EPH #
| Common Nomenclature | Ethylphenidate |
| Street & Reference Names | EP |
| Reference Dosage | Threshold 10mg+; Light 15mg+; Common 25mg+; Strong 75mg+; Heavy 150mg+ [Erowid] Light: 20mg+; Common 40mg+; Strong 100mg+; Heavy 150mg+ [TripSit] |
| Anticipated: Onset / Duration | 1 Hour / 6 Hours |
| Maximum Dose Experienced | 40mg |
| Form | Pill |
| RoA | Oral |
| Source / Jurisdiction | Head Shop / UK |
SUBJECTIVE EXPERIENCE #
Ethylphenidate emerged on the markets circa 2010/2011, and became increasingly popular over subsequent years. It was banned in the UK via a collective TCDO in April 2015, along with a number of other phenidates.
In 2012, I had been given a complementary pack of four EPH pills in a Manchester head shop, on the back of the purchase of several other items. However, the commentary of the shop assistant on handing them over set an unfortunate tone: “These are pretty good but they shrink your dick”.
For months I sat on them with that comment swirling in the back of my mind. Did I really want my dick shrinking?
Of course, he was referring to the frequently cited phenomena of stim dick: the incapacity to obtain and sustain an erection under the influence of certain compounds in this class. But with far less experience of the research chemical scene’s lingo at the time, it wasn’t an introduction that compelled me to rush home and immediately sample the goodies.
When I eventually did so, I found a sharp jittery unremarkable stimulant.
It was certainly functional, but at this dose (approx 40mg) it lacked even a hint of euphoria or empathogenic edge. Nor did I find much in the way of mood lift. From this perspective I found it to be unrewarding and quite boring.
There were better recreational stimulants around at the time, and much better functional stimulants were soon to emerge, so this wasn’t a chemical that I was ever going to test on more than a couple of occasions.
However, there is a but.
The but is that EPH was an ingredient of a number of the blends commonly sold both in head shops and online. This was the case with one of the iterations of GoGaine, which also included MPA, lidocaine, and mannitol.
I refer to this particular product because I once had a bad experience with it, which included my unfortunate introduction to the Shadow People. See the entry for MPA for further details of this horror story.
EPH, for me, was a stimulant that never really merited the attention it received. It certainly worked in terms of energy and stimulation, but recreationally it offered little else, and always felt somewhat rough around the edges.
I should add that this experience and opinion does run contrary to that of many other users and researchers. My assumption is that they dosed far more heavily than I did, or that they used an EPH containing blend.
ADDITIONAL SAFETY NOTE: This chemical is caustic, and due to the potential for harm to the nasal septum, TripSit recommends that it is not insufflated.
EPH was stocked by head shops in most major cities