Risks and Side Effects

• Psychological Distress: High doses or unsuitable settings can lead to anxiety, paranoia, or confusion.
• Hallucinogen Persisting Perception Disorder (HPPD): Rare, but persistent visual disturbances or flashbacks may occur.
• Drug Interactions: Combining with alcohol, stimulants, SSRIs, MAOIs, lithium, or tramadol can cause adverse effects like serotonin syndrome, seizures, or heart issues.
• Physical Risks: Mild cardiovascular effects (e.g., increased heart rate) and nausea/vomiting are possible.
• Long-Term Effects: Chronic use may lead to tolerance, dependence, or mental health impacts.

Physical Effects

• Stimulation and Body High: Users often experience a warm, pleasurable, tingling sensation throughout the body, which can feel all-encompassing and euphoric. It’s primarily stimulating but can also have relaxing or sedating qualities at higher doses.

• Nausea: Some users report mild to moderate nausea, especially during the come-up, which can be mitigated by taking it on an empty stomach or with ginger.

• Temperature Dysregulation: Fluctuations in perceived body temperature, leading to feelings of warmth or coldness.
• Tactile Enhancement: Heightened sensitivity to touch, often reported as pleasurable or erotic, making physical sensations like textures or massages more intense.

• Muscle Contractions: Transient, benign muscle contractions may occur, less intense than with other psychedelics.

• Dilated Pupils: A common physiological response, often accompanied by mild increases in heart rate and blood pressure.

• Excessive Yawning: A pronounced effect, similar to psilocin, often paired with watery eyes.

• Motor Impairment: Higher doses may cause slight coordination difficulties, or a heavy, relaxed body feel.

Visual Effects

• Enhanced Colors and Patterns: Vivid, bright colors and intricate patterns are common, with visuals often described as more intense than psilocybin but less “organic.” Objects may appear to “breathe” or morph.

• Closed-Eye Visuals: Complex, colorful geometric patterns, fractals, or organic landscapes are frequently reported, sometimes more vivid than open-eye visuals.

• Distortions: Time dilation, flowing edges, and perceptual changes like synesthesia (e.g., “seeing” sounds) can occur, especially at higher doses.

• Visual Geometry: Visuals are similar to psilocin or ayahuasca, with intricate, algorithmic patterns that feel warm and natural.
• Tracers and Afterimages: Moving objects may leave trails or lingering images, more pronounced at higher doses.

Cognitive Effects

• Euphoria and Mood Enhancement: Users often report heightened mood, elation, and a child-like curiosity, with a sense of freedom and life affirmation, profound personal insights or emotional processing, though less intense than psilocybin.
• Euphoria and Mood Lift: A strong sense of emotional warmth, joy, and connectedness is common, often described as more uplifting than psilocybin.

• Clear-Headedness with Depth: Headspace remains relatively clear compared to psilocybin, allowing for introspection without overwhelming confusion.

• Analysis Enhancement: Enhanced introspection and problem-solving, particularly at lower doses, with a focus on external perspectives.

• Impaired Communication: Higher doses can make expressing thoughts difficult, despite relatively clear thinking, and may cause confusion in social settings.

• Synaesthesia: Possible at higher doses, where senses blend (e.g., visualizing music or tasting colors), especially in those predisposed.

• Anxiety or Paranoia: Mild anxiety may occur during the come-up, particularly in unfamiliar settings, but is less common than with other psychedelics.

Emotional Effects

• Empathy and Connectedness: Strong feelings of emotional openness, empathy, and connection to others or nature, similar to psilocybin but with a unique warmth.
• Emotional Amplification: Both positive and negative emotions can be intensified, leading to cathartic experiences or, rarely, discomfort if in a poor mindset.
• Spiritual or Mystical Experiences: Some users report profound spiritual insights or feelings of unity, though these are less consistent than with psilocybin

• Potential for Bad Trips: While rare, negative emotional states like anxiety, paranoia, or confusion can occur, especially at higher doses or in poor settings. Responsible use (e.g., calm environment, trusted company) minimizes this risk.

Therapeutic Potential Possibilities

• Similar to psilocybin, may have potential for treating depression, PTSD, anxiety/stress reduction, or addiction (e.g., tobacco cessation), with effects like enhanced neuroplasticity and emotional processing. Anecdotal reports suggest benefits lasting days to weeks
• Microdosing may improve mood, promote positive habits like meditation or exercise, creativity, and focus, though formal research is lacking.
• Introspective and empathetic qualities make it promising for psychotherapy-like settings, but it requires a controlled environment, though research is limited.