Disregard Everything I Say

Onset : 20 - 90 minutes
Duration : 6 - 10 hours
Normal After Effects : 2 - 6 hours

Light : 5 - 10 mg
Common : 10 - 15 mg
Strong : 15 - 30 mg
Heavy : 30 - 40 mg +

2C-E (2,5-dimethoxy-4-ethylphenethylamine) is a psychedelic and phenethylamine of the 2C family. Its chemical synthesis was first published in 1991 within the book PiHKaL: A Chemical Love Story by Dr. Alexander Shulgin and Ann Shulgin. This was a groundbreaking book that included detailed synthesis instructions for over 200 psychedelic compounds (most of which Shulgin discovered himself), including bioassays, dosages, and other commentary. For those who are interested, 2C-E’s specific entry, synthesis and qualitative commentary can be found here.
The mechanism that produces the psychedelic effects of 2C-E is a direct result from its action as a 5-HT2A serotonin receptor agonist in the brain, a mechanism of action shared by all other hallucinogenic tryptamines and phenethylamines.
Many people have reported that the general effects of 2C-E are similar to those of the other psychedelic phenethylamines, but far more intense in terms of its physical body load and visual effects. The experience is often described as similar in appearance to LSD, and many reports indicate that the effects of this particular chemical may be overly intense for those who are not already experienced with psychedelics. The subjective effects of which I will now begin to break down and describe…

Physical effects:
The physical sensation of a 2C-E trip is a very unusual one. It is manifested as one of the most proportionally intense body highs in comparison to the trips accompanying visual alterations that I have found within any of the classical psychedelics. This is something which is only beaten in terms of its overwhelming forcefulness by high dose AMT and 5-meo-DMT experiences. 
It can be described as an intensely pleasurable, energetic pins and needles sensation that constantly encompasses a person’s entire body. It is usually felt over every square inch of the skin but occasionally manifests itself in the form of a continuously shifting tingling sensation that travels up and down the body spontaneously in waves. This feeling is accompanied by an overall enhancement of the pleasure derived from tactile sensations. In comparison to LSD, it is much sharper and feels as if it is somehow considerably less natural and more synthetic. This everlasting droning is immensely pleasurable and is capable of leaving people completely incapacitated, writhing and trembling on the floor in ecstasy. However, it can also become overwhelmingly intense and a burden at higher levels, with many people reporting that they find it to be quite uncomfortable instead of euphoric. 
It is sometimes characterized by urges to shift the position of ones body and prolonged tensing of unusual combinations of muscle groups.
It is extremely stimulating at levels which do not become overwhelming, resulting in a shakiness and unsteadiness of the hands but encouraging trippers to move around, run, dance, climb and generally engage in physical activities.
An extremely unique but commonly felt physical component of the 2C-E trip is the way in which it heightens and enhances sexual arousal in a way that I have not yet found within any other psychedelic. It’s worth noting that although all other psychedelics such as LSD or mushrooms do profoundly enhance the physical sensation of sexual pleasure if it is forcibly engaged in, they do not cause people to feel sexually aroused regardless of social context or setting in the same way that 2C-E does. When experienced, this sensation is not overwhelming or out of control in anyway but simply remains as something that the tripper is constantly aware of. If sexual activities of any kind are engaged in, they are found to be immensely more pleasurable beyond anything that could be possible sober, with orgasm becoming difficult to reach but completely possible to attain. If orgasm is reached, it is consistently accompanied by an incredibly intense and overpowering but hilariously irrelevant, visual explosion of completely non sexual imagery, hallucinations and geometric forms.
In terms of the physical discomfort experienced on this substance, mild to extreme nausea is commonly reported when consumed in moderate to high dosages and either passes instantly once the tripper has vomited or gradually fades by itself as the peak sets in. 

