DCK

(Deschloroketamine, DXE, O-PCM)

TrippyWiki score: 5.2/10

What is DCK?

Deschloroketamine (DCK) is a dissociative substance of the arylcyclohexylamine class. The effects of DCK are somewhere between those of ketamine and PCP, although the drug is more similar to ketamine than to PCP.

Long-term benefits & side effects

Many of the benefits will only occur if you take this substance the right way.
Some of the side effects are preventable if you follow the harm reduction practices below.

DCK…

Can be an effective way to temporarily lower depression, stress, and anxiety (typically for 1-2 weeks after the drug leaves your system)
Works instantly, therefore it helps prevent suicide
Can cause temporary ego-dissolution at higher doses
May increase neuroplasticity
Makes users more creative and open-minded
Helps you introspect and look at your life from a different perspective
Allows you to forgive people who’ve hurt you
…

Can be lethal if taken at very high doses and mixed with other drugs (although death is an extremely rare side effect)
Might lead to drug-induced psychosis even if you’re not predisposed to it (although this happens rarely, it is more common than with ketamine)
Appears to be neurotoxic for those who take it regularly
Might impair your memory, especially if you take the substance every week or more often
Can cause schizophrenia-like symptoms and might speed up the onset of schizophrenia if you’re genetically predisposed to it
Might cause bladder pain and can lead to long-term urinary tract and bladder damage
Can cause HPPD and physical damage if you combine it with other substances (such as alcohol or stimulants)
Could cause you trauma due to bad set and setting
Can damage your kidneys over time
Is a lot more addictive and habit-forming than ketamine
Speeds up cognitive decline when taken on a regular basis
Can lead to manic episodes, even if you are not predisposed to bipolar disorder (although this side effect is rare)
Can cause seizures when combined with other substances
May lead to heart problems for those who are predisposed to them
May get you imprisoned
…

How to take DCK

Administration

Since DCK is taken in relatively small amounts, you need to use an extremely accurate, 0.001g scale.

To get an accurate dose, weigh 100 mg and dissolve the drug in a solvent.

You can either take the substance intramuscularly, intravenously, orally, smoke it, or snort it.

Snorting the drug is likely to give you more energy and a clearer headspace.

Those who snort DCK tend to become addicted to it more often and are more likely to redose compulsively.

When you smoke DCK, the drug will kick in faster and have a much shorter duration.

Make sure your needle is clean and nobody has used it before you, otherwise you’ll be at risk of getting infected. One additional downside of injecting the drug is that you may experience muscle pain.

The drug can also be swallowed. When taken orally, DCK is more dissociative and less stimulating than with other routes.

Interestingly, the higher the dose you take, the less it matters which route of administration you chose as far as the effects of the drug.

Dosage

10 mg = Threshold
10-20 mg = Light dose
20-30 mg = Regular dose
30-50 mg = Strong dose
50+ mg = High dose

Doses higher than 50 mg are not recommended since they can easily lead to mania and psychosis. Never take such a high dose if you value your mental health.

Never start with a strong dose. You may be more sensitive to the substance than others and it might cause you irreversible damage if you don’t take it responsibly.

Those who need less of the substance to reach desired effects include older and extremely lean people.

Since tolerance to DCK is developed quickly, you want to wait for at least 1-2 weeks between dosing. Otherwise, you would need a higher dose to reach the desired outcome.

Safety checklist

Maximize the benefits

Keep in mind that integration is even more important than the trip itself. Taking the drug would be almost useless if you didn’t retain any lessons in your day-to-day life.

What will help you the most is contemplating about the experience – be it by journaling, thinking about the trip, or sharing your memories with a trusted friend.

Distracting thoughts can get in the way, which is why you want to spend the day after your trip without TV, social media, and other distractions.

If you can, spend time in silence and solitude. Meditate, go for a walk, contemplate the experience.

