DOSE:	2 tsp	oral	Syrian Rue	(tea)
	repeated	smoked	Cannabis	(plant material)

BODY WEIGHT:

235 lb

I'd been reading alot about Syrian rue as a potentiator for psychedelics and so was anticipating trying it. I had found a local source for this and purchased a four oz. Package for a ridiculously low price, a buck and a half! I made one extract previously to accompany some leftover San Pedro tea with reasonable, albeit somewhat low, effects. I was determined to do better! What follows is my account of one particular trial as best as I can recall it. [Erowid Note: Combining MAOIs with other psychoactive drugs carries serious medical risks and can result in extremely unpleasant side effects, overheating, nausea, confusion, heart problems, and even death. Please see Erowid's MAOI Vault]
A few weeks have passed since my last journey and the time to try Syrian rue as a potentiator has once again arrived. I had just a few evenings earlier done a pretty typical lemon/lime juice extraction on both the rue and about twenty inches of San Pedro, in separate pans of course. The intent was for myself and a younger companion to get good and looped on the combo, making for a really great evening of fun and colors for us both. That at least was the intent. Too bad it didn't quite go that way, at least for me. More to my own disappointment than my fellow guinea pig's, blessedly, especially since it was her first trip on any kind of psychedelic.

I had used two level tablespoons of esphand(Syrian rue) in two cups water and the juice of one half a lemon and one half a lime for the extraction. I did a fairly simple mash(with the head of a meat tenderizer and a plastic plate and, of course, a cheap, mesh type tea strainer). I boiled this for around forty five minutes over light/medium heat, eventually ending up with around four or five ounces of muddy red brownish liquid that I strained through a bandana, which still bears the stain. ( I like the color enough to consider getting some dye quality syrian rue to make some Turkish Red) A note here: a cheap, teflon lined aluminum pan seems to work just fine for the extraction or at least it has for me. I put this in a small container in the fridge until the day came to split it up for use.

About seven in the evening on that fateful day, I divided it up more or less equally by sight between us and into party cups for consumption. I had also shaken up the jar of SP tea to help with consistency a bit before we were to split that up and likewise consume. We each took a drink of the rue tea and nearly gagged it right back up before we could swallow. She commented with some disgust that it tasted like vomit. I'm not sure it was even that good as my gorge rose audibly upon the first drink. That bit notwithstanding however, it had a very unusual and not altogether terrible aftertaste to me. It really caught me by surprise and even now continues to leave me at a loss of words on how to describe it. Suffice it to say vomit was definitely not it even though it is terrible! Within moments we both felt something, a definite change in head space. I should relate here that we had smoked a bowl of good bud just prior to consumption to help attenuate any nausea. In addition, we had also both taken three 550mg caps of ginger in two doses the previous two hours to starting our drinks. She had strictly adhered to an MAOI diet for the twelve hours prior whereas I broke down and had less than one slice of cheese(with white rice)around four hours prior to drinking. What a mistake! I drastically underestimated my own tolerance(based on my earlier endeavor) to Rue and its interactions with certain foods, like processed cheese(a really dumb choice,btw). DON'T tempt fate when it comes to MAOIs. Follow the dietary restrictions to the letter! If you don't, you WILL regret it! I was lucky.

Without gagging much more, we finished off our respective portions. We had intended to wait thirty minutes and then drink the SP tea, but that point never came. Twenty minutes came and went with few changