DOSE: T+ 0:00	20 mg	oral	2C-T-2	(capsule)
T+ 9:45	34 mg	oral	Caffeine	(liquid)

BODY WEIGHT:

107.8 lb

Past Drug Experiences: Caffeine, Alcohol, Cannabis, LSD, Modafinil

Set: Not the best. I'm fairly depressed in general, and was fairly stressed out at the time. It was only very shortly before the trip that I finished my responsibilities for the night, and I was worried that I had forgotten something. Additionally, I needed to go somewhere the next day, but the place closes at 11:30 a.m. and I was a worried that after the trip, I would not be able to drive or act normally enough that I would be able to accomplish that task. Also, while nocturnal tripping is standard for me, having never tripped during the day, this time was different. For years, I have mostly been going to sleep after 2 a.m., often not until much later. Due to an 8-hour job with a long commute, I had been going to bed no later than 9:30 for about 2 weeks, so I was much more tired going into this trip than I had expected.

Setting: A college campus. My college has a bay that I like to sit by when I trip, so I ingested the drug there. I was in a very secluded, unlit area with a large mass of trees on the right and a few chairs to sit in. It was not too cold, only 73 degrees Farenheit with a slight breeze, but I get cold very easily and found it to be uncomfortable. I also walked to my dorm, which is more difficult to describe. I have no room mates and my mattress had been placed on the floor for easier access. That likely covers all of the relevant details about it.

Other Notes: My last meal had been at 5:30 p.m. and lasted until about 6:00. I ate a bowl of ramen and a Pop-Tart, and had eaten nothing else that day. I drank two or three Sprites throughout the day, though. For those who do not know, Sprite is caffeine-free. I had not taken any other drugs throughout the week (abstaining from caffeine to reset addiction and tolerance after final exams), and my last drug experience had been Monday of the same week, when I smoked some cannabis.

The 2C-T-2 experience was on Friday night. I had tried to consume 4.5 g of Psilocybe cubensis mushrooms on Sunday night (Monday was a holiday), but the friend who had given them to me had put a large piece of mycellium/vermiculite cake in the jar with the mushrooms, and I mistook that for a mushroom stem and ate it. I fell asleep two hours later and upon awaking, realized the mistake (there was a small piece left that I checked to verify this), and decided to smoke. The point of recounting this unfortunate occurence is to account for any possible tolerance to psychedelics that I might have had. Some people claim that the mycellium contains the psychoactive alkaloids. Though I felt no effects, it is still worth noting.

I initially tried to take live notes as I went, but due to the very slow onset, I ended up thinking that the drug was not working. My notes mostly devolved into angrily complaining about it. I then went for a walk, at which point the drug kicked in, and I never resumed note taking. So, I shall omit those, and will instead try to recall from memory as much as I can.

I shall begin by describing the process by which I dosed it. I weighed 100 mg of 2C-T-2 on a milligram scale (Gemini-20) and dissolved that in 80-proof vodka which had been put five times through a Brita filter. Liquid measurements were done with a 60 mL syringe with 1 mL graduations and the final solution was 100 mL (including the volume of the drug - something many forget about when making volumetric solutions) with a concentration of 1 mg/mL. This was stored in a glass jar with cardboard taped around it to block out light. A 1 mL syringe with 0.02 mL graduations was used to measure out the dose, and the liquid was evaporated on ceramic plates suspended over boiling water (to speed evaporation; for the curious, I found this to be orders of magnitude faster than waiting for room-temperature evaporation). The residue was scraped and put into clear vegetarian gelatin capsules.

I had been trying to give some to some friends before they left for summer break, but was not able to get it to them in time, so I had five gel caps filled with 5 mg each of the drug (my friends were unsure of the dosage they wanted, so I told them I would put 5 mg each in several capsules and they could dose themselves that way). However, I believe the first two did not contain the full 5 mg due to an inability to scrape all of the residue (later, I tilted the plates so that the area of contact between the solution and the plate was much smaller, which made scraping significantly easier). One capsule in particular, appeared to have very little in it, but it also looked much denser than the others, and the residue was around the rim of one half of the capsule rather than at the bottom like the others. So, my perception of it may have been mistaken. All I can say is that it contained between 0 mg and 5 mg. I had decided long before that I would take 15 mg my first time, since it is safest to start low and work up, so I took the three correctly-dosed capsules, but also decided on a whim to take the capsule that appeared to have the least in it. This was irresponsible, I know, but it has to do with the mind set I was in. Depression can lead one to not caring about their own health and safety quite as much as they should. So, my dose was approximately between 15 and 20 mg, barring any major errors in my measuremnts when making the solution.

Four capsules were ingested bay-side at 11:30 p.m. (exactly, due to OCD). According to my notes, nothing was felt until 12:40, when I began to feel some slight jaw tension. At 12:42, I noted a strange band of color when closing my eyes, but this was likely from the computer screen rather than the drug. At 12:53, I began to feel some nausea, although this may have been hunger instead. I often have difficulty differentiating the two, and it had been quite a while since I had last eaten.

