DOSE:

3 seeds

oral

H.B. Woodrose

(seeds)

BODY WEIGHT:

154 lb

BASIC DETAILS:
Podofsky, male, 1972, 11 st.
Cinzano, male, 1973, 14 st.
Rodriguez, male, 1973 14 st.

PREVIOUS SUBSTANCE EXPERIENCE:
Cannabis, cocaine, amphetamine, mushrooms, LSD, MDMA, betel nut, salvia

CONTEXT:
Camping in woodland. Six people altogether, all of whom know each other well. We went for the night in some woods near Ladybower Reservoir in Derbyshire: Mr Big, Cinzano, Podofsky and the three Rodriguez brothers. This is something we have done for a few years now, and some of us have previously had pleasant tripping experiences in this beautiful spot. It was the first camp of the year, just after Easter, so the trees had only just started budding and it wasn’t very warm.

SUBSTANCES TAKEN:
Hawaiian baby woodrose (agreiya nervosa) seeds, cannabis, betel nut and alcohol.

PREPARATION:
Thoroughly scraped seeds – first removed any thick hairy bits (easy), and then thin white coating beneath that (tricky). Soaked in lemon juice for 5 minutes (on advice that acidic solutions might help reduce the nausea).

DOSE:
3 seeds per person. Oral ingestion – chewed and swallowed.


DESCRIPTION OF EXPERIENCE:
What follows are two descriptions of the experience – one by Podofsky and one by Cinzano – because we thought it might be useful to document different individual accounts. Rodriguez says that his experience was pretty similar to Podofsky’s, so he hasn’t written one.

PODOFSKY
After a brisk walk to the top of the hill and back in the late afternoon, we started the fire and then cooked and ate our food – loads of it: Corn-on-the-cob, trout, beefburgers, chicken, and doughnuts. During this time, we were drinking beer and smoking some fine weed. The three of us that intended to do HBW had read other people’s experiences of it, and the thought of the nausea that usually accompanies the experience led us to delay eating the seeds until after we’d eaten. In hindsight, I’d say that this was a poor decision only because of the timescale of the experience, and that the seeds probably wouldn’t have affected our appetite as we feared they might.

So it was about ten o’clock at night when Podofsky, Cinzano and Rodriguez ate three seeds each. We decided on this amount based on previous experience and advice from an experienced user. We were aiming for a good time, without ‘losing it’ too much. The seeds had been scraped thoroughly, and then soaked in lemon juice for a few minutes. This was following advice from a chemist friend who suggested using vinegar to help remove the nasty chemicals that make you feel sick (and all we had that was acidic was lemons to go with the fish – mmmmm, rainbow trout with lemon and dill).

There were no noticeable effects within the first hour. Cinzano suggested taking more seeds because nothing much had happened, but we decided against it. I guess that the amount of food we had eaten delayed our experience. In the next hour, we all began to experience something more besides the content feeling induced by a fat joint, a full stomach and a wood fire – an inner warmth or tingly feeling, followed by an increasing appreciation of the visual surroundings. It was a windy night, but we were on the leeward side of the hill so it wasn’t too blowy and cold where we were. Thin clouds were racing by the full moon that we could see through the silhouettes of trees. Because there weren’t many leaves on the trees, the moonlight illuminated the whole hillside.

By midnight (two hours in), we were all feeling pretty good, and having a right laugh. The eldest of the Rodriguez brothers – who had only been drinking and smoking – was telling loads of stories involving shit and sick, which, although they were very funny, made the three of us who had taken HBW feel very queasy. None of us were sick, and although we all felt slightly nauseous, it was tolerable. Normally, we would have gone to bed by now, but there was something a little different this time, and we stayed up for another two hours.

In that time, we reported definite visual effects: I saw a pink and green wobbly halo around a moon that had become more intensely bright. Normally when tripping, I’d have my head craned upwards most of the time, admiring the patterns of the trees and sky, but I was happy just to poke the fire a bit and feel content. But I was really impressed by the way the combination of HBW and moonlight lit up everything, and Rodriguez and Cinzano said they were too. It seemed to make me piss a lot, but apart from that there were no noticeable physiological effects. It was too dark to see, but I would guess we had dilated pupils. By 2 a.m., we decided to turn in after what was a great day, and we were happy with the effect of those three little seeds. It was when we were tucked up in bed that things really got going.

As soon as I had settled into my sleeping bag, I felt unusually comfortable and at rest. Then waves of euphoria washed over me, and I could barely stop myself from bursting out in laughter. Although the evening had been very enjoyable up to this point, I was quite surprised at the effects of the HBW at this late stage. I realised that I was definitely tripping, and I wore a Cheshire-cat grin as I lay there. It became apparent that I probably wasn’t going to get much sleep – again I felt like I needed to pee, my mind was active and I saw lots of closed-eye visuals.

I was desperate to know if the others were feeling the same as me, and I wanted to share this lovely experience and talk about it. I asked Cinzano how he felt, and he was having a bad time. I felt upset because I was responsible for bringing the HBW, and felt guilty of having a good time when he wasn’t. Luckily, after five minutes, though he says it felt like an hour, Cinzano said he was good again. I wanted to get up again and sit round the fire again with the others and talk about it all, but instead I just lay there, enjoying the warm euphoria and trippy visuals. I eventually drifted off to sleep after the sun had risen again.