Cognitive effects:
The thought patterns and mental processes triggered by 2C-E consist of two different styles of head space that depend entirely on the setting. These manifest themselves as psychedelic introspection when taken alone and an entactogenic sociability when taken with others. Its entactogenic effects are a little weaker and less sharp than those found on substances such as MDMA but can be described as general feelings of,

• Increased sociability and feelings of communication being easy or simple
• Increased urge to communicate with others
• Increased empathy and feelings of closeness or connection with others
• Reduced insecurity, defensiveness, and fear of emotional injury

These effects may be weaker in comparison to classical entactogens such as MDMA, but are still strong enough to provide a specific set of positive and therapeutic changes in perception that can last from weeks to a lifetime after the experience. If substances such as Mushrooms and LSD are exclusively for solving personal problems, 2C-E can be just as useful for solving interpersonal problems as well.
This is done through inducing strong feelings of love, and empathy for the people around you, making it useful for mending pre-existing emotional disputes and reinventing the bonds between friendships and romantic partners. This allows people to truly express their emotions and understand the perspectives of other people whilst maintaining full control over their actions. 
The introspective effects of 2C-E are present but not quite as profound or as sharp as similar states of personal problem solving found on LSD and Mushrooms. However, they are considerably more intense anything found with 2C-I. They generally manifest themselves only when the tripper is alone, as the urge to socialize with others seems to suppress and overwhelm it in the company of other people. This state can be described as distinct levels of accelerated thought that consistently direct themselves towards an unbiased analysis of the self and ones actions, leading people to therapeutic and mentally beneficial changes in their perspective on themselves and the world around them.
These two separate states are both accompanied by feelings of emotional euphoria and happiness. In positive settings, it consistently triggers involuntary smiling and an increased sense of humour but otherwise relatively normal thought processes, meaning that 2C-E doesn’t impair judgment as deeply as do many other psychedelics with otherwise-similar effects. 
2C-E can also produce distortions in the user’s perception of the passage of time leading to an illusion of moderate to extreme time dilation. This feels as if it stems from the fact that during a 2C-E trip, such huge amounts of experience are packed into extremely short periods of time in comparison to normal sober living.

Visual effects:
The visuals attributed to 2C-E visuals follow a specific style which can be described as sharp, clean, angular and somehow digital, synthetic looking geometry, with bright and vivid colours. They are signifigantly more powerful when a person is by themselves and very comparable to LSD in terms of their stylistic appearance but slightly less intricate and come with a style of movement and structure that is more comparable to Mushrooms. The visuals are fast moving and change by means of flowing, swirling and morphing into themselves to create new and constantly changing geometric forms. These visuals are very high in structure, spontaneously morphing into comprehensible forms and hallucinatory objects or imagery made of a condensed closed eye visual based material.  As the visuals increase proportional to dosage, they eventually give way to level 6A psychedelic visuals and feelings of experiencing everything within the entire universe all at once. 
The distortions found within 2C-E are significantly smoother and more believable looking in comparison to 2C-I, with a level of generic psychedelic clarity that is completely on par with LSD or mushrooms but  are much less likely to distort the environment beyond recognition even at higher doses.
The hallucinations and imagery can become extremely prevalent when a person is by themselves without external influence. They seem to fit and follow the rhythm of a person’s thought patterns, stemming from an initial ability to visualize concepts within the minds eye with a great sense of clarity. This eventually increases until a persons thought stream is manifested in front of them in a bizarre psychedelic fashion that the tripper has a great sense of partial control over. As dosage increases further, these are eventually capable of manifesting themselves as vivid hallucinatory scenarios such as contact with autonomous entities, imagined landscapes and scenarios.

Auditory effects:
2C-E’s distortion of sound is quite profound and produces more auditory enhancements, effects, distortions and hallucinations than any other psychedelic which I have come across. The auditory distortions include the flanging of sounds, echoing and pitch shifting. The auditory hallucinations can be described as the perceived synthesis of new sounds not derived from one’s immediate environment, such as phasers, scraping, drilling, and popping. Most of the more unusual distortions of sound are only experienced after the ingestion (or, rarely, insufflation) of high doses.

