mescaline

noun

mes·​ca·​line ˈme-skə-lən  ˈme-skə-ˌlēn 

: a hallucinatory crystalline alkaloid C₁₁H₁₇NO₃ that is the chief psychoactive principle in peyote buttons

Natural psychedelics such as mescaline or psilocybin are found in plants considered sacred since ancient times.

—Luis Alberto Henríquez-Hernández et al.

Examples of mescaline in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The proposition also decriminalized possession, personal use, growing and sharing of five psychedelic substances: psilocybin, psilocin, DMT, ibogaine and mescaline. —Elliott Wenzler, The Denver Post, 3 Mar. 2025

There’s a moment of heroic redemption near the end where Royal saves his grandsons from a car crash when their errant neighbor (Owen Wilson) is at the wheel high on mescaline. —David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019

Some wellness businesses are using them anyway Oct. 3, 2024 The cactus contains a spectrum of psychoactive alkaloids, the primary one being the hallucinogen mescaline, and is coveted for those psychedelic properties. —Deepa Bharath and Jessie Wardarski, Los Angeles Times, 28 Dec. 2024

These are psilocybin, psilocin, dimethyltryptamine, ibogaine and mescaline. —Joshua P. Cohen, Forbes, 4 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1896, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for mescaline

• acrolein
• adenine
• alkylene
• aniline
• anthracene
• aquiline
• asphaltene
• atlantean
• atrazine
• butadiene
• butylene
• caesarean

Kids Definition

mescaline

noun

mes·​ca·​line ˈmes-kə-lən 

-ˌlēn

: a drug that is obtained from the peyote cactus and causes hallucinations

Medical Definition

mescaline

noun

mes·​ca·​line ˈmes-kə-lən  -ˌlēn 

: a hallucinatory crystalline alkaloid C₁₁H₁₇NO₃ that is the chief psychoactive principle in peyote buttons