At 1:02, I noted the cold. It was not until 1:17 that I noted any other possible effects of the drug. The entry was, '[...] I do think the trip is finally starting though. I have the sensation of everthing flickering, lights linger in place when I move my head (not quite like tracers, I'll try to describe it more later), music is starting to sound a bit strange, and my lips feel weird. No idea what that last one is about, but it's there.' I do not really know how to describe the flickering, but it is something I typically experience when on LSD, so hopefully others will have experienced it as well and will know what I mean. The lights I was talking about were the distant lights from the city on the other side of the bay. What I was trying to describe was not colorful after-images of the lights, nor did the lights make any sort of trail if my head moved. It was just that if I moved my head, the lights would appear to be both where they were before, in full brightness and the same color, and where they should be after moving. I suppose one could call them after images, but they were not the sort of rainbow-colored after images that I get with LSD. But that is the best I can do to describe it. I do think that this was the beginning of the psychedelic effects of the drug. Note that this was a full hour and forty-five minutes after ingestion.

At this point, I was unsure if the drug was having any effect or if it was just placebo. My mind was completely clear, but other reports describe great lucidity with 2C-T-2, so I thought this might be normal. I decided to walk down to the water (a few feet away), and noted a difficulty balancing. Not in a drunken way where I felt in danger of falling, but the sort of slight imbalance that is characteristic of the psychedelic experience, at least for me. At 1:32, I made note of this, and, still unsure of whether the drug was even active or not, began walking back to my dorm to get my coat. It is here that the notes end.

Since it had been two hours since ingestion, I thought the effects I was now experiencing (imbalance, lights, etc.) must have been happening for longer than I realized, and assumed that I was, or was close to, peaking and that the drug was just very weak, due to a low dose, or that it was entirely placebo. Looking back at PiHKAL and Sulfurous Samadhi, it seems that over an hour for the onset is not uncommon. PiHKAL says, 'A slow onset. It took an hour for a plus one, and almost another two hours to get to a +++.' and Sulfurous Samadhi says '2C-T-2 produces effects which develop over the course of one to two hours after oral ingestion...' However, Stolaroff and Wells, for example, say: 'It reaches full intensity in approximately two hours,...' This was what I was expecting, so I believed I was peaking when I began the walk. Really, though, I was just beginning the comeup.

The walk was not particularly noteworthy. I decided that it was too cold outside and that I didn't want to keep walking, so I would just stay at my dorm when I got there. When I did get to my dorm, I promptly layed down and covered myself with quite a few blankets. I resumed the music I had been playing at the bay. I had read that eating after the peak would be fine, so I ate some Hot & Spicy Cheez-Its (the lightest food I had in my dorm, aside from possibly ramen without the flavor packet; keep in mind that I thought I had already peaked). I closed my eyes, and was surprised to see beautiful, but faint, visuals. These are very difficult to describe. They were sort of like concentric ovals of color, but there were many of these groups of concentric ovals all over my vision. They were very colorful. They were also moving in a way I can't really explain. I suppose 'flowing' might be the word. These would disappear any time I moved, though, and came back only after staying still for a while and concentrating on trying to see them.

While lying down, I began to feel very restless. I rolled around for a little while, trying to get comfortable, but eventually, around 2:00, just decided to go for a walk. Unlike before, I did not bring a computer (for music), water bottle, bug spray, etc. I did, however, put on a coat. I walked in the direction of the bay, although at first I had no intention to go there. Walking was very tiring, and after 5 minutes or so, I had to sit on a bench and rest. Strangely, my leg began bouncing very rapidly while sitting. This is not something I do at all sober and even find annoying when other people do it, but now my leg was moving quite quickly. I sat there until 2:10, and then began walking again. I eventually reached a fairly dark area and stopped and closed my eyes. The visuals still required a bit of concentration to appear, but they were more vivid now. I distinctly remember a beautiful shade of purple as the outer layer of some of the groups of concentric ovals. Continuing on, I reached the bay, after another brief stop to take in some scenery that is not worth describing. I was not near the area I had been at before, though; I was around 5 minutes south of that area.

I decided to climb a tree. During the come-down of my very first LSD trip, I had climbed this same tree, and sat in it for a while, talking to it. I had even hugged it at one point. The LSD trip had been a very diffcult one, and that walk took place after it had settled down, so climbing this tree during the 2C-T-2 trip carried a great deal of significance to me. I also love trees in general. I spent a little while in the tree, and then, after giving it a good-bye hug, went back to the part of the bay I had started the trip at.

The next several hours were very intense. I sat in a chair and spent most of that time with my eyes closed, or looking down at the ground, in intense introspection. I am a very anxious person, especially in social situations. My social anxiety affects my life very heavily, and it is this social anxiety that was the focus of most of the introspection. I have thought about it on LSD as well, with minor therapeutic success. I do not wish to say what exactly I thought about during this period, as it is obviously very personal, but I will say that it was far more useful therapeutically than LSD. It brought back memories from many years ago that I had forgotten, or possibly repressed, and I found a starting point to begin helping myself get past the anxiety. I am writing this paragraph the Sunday following the trip, so it is a bit soon to say whether it has helped, but it was definitely far more useful than LSD.

