Psilomethoxin, My Case Report
February 16, 2023
At the end of 2022, a new psychedelic became available. Psilomethoxin (Pm) offers a subjective experience similar to MDMA, but without MDMA’s stimulant-like effects.
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In 1965, Marc Julia’s group at the Pasteur Institute synthesized psilomethoxin (Pm) from ortho-vanillin extracted from the Mexican vanilla orchid. The molecule was never bioassayed nor preserved as a reference sample, and that is how things stood for decades. The synthesis of Pm is an intricate and time-consuming process, with some chemists claiming that it would take a month. In approximately 2005, Alexander Shulgin published an article on his website Cognitive Liberty wherein he theorized that Pm might be produced by feeding 5-MeO-DMT to Psilocybe mushroom substrates. In late 2021, Ian Benouis discovered the Shulgin article, tried it, and found that it worked. Pm is chemically similar to 5-MeO-DMT, with the mere addition of a 4-hydroxyl group. The psychedelic 5-MeO-DMT is not orally active and is typically vaporized for inhalation. When inhaled, the experience lasts for 10-20 minutes. Pm is thought to be an orally active version of 5-MeO-DMT.1
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