DOSE: T+ 0:00	1 cup	oral	Kratom	(tea)
T+ 0:25	1 cup	oral	Kratom	(tea)
T+ 1:12	1 cup	oral	Kratom	(tea)
T+ 1:50	900 mg	oral	Pharms - Gabapentin	(pill / tablet)
T+ 2:38	1 cup	oral	Kratom	(tea)

BODY WEIGHT:

155 lb

Having spent the last 3 years terribly addicted to opiates and benzodiazepines, I finally checked myself into detox and was able to kick the downers after a month of terribly painful withdrawals, anxiety, and depression. I was still drinking heavily at this point and just two weeks ago I stopped drinking completely and even stopped smoking marijuana (I have been a near-daily marijuana user for close to six years) after getting in some legal trouble.

I have been using gabapentin (Neurontin) in order to quell my cravings for alcohol, which had gotten much worse after kicking the Valium. It doesn’t do much except stabilize my mood, but has been extremely helpful with the process of opiate and benzodiazepine withdrawal. Although I don’t think it affected my experience felt I should mention it however as it may have had an effect on the experience. I had eaten a couple pieces of toast three hours prior to this experience, but by 11:30 AM, my stomach was essentially empty and I was very hungry. However, I held off on eating because it affects the absorption of the Kratom. I had also drank several cups of coffee over the course of the morning.

I also want to mention I have very extensive experience with opiates and treasure the opiate high over almost any other chemically-induced state. I have indulged (and overindulged) in the full spectrum of opiate highs, all the way from popping a few Tylenol 3’s to intravenous injection of high-grade heroin. So I have a very good idea of what an opiate high feels like, and have plenty to base the following comparisons on. Additionally, I would like people to keep in mind that I have a high tolerance for opiates of all kind after years of use, and from what I have read, the dose I consumed may cause nausea for some.

I eyed out what I estimated to be around 10-12 grams (I don’t have a scale but it was a little less than half of the 1 ounce bag I had). I have a plastic tea-thermos that has a built in infuser and this is what I used to make the tea.

LOG:

11:37 AM – I place the 10 grams of crushed Kratom into the infuser and slowly poured about 6 oz of gently-boiling water through the infuser and the Kratom. I then let the infuser with the Kratom sit in the tea.

11:45 AM - Water has turned a dark brown and smells similar of green tea. Is it still quite hot. The solids all still remain in the infuser. I add some honey and a generous lump of sugar to sweeten the tea. It tastes just like green tea to me, except it does have an obvious and unpleasant bitter aftertaste. I finish gulping down the brew in about 5 minutes.

11:53 AM - Interestingly, I feel a slight numbing sensation on my tongue and the roof of my mouth. It feels almost as if I rubbed a tiny amount of cocaine on my tongue and the roof of my mouth. After doing some reading I have found that many others have noticed this effect.

11:57 AM - I am beginning to feel a mild stimulation, almost like 10 mg of amphetamine, except there seems to be a mild visual effect as well.

12:03 PM – I make a second cup of tea using the same plant material as the first cup; I simply put the infuser back in the thermos and pour another portion of boiling water over it. I allow it to steep for about 10 minutes.

12:10 PM - The second cup came out almost as dark but not near as bitter. I am drinking it without any sugar or honey and it is still very mild. I still feel mildly stimulated – the effect is becoming more apparent and I could no longer pass it off as placebo. Strangely, it has almost a psychedelic twist to it – like the beginning of an acid trip. There is still something different about my vision that I can’t quite put my finger on.

12:23 PM - I have finished the second cup. I am going to make a third cup with fresh kratom and hotter water to try and get the most out of it. My tongue has become quite numb – for me this is a pleasant sensation as I have come to associate it with cocaine (which I love almost as much as opiates).

12:35 PM - I was able to stuff the rest of the ounce (about 15-18 grams) into the tea basket, and used much hotter water to steep the kratom by heating the water on the stove until it was boiling quite a bit more violently than before.