Duration

Oral / Snorted

Onset = 3-30 minutes
Come up = 30-90 minutes
Peak = 2-3 hours
Come down = 1-2 hours

You should notice the first effects within 40 minutes after you take the psychedelic
You will reach the maximum effect around the 2-hour mark
The whole trip usually lasts for 4-6 hours
At high doses, your trip may last for even longer
If you take the substance orally, expect the substance to take longer to kick in

Injected / Smoked

Onset = 2-5 minutes
Come up = 5-10 minutes
Peak = 30-60 minutes
Come down = 2-6 hours

You should notice the first effects within 3 minutes after you take the psychedelic
You will reach the maximum effect around the 20-minute mark
The whole trip usually lasts for 60-90 minutes
At high doses, your trip may last for even longer
If you take the substance orally, expect the substance to take longer to kick in

What does DCK feel like?

The effects of DCK are somewhere between those of ketamine and PCP, although the drug is more similar to ketamine than to PCP.

The main difference between DCK and ketamine is that DCK is usually more pleasant and slightly stimulating. DCK trips also last longer than those of ketamine.

Users also report that DCK is more visual than ketamine but the difference is not too big.

DCK is also similar to 2-FDCK but there are a few differences.

DCK is usually more euphoric while 2-FDCK is more predictable and lighter. 2-FDCK lies somewhere between DCK and ketamine, it is therefore more similar to ketamine.

Unfortunately, higher doses can cause psychosis and manic episodes and the chance is higher than with ketamine or most other drugs. These can last for a long time after you get off the substance.

As a dissociative, DCK can detach you from your body, senses, and the environment. You may feel like you’re controlling your body from a distance (similarly to playing a 3rd person video game).

At high doses, you may also enter the K-hole. When that happens, you will not be conscious of your body so never take a high dose in an unsafe environment!

Reaching the K-Hole, however, is harder than with ketamine because DCK is not as dissociative.

Other common short-term effects include:

Euphoria
Increased creativity and open-mindedness
Mindfulness, being present
Introspection
Higher capability for love and compassion
Pain relief
Memory suppression
Anesthetic effects
Numbness
Visual effects (typically weak and unpredictable)
Distortions of size, shape, and distance
Manis
Psychosis
Confusion
Inability to talk
Increased body pressure
Worse thermoregulation
Difficulty urinating
Anxiety, paranoia
Vulnerability

The higher dose you take, the more intense these effects will be. This especially applies to the dissociative effects.

Your past experiences with drugs also play a big role in the effects of DCK.

With all this said, it is impossible to accurately describe the experience through human language.

Bad trips can happen but you can partially prevent them by following the tips below.

After-effects

DCK rarely causes a withdrawal. If you take the drug on a regular basis, some withdrawal symptoms may occur but they will be mild.

You may experience insomnia and find it hard to fall asleep the day after taking the drug.

Cognitive impairment, numbness, and impaired vision can also stick for over a day after taking the drug. Do not drive if you don’t feel 100% sober!

Many users get a pleasant afterglow when the drug wears off. They feel better and their depression can disappear for a few days, sometimes even weeks. At the same time, some users actually feel depressed after taking DCK.

Bad trips

Bad trips mostly happen because people take the substance irresponsibly. If you take this drug the right way, there is a much lower chance you’ll get a bad trip but it still can happen.

In case you take DCK responsibly and you still get a bad trip, there is a positive side to that.

During a “bad” trip, negative emotions are coming up from your subconscious mind. They have always been there whether you are aware of it or not. They have been damaging your life and a difficult trip is an opportunity to process these traumas and unpleasant feelings and let go of them.

So instead of calling bad trips bad, call them challenging.

Why they happen

The most common reasons for getting a bad trip are:

Tripping in an unsafe environment (in public, at a party, even nature doesn’t feel safe if you take higher doses)
Facing difficult times in your day-to-day life (a break-up, death of a loved one, …)
Rejecting to let go and trying to hold on to your ego and control the state
Being afraid of the trip (either because of the stigma around psychedelics or because you are not sure how pure your substance is)
Mixing the psychedelic with alcohol, weed, or other drugs
Expecting a bad trip (it can easily become a self-fulfilling prophecy)
Taking a high dose

How to cope with a bad trip

Do not perceive this experience as something bad, remember that facing these difficult emotions can be extremely healing
Fully surrender to the experience, do not try to feel good
If you’re alone, call a trusted friend to come over and keep you safe

How to end a bad trip

In case you are not ready to face your inner demons yet, there are a few ways to end a bad trip.

