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Effects Are Real, Dependant on Quality
Sceletium tortuosum
Citation:   grower. "Effects Are Real, Dependant on Quality: An Experience with Sceletium tortuosum (exp73954)". Erowid.org. Jun 18, 2020. erowid.org/exp/73954

 
DOSE:
  buccal Sceletium tortuosum (fresh)
    smoked Sceletium tortuosum (dried)
    oral Sceletium tortuosum (extract)
BODY WEIGHT: 70 kg
I am a horticulturist in South Africa and have been growing several mood-altering plants for the past ten years. After sourcing Sceletium plants from several locations in the wild and initially struggling to get them to grow successfully in greenhouses through winter I struck gold.

Initially I would try the fresh plant-material (app. 3-5 growing tips, 5cm long ea.) by chewing it and then waiting to feel something. After several tries with several different 'varieties' I was at the point of discarding the implied effects as placebo.
Then one day I tried a new variety and 'boom!' It felt like the sudden rush of MDMA without the physical sensitivity. At the time I was at work in the nursery expecting nothing more than before, so it really took me by surprise! This rush lasted for about ten minutes and then settled into a wakeful alertness.

That evening I dried approximately the same amount on a piece of paper over a lamp and smoked it mixed 50/50 with tobacco. The effects were almost the same only stronger and came on almost immediately. As the plant material does not burn easily and forms a kind of hard coal that blocks the smoke I now prefer smoking it in a pipe with continuous flame applied. It is an enjoyable feeling, but not something I would use regularly.

This first experience was approximately 8 years ago and I have subsequently established thousands of plants of this variety, sorted out all the problems with cultivation and marketed many kilogams of dried Sceletium and Sceletium extract. However, the reason for this report is not to boast. Sceletium does work both as a quick rush, and as a anti-depressant. The key ingredients are the alkaloids and the levels of these alkaloids determine the effect! I have had many plants analyzed and the levels of these alkaloids can vary greatly. I have ordered Sceletium on-line as well and had it analyzed and have come to the conclusion that many of these suppliers are making money off of totally bogus sceletium.

The side effects of a too high dose is very unpleasant. One time about four years ago my friend (H) who works at a analytical lab and does the tests for me made an extract of the pure alkaloids and gave some to me in an ampule. He warned me not to take too much, but me being the explorer and thinking that I knew the effects of Sceletium did just that. (big mistake!) The rush came on incredibly strong, almost knocking me to the ground, combined with immediate vomiting and diarrea. Luckily the effects didn't last longer than app. ten minutes, leaving me with a buzz for the rest of the day. What I took was no more than a drop, so be careful when making extracts. (easily done with ethanol)

So in closing: Sceletium is a useful plant, in low doses it alleviates stress and anxiety, and in higher doses is an effective euphoric. Too high doses serve well to make me feel like a human fountain!

Exp Year: 2000-2008ExpID: 73954
Gender: Male 
Age at time of experience: Not Given
Published: Jun 18, 2020Views: 1,958
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Sceletium tortuosum (179) : Cultivation / Synthesis (31), Retrospective / Summary (11), Unknown Context (20)

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