DOSE:	repeated	smoked	Lotus/Lily - Nelumbo nucifera	(extract)
	repeated	smoked	Cannabis	(plant material)
	repeated	oral	Alcohol	(liquid)

BODY WEIGHT:

135 lb

As I am interested in many types of psychoactive plants, working with the sacred lotus was bound to be on the agenda. I am a tall and skinny 22 year old male and have worked with many mind altering plants, mainly cannabis. But I have also worked with many others substances like salvia divinorum, salvia splendens, coleus, syrian rue, mushrooms, morning glory seeds, damnia, cat nip, california poppy, siniquichi, wild daga, kratom, some weak acid, passion flower, hops, various forms of opiates, and fly agarics. I am also a weekend drinker and daily drinker of china green tea. Also when I have the money, I take various herbal supplements (milk thistle, valerian root, dandelion root, ginko biloba, gotu kola, etc.). I got interested in lotus's effects back in high school, when my friend purchased some Nymphaea caerulea (blue lotus) and Nymphaea ampla (white lotus) extracts online. We were both very interested in legal psychoactives and there effects and or cannabis enhancement capabilities. I had also heard about it from internet sources and the story of The Odyssey in which there was confrontation with the “lotus eaters” who were indeed getting high and jolly off of this plant. I knew the Egyptians also added lotus to their wines as well. We would add extracts along with a little bit of salvia 5x into blunts after school. Me and my friends all enjoyed the synergy of these 3 plants combined. We would all be zoned to the core if one of those bad boys were passed around. I had also added these various extracts to beer and ingested the extract whole as well. I enjoyed the warm, mildly sedating, floaty, sense of well being imparted by the flower essence. I also liked the fact it could be mixed with almost anything.

Just a few months ago I came into contact of another psychoactive lotus flower, Nelumbo nucifera (sacred lotus). I had acquired about 4 ounces of certified organic flower stamen from medicinal herb vendor online. It is rumored to be the most potent part of this particular species. I had smoked a little and made tea with minimal effect several times after it came to my house. One online source confirms it contains nuciferene (one of the active components) along with a few others; with the exception of aporphine which is absent. It seems to be the weakest variety, but still active. So I opted to make my own extract which seemed simple to craft because lotuses are alcohol soluble. Here is what I used to make it:
*two mason jars
*vodka (but one can use any clear spirit, everclear being the most pure)
*lemon juice (optional)
*sacred lotus flower stamens (I estimated an ounce to an ounce and a half of plant material)
*strainer
*coffee grinder (or grind by hand; also optional)
*exacto knife
*plate
*fan or oven

[ Erowid Note: One should not attempt to perform alkaloid extractions without first having an understanding of safe handling procedures for the chemicals and equipment required.]

I had sanitized a mason jar and filled it with an estimated ounce or an ounce and a half of herbage. I used a coffee grinder to break up (not powder) the stamens. I had heard that from an internet source that lotuses were also soluble in lemon juice so I figured some lemon juice would aid in the extraction process. Although, alcohol alone is completely sufficient for an extraction. So the lemon juice is not necessary but it might help. I used about 6 to 8 ounces of lemon juice. Then I added some cheap vodka. I added enough liquid to completely submerge it. I sealed the jar and let it sit for a week, shaking it occasionally. It was bubbling a little bit so I'm confident it was doing it's thing. I strained it with a metal strainer and it produced 16 ounces of caramel colored liquid which I stored in the second sanitized jar. I drank 8 oz of this as a potency test run and I could tell the difference from the raw material. It produced the same peaceful sedation and booze synergism that I associate with the lotuses. Since I wanted this to be stronger I did a second maceration on the same stamens in vodka and lemon juice, shaking it up every now and then. I let this batch sit for 2 weeks. I strained it and got a slightly less caramel colored liquid, which I added to the 8 ounces from the first soaking. I was left with around 24 ounces of brown liquid.