One possible way is to put on music that is familiar to you. Another way is to switch up your location and move from one place to another. This can completely change your train of thought.

Interactions

Qualia Mind
This nootropic is comprised of 28 ingredients designed to support and maximize your brain function. These ingredients act synergistically and many of them will protect you from the neurotoxic effects of psychedelics. Qualia will also make your trips more pleasant and help you retain more benefits from them.
Herbs
Herbs can help calm you down. Herbal teas (chamomile, lemon balm, valerian root, …) are especially helpful.
Green tea
Tea makes you both more alert and calm at the same time. It also contains neuroprotective antioxidants, such as EGCG.
CBD
CBD has a calming effect.
Weed
Marijuana will greatly intensify the trip.
Nitrous oxide
Nitrous oxide will multiply the intensity of your trip.
Benzodiazepines (Valium, Xanax, …)
The combination may lead to a loss of consciousness and vomiting. Vomit aspiration is the most dangerous risk.
Alcohol, GHB, GBL, Opioids
Just like benzodiazepines, these drugs can cause vomit aspiration if you combine them with dissociatives. DCK can also reduce opioid tolerance, increasing the risk of overdose.
SSRIs or MAOIs
Not only will these antidepressants greatly decrease the intensity of your trip, but they can also lead to long-lasting side effects. You may also go unconscious and die from vomit aspiration.
Stimulants
The combination can lead to heart problems or hyper mania.
Tramadol
Combining the two can cause seizures.

Legality

As of 2021, DCK is illegal in most countries of the world.

In some European (and a few other) countries, you can legally buy the substance from the internet for “chemical research” purposes. You cannot consume the substance legally but whether or not anyone cares is a different story.

In many countries, you can own a small amount of the substance for personal use without getting in legal trouble.

FAQ

Yes. Tolerance develops quickly and can last for months or even years.

However, it usually takes 3-7 days to cut the tolerance in half and by 2 weeks, most users will be as sensitive to DCK as if they never took it before.

DCK also has cross-tolerance with other dissociatives, like ketamine and DXM.

DCK acts primarily as an NMDA receptor antagonist, meaning it binds to and blocks the activity of the NMDA receptor, the receptor responsible for the transmission of neural impulses in the central nervous system.

Always take the substance in a safe place and keep a trusted friend nearby to take care of you in case something goes wrong.

If you are a mentally stable individual who does not suffer from psychosis or have a predisposition to bipolar or schizophrenia, there is virtually no way you would develop any mental illnesses because of taking the drug. With that said, high doses of DCK can lead to mania and drug-induced psychosis. The drug isn’t nearly as psychologically safe as ketamine or some other dissociatives.

The drug stays in your blood for around 24 hours, in your saliva for up to 2 days, in your urine for 14-30 days and in your hair, the substance can be detected for a few months.

Keep your powder or liquid in a cold dark place, preferably with no air.

If you don’t do this, the drug will lose potency over time.

It is recommended to stop eating 2-3 hours before taking the substance, especially if you take it orally.

Alcoholics
Those who don’t want to put their mental health at risk
Brain cancer patients
Those who have uncontrolled hypertension (high blood pressure)
People with a history of heart attacks
People with thyroid disease (hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism)
Immature psychonauts who are not willing to follow the safety guidelines
People who suffer from psychosis
People who have a familial history of schizophrenia
Those who suffer from HPPD
People who are are predisposed to bipolar disorder or are going through a manic phase
Those who tried other dissociatives and noticed unpredictable side effects

Compared to ketamine, DCK is more addictive because of its stimulant and euphoric effects. This is especially the case for users who take the substance with the purpose of having fun.

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