Chemical Properties and Reaction Tendencies
Mescaline has hallucinogenic properties when ingested by either eating, drinking, or smoking the substance. Peyote itself contains over fifty psychoactive ingredients and mescaline is the primary and most potent ingredient. In humans (and in other animals), mescaline significantly increases heart rate, blood pressure, and body temperature. Motor skills and normal reflexes are diminished while under the influence of mescaline. Also, there is the mental aspect of using mescaline. Some mescaline users, either novice or consistent, can experience a bad "trip," or experience after taking mescaline. If this occurs, typically the mescal user will experience some visual, sound, taste, or even smell representation of a loss of control of their mind and body or a feeling of something death-related and foreboding. This can sometimes lead to suicidal tendencies in mescaline users. Other physical effects of mescaline, and even peyote, are vomiting, nausea, headache, visual hallucinations, and paranoia.