This other step is also optional; which is evaporation to leave behind a powdered extract. You could just drink the alcohol as is if you want just a liquid extract. But since I wanted a smokable extract I decided to take a plate and sit it in front of a fan until it evaporated. Since there was lemon juice added the evaporation did not happen as quickly as I thought. I thought since it was mostly alcohol, that it would dissipate in no time flat. But two hours later I had gotten impatient and decided to heat up my oven to 350 degrees. I then turned it off and added the plate and let it sit in the heat until all that was left a brown residue. This greatly reduced the evaporation time. I then proceeded to take my trusty exacto knife and scrape of the brown residue left behind. A lot of it ended up all over the place but I acquired a little less than a gram of the concentrate. It looked like brown sugar and taste like herbal lemons. You could then add this material to smoking mixtures, gel caps, or beverages.

The first time I test ran the powder, I added it to a small one hit with a meager amount of cannabis. It burned like hash. This was not enough to produce effects. The second time around me and a friend decided to add it to a blunt. I added half of the baggy filled with powder to a half gram blunt. Since it was too late to go in my house and smoke we did so outside. But since it was colder than a witch's tit he decided we would smoke only half a blunt and he would smoke the rest at home. When he arrived home, he smoked the rest in a bowl and was aware of the synergistic presence of the lotus extract. It was quite enjoyable for him. I probably wasn't feeling it as much as him but I felt something, be it mild.

A few days later, determined to get a grasp on the full effect of my extract, I had added the other half of the bag to another half gram blunt between my friend and sister in my room. The lemon juice in the extract made it difficult to smoke. This made my friend and sister a little annoyed. I could already feel a spacey sedation after a few hits though. We decided it would smoke better in a bowl so I emptied out the blunt and we got some bowl hits from it. This burned much better plus it made the weed burn slower. Once again it burned in a hash like manner. When everything was smoked I could feel something much more than being stoned on cannabis. It was the familiar stoning of the lotus flower. It made my eyes felt heavy and I was tending to look downward a lot. My friend enjoyed it again and my sister said it was all right. We were all laughing a lot. I could definitely recognize an effect on my mind. The warm, mildly sedating, floaty, sense of well being was ever so present; undeniably not the placebo effect in action. This extract lasted 2 hours with weed effects stopping at the third hour. No hangover/harsh after effects were felt. All of these experiments were done on a full stomach.

I would give this extract a rating of 8 out of 10. I will produce this extract again for sure. I'd rather make my own extract that is fresher and more effective than buying a pricey rip off from another vendor. When comparing what my extract looked like to another vendor of Nelumbo nucifera extract, they looked exactly the same!

As for whether the lemon juice effected the potency, I don't have the means to know for sure (lab equipment, knowledge in chemistry, etc.). I'm sure that it didn't hinder the potency. The lemon juice is fine if you just plan on drinking it. With lemon juice, sweetened with honey or an other sweetener it doesn't taste bad one bit. One friend who sampled a sip of this mixture stated “it taste like herb tea and alcohol”. But when I make an extract intended to be evaporated to leave behind a residue again, everclear is the way to go because it evaporates easily and will probably burn much easier. Vodka or any other clear spirit will work too. Also I should try adding the dried plant material to the liquid while it evaporates leaving behind the dry stamens coated with extract. Kind of like how some salvia divinorum extracts are made. This would surely help the extract burn more efficiently. Overall I was very satisfied with the end product, even though it was not perfect. The extra labor was so worth it.

I also want to try this method with the blue lotus as well because it seems more potent. White lotus is probably the strongest but prices for this herb are horrendous (at least from what I've seen). Adding various psychoactive lotuses together would be sure to produce something potent and astounding.

Also I urge people to get these herbs (as with all herbs) from suppliers who practice organic, sustainable farming techniques. Lotuses are close to extinction in the wild. It's extremely sad to see psychoactive plants like peyote or lotus be wiped from our planet (as with any other living thing). If you can figure out how to farm it yourself by all means do it. Fresh, organic herbs are always the best.

I can see why the lotus flower is a such a sacred plant to so many cultures. It is a beautiful plant inside and out. It is a symbolic of the birth of the universe. A shining representation of life over the waters of uncertainty.

Exp Year: 2009	ExpID: 82925
Gender: Male
Age at time of experience: 22
Published: Jan 25, 2012	Views: 41,286
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Lotus/Lily - Nelumbo nucifera (331) : Not Applicable (38), Preparation / Recipes (30), Combinations (3), General (1)