The OEVs during this time were not spectacular. I saw some faces in the sand patches among the grass in front of where I was sitting. The clouds took some fractal shapes, but not nearly as spectacularly as on 300 ug of LSD. To be fair, there were less clouds and I was on a low dose of 2C-T-2. Still, I feel as though the visuals may be better during the day time. Frankly, though, I think this drug is far too introspective to care much about the visuals. As I said, I spent a long time with my eyes closed, but rarely did I even notice CEVs. Even the OEVs, which are hard to ignore, were paid little attention while my eyes were open.

Around 5:00 or 6:00 a.m. (I cannot quite remember), feeling cold and like I had accomplished as much introspection as I could handle, I walked back to my dorm. I do not remember this time in very much detail. I believe I listened to some music. I may have eaten as well. I do remember that I sat in a chair for a while, doing nothing except thinking. This was not introspective thinking, though, but thinking for pleasure. The trip probably ended around 7:00 or 8:00. At around 7:00, I took a shower, which was pleasant. I do not believe there was anything else of note during this period.

The final noteworthy occurrence was driving later that day. At 9:30 a.m., I had to go run an errand, so I had to drive somewhere 10-15 minutes away. I drank a can of Coca-Cola (containing 34 mg of caffeine) at 9:15 to help with this. At first, depth perception was a bit off, and my motor skills were far below where they should have been to be driving. However, after a little bit of driving, these issues mostly went away. The return trip, around 10:30, was much easier. However, in both cases, my perception of speed was terrible. Keeping a close eye on the speedometer solved this, but it was difficult to tell when my speed was changing, so I probably did not check it as much as I should have. I also realized halfway to where I was going that I had forgotten to bring money, so I had to turn around. I would say that post-trip driving was safely possible, but I put if off as long as possible, an area with low traffic was driven first to get the hang of it, I drove slowly, and I kept a close eye on the speedometer.

That covers the summary of the trip. I shall now add my general thoughts on the drug, and some closing remarks.

2C-T-2 has a reputation for introspection and beautiful visuals. The CEVs were faint for me, but that happens with LSD for me as well, so that may be me or the dose I took. While pretty, the CEVs I got were not nearly as spectacular as the immersive, ever-changing scenes and such that others have described. The OEVs were not that great, either. That being said, I did like the visuals from this drug; they just did not quite live up to their reputation. The introspectiveness, however, did live up to its reputation. This drug is powerfully therapeutic. But it should not be underestimated or taken lightly.

I think the thing I found most noteworthy about 2C-T-2, aside from its therapeutic value, was the slowness of onset. It took nearly two hours before I felt anything. I do not really have anything else to say about that, but it is worth adding so others are aware of this possibility.

There is an interesting quote from PiHKAL that I think summarizes some of my feelings about this experience: 'There is a neutralness to this. I am at the maximum, and I am asking myself, 'Am I enjoying this?' And the answer is, 'No, I am experiencing it.' Enjoyment seems beside the point. It is a rather intensely matter-of-fact +3. Is it interesting? Yes, but mostly in expectation of further developments. Is it inspiring? No. Is it negative? No. Am I glad I took it? Yes. Not glad. Satisfied and contented.' The trip was not euphoric like a good LSD trip. But the introspective portion, while difficult and certainly not pleasant, was not particularly unpleasant either. It was hard to face certain things, but it didn't cause me to cry for two hours and vomit like LSD had when thinking about the same subject. I just sort of... was. The thoughts came, I dealt with them, and I moved on. It was hard, but it was not unpleasant. On the (second) walk home, I felt very relaxed and satisfied. It was not a pleasant trip, but it wasn't bad, and it was what I needed.

I would also like to talk briefly about the nausea. I have a very weak stomach. I throw up almost every time I get drunk, and I have thrown up on LSD and get horrible nausea every time I take it. I found the nausea from 2C-T-2 to be very mild. Less, even, than that from LSD. It is possible that this is because I took it on an empty stomach. But it was not too noticeable, and had dissipated by the time I went back to the secluded part of the bay. I disagree with Stolaroff and Wells, however, about whether the nausea is merely psychological; I was not aware of what was making me nauseous, and I did not have to work through anything for the nausea to end. It may be that the mild nausea is physical whereas severe nausea is psychological, but from my experience, I did not find the nausea to be a purely psychological phenomenon.

This is a wonderful compound, and, I think, my new favorite drug, although not something I could take frequently.

Exp Year: 2017	ExpID: 110601
Gender: Male
Age at time of experience: 18
Published: May 25, 2018	Views: 3,111
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2C-T-2 (53) : Alone (16), Therapeutic Intent or Outcome (49), Preparation / Recipes (30), First Times (2)