Dream2Awaken said:
Uncle Knucles - Those are the dangers I am referring to. I'm using "bad for you" only in the sense that they are not 100% safe, and are stopping your body from performing a natural function. I don't want it mistaken that I believe we shouldn't use them in the process. I am just saying that if you are using them then you should at least know there is some danger involved, and what those dangers are. The MAOI in itself is not the danger.
Christian - I believe I know the report you are referring to. I wasn't referencing that one. That one they do list the death as nicotine overdose and not the MAOI
I highly doubt that anyone anywhere had died directly from ingesting a RIMA. RIMA's are a group of alkaloids that are only temporary inhibitors of MAO..and in the context referred to here on this site unless otherwise stated we are taking specifically about the beta-carboline class of indole alkaloids. Harmine, harmaline and THH are the most common ones and are what you will find present in ayahuasca and harmala seeds. If anyone is listing MAOI as a the cause of death in realtion to ayahuasca ingestion I think that is misleading. Ayahuasca contains only beta-carboline RIMA's and they are not toxic to the human body. The likely case is that the death was due to a deadly interaction between beta-carbolines and some other drug that was either present in the brew or that the person was taking. I think I know of the report you are referring to and it was infact the case that the death was due to an interaction. I might be thinking of another case but I do seem to remember someone overdosing on cocaine that they added to ayahuasca, and another person overdosing on 5meoDMT when combined in a large ammount with beta-carbolines.
I hate calling beta-carbolines MAOI's becasue it creates confusion. They are beta carbolines first IMO and the maoi function is a secondary effect. This specific group of indoles seems to have psychoactive effects that manifest below the level of inhibition required to render something like DMT orally active. I know this from very extensive experimentation with them. At higher doses they are psychedelics by themselves and again, I feel this is not just due to the inhibition of mono amine oxidase. Beta carbolines seem IMO, to have effects of they're own that have nothing to do with inhibition of MAO. I wish people would just refer to the harmala's as beta-carbolines and make the distincion between this family of chemicals and just "MAOI's", which is a title that can be given to a whole range of diverse chemicals. They are definatily MAOI's but only a subclass of them that dont have the same pharmacological profiles as many other MAOI's.
It is true that when dealing with some MAOI's dietary precautions must be taken. But these alkaloids are very different from the specific beta-carbolines that are almost always being discussed here when the term "MAOI" comes up.