Hello,

allow me intro myself to this fine community: i'm an aussie student who seeks 'enlightening experiences', but none of my friends share this desire. therefore, i am left to discover and learn by my lonesome (or at least, i would be if it weren't for forums such as this).

I have recently come by Acacia Maidenii bark. the tree was removed as it was a threat to the other tress around it, but the nice gardeners left the stumps there for everyone . the bark i am using is the whole outer bark, pulled off the trunk stumps.

after three days of researching various extraction teks, i settled on two:
Marsofold's tek - http://psilocyber.awards...&id=12&Itemid=2
and the lazy man's tek - http://www.entheogen.com...m/showthread.php?t=9217

i have chosen to do both simultaneously.

my problem is this - on my first attempt at a naptha pull (on the aqueous solution from lazy man's tek) , i noticed the layers would not mix at all. the naptha stayed crystal clear. i gently agitated the 'mixture' for over 30 mins, and there was no noticeable difference.

i decided to suck up some of the clear naptha, and i left it to evaporate as an experiment. i was using a spoon, and i did this without skill, which meant i accidentaly brought some of the bottom layer with me. as i had no intention of using this, i didn't mind, and left it to evaporate.

the next morning there was absolutley nothing left in the dish where the clear naptha had been, but many crystal were apparent in the brown splodges (splashed aqueous solution) next to the chunks of bark. this means to me that there is no doubt i have spice.

i put this down to the naptha being too cold when i mixed the two, and not enough agitation.

so i proceeded to take earlier prepared NaHo, water and bark solution, put it into a jar and added near boiling naptha to it, this time shaking vigorously. the layers appeared to mix, and there was no clear layer visible.

what happened next i believe is described as an 'emulsion layer'. the top layer was sparkly and bubbly. after a while, this layer shrunk, leaving three layers: the bottom dark solution, a middle sparkly and bubbly layer, and a third CLEAR layer of naptha. after time (1hour+), the middle layer becomes little more than a surface skin between the solvent and the NaOH, water and bark. the naptha is still perfectly clear at this point.

I DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHY MY NAPTHA LAYER IS SO CLEAR. the first tek i linked to shows photos of the naptha after agitation, and it is quite obviously cloudy, with 'little volcanoes' of spice to be seen from overhead.

the only way i can speculate is that i have bought the wrong solvent. there was no VM&P naptha at my hardware store, so i instead opted for "Digger's Enamel Thinner", which is labeled as "100% Hydrocarbon liquid", and is mentioned on a camping forum as containing pure naptha.

Have I used the wrong solvent?
Is the bubble layer desireable?
How do i know if the naptha has absorbed the spice?

my apologies for my intellectual limits, and i intensely thank everyone who reads this.

Thanks,
ppt1ne

p.s my attempt at marsofold's tek (essentially the same, but without the debris in the solution) is having the same problem, but i have not attempted to evaporate the naptha yet.

Note - I lie about everything to do with illicit substances and other contraband. however, i can be trusted with every other, non-illegal subject

Fitzgerald and Siournis reported in the Australian Journal of Chemistry (1965, volume 18, pp. 433-4) that a sample of the bark contained 0.36% of the hallucinogen DMT as well as 0.24% of N-methyltryptamine. However, anecdotal evidence suggests that the concentration of DMT and other tryptamines in A. maidenii is very variable and may be zero in many strains. When smoked, the bark gives a mild hallucinogenic effect. It is also a common admixture ingredient to Australian ayahuasca brews.

You might want to consider this : ) But, dont despair as your place of living has the biggest varietys of Acacias, and its nice to have one of those beauties in your yard.Seeds are available everywhere in Australia.

Thanks ambivalent for the reply!

I have read that, but considering the availabilty of the maidenii, and no need for destruction of a plant, if there is no spice in it, i will not be looking for other species.

My only concern with this well-documented opinion ("However, anecdotal evidence suggests that the concentration of DMT and other tryptamines in A. maidenii is very variable and may be zero in many strains" is - where is this anecdotal evidence?

the only anecdotal evidence i have found in relation to maidenii is this - http://www.lycaeum.org/~...xtraction/extract4.html - he didn't have a problem, and extracted spice.

i understand that acacia is a highly variable species, but does the presence of crystals in the evaporated NaOH solution mean there is spice?

Thanks again

maybe there was some lye contamination that crystalized uppon drying.you mentioned that during the pull's with the spoon the extracted naphta got contaminated.A re crystalizing procedure can be done easily on that with little bit naphta.I have a faded memory of an experiment that ended like that with the Phalaris grass, done by a goose in my neibhorhood : )

perhaps this is wishful thinking, but the crystals formed look alot like spice crystals. i am currently looking for lye crystalisation images, and so far they look quite different. Your theory is pretty solid tho, as there was definatley lye in the splodges (it wasn't so much contamination as it was different piles).

i am looking for my camera, and i hope to post a photo of my first evap attempt, and maybe one of the layers. if you would't mind lookin them over it would be forever appreciated.

thanks for your help

Hi there! Just because you got crystals doesn't mean it is DMT. Also, the naphtha does not have to be visibly cloudy or yellow to have dmt in it. I have pulled crystal clear naphtha and had loads precipitate in the freezer. Also, to get rid of your emulsion layer, just add more caustic soda (lye)... it can't hurt and usually fixes the problem. As for the solvent i've heard people in Aus use Shellite with success. Maybe look for that in your local hardware store. Good luck!

thanks doingkermit (lol at ur name)!

so the only way to know if u have spice is to evap, then sample?
i have 3 extractions atm (marsofold's and 2 lazyman's), i pulled more solvent from one of em (still clear), and am freeze precipitating as we speak.
i will post results tomorrow.

i'll also buy 4L of shellite tomorrow and start with a new round of extractions.

thanks for your help!!

You can all ways reduce the volume of solvent (via evaporation) after pulling until it starts going cloudy. This allows it to be saturated enough for the crystals to crash out upon freezing. If you do not see crystals after 12 hours in the freezer, you have to reduce the volume of solvent (fan works well for this). Whatever you do do not throw anything out!