DOSE:

15 ml

inhaled

Ether

(liquid)

BODY WEIGHT:

155 lb

If you’ve ever seen the movie ‘Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas’ you probably know the scene where Raoul Duke and Dr. Gonzo are going into the ‘Circus Circus’ casino while huffing ether. It was from this movie that I first learned about this wonderful drug.
One day at school I find out that my friend ‘S’ had acquired a water bottle of raw ether. Immediately I remember the scene from Fear and Loathing, and can’t help to be both curious and excited about the prospect of trying this new drug. It turns out that my other friend called ‘P,’ was the one who really got the ether. P’s dad is a real smart scientist-type who works in a large laboratory. With his dad’s permission, P has access to this lab where a large but unspecified amount of ether is stored and frequently refilled from use. So we had about 20 ounces of 99.999% pure ether with more on the way. I researched a little more, finding no long-term effects or anything that would deter me from at least trying it. That Friday I had off work and to top it off, my parents would be gone until midnight. I made arrangements for S to come over after school. As soon as we got upstairs in my room, S busted out the bottle, myself producing a few rags. We poured about 5 mL on each rag and started huffing them.

At first the smell is very harsh, and it is difficult to take deep breaths (I find smells similar to gasoline or turpentine) but after a few hits I became more used to it and start inhaling more deeply. The effects are almost instantaneous. Time slowed as my vision starts to blur. I can feel a pressure building in my head like the peak of a good high. S and I pour another rag. Again, at first it is hard to inhale. I cough mid-way through the first few breaths, but again the pungent smell disappears. I take 4 deeps breaths in quick succession. My motor skills are gone. It becomes hard to keep my head level on my shoulders. The quiet music playing in the room seems to be echoing in the back of my brain, creating a repetitious mechanical sound on top of the music and occasional conversation. I flip over the rag, taking a few more breaths before I can tell it’s cached. The rag feels cold to the touch, as the last of the ether evaporates into the air.

At this point I feel great. The ‘high’ is almost comparable to that of alcohol. Motioning to S, we drunkenly stumble downstairs and outside for a smoke (Note: ether is flammable; don’t do both at the same time). One cigarette turned into a couple bowls out of my glass piece, and a few more cigarettes. But eventually we get back inside and up to my room. At this point the ether has mostly worn off. I had a tinge of a headache, which was quickly cured by the mystical powers of pot.

Once again chilling up in my room, S and I concur that ether is the shit. We decide to do a few more rags, and once again similar effects ensue. Trying to stand and walk around, S stumbles and crawls as he cannot straighten his body enough to walk.

During the next week, I did ether several other times, usually S would pour a few rags for the both of us, and afterwards we would smoke a bowl as an exchange. The only negative thing I could find in ether was the smell. After doing any amount, I completely reek like dry-erase markers. The smell is mostly on my breath, and near impossible to get rid of (I tried altoids and gum, even showering or eating, but to no avail). Because I had been huffing the stuff, I couldn’t notice the awful smell in the slightest. In fact my girlfriend could tell I had done ether almost eight hours after I had done just a few rags, saying she could still smell it on my breath.

Overall, ether and cannabis is a good combination in my experiences, smoking a bowl while coming down from the ether. I make sure to experience the ether by itself first, though. Also, every time we huffed, we were amazed at how little of the bottle we would use. Even for two people, it took a very small amount. The next Friday (one week after trying ether for the first time), S and I were going to do some before I had to go to work.

With approx 3 to 4 ounces left in our water bottle, we started with a few rags. The symptoms that I knew so well started to return. From this point forward I have little to no recollection of what happened. S kept pouring rags and we kept on huffing them, smoking cigarettes in between, going deeper and deeper into our ether binge. From my best guess we had to have done 8-10 rags each, because when we got done there was no ether left. Everything that took place reminded me of being in a twisted dream. The music and conversation echoed endlessly through my head. I begin to feel slightly nauseas as I try to focus my eyes on anything. Everything is confusing me. I try to move my arms, finding a lack of energy. I can’t figure out how to contract the right muscles to accomplish the task. I space off for about a half hour feet away from S, caught in an endless gaze. My mind spins and reels as I regain my motor skills. I’m still seeing double as we roll out to give S a ride home before I have to go to work. [Erowid Note: Driving while intoxicated, tripping, or extremely sleep deprived is dangerous and irresponsible because it endangers other people. Don't do it!] Okay at this point I am straight FUCKED UP. It still seems like I’m living out a dream.

After dropping S off all that I can think about is getting into the parking lot so I can close my eyes and go to sleep for ten minutes before I go into work. I make it to a parking spot and I rest my eyes and am half-passed out, but still conscious, counting the minutes down until I have to go and clock in. I feel like shit. I light up a smoke, hoping it will help somewhat as I get out of the car and start walking inside. I throw it away after a few drags.

Talk about a crappy day at work. I begin to sober up a little bit as the hours go on but I still felt horrible. In comparison it was ten times worse than simply being hung-over. At the end of my shift I was tired as fuck, but it was still a Friday night, so I ended up meeting with some other friends, and a few bowls had me feeling pretty good again by the time I went home. I remembered nothing of giving S a ride home or the ride to work. As it turned out, I gave him 40 bucks for a ganja pickup later that night, which I had no memory of doing.

In retrospect, I think ether was a very fun drug. Even with my slightly bad experience, I still would have done it all over again. I wouldn’t recommend doing as much as I did, especially before work, but in small amounts it can be a very enjoyable experience. Given another opportunity I would do ether again. I could probably get some more ether right now, but I think I’ll wait a little longer. I’ll stick to the ganja for the time being.

Exp Year: 2002	ExpID: 19356
Gender: Not Specified
Age at time of experience: Not Given
Published: Feb 26, 2005	Views: 75,959
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Ether (131) : Small Group (2-9) (17), Retrospective / Summary (11)