DOSE:

transdermal

Tobacco

(plant material)

BODY WEIGHT:

130 lb

I have been taking mushrooms in the context of psychedelic therapy every few months for the past two years. During sessions, my therapist will sometimes rub tobacco leaves on my skin if I seem to need a shift in the trip. At first she uses it on pulse points and does some energy work with me. To get to the next plateau, or if I am 'stuck' in a difficult place or getting too spacey, she rubs it on my skin, usually my arms, sometimes in conjunction with bodywork. It isn't specifically for grounding or for lightening the trip; it can go in either direction, depending on what she thinks I need.

The tobacco she uses is prepared by the Mazatec shaman with whom she works, who grows the plants herself or buys them from people she knows. The shaman works extensively with different types of tobacco plants. The leaves my therapist uses are either small individual leaves or shredded leaves that are bright green, dry, and soft. They roll up as she rubs them on me, and they don't transfer their oils to my skin, which at first surprised me because I thought of tobacco as having many tars and dyes, even in its natural form.

The smell is really nice, not like burned tobacco at all. Sometimes she does burn it, for smudging, but we don't smoke or eat it.

It's hard to really put my finger on how the experience is changed by using tobacco, because it's so subtle and everything else is happening at the same time, from the effects of the mushrooms to the physical interaction with the therapist. It engages the trip with a quickening feeling as it's rubbed on, a kind of looseness, as if stuff is moving from one side of the body to the other.

Exp Year: 2007	ExpID: 79072
Gender: Female
Age at time of experience: Not Given
Published: Jun 1, 2009	Views: 13,898
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Tobacco (47) : Guides / Sitters (39), Therapeutic Intent or Outcome (49), Combinations (3), Small Group (2-9) (17)