NBOMes

Compound: N-methoxybenzyl or 25X-NBOMe
Other names: 25-I-NBOMe, 25I, 2C-I-NBOMe, Bom-25, N-Bomb, NBOMe, Novel Psychoactive Substance (NSP), Pandora, Phenethylamines, Psychedelics, Solaris
Download NBOMes flyer here

The NBOMe-type hallucinogens (referred to generically as NBOMe) are a series of potent serotonin agonists related to the 2C-(x) series of phenethylamines. The most frequently reported drugs from this group are 25I-NBOMe, 25B-NBOMe, and 25C-NBOMe. Since their introduction in the early 2010s, numerous reports have been published on clinical intoxications and fatalities resulting from the consumption of NBOMe compounds. NBOMes have been sold as an alternative to LSD or as LSD due to the very potent psychedelic activity. Thus, users may accidentally ingest NBOMe as counterfeited LSD or MDMA. Users may find that LSD has a slight metallic taste or no taste at all, while 25I-NBOMe will have a bitter taste. The most common NBOMe chemicals in circulation in Australia include: 25B-NBOMe, 25C-NBOMe and 25I-NBOMe.

Know Your Body & Mind — ‘Set’

Know Your Environment — ‘Setting’

Know Your Drug — Practice Harm Reduction

ADMINISTRATION
The drugs are sold as blotter papers, or in powder, liquid, or tablet form, and they are administered sublingually/buccally, intravenously, via nasal insufflations, or by smoking. 

 

DURATION OF EFFECTS

Onset                 Duration         After effects
25B-NBOMe
Sublingual 20–40 min 8–12 h 2–6 h
Insufflation 2–5 min 8–12 h 2–6 h
25C-NBOMe
Sublingual 45–90 min 4–10 h 1–24 h
25I-NBOMe
Sublingual 45–90 min 5–10 h 6–24 h

 

HALF LIFE
Although the effects may seem to have worn off after 8 hours, the drug is still active in your system for another 5 hours and effects may linger until you have slept.

DRUG TESTS
Roadside Police:  NBOMes are not detectable by a saliva test. It is illegal to drive under the influence of any illicit drugs, including NBOMes and any driver may be subject to a roadside behavioural impairment test. Wait at least 24-48 hours before driving.

Reagent Testing: Lab-quality testing for detecting NBOMes is recommended for best results and is available in Canberra (ACT) and in Brisbane & Gold Coast (QLD).  If you are testing a substance sold as LSD an Ehrlich’s reagent turns purple in the presence of a class of drugs called “indoles,” which includes substances like LSD, psilocybin, DMT, and more. If Ehrlich’s does not turn purple, it means that no LSD is present.

 

EFFECTS
NBOMes such as 25I-NBOMe produces visual effects like LSD, but unlike LSD, 25I has an unpredictable safety profile and seemingly random negative effects. Refer to LSD flyer for effects of LSD.

Physical effects

COMMON

  • Closed and open-eye visuals
  • Dilation of pupils
  • Sensory enhancement (taste, touch, smell etc)
  • Unusual body sensations (facial flushing, chills, goosebumps, body energy, feeling like you have urinated on yourself or have started menstruating)
  • Increased heart rate increase
  • Itching or tingling sensations
  • Nausea and vomiting
  • Perspiration
  • Behavioural harms (injury/accident)

 

LESS COMMON

  • Seizures
  • Synaesthesia; a sound may evoke sensations of colour
  • Feeling of heaviness or lethargy
  • Vasoconstriction (constriction of blood vessels)

 

RARE

  • Hypothermia or Hyperthermia (difficulty regulating body temperature)

Emotional effects

COMMON

  • Lack of focus
  • Unusual thoughts and speech
  • Range of emotions

 

LESS COMMON

  • Life-changing spiritual experiences

Psychological effects

COMMON

  • Change in time perception
  • Overwhelming feelings
  • Change in consciousness
  • Dissociation of mind from body
  • Confusion
  • Disorientation
  • Anxiety
  • ‘bad trip’ reaction.
  • While the hallucinations can be enjoyable, funny and even profound, there is a risk that users will experience disturbing and frightening hallucinations and lose touch with reality

 

LESS COMMON

  • Paranoia
  • Out of body experience
  • Ego dissolution
  • Fear of death

SAFER USING

For psychedelic drugs, set and setting are very important in determining the nature of the experience. ‘Set’ is the mindset a person brings with them and includes the physical, emotional and spiritual condition of the person, their expectations about the drug’s effects and how they will react to it. ‘Setting’ is the environment that a person is in, including the social environment, who you are with and the physical surroundings, e.g. at home, at a festival or an unfamiliar location.

