DOSE:

buccal

Catha edulis

(fresh)

BODY WEIGHT:

68 kg

First time I tried Khat I got a one branch to chew on by a friend who gave it for me to try, I guess placebo or maybe a slight effect worked on me and I felt a bit more energized and talkative.

This led me to wanting to try it some more, so I contacted one of my Somali friends and he was more than willing to help me get it, as are most Somali khat chewers, I think they find it funny when people of other nationalities wanna try out 'their thing'.

Here in Denmark it costs between 8-16 Dollars, depending on how much supply there is, as it varies, sometimes it gets caught at the border and so on, for 8-16 I get one of those bundles of khat wrapped in banana leaf, and I'd say one of these is more than enough for first timers for at least a while, and I'd say its the best feeling. If I consume 2 bundles it makes me feel too stretched out, and in the end I get tired of the feeling. But as with all stimulants one might get bummed out when one doesnt have anymore.

I have found that smoking a joint helps at the end of the experience, as it combines quite nicely to mellow me out and make it possible to sleep.

When I do khat I usually start chewing slowly, and then I might head out to see a friend or something, it has an effect similar to cocaine, but is nowhere near as dangerous, it makes me talkative, and restless in a good way. I get quite dilated pupils depending on how strong it is, I feel stronger and fresher physically. Also it can make me horny, but I've found this happens more at the peak/end of the experience. The experience lasts a nice time, if I start at 4pm after maybe 10-15 minutes of chewing I will notice the effects depending on how much I have in my stomach. If I finish chewing maybe 6pm the experience will last from there till something like 10pm, at which point the experience turns more introverted as I might be tired of socializing. But my brain will be fired up similar to when I am on amphetamine and I can solve (or at least think) many problems and think very precisely.

The negative sides of Khat is that it can cause a general dryness, of the mouth and of the body in general. It can make it hard to urinate as it does something temporarily to the bladder. It might make some people tense if they chew too much as it stimulates the nerve system. I would say its mentally addictive as it feels nice to have a bundle of fresh khat to chew. When it is fresh its texture resembles that of iceberg salad, nice and crunchy, it has the taste of black tea to it. The day might involve a feeling of being stretched out mentally, and I might feel a little irratible, but if I stick to just using one bundle and not using it too much its a fun thing to indulge in. I would say it is much less harmfull than a night out in the town with vodka shots etc.

How to chew :

The proper way to chew is to get some fresh khat, be in the company of good friends who wont mind my chewing, as some people can feel disgusted by it, as it can be a bit messy sometimes to be chewing plant. :) I take 1-2 of the branches, and chew them, I put the end of them in right side of my mouth then I chew it till the end of the branch or till the branch gets hard (as the hardened part isnt worth it, as it doesnt contain much of the active ingredient). Then when I have it in my mouth, I try and suck the juice out of the pulp without swallowing the plant matter, then I chew and repeat the process till the pulp doesnt have any of the bitter taste left. At that point I can spit it out and chew some more, remembering to keep a relaxed pace, as this isnt your average stimulant it is more of a stimulant/relaxer.

I felt like writing this as I have found a new found love for these tasty leaves/branches, and I think its a great alternative to the other more dangerous stimulants out there, as it also has a much less degree of crash, and also it is approximatly 7-10 times cheaper than a gram of cocaine here in Denmark.

I think its silly that it is illegal in Denmark.

Exp Year: 2010	ExpID: 86510
Gender: Male
Age at time of experience: 22
Published: Aug 14, 2018	Views: 3,462
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Catha edulis (32) : Preparation / Recipes (30), Retrospective / Summary (11), Alone (16)