25-I-NBOH: when intense meets colourful

My first experience with 25-I-NBOH was with a higher than recommended dosage (800 micrograms) and the effects were overwhelming and scary.

25-I-NBOH

In my first experience my visual field was obscured by spinning fractals, tessellated surfaces and other obnoxious visual artifacts that quickly turned chaotic – both as open-eye and closed-eye visuals. My body temperature fluctuated between shivers and profuse sweating, my mind was racing, my heartbeat increased to what I thought was an alarming rate and I was not very happy with the experience.

And then it lasted for 5 hours.

I filed 25-I-NBOH in the "overwhelming" category and abstained from it for almost a year.

Take 2

Yesterday I found some notes I had prepared about my second excursion with 25-I-NBOH. After not thinking about it for a year, I decided to try the experience again but with a lower dosage of 400 micrograms.

The day for this experience was sunny and hot. I was in a happy and optimistic mood.

Administration by a pre-measured paper blotter which I took in the usual way: I brushed my teeth and gums, placed the blotter between cheek and gums for twenty minutes, spit out. I don't swallow the spit or the blotter – very effective to reduce nausea.

After thirty minutes of "spitting the blotter" (T+0:50) the classical effects of a phen start appearing: giddiness, lightness in the extremities, pressure in the temples, random smiling. And energy. Lots of energy that needed to be channelled somewhere productive.

I decided to hit the gym and measure the effects in a more scientific and physically demanding environment than the couch.

By the time I reached the gym (T+1:15) the next obvious effect was a very interesting –I'd even say artistic– shift of the colour perception. It did not affect all colours, only those with high luminosity: bright oranges and bold reds, hot magentas and pinks. Even skin colours looked more saturated.

Subdued browns, greys, blues and greens looked almost exactly the same, but everything had a light violet tinge to it. I wonder if the iodine in 25-I has an effect on the perception of colour – here's a very crude sketch of the colour shift.

Normal vision (left) vs. 25-I-NBOH (right)- saturation is up, with a violet tinge

Hot colours looked almost insolent in their boldness –and in a gym environment there's bold colour everywhere. In shoes, tank tops, shorts and sports equipment. Eye candy. 

Ambient and electronic music were fantastic –but more upbeat tunes were overwhelming and confusing. I did not enjoy dance music or pop under the influence.

I was very pleased with the surroundings in the gym, and started with the testing of the heartbeat rate in a stationary bike. Initially my heartbeat was 10% higher than usual and as I went through the test I noticed that it climbed another 10% –still within limits, but definitely out of order for only five minutes of exertion.

A thought of "...should I stop doing this?" came over me and I could see the heart monitor going up three or four notches  in 30 seconds. It felt like I could control the heartbeat rate.

At that moment I decided to calm down, breathe deeply, relax and stop worrying. I had to think happy thoughts and be calm – to my astonishment, the heart rate went from 120 to 105 in two minutes (while still pedalling at the same speed). I have never seen anything like this, anywhere, and reinforces my initial thought: 25-I-NBOH is a demanding chem. You do not want to force yourself into a high-energy situation.

After another twenty minutes of easy pedalling I finished the exercise, cooled down and went in a cold shower. My heartbeat had stabilised to 15 to 20% above usual, my pupils were huge and I felt fantastic. I was anxious but not paranoid, happy thoughts still in my mind. With that, I left the gym and returned home.

That night I had a scrumptious dinner and after watching TV I went to bed –but I could not manage to sleep. A very common side-effect of phens.

This experience changed my mind about 25-I-NBOH. I have a new respect and even fondness for it. It's a great compound but it's difficult to work with. It needs "eye for the detail" and the right "set and setting" – it can quickly turn into an uncontrollable ride. It seems excellent for a colourful afternoon in a museum, park or even, an outdoor physical experience like a hike.

But I will never, ever drop 25-I-NBOH to go to a rave, a house-party or to a chaotic and unpredictable scene.

I am not in a rush to try it but once a every blue moon. It seems to be stable and keeping well –after a year of buying this batch, stored in a dark, cool drawer, it still seems to be potent.

Iprocin

Iprocin, 4-Ho-DIPT, 4-Hydroxy-di-isopropyl-tryptamine; C16H24N2O 

One of the first chems I ever tried, Iprocin usually looks like a clumpy, hi-white powder, almost with a bluish tinge. I remember very clearly that it had a very strong taste, as some chems do, and I felt nauseated almost immediately.

Iprocin, 4-Ho-DIPT

Iprocin is notorious for the reactions it causes to some users, particularly if your stomach is not empty. Many resources suggest fasting for six hours or more and taking an antiemetic before taking Iprocin. Tremors and trembling hands are very common as well, and the perception of temperature is exaggerated throughout the trip- I have felt shivering cold in a tropical locale whilst under the effects of Iprocin.

Iprocin is one of those chems that should only be administered orally or rectally - the dosage actually increases when insufflated.

Dose ranges, oral, milligrams (male, 90 Kg)

• Light: 6.0 to 12.0
• Mid-range: 12.0 to 20.0
• Strong: over 21.0

Iprocin is also one of the fastest-acting tryptamines - the effects can be felt as soon as 20 or 30 minutes after taking it, and it has a very strong visual component. On lower level doses there is a reinforcement of colours, with greens, blues and violets becoming brighter.

As the dosage comes up, there is more of the classical psychedelia: breathing walls and surfaces, visual artifacts and tracers, morphing objects. It is possible to experience complex open-eye visuals with stronger doses, over 35 milligrams. Mentally speaking, Iprocin creates some mild mental confusion and disorientation, but I have not experienced the mindfuck that other compounds seem to bring.

