Experiences - Acorus Calamus (smoked) & A.Calamus+Cannabis

[p$2]

swip$ first came across Acorus Calamus in the form of a tincture at a music festival many years ago. it was being sold as a legal high, offered in tincture bottles of 25ml and 50ml, with the advice that a 25ml dose would offer an ecstasy-like experience and a 50ml dose, an LSD-like experience. Anyway swip$ took 25ml followd by another 25ml shortly after, and although swip$ did not hallucinate (swip$ tends not to propely hallucinate on modest doses of LSD/psilocibin either) swip$ would say that those subjective comparisons made by the seller were valid.
But this report is not about that experience.

swip$ heard verbally that Acorus Calamus is a better carrier (i.e. mixer) for cannabis than tobacco. since swip$ is quite fond of smoking hashish but less keen on tobacco swip$ was eager to try it.

Doasage: ~200mg
Route: Smoked
Duration: ~3hours
Set and setting: At home, chilling out.
Swip$ obtained dried roots of Acorus Calamus and initially was puzzled as to how one was supposed to smoke it; bear in mind these are thick, woody roots. After some experimenting swip$ devised the ideal method of preparing it for smoking. The root was cut into pieces with strong sharp scissors then ground up using a skunk crusher.
Before mixing it with cannabis swip$ first wanted to find out what effects, if any, smoking the Acorus Calamus on its own would have . To this end, about 200mg of the crushed and ground root was packed into the chamber of a pipe of "smokeless" budbomb type design. A bit difficult to get lit in this particular design of pipe, but once lit seemed to burn at quite a high temperature which might explain the relative harshness of the smoke. The smoke is, however, no more harsh than a joint made with a large ratio of cigarette tobacco or containing badly-cured herbal cannabis (neither of which swi$ is a fan of). Swip$ made the effort to smoke as much of the pipe-load in one session and managed about 80%. Swip$ has to say superficially the effects are quite ecstasy-like although more organic, perhaps like a low dose of mushrooms. Although swip$ did not (with this dose and route) experience intense tingles swip$ was inclined occasionally to exhale in a "rushing" manner with lips formed in an "O" shape. Experience peaked rapidly after onset becoming less intense after 15-25 minutes. Swp$ should stress (again with this dose and route)that the experience did not feel overwhelming or confrontational like that which comes from insufflating MDMA or amphetamine.

Doasage: ~150mg Acorus Calamus root, ~100mg hashish, ~50mg herbal smoking mixture constituting leaves of: haselnut/papaya/peppermint
Route: Smoked
Duration: ~3hours
Repeat doses: Hourly
Set and setting: Night club, loud rhythmic music.
The Acorus Calamus and other herbs provided a convenient way of packing the budbomb so it could be smoked "covert style" with a closed chamber. Swip$ would say the Acorus Calamus complements the hashish well, providing a mildly psychedelic rush. On the first night in question, swip$ also consumed LSD, amphetamine and various forms of alcohol so it would be difficult to formulate a meaningful report..... other than to say none of the drugs mentioned in the last sentence seem to be contraindicated.

Doasage: ~100mg Acorus Calamus root, ~80mg hashish, ~50mg herbal smoking mixture constituting leaves of: haselnut/papaya/peppermint
Route: Smoked
Duration: ~3hours
Repeat doses: no
Set and setting: At home, chilling out.
The Acorus Calamus and other herbs were this time rolled in a tobaccoless joint. This time no other drugs were consumed other than a small glass of cider earlier in the day. Swip$ original contention that the pipe would deliver a more intense hit were disproven. One problem swip$ found was that getting further down near to the roach, the heat of the smoke becomes less and less bearable. Perhaps an ice bong is the ideal way to smoke this plant? In any case the effects of the calamus in this context complement the hashish very well. Calamus is neither depressant neither excessively stimulating. The cannabis+calamus experience is definately different than the calamus or cannabis alone experience. Whilst swip$ finds that smoking cannabis+tobacco often makes swip$ feel dizzy and confused (to the point that swip$ finds the experience unpleasent) swip$ would contend that the Acorus Calamus adds an extra degree of mental clarity to the cannabis experience which conributes to rather than detracting from the high.

So there you have it folks.. experience report and a positive one at that.
Swip$ is eager to obtain a tincure. swip$ thinks that in the doses stated (25-50ml +++ha ha) Acorus Calamus might constitute a far better legal substitute for MDMA than these currently popular ghastly research chemicals. If the experience is suitibly intense swip$ might even rate it more highly than MDMA. swip$ thinks MDMA is overrated anyway. swip$ basically thinks that psilocibin mushrooms and LSD are the holy grail. Anyway, swip$ will report on the tincure in future.

Reputation Comments on this post:

detailed and well written report, thanks for sharing

[Lady Codone]

Great report, and just what SWIM was hoping to hear, as she just purchased two ounces of the stuff from a local herb shop. SWIY's report is MUCH more favorable than the ones on Erowid.

One question SWIM has is, is it okay to smoke/consume the powdered form of calamus root? SWIM's seen contradicting info about this--some say it's only for "potpourri" making, while others...well, I haven't seen much about using the powdered form, only the whole root. (SWIM knows not to eat a bunch for risk of puking, btw).

[p$2]

swip$ could see difficulty in smoking the powdered root, unless one were to use some kind of filter. otherwise one would end up sucking the powder into one's mouth. perhaps swiy should try snorting the powder :P

[rawbeer]

SWIM has taken bong hits of calamus - not bad but not good, it has a woody, camp-firey taste, but that probably varies depending on how it was dried. Fresh root, chewed, has been the most pleasant for SWIM. Stimulating, clear...never anything psychedelic.

Reputation Comments on this post:

accurate description of smoked product; contributes to report