12:44 PM – The brew came out much darker and with a stronger smell – it seems I have done a more efficient job of extracting the essence of the Kratom. I feel very pleasantly stimulated at this point, maybe comparable to 20 mg amphetamine, but have not yet felt any kind of opiate buzz. However, the brew I just made looks extremely dark and powerful, I am still waiting for it to steep completely.

12:57 PM - The new brew I made is extremely bitter even with honey and sugar, much more so than with the other batch. I think I have done a much more effective job this time. I quickly drink the tea. Towards the bottom of the cup there was a bit of sediment and it was very bitter. Although quite disgusting, I have tasted much worse in the name of inebriation (mushroom tea anyone?) and it is no problem for me to drink, although I now understand why people complain about the bitterness.

1:13 PM - Now I am really starting to feel the effects. I am getting a bit itchy, just as if I had taken a dose of hydrocodone – my nose keeps itching the exact same way it does with painkillers. I feel very calm yet stimulated - a very pleasant feeling. I can compare the feeling to 20 mg hydrocodone, but I can tell the effects are only beginning to kick in, as I feel better and better every moment.

1:27 PM - I am amazed. I feel exactly as if I have taken 30-40 mg oxycodone. The way I feel already has exceeded my highest expectations – the effect is nearly indistinguishable from Vicodin or Percocet. I have a great body high and feel very content and euphoric. The effects seemed to have come on all at once within the last 10 minutes.

1:35 PM - Still feeling great. I just took 900 mg of gabapentin (Neurontin), which, as I said before, has almost imperceptible effects on me. I can tell that Kratom, if misused, could become very addictive, and I can understand why people get into a habit of taking it constantly. It is unquestionably powerful and euphoric. It is also apparent to me by this time that making a tea from the Kratom is definitely the best method of preparation for this herb. I have tried Kratom extracts in the past (usually mixed with Blue Lotus extract), but I was always drinking or smoking marijuana, and never achieved this sort of buzz even with the alcohol and pot.

2:23 PM - I recycle the plant material from the last cup and drink another one- it was very bitter and dark. The gabapentin is also beginning to add to the experience - it has a calm and soothing effect, but it may have “smoothed out” the euphoric rush I felt before. It may just be that I have reached a “plateau”, as I have heard the Kratom experience is fairly short-lived.

3:42 PM - The effects have faded quite a bit by this point. I am surprised at how quickly the tea took effect and then how quickly the effect faded – almost the same sort of time-frame as alcohol (quickly hits me, but I quickly lose the feeling). The peak of the experience seemed to be about 30-40 minutes after ingestion of the tea.

CONCLUSION

I should mention that later in the night I made a tea from an entire ounce, but achieved minimal effect, most likely because of the dose I had taken only a few hours previously – I have noticed this phenomenon with opiates also. Also, I felt a bit of nausea, which surprised me. It seems like it may not be worth it to take any more than about 20 grams for most people.

Overall, I was extremely happy with this experience. I have a pretty good grip now on how to prepare this powerful herb correctly, and I also have a good grip on it’s potential addictiveness. Having been an opiate addict for 3 years, I could see myself falling into a habit easily if I was careless. At a certain point (probably 30-45 minutes in), the buzz was virtually identical to a moderate dose of hydrocodone or oxycodone.

Although I see a lot about Kratom being used for opiate withdrawals and as a tool for detox, I would have to disagree, having experienced the high it can produce and gotten a taste of its addictive potential. I spent two years on buprenorphine (Suboxone) and learned first-hand the naivety of opiate maintenance programs – I got in more trouble on Suboxone and also developed a nasty benzo habit (all legally) which was an absolute bitch to kick.

Exp Year: 2008	ExpID: 75732
Gender: Male
Age at time of experience: Not Given
Published: Aug 31, 2009	Views: 41,644
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