Few psychedelics have a backstory as human as 2C-B's. It was born in a home lab in the hills east of San Francisco, carried into therapy sessions by a woman who believed deeply in facing the shadow, sold for a time in Europe as an aphrodisiac, and written about in a book subtitled A Chemical Love Story.
Today it's a club drug, a festival drug, and for many couples, something more tender: a way to feel closer. Here's the history, what the research does and doesn't say, why people seek it for intimacy, and how to think about the risks honestly.
Sasha, Ann and the birth of 2C-B
Alexander "Sasha" Shulgin was a chemist who, after a life-changing experience with mescaline around 1960, devoted his career to creating and personally testing new psychoactive compounds. He first synthesized 2C-B in 1974, building on mescaline's chemical structure.
When Sasha met Ann in 1978, he had already created 2C-B and many other molecules. Ann brought something he didn't have: a deep understanding of people and the psyche. Working as a lay therapist while these compounds were still legal, she used MDMA and 2C-B with clients, drawing on Jungian ideas and specializing in shadow work, helping people meet the parts of themselves they'd hidden, with compassion instead of shame (MAPS).
In 1991 they published PiHKAL: A Chemical Love Story. The first half is the story of their relationship, told through fictionalized versions of themselves; the second half documents 179 compounds, including 2C-B. Their sequel, TiHKAL, followed in 1997. Ann died in 2022 at 91, recognized as a forerunner of today's psychedelic therapy movement.
From aphrodisiac to club drug
Before it was banned, 2C-B was sold commercially in Europe as a purported aphrodisiac under the brand name Erox, made by the German company Drittewelle, and later as "Nexus" in Dutch smart shops. In the U.S. it briefly filled the gap after MDMA was outlawed in 1985, until it was placed in Schedule I, permanently in 1995. It remains illegal in the U.S. today.
What it feels like
People describe 2C-B as a bridge between a classic psychedelic and an empathogen: brighter colors, heightened touch and body awareness, warmth, giddiness, and emotional openness, usually shorter and lighter than mushrooms or LSD. It's known for being highly dose-sensitive. Small differences in amount can mean the difference between a soft, sensual glow and an overwhelming psychedelic trip.
What the research says
Controlled research is limited but growing. A 2018 observational study of experienced volunteers found that 2C-B raised blood pressure and heart rate and produced mild psychedelic effects, noting that no deaths had been attributed to 2C-B alone (Frontiers in Pharmacology). A placebo-controlled study at Maastricht University found 2C-B's effects broadly similar to psilocybin's, but shorter, largely resolving within about six hours (Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics, 2023).
One discerning note: that same study found no measurable boost on a formal empathy test, for 2C-B or psilocybin. The "heart-opening" reputation is real in people's reports, but it's not yet confirmed in the lab, and setting and relationship likely matter as much as the molecule. Further trials are underway in Switzerland and the Netherlands.
Why people seek it for intimacy
2C-B's reputation as "the erotic empathogen" goes back decades. People often describe it differently from MDMA: where MDMA can bring overwhelming emotional closeness but make sex itself harder to focus on, 2C-B is commonly reported to heighten touch, sensuality and physical presence while keeping some of that warmth.
Couples who use it intentionally often describe:
Heightened sensation and presence: touch, music and closeness feeling vivid and new
Playfulness: laughter, curiosity, less self-consciousness
Emotional openness: saying things that are hard to say sober, and hearing them more softly
Seeing a partner freshly: appreciating someone familiar as if for the first time
These reports are real and consistent, but they're reports, not clinical evidence. No controlled studies have examined 2C-B's effects on sex or relationships, and experiences vary a lot from person to person and night to night. Some people find the body sensations distracting rather than arousing.
The Shulgins' own story offers a useful frame. In their hands, these compounds weren't shortcuts to intimacy. They were tools inside a relationship already built on honesty, curiosity and care. The molecule can open a door. The relationship has to walk through it.
