A closer look at 4-AcO-DMT

I’ve mentioned 4-AcO-DMT a few times before, most recently in my post on volumetric dosing. Today, I want to delve deeper into what it is and discuss its effects and dosage.

What is 4-AcO-DMT? #

4-AcO-DMT is a synthetic psychedelic and the acetylated form of psilocin. This makes it structurally similar to the psilocybin found in magic mushrooms, which is instead its phosphorylated form. Psilocin directly causes the psychoactive effects.

When ingested, the body metabolises 4-AcO-DMT into psilocin, in a process similar to the dephosphorylation of psilocybin. This metabolic pathway is less studied, and it remains unclear if 4-AcO-DMT is psychoactive on its own or just a prodrug for psilocin.

In my experience, 4-AcO-DMT produces more geometrical hallucinations compared to psilocybin. However, I’ve only ever consumed psilocybin through magic mushrooms, which also contain psilocin as well as psilocybin analogues such as baeocystin, norbaeocystin and aeruginascin. This mix might explain the differences in the effects I’ve noticed.

I generally feel only very mild nausea when taking 4-AcO-DMT, similar to consuming magic mushroom tea. This discomfort is less pronounced than when ingesting whole mushrooms, as there’s no fibrous matter involved.

Dosage #

It’s commonly stated that 15 mg of 4-AcO-DMT is roughly equivalent to 3-3.5 grams of magic mushrooms, or about 30-35 mg of psilocybin. I’ve found this approximation to be broadly correct in terms of the intensity of the effects.

In an experiment with a lower dose, I once took 8.5 mg of 4-AcO-DMT, expecting it to be similar to consuming just under 2 grams of Psilocybe cubensis. Yet, the effects were significantly milder than anticipated, perhaps more akin to a dose of less than 1 gram of magic mushrooms. I’ve also noticed that 2.5 mg of 4-AcO-DMT feels comparable to a microdose of 100-150 mg of magic mushrooms. Based on these observations, I suspect the dose-conversion relationship might not be linear.