I have the impression Iprocin should work well with other tryptamines, particularly 4-Ho-MET and 4-Aco-DMT, but I have not tried this combinations yet. As with other tryptamines, it does not combine well with members of the phenylethamine family.

The colours in the wall

This is a short story of a trip with a combo of 4-Aco-DMT + 4-Ho-MET.

These two chems combine and reinforce each other gracefully and it's one of the most artistic trips you can get without going over the edge of reason. 

Both drugs affect the processing of vision in the brain: 4-Ho-MET brings out the glow and saturation of colours and creates spotlights and colourful tracers in your surroundings; while 4-Aco-DMT -as weird and unpredictable as it can be- synergises with the centers of vision and plays illusions of shapes, colours and movement.

I've found the ratio to be important - when the weight of 4-Aco-DMT is about half that of 4-Ho-MET the resulting trip will affect the perception of light and colour. As the amount of 4-Aco-DMT increases, the weirdness of the trip increases as well, and strange and unusual visions will happen. 

I ate a capsule of 12 mgs of 4-Ho-MET with 8 mgs of 4-Aco-MET at noon on a fine Sunday. The sun was shining and the weather was inviting for a lazy laydown in a nearby pool, so I grabbed my hat and swim gear and went for a dive.

Not more than an hour after ingestion I had to excuse myself from my friends and returned to my apartment. I was dehydrated and felt nausea building up, a typical sign of a trip building up and about to begin. Got home just as the colours were growing in intensity and drank a cold ice tea, while sitting down for in a comfortable sofa to wait for the discomfort to ease.

As I laid there with my eyes closed I could see the visions that 4-Aco-DMT produces in me: slowly rotating shapes, like those in computer screen savers. Hexagonal solids. Cubes. Pyramids. All this while some random TV channel played nursery rhymes.

The shapes were rotating in sync with the tempo of the nursery rhymes. Charming, but eerie and uncanny. There was something sinister about the whole scene and I worried the trip might take a turn for the worse. I quickly turned the TV off and closed my eyes for a few minutes.

At some point I half-opened my eyelids to check on the clock in the wall to my left, and I was regaled with an amazing sight: the white wall started changing colour, as if a brush was slowly painting it with a shade of blue that reminded me of Delft porcelain.

Delft china.

In wide stokes of colour, the wall was being converted into a canvas. Into a piece of psychedelic art.

Soon the wall started changing hue and went from blue to green, then tan and ochre. And then back to blue.

Every time, the unseen brush would paint methodically on top of the previous colour. Sometimes with geometric patterns. Sometimes with solid colours. Sometimes the brush would paint in water colours that blended beautifully with the hue already in the wall.

This wondrous cycle of painting went on for another ten or fifteen minutes. I found I could somehow influence the trip by thinking of a colour I would like to see. I succeeded most of the time - but I could not make the wall black, red, orange or any of the bright neons.

After this, I hurriedly realised I had been away from my friends for about an hour, and thought I was feeling well enough to go back to the pool. By this time I was still tripping, but without nausea. And started to truly enjoy the tryptamine-enhanced radiance of a beautiful sunny day. I was feeling great, in a very elated and happy mood.

Everything was magical and perfect that day, and I will remember this trip as one of the most beautiful and gentle experiences I have had.

4-Ho-MET

4-Ho-MET, Metocin, Methylcybin; C13H18N2O

This lesser known tryptamine is one of the less stressful and more picturesque trips that I have experienced. And it combines very well with a wide range of substances -including some phenethylamines.

Although the literature says its effects are similar to psilocin or psilocibin, this is not how I it: 4-Ho-MET is its own persona. Again, this is solely my opinion. But it does form part of the magic mushroom experience, and it is speculated that 4-Ho-MET is metabolised in vivo into psilocin.

The 4-Ho-MET that I tracked down is a dark tan powder, like powdered breakfast cocoa, with a faint chemical smell. Over time it will darken to a mahogany shade, but its effects are not diminished.

Dose ranges, rectal, milligrams (male, 90 Kg)

• Light: 4 to 10
• Mid-range: 11 to 20
• Strong: over 21

4-Ho-MET can be taken orally, insufflated and rectally - I have tried all routes and decided that rectal is the way to go. The effects of 4-Ho-MET start coming up around 45 minutes after administration and include the usual symptoms of a tryptamine: light-headed, giggly, euphoria, mood lift, pupils dilated, extremely sensitive to temperature.

And then, it just happens. The visual component of 4-Ho-MET is like nothing I have experienced elsewhere:  my vision suddenly goes through a high-contrast filter, like the ones of those photography applications.

4-Ho-Met, not your breakfast chocolate

Colours look luscious and radiant. A rubber ducky looks like it is radiating energy and has adopted a shine. Heck, the world looks shiny. Strong colours look best: hot pinks, yellows, greens, neons.

But where 4-Ho-MET excels is at night time. The absence of strong ambient light exposes one of the most intriguing visual effects: I see spots of light around me, as if I am under a disco-ball. This is something unique and exhilarating, and adds to the social experience.

On larger doses, nausea comes in waves. As with other RCs, it works best if you don't eat for a few hours beforehand. Appetite is gone, although alcohol can be consumed nicely.

It goes very well with 4-Aco-DMT, methylone, butylone, MDxx and - I suspect - with psilocin and psilocibin. It does not work well with 2C-E - hard body load, strong paranoia, bad mood; or with AMT - hard body load, mental exhaustion, not worth the trouble with such a remarkable compound. Probably mixing other 2C-xx compounds or NBOM's will have bad or catastrophic results.