Pedicularis groenlandica, Elephant's Head, had a good taste, smooth smoke, little effect
Pediculari racemosa, Parrot's Beak, harsher than Elephant's Head, but had stronger relaxing/euphoric effects
Scutellaria lateriflora, American Skullcap, produced less cloudiness of thought than pedicularis, not strong
Scutellaria nana, Desert Skullcap, is very potent. It can equal the strength of low-grade marijuana, but without the cloudiness of thought and euphoria.
Artemisia vulgaris, Common Mugwort, tastes bad, especially when smoked, but the effects are nice and relaxing
Argyreia nervosa, Hawaiian Baby Woodrose, effects are similar to a very weak acid, more of a body than a visual trip. I did have some cramps after ingestion of seeds, but not bad.
Datura stramonium, Jimson Weed, can be truly deadly. The leaves and flowers are very potent, containg scopolamine, atropine, hyoscyamine and other tropanes. I've only used seeds for it is hard to determine the potency of leaves and flowers. Jimson Weed contains anticholinergics which means, it will cause dry mouth, drying of the sinuses, decrease in perspiration, dilated pupils, increased heart rate, constipation, blurred vision, memory problems, and loss of coordination. I'll take twenty-thirty seeds just to dry up my sinuses or for a weak stimulant. If you take enough you can forget that you even took anything, and wonder how you got so delirious.
Cypripedium calceolus, Yellow Lady's Slipper, smells absolutely horrible, similar to old sweaty gym socks. The effects are worth the suffering the horrid taste and smell; I've actually grown to love the taste, but not the smell. The root has valeric acids. After a cup or two of strong root tea, you'll have a big smile on your face, if you can stay awake.
German Chamomile (Matricaria recutita) This is pretty good stuff as a tea, and actually tastes good unlike like most of that crap that I'm willing to drink. After a cup or two of strong tea,you'll have a smile on your face; you might even take a nap.
Passion flower (Passiflora incarnata) This stuff is practically worthless, to me. Maybe it has some effect on MAOIs, but it gave me no effect as a sedative. I tried smoking about a gram, then using about the same amount in a tea had no effects even on a clear head.
Sida cordifolia, Country Mallow. The active chemicals are ephedrine and pseudoephedrine. You make a tea out of it. I like Mallow, because it is much more effective than caffeine. The only problems I've noticed are that the tea tastes like cardboard and I will often get a headache as the buzz wears off. Sugar helps a lot with the taste. It isn't horrible, just really bland, again, like cardboard.
Wild Dagga, Leonotis leonurus, 25x extract tastes horrible as a smoke, so much so that I couldn't inhale enough to get any noticeable effects. I was only able to smoke about 0.1 grams. I decided to eat the rest about 0.9 g on another day. After about an hour from the time of consumption, I could certainly feel some effects. My eyes were more relaxed and felt a little hot, the way cannabis can make your eyes feel. I had a nice body buzz and slight euphoria, but more of just a relaxed state. I wouldn't even bother trying to smoke it again, but if the price wasn't so high, about $10 a gram, I would probably take it orally again.
Wild Lettuce, Lactuca virosa Opium Extract did not taste very good as a smoke, but was nothing as horrible as the Wild Dagga. After a two bong packs or about 0.2 grams, I did get very slight euphoria and little light headed. This quickly went away after about 30 minutes to an hour, and it seemed like I couldn't get it back when I tried to smoke more. Maybe this was a placebo effect, but it was so slight that it was hard to tell. This is certainly no replacement for opium as some would have you believe. Again, I waited a day and ate the rest, about 0.8 grams, and felt no effects what so ever. I won't bother trying it again.
Kanna, Sceletium tortuosum, standardized 5:1 extract does seem promising. I got some good effects: euphoria and relaxation, from smoking less than 0.5 grams in a water pipe the other day. The effects didn't last very long though, less than 3-4 hours. Today, I ate 1.5 grams. I held the powder with water in my mouth for over 5 minutes and then swallowed. Within an hour I got sedation, slight euphoria, a body buzz, heavy eyelids, and my eyes warmed up, similar to cannabis, but much stronger than the previous mentioned oral consumption of Wild Dagga. These effects have lasted for over 7 hours now. I don't have the clouded or spacey thought that cannabis gives me, but the effects feel very similar. It is odd how smoking and eating gave me two rather different effects.
Papaver has many species with medical benefits.
Kratom, Mytrigyna speciosa, is my favorite of the four herbs I mention in this post. The best way to describe kratom's effects is that it is like consuming ephedrine with hydrocodone. You get the speedy buzz like a small amount of ephedrine, with the euphoria and body buzz of an opiate. The more you consume, the more the opiate effect takes over and the ephedrine-like effects lessen. I used 10x and 15x extract, which taste horrid but still nothing compares to the tastes of the wild dagga extract.
I wouldn't bother with buying blends. Different herbs work for different people and different combinations work for different people. Just find herbs that you like, buy them in bulk, and experiment. A good blend I've found for a relaxing smoking experience is: Desert Skullcap, Elephants Head, and Cannabis. Of course, cannabis can be excluded, but it works well with the skullcap. A great relaxing tea blend is: German Chamomile, Poppy, and Valerian root.
Some of these legals, though legal, can be very dangerous if used unwisely, especially Jimson Weed. Oh yeah, Ephedrine has been shown to cause serious heart problems, and even death.
Erowid is great, and look around at the suppliers. After all, if you can't even buy the seed or cutting, you can't grow it. See what is offered and then do your research. I hope this helps, I know it's a lot of info, sorry.