This is accompanied by a powerful enhancement of auditory perception. Resulting in noise suddenly becoming extremely loud, clear and crisp. Something which triggers levels of increased music appreciation that are once again completely on par with LSD. This is experienced in the form of music sounding “wider” and a profound ability to comprehend every single piece of noise throughout each separate layer of complex songs in a level of detail that is simply not possible sober. The profound sensation of being able to fully understand the emotional intent of the music being listened to is also present, resulting in states of ecstatic euphoria and mental involvement when this drug is combined with any enjoyable music of a tripper’s personal preference.

Health effects, potential addiction and tolerance:
The toxicity and long term health effects of recreational 2C-E use does not seem to have been studied in any scientific context and the exact toxic dosage is unknown. This is because 2C-E is a research chemical with very little history of human usage. Anecdotal evidence from people who have tried 2C-E within the psychedelic community suggests that there are no negative health effects attributed to simply trying this drug at low to moderate doses or using it very sparingly but nothing can be completely guaranteed.
The biggest danger with this substance seems to be confusing it with other more potent psychedelics such as Bromo-DragonFLY as 2CE which is active in the 200 - 800 micrograms range. This means that it is roughly as potent as LSD and extremely dangerous if taken in place of 2C-E, which has resulted in fatal overdoses on multiple separate occasions thanks to accidental mislabelling of bags from research chemical vendors. There are cases in the media of people ordering 2-CE, among other research chemicals, from online vendors, and receiving Bromo-DragonFLY instead.
2C-E does not seem to physically addictive but could potentially become habit-forming as there is no real tolerance attributed to this drug, meaning that it could potentially be used multiple days in a row if somebody chose to do so. This can be prevented by manually limiting your usage of the drug and is practically unheard of, with most users noting that the desire to use them can actually decrease with use thanks to its powerfully introspective and mentally therapeutic effects.

Legal issues:

• As of July 9, 2012, in the United States 2C-E is a Schedule I substance under the Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act of 2012, making possession, distribution and manufacture illegal.
• As of April 8, 2007 Denmark added 2C-E to the list of Schedule I controlled substances.
• New Zealand has a catch-all Analogues section in Schedule 3 / Class C of their drug laws that makes 2C-E a Schedule 3 compound.
• In Sweden, 2C-E has been controlled since Oct 1, 2004.
• As of 2002, 2C-E is illegal in the United Kingdom and a Class A controlled substance under The Misuse of Drugs Act. 

Else where in the world, it is completely legal. If you want to try 2C-E despite full knowledge of the legal risks it can be purchased online through various research chemical vendors of which I cannot legally mention the names of. This means that if you want to do this, you will have to find a source for yourself using the power of Google search.

Conclusion:
In conclusion, I was extremely impressed with 2C-E and it exceeded my expectations many times over. I was originally expecting a poor man’s LSD with psychedelic visuals but no true hallucinatory states. Instead I found myself with a substance that is more comparable to mushrooms and extremely useful for both psychonautical exploration and recreational activities such as raves, festivals and parties for those who are already experienced with the substance. It is even useful when taken at very low sub threshold dosages as a motivating background stimulant as I actually wrote this entire article on approximately 0.07mg and it genuinely helped me keep the words flowing and to maintain a strong sense of focus.
Alexander Shulgin has been quoted as saying 
“Someday, the full character of 2C-E will be understood, but for the moment, let it rest as being a difficult and worth-while material. A very much worth-while material.” 
This is a statement which I completely agree with and I genuinely hope that this article has contributed to increasing the psychedelic community’s understanding of this fascinating substance. 
Over the upcoming months I will definitely be slowly working my through Shulgin’s magical half-dozen (which can be found here) and documenting each of their subjective effects in as much detail as human English will possibly allow me to.