DOSE:

10 leaves

buccal

Leonotis leonurus

(fresh)

A Pleasant First Time

Having recently acquired a Lion's Tail plant for it's reported psychoactive effects, and finding myself with an afternoon with little to do, I decided to try some.

Since I acquired the plant, I've been pausing to squeeze the leaves and marvel at the fresh and somewhat minty aroma let loose from a plant that, by all accounts, is extremely nasty when smoked. After reading reports of unquestionable effects after chewing a quid composed of as few as eight leaves, I picked ten medium-sized leaves off the plant and washed them in cold water (I haven't had the plant in my possesion very long, and although the nursery from which the plant came states that all plants that are grown for sale directly to the public are grown organically, I felt this a necessary precaution) before patting them dry and placing them in my mouth as a quid. Given the aforementioned aroma released from the leaves, I was in for quite a shock when I begun my mastication. To my surprise, not only was the flavor of the leaves extremely bitter, but after holding the quid under my tongue for a few minutes the area of my tongue that was in contact with the quid the longest started to feel almost as though it had been burned. I forced myself to deal with sensation a little while longer, but after another minute or two I could bear it no longer. I then moved the quid into my cheek until the sensation subsided (this took about a minute). After that, I continued the cycle of chewing occasionaly and holding the quid under my tongue until my stopwatch told me it had been 20 minutes after I had initially put the quid in my mouth. I then gagged down the mass of bitter Lion's Tail and washed out my mouth with water followed by a couple of mints to mask the bitter taste.

At this point I was feeling a very mild, pleasant sedation that manifested itself as a feeling of 'looseness' but not much else. So, with nothing else to do, I grabbed my mp3 player and went to the library to pick up a couple of books. While on my way to the library (about 45 minutes after first placing the quid in my mouth) listening to some catchy and upbeat tunes (not my usual musical fare) a huge smile broke out across my face. I just couldn't help it. Over the next few minutes I continued my walk with and without music to try to eliminate the possibility of this being the placebo effect. What I found was that while I certainly felt much happier with music than without, in either situation I couldn't help but feel upbeat. These effects continued at much the same level until perhaps a little over an hour or so after putting the leaves in my mouth before gradually fading.

While the method of ingestion for this herb was unpleasant and the effects quite mild, I feel confident that my experience was not placebo. Overall, my experience was enjoyable and I believe that this plant merits further experimentation, especially at higher doses. Although I do not entirely regret ingesting such a small amount as I am treating this as a learning experience, I feel that the effects I felt were very marginal, and do not anticipate ingesting such small amounts in the future.

Exp Year: 2010	ExpID: 86920
Gender: Not Specified
Age at time of experience: Not Given
Published: Jan 26, 2020	Views: 1,487
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Leonotis leonurus (119) : First Times (2), Alone (16)