1. What are the desired effects of taking harmalas alone, without additional psychedelics? I want to try them to experience them without additional substances before mixing them, and I see some people like to do this on its own merit, but I don't see a general overview of what the desired effects are and their duration (onset, peak, offset).
- This depends a lot on dose and ROA. Generally at lower doses the desired effect is similar to that of anti-depressants or mood stabilizers, anxiolytic effects, mood boost, increased focus. At moderate doses it can facilitate a bit more of a creativity boost, be kinda of stoning and dreamy, and generally keep the energy flowing. At the higher doses it can induce dreamstreams and visionary states (without adding other psychedelics) but can be fairly physically uncomfortable. Duration is generally around 4-6 hours for oral doses, slightly less for sublingual maybe 2-4, and maybe 1-2 smoked/vaped. The dose response curve is pretty typical, but people vary widely in sensitivity (one person can be floored at 100 mg and another person may not feel anything till 250-300 mg).
2. What methods of administration exist for harmala extract (full spectrum and isolated harmine/harmaline)? I've read sublingual and that it's possible to mix into a tea... do you just put the extract under your tongue / steep in hot water, respectively? Can you just smoke or vape the extracted harmalas? Can you just dissolve in water and drink? Is there an overview somewhere for routes of administration and the pros/cons of each?
- You can brew caapi or syrian rue into a tea and drink it that way, or you can take extracted alkaloids. With extracted alkaloids you either have a salt form (better for eating, snuffing, sublingual) or a freebase form (better for smoking/vaping). Salts are water soluble and can be put in a drink, freebase is not but can be dissolved in something acidic (converting it to a salt). You can sublingual freebase but it's a bit hard on the soft tissue to apply basic compounds directly like that. There is some difference in effect between the isolated compounds harmine/harmaline/thh and the full spectrum. Generally harmine is more gentle, needs a little higher dose and is more clear headed. Hamaline is more stoning, more potent by weight, and can be a more forceful in effect. The full spectrum is generally a nice balance. THH alone is a mild SSRI and seems to work best in conjunction with other harmalas.
3. Is there an overview of the best way to administer harmalas respective to each of the various purposes (ie harmalas on their own vs pharmahuasca)?
- Once you introduce a tryptamine like DMT (aya, pharma) or psilocybin, it will be a full on psychedelic experience vs what may be a more stoning or visionary experience with higher doses of harmalas alone. Both routes have value, it just depends on what type of experience you are looking for.
4. Is there an overview of the different ways to prepare harmalas for consumption (ie extraction, tea, brew) and the pros/cons of each?
- The wiki has several exraction teks, and the Preparations and Methods of Administration forum has dedicated subforums for the various approaches (aya, pharma, changa). The stickies are a good place to start for getting into the details and pros and cons of each method. Again it's really down to personal preference: brew/tea is simple to make and is a whole plant medicine, extraction/pharma allows more precise dosing and is easier to take, changa is potent, fast acting, and short duration while still being slower and more manageable than vaping/smoking freebase DMT alone.
Bonus question: Im well aware of the risks of harmalas mixed with SSRIs. About how long after ceasing SSRIs should one wait before considering taking harmalas?
- It depends on the specific SSRI, but a good rule of thumb for medication interaction is to wait 7 half lives before taking a potentially contraindicated medication. If you are comfortable with talking to your doctor about it you could ask directly when you'd be safe to take an MAO inhibitor (you can say you are considering st. john's wort, or a passionflower extract or something if you don't want to mention harmalas or similar RIMA's like Moclobemide). Other things to avoid would indlude serotonin releasers like MDMA and precursors like tryptophan and 5-HTP as well as stimulants and certain herbs (like St. John's Wort).