Even though I only had about an hour of sleep, I felt really refreshed in the morning. Looking back, I’d take the seeds much earlier in the day so it wouldn’t last into the night, but the delayed effects were probably also due to the amount of food we had eaten. The nausea was unpleasant but tolerable. Being outdoors is highly recommended for this type of activity.


CINZANO
I’ll pick up my experience from just after the barbecue. Around this time I was feeling nicely baked from a couple of cans of beer and several joints shared through the afternoon. By way of background to our camp, the group of us had been camping in the same spot together for about 10 years. Normally we would have our barbecue then relax and settle into the evening around the fire, talking intermittently in a stoned stupour, each quietly content in our own world, and normally we would retire to our tents around midnight.

10pm: We ingested the HBWR. I had read many experiences and embarked on the trip with trepidation and excitement knowing that we could arrive at either heaven or hell. I was also interested to see how the evening was going to pan out in terms of interaction between the group of six given that on three of us took the seeds.

10-11pm: After an hour the only effect seemed to be a slight feeling of euphoria. The mood at camp was good, light-hearted banter and laughs all around.

11-12am: After two hours the euphoric feeling had increased and was combined with a sensation in my stomach which was a strange blend of excitement and nausea, almost like the knotted gut of a first date. The nausea wasn’t overpowering and didn’t bother me too much.

12-1am: There was a noticeable shift of the gears during this period. What also happened was that the mood of the whole group lifted and everyone told stories and were laughing and joking. There seemed to be a really positive vibe amongst the group that to my mind was bought about due to the HBWR, and the positive feelings emanating from the three takers. The euphoria continued and a general contented, happy and loving feeling was running through my entire body. At this point I felt that the seeds had given me the rush of MDMA and I was happy with that. Thankfully the nausea stopped.

1-2am: Again another phase and the HBWR really kicked in, the previous feeling continued, but new sensations and visuals kicked in. Sat in my chair I began to feel at one with the natural surroundings. The moon was full and shone like a beacon over the night sky, the clouds that passed over its welcoming face framed the image like a shot from a werewolf movie. The moon in my mind throbbed like a goddess calling me upwards. I really connected with the moon, sky and the bare branches above me. The tree branches outlined against the sky held within them a deeper meaning and began to ‘fractalise’ into complex galaxies, which was a beautiful sight.

I really enjoyed this part and for me was where I peaked. I looked around me and Rodriguez and Podofsky were also looking to the skies in semi-entranced states. An overwhelming sense of love for my friends, my wife and nature swept over me and was sustained for this period of time and was fantastic. Shortly afterwards I realised that I was tripping, which was followed by a slight feeling of paranoia, I felt like I was starting to see tension within the group and I couldn’t shake it.

2am-?: At 2am we went to our beds and I wanted to sleep but quickly realised that that wasn’t going to be possible. Paranoia kicked in, I felt that my friends at work weren’t friends and we’re using me, I felt that my card had been marked at work for things said in meetings, and I thought that my marriage was a sham. A feeling of uncontrollable dread swept over me and I began to panic. I wanted the trip to end and I knew from past experiences that it wasn’t that simple. My breathing quickened and I tried to calm myself. This episode was like a trip inasmuch as my ego was being broken down and all I held dear was falling away. Concurrent to all of these thoughts I was having vivid inward patterns and images chielfly in the form of vibrantly coloured fractals and eastern Gods like Ganesh and Vishnu.

I drew on past experiences and told myself that this was a normal feeling to have during a trip and in my minds eye I visualised a glowing cross. I’m not sure why a cross, as I’m not a Christian (maybe this came to mind as it was Easter?) in any shape or form but this was the image that saw me through the paranoia as it symbolised me and all that I loved. It told me that I was happy with who I was and I calmed myself through self- assuredness. It was a locked glowing box full of love that prevented total paranoid breakdown. The panic stopped, insecurities did come back to my mind but passed and eventually I drifted to sleep.

I awoke, feeling slightly shaken. I did not expect to have a full blown trip, and the paranoia was most unwelcome, this seeped a little into the next day but when I got home and spoke through the experience with my wife and had a hug I knew I was ok. After a few days all the negative feelings had abated and the longer that time has passed the more I think that the whole experience was wholly positive. It definitely had similar effects to trips and MDMA in that it takes the best (and worst!) elements of both. On reflection we should have taken the seeds much earlier in the evening, we could have then had a better nights sleep. I’d read of other people’s experiences that HBWR can have a very positive effect on group dynamics despite the fact that not everyone has taken the seeds, I would fully endorse this. Overall though a great experience, I was after a mild lift for the evening and got much more, although I wouldn’t have wanted any stronger a dose.

Exp Year: 2007	ExpID: 64618
Gender: Male
Age at time of experience: Not Given
Published: Sep 24, 2007	Views: 39,091
[ View PDF (to print) ] [ View LaTeX (for geeks) ] [ Swap Dark/Light ]
H.B. Woodrose (26) : Small Group (2-9) (17), First Times (2), General (1)