Some users prefer to dissolve it in water or place it under their tongue, where it’s dissolved and taken into the bloodstream. But it can also be swallowed (‘bombed’) or injected.

It normally takes 10 – 15 minutes for the effects of MXE to be felt, but sometimes it can take 60 – 90 minutes. This can lead to some people thinking that they haven’t taken enough, so they take more and end up taking too much with bad results.

The effects of MXE tend to be similar to ketamine effects, but are more intense and longer lasting and include:

Hallucinations – seeing and/or hearing things that aren’t there. Feeling restless and on edge, and some people feel like they have extra energy. MXE can make people feel very chilled out, relaxed and euphoric. Some users have said that they feel ‘enlightened’ when taking MXE. Others have reported being agitated. MXE can produce a feeling of ‘floating away’, as if the mind and body are separated (called a ‘dissociative state’). Other dissociative effects can develop, even a severe form of dissociation, catatonia, when someone is awake but doesn’t respond to or interact with anything.

It is likely that mixing MXE with alcohol will have a similar effect to mixing ketamine with alcohol, this can dangerously affect the way you breathe and how your heart works, and can lead to unconsciousness, which can be even more dangerous if vomit is inhaled. If high doses are taken, it can cause death.

Nobody knows the long term risks of using MXE, and how similar the risks are to ketamine. But we do have a better idea of some of the short term risks:

Short term:

Being in a dissociative state at the same time as hallucinating, make it more likely that you will take risks that you normally wouldn’t. So you could end up hurting yourself or being hurt by others.
Because of its strength it’s reportedly easier to take too much and overdose on MXE.

It appears that MXE can make the heart beat faster than it should (called tachycardia) and increases blood pressure. Both of which might lead to range of problems including heart attacks or strokes.
MXE can also cause involuntary eye movement, loss of balance and poor coordination, unsteadiness on your feet and slurred speech. These effects are not seen when people use ketamine.

Injecting MXE can damage the veins and can cause serious problems such as abscesses (swollen areas of tissue that are full of pus) and blood clots. Sharing injecting equipment, including needles and syringes, risks infection with hepatitis C and B viruses and HIV.

Long term:

MXE is marketed as a replacement for ketamine, but without ketamine’s harmful effect on the bladder. However, there is no evidence to support this suggestion that MXE is safer. Ketamine causes very serious bladder problems with severe pain and difficulty passing urine, and which can lead to surgical removal of the bladder. Ketamine’s harmful effect has only been found out recently, and it is possible that MXE will be just as harmful to the bladder as ketamine.

There’s no direct evidence on whether you can become physically or psychologically dependent on MXE, but we do know that you can become dependent on ketamine. Because they are chemically related, it’s reasonable to assume that you may be able to become dependent on MXE.

MXE is a Class B drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act. This means it is now illegal to have, sell or supply MXE, including giving it away to friends. Possession of products containing MXE can get you up to five years in jail and/or an unlimited fine.
Supplying someone else, including your friends, can get you fourteen years in jail and/or an unlimited fine.