DOSE:	5 glasses	oral	Alcohol - Beer/Wine	(liquid)
		smoked	Cannabis
		oral	Capsicum spp.	(fresh)

BODY WEIGHT:

175 lb

This review is not about really about the effects of alcohol or marijuana. What I'd like to describe here is the physiological and psychoactive effects of hot peppers and their burning ingredient, Capsaicin.

A few years ago I had this potted habenero pepper plant that someone had given me sitting near a window in my apartment. It was pretty much dead. My roommate put the plant outside. After a few rains, the thing came back to life and gave forth about 10 little orange peppers. This was right as summer was coming to an end. I had heard that these were HOT peppers, and figured that I'd make some salsa or do something with them at some point. Rather than being smart about this, however, 'that point' arrived one night when we had about 10 people hanging out at our place, drinking beer and smoking weed.

Suffice it to say we grossly underestimated the power of the habeneros from that little plant. One of us --I can't remember who or why-- decided to bring the thing in and to start mucking around with the peppers. It all started reasonably enough. People would eat a piece of habenero about the size of a fingernail clipping and get a really impressive and exhilarating pepper burn. A good burn gives you a burst of energy and makes you feel invigorated. Good burn is, just that: good. Things devolved, however, and macho attitudes and just plain drunkenness took over.

One guy popped a whole one in his mouth. He thought he was being tough, but then he started choking and gagging and crying. It was as though he had been maced. One girl that had touched one of the peppers, or perhaps a surface that had been coated with Capsaicin, touched one of her eyes. That eye swelled up HUGE! She attempted to wash it and that just made it worse. Apparently she spread the oils around and irritated her eye even more.

Then there was the guy who had handled the peppers and then went to the restroom. Funny, just a little. But he seriously hurt himself.

Habeneros are hot. Other peppers are hotter. Don't be a tough guy. Learn your Scoville Units and don't fool around with peppers. Take small portions.

As a point of interest, I was advised that the pepper plant in my possession was likely particularly strong on account of its nearly dying earlier in the season.

Exp Year: 1995	ExpID: 63184
Gender: Male
Age at time of experience: Not Given
Published: May 23, 2007	Views: 36,955
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Capsicum spp. (420) : Large Group (10+) (19), Second Hand Report (42), General (1)