Consent comes first
Psychedelics and sex together raise real consent questions, and this is where I'd slow down most.
Make agreements before, while sober. Talk about what you're both open to, what's off the table, and how either of you can pause or stop.
Don't expand the agreement mid-experience. Altered states can make new ideas feel obviously right in the moment. Save new territory for a later, sober conversation.
It's fine for nothing sexual to happen. Make that explicit beforehand so no one feels pressure.
Avoid new or casual partners. This is not a substance for figuring out consent with a near-stranger.
Check in, and listen to nonverbal cues. Silence or going along isn't consent.
Practice safer sex. Decision-making shifts; have a plan and supplies ready.
Integrate afterward. Talk the next day about what felt good, what didn't, and anything that came up emotionally.
It's also worth knowing that 2C-B appears in chemsex settings, often alongside other drugs, where the risks of mixing and of blurred consent rise sharply (European Psychiatry, 2021).
The risks
Dose sensitivity. A slightly stronger batch can turn a sensual evening into an intense trip neither partner planned for.
Heart and blood pressure. 2C-B raises both, which matters more with age, heart conditions, or stimulants.
Mental health. It can bring up anxiety, panic or hard emotional material. People with a personal or family history of psychosis or bipolar disorder face higher risk of serious reactions.
Unknown contents. Anything sold as 2C-B may be something else, so testing matters.
Beware "tusi" or "pink cocaine." The name comes from "2C," but drug checking consistently finds it's mostly ketamine mixed with MDMA and sometimes other drugs, almost never actual 2C-B (Palamar, 2023). It's a completely different, riskier experience.
Dangerous combinations
Lithium: psychedelics combined with lithium have been linked to seizures (Pharmacopsychiatry, 2021).
MAOIs, including the MAOI in ayahuasca: can dangerously intensify effects.
SSRIs and SNRIs: often blunt effects, tempting people to take more.
Stimulants, including MDMA, cocaine or ADHD medication: more strain on the heart. Combining 2C-B with MDMA is a well-known pairing, and it compounds risk.
Erectile dysfunction medications: combined with a drug that affects blood pressure, check with a doctor first.
Harm reduction basics
The safest choice is not to use. If you do:
Test it with a reagent kit, plus fentanyl test strips if there's any doubt about the source (NYC Health)
Be patient. Effects can take a while to arrive; impatient redosing is a common way nights go sideways
Choose your setting: private, comfortable, nothing scheduled the next day
Have a sober friend reachable, even if they're not in the room
Don't mix, especially with alcohol, stimulants or serotonergic medication
For substance-specific harm reduction details, see DanceSafe, TripSit and PsychonautWiki
Call 911 for chest pain, a racing or irregular heartbeat, very high body temperature, a seizure, or severe confusion or paranoia. New York's 911 Good Samaritan law offers protection from certain drug possession charges for people who call for help during an overdose.
Integration: where intimacy actually grows
A beautiful night on 2C-B can show a couple what's possible: more presence, more play, more honesty. But that glimpse fades unless you bring it back into ordinary life. What did you learn about how you want to touch, talk and pay attention to each other? What would it take to have more of that sober?
That's the work I do with individuals and couples, drawing on my background teaching consent in psychedelic spaces. I don't provide or source substances, and I won't tell you whether to use them. I'll help you make sense of what you experienced and build on it.
Sessions are in person in Brooklyn or online anywhere in New York. Reach out through the contact form.
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Josh Jupiter is a psychedelic integration coach and founder of Brooklyn Balance, a wellness practice in Brooklyn, New York. This article is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute medical or legal advice. For guidance on any of the therapeutic options discussed, please consult a qualified healthcare provider. For information on clinical trials, visit ClinicalTrials.gov.
Ready to go deeper? Reach out to Josh to learn about one-on-one integration coaching, group programs, and upcoming workshops at Brooklyn Balance.