure if I'll do that again - next time, I think, I'll try something more reliably potent.
Just saw this video - cuzcos do come in blueish. The cactus in the video looks a lot like the one I had!

Very nice looking cacti!

Very true! I guess, from now on, I'll be looking at them and eat ugly Bridgesiis instead. Just kidding - bridges are also quite attractive.

Anyways, here's a photo from the big guy before I cut him. I feel a bit bad now, looking back at this photo