  • Avoid using other substances in conjunction with NBOMe, particularly stimulants like methamphetamine and MDMA
  • Avoid snorting NBOMe. NBOMe on blotter is designed to be used sublingually, while NBOMe in tablet form is designed for oral administration
  • When snorted, NBOMe-dtype hallucinogens have amplified effects. There have been several overdoses and fatalities in Australia related to NBOMe that has been snorted.
  • Have a sober person on hand who can assist if someone has a difficult experience or physical side effects.
  • Bad trip reactions caused by NBOMe can be severe, and may not successfully managed by the usual techniques used with classic psychedelics. 
  • If someone has a difficult experience, consider how to best keep the person safe. Seek urgent medical attention if a person cannot be calmed, or is extremely delirious and unaware of their surroundings.
  • Seek urgent medical attention in the event of a seizure
  • Any adverse reaction to a suspected NBOMe substance should be treated as a possible medical emergency.

SAFER DOSING

  • Active doses start at around 200 micrograms. This is too small a dose to “eye ball”. If unsure of the dosage, start with a tiny amount, and wait 60-90 minutes minimum.  

 

Compound              Dose (μg)
Threshold          Light                Common           Strong           
25B-NBOMe
Oral 100 100–300 350–500 500–700+
Snorted 50 50–200 200–350 350–500+
25C-NBOMe
Oral 50–250 250–500 500–750 750–1250+
25I-NBOMe
Oral 50–250 200–500 500–750 700–1000+

 

References: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7054380/

Drug combinations

Possible outcomes. What works for one person may not work for another. We recommend you proceed with caution.

Unsafe combinations

  • Tramadol is well known to lower seizure threshold and NBOMes have also shown a tendency to cause severe seizures
  • Amphetamines and NBOMes both provide considerable stimulation. When combined they can result in tachycardia, hypertension, vasoconstriction and in extreme cases heart failure. The anxiogenic and focusing effects of stimulants are also not good in combination with psychedelics as they can lead to unpleasant thought loops. NBOMes are known to cause seizures and stimulants can increase this risk.
  • Cocaine and NBOMes both provide considerable stimulation. When combined they can result in severe vasoconstriction, tachycardia, hypertension, and in extreme cases heart failure.
  • DXM

Cautionary combinations

  • 2C-x
  • 2C-T-x
  • 5-MeO: class of tryptamines can be unpredictable in their interactions and the NBOMes are known to be unpredictable even alone. This combination is best avoided
  • Caffiene can bring out the natural stimulation from psychedelic drugs to make it uncomfortable. High doses can cause anxiety which is hard to handle while tripping
  • Cannabis has an unexpectedly strong and somewhat unpredictable synergy with psychedelics.
  • MAO-B: inhibitors can increase the potency and duration of phenethylamines unpredictably
  • MDMA
  • MXE: As an NMDA antagonist MXE potentiates NBOMes which can be unpleasantly intense
  • Mescaline

Low risk effects

  • Alcohol
  • Mushrooms
  • Nitrous
  • Opioids

Check out the TripSit drug combinations chart here for info on other combinations.

Call 000 if experiencing adverse effects, feel unwell or concerned in any way

Disclaimer

This educational resource has been developed collaboratively by healthcare workers and people who use drugs for their peers and the wider community. The role of Hi-Ground is to provide practical, evidence-based, unbiased information to assist you to make educated choices and to promote harm reduction, community care, and wellbeing. In an unregulated market it’s impossible to know the purity or dose of any substance. Taking drugs from an unregulated market carries its own risk, and you can educate yourself and practice harm reduction to reduce this risk.

Knowledge is power.

This resource is produced by DanceWize & Hi-Ground