Follow @Erowid on Instagram!
What It Can Really Do
Petroleum Ether
Citation:   Spacefrog. "What It Can Really Do: An Experience with Petroleum Ether (exp10135)". Erowid.org. Jul 14, 2005. erowid.org/exp/10135

 
DOSE:
  repeated inhaled Petroleum Ether (gas)
[Erowid Note: Our understanding of the literature is that there is no such thing as safe recreational use of volatile solvents, aerosols and other street inhalants : their psychoactive effects are inseparable from nerve and organ damage. We have chosen to include these reports to help document the real world use of inhalants, but their inclusion is not intended to imply that they are anything but dangerous.]

Ether, what a beautiful drug… It has been a few years now since I took ether, or more precisely petroleum ether, but I still can remember the amazing times that I had.

Me and my friend had stolen a litre of petroleum ether from our school’s lab, originally to use it in the process of making LSD. But soon after we discovered the effects petroleum ether has, we forgot about making LSD and just cained the bottle with a few friends of ours. We ended up having petroleum ether parties with about 15 to 20 people sniffing the stuff. Great times it were, and if I ever had the opportunity to do it again I wouldn’t think twice about it.

I have noticed that in the other reports, the people who had done ether soaked pieces of cloth with it. That’s not the way to do it, I can assure you that. What we found out to be the best was to wet a thick piece of toilet paper and just hold it to your face in order to cover your mouth and nose. Than breath deeply. Do not breath through the paper until all the liquid has evaporated. You should take a few deep breaths than a break, a few deep breaths than a break and so on.

The effects will came in under a minute, and lasted up to 10 minutes (peaking) if I was lucky. The first time I took it, the effects were a bit weird, and as soon as the effects were gone I had a very strong migraine, which stopped if I inhaled some more. Of course that was just postponing the migraine which would be even stronger than before. Once I stopped. For the first time you shouldn’t do it for too long or you will end up in the state one of my best friends was after 12 hours of non stop inhaling for the first time he took it. His migraine was so strong that he couldn’t sleep, his stomach hurt and it is believed that his puck was green. Don’t worry though as the immediate secondary effects will stop after your second or third time, and will never come back, unless you stop ether for a long while and do it again.

The effects are incredibly amazing, and absolutely impossible to describe. The effects vary from person to person but the fact remains, it is strong, very strong. I feel at first very light headed, very good and free of all worries whatsoever. You may laugh hysterically about anything, or hear all sorts of weird noises such as bells and so on. I did experience hallucinations, but while being completely gone with my eyes wide open. I could try to describe it but than you would think that I am completely deranged. They involved the end of the world, a giant 3 dimensional rabbit made of sulphur which burnt spinning with me in space, counting the time backward until the year 0, each year being one giant rabbit burning away. Once the countdown was finished, that is after slightly under 2000 years, I saw my friend trying to laugh in distinct decomposed stages, to finally burst out laughing. At the same time I heard a bell ringing. I opened my eyes to find my friend asking me if I was alright, and my other friend who was making the sound of a bell while hitting his head on my bed…

Now all I have said does not encounter for even 1% of the effects that can experienced on petroleum ether. One thing really good about that stuff is that if I decide that I want to be in control, than I am in complete control of myself, movement wise, speech wise, senses wise. I have done petroleum ether in my room in the middle of the day, knowing that my mother could come knocking anytime. She did a few times, and she didn’t notice anything even though I can assure you that I was well-fucked. However, you shouldn’t try to face parents or any of the kind before you gained some experience with petroleum ether. Also, after I stop taking the stuff, there is no comedown of any kind and no noticeable after-effects. Another good thing about petroleum ether is the fact that contrary to most other drugs, its effects grow stronger and stronger. There is absolutely no chance of getting bored of it, and you don’t have to take larger quantities to feel the same effects, like pills for example. I can assure you that if you take the same amount everyday, you will feel more and more effects as the days go by.

Be very careful though. Petroleum ether is a dangerous solvent which can damage very severely your brain, even though I never truly experienced after-effects from petroleum ether. The only times I noticed after effects was 3 to 4 months after I stopped taking it. I woke up in my bed in the middle of the night, completely paralysed, hearing a little girl’s voice making a conversation on her own, the same conversation that I thought I used to hear all the time when other people where talking around me while I was on petroleum ether. I could not see her cause she was in the dark and I tried to reach for the switch of my lamp, but I found myself unable to move. The little girl kept on talking, finishing that conversation which always use to stop at a certain point. Eventually I was able to move and switch on the light, but that was after the little girl’s voice had disappeared. Other side effects consisted of feeling as if I had taken petroleum ether while I smoked weed. That went on for a year or so. Now I feel mostly cleared from petroleum ether, but sometimes I feel that chill in the spine, that indescribable feeling all over, that floating feeling, that weird vision, and that weird but lovely taste in the back of your mouth, than I know hat my brain has been permanently affected by petroleum ether.

My advice to anyone would be never to touch petroleum ether, the same way my advice to anyone would be never to try any drugs in the first place, you know what that means…

Exp Year: 1999ExpID: 10135
Gender: Male 
Age at time of experience: Not Given
Published: Jul 14, 2005Views: 36,193
[ View PDF (to print) ] [ View LaTeX (for geeks) ] [ Swap Dark/Light ]
Petroleum Ether (380) : Alone (16), HPPD / Lasting Visuals (40), Post Trip Problems (8), Addiction & Habituation (10), Health Problems (27), Retrospective / Summary (11)

COPYRIGHTS: All reports copyright Erowid.
No AI Training use allowed without written permission.
TERMS OF USE: By accessing this page, you agree not to download, analyze, distill, reuse, digest, or feed into any AI-type system the report data without first contacting Erowid Center and receiving written permission.

Experience Reports are the writings and opinions of the authors who submit them. Some of the activities described are dangerous and/or illegal and none are recommended by Erowid Center.


Experience Vaults Index Full List of Substances Search Submit Report User Settings About Main Psychoactive Vaults