Common reed tea report

[paul46]

Today, I made tea with common reed (It could also be reed canary grass, I was stuck between these two in the identification process). I didn't take the roots of this grass I heavily suspect to be common reed, just the upper half.

I orally took 2 tea spoons of syrian rue as the MAOI, waited an hour, then drunk the tea. After around an hour or so, I felt light euphoria and optimism, it was as if a voice at the back of my mind was telling me that everything is gonna be okay at the end no matter how bad it gets. No visions whatsoever, though. I also didn't feel the usual effects of rue, like time dilation. Effects got weaker after around 3 hours.

I'm not sure whether the experience was only because of the rue, or the common reed(?) tea also had enough of a dose to play a role in the trip.

Overall, pretty good. 7.5/10

 

[Varallo]

Hi Paul,
Your experiment is certainly interesting, but it also raises some concerns. Certain types of reed may contain various alkaloids, including 5-Ho-DMT and 5-MeO-DMT, both are considered unsafe to combine with harmalas. So I really want to urge you not to do that again without absolute certainty about what you’re working with, in other words not without analysis of your extract.

The other point of concern is that if you cannot confidently identify a plant, that alone is a clear sign that it should not be consumed. The risk of harming yourself is very real.

Other than that based on your experience, it’s possible you felt a mild effect from the harmalas together with some suggestion, or it could be that the reed was involved, but without knowing exactly which reed you used, there’s no way to be sure.

Please take care of yourself. The risks involved may be greater than you intend to take, and your wellbeing is far more important than any experiment.

Take care

 

[paul46]

5-Ho-DMT and 5-MeO-DMT, both are considered unsafe to combine with harmalas.

Oh! I didn't know those were dangerous with rue. Thanks for the knowledge, I'll keep that in mind. I won't be using this plant anymore without a full extraction. Does common reed only have dmt in its roots? I have heard that was the case somewhere but searching about it doesn't return any result that answers this question.

 

[Transform]

common reed (It could also be reed canary grass, I was stuck between these two in the identification process).

If this is the case, you shouldn't be consuming any plant brew you make until you've properly learnt how to identify - with practically 100% certainty - any given plant you're intending to brew. Phragmites and Phalaris are sufficiently distinct that one should be able to distinguish them at any stage of growth. Fortunately these two are unlikely to be toxic by themselves but…

As @Varallo correctly states, combining harmalas with a 5-oxygenated tryptamine like bufotenine or 5-MeO-DMT amounts to walking a razor's edge. We do not recommend it.

That said, we do have some dedicated threads regarding these and several other grasses, so I'd heartily encourage you to continue your research and experimentation, only backed up with expanding your background knowledge, from a risk minimization angle.

Does common reed only have dmt in its roots? I have heard that was the case somewhere but searching about it doesn't return any result that answers this question.

It might have sometimes, although this is likely subject to immense variability, both regionally and temporally - maybe locally, too. Rumour has it that reeds growing in deep water may have a higher DMT content in the rhizomes, although I've not seen any conclusive evidence that specifically confirms this.

The dried rhizomes sold in Chinese apothecaries as 'lu gen' seem most typically to be inactive, although a tincture made with them is actually delicious, with rich caramel and vanilla notes!

 

[paul46]

It might have sometimes, although this is likely subject to immense variability, both regionally and temporally - maybe locally, too. Rumour has it that reeds growing in deep water may have a higher DMT content in the rhizomes, although I've not seen any conclusive evidence that specifically confirms this.

Thanks for your answer!

The dried rhizomes sold in Chinese apothecaries as 'lu gen' seem most typically to be inactive, although a tincture made with them is actually delicious, with rich caramel and vanilla notes!

Sounds interesting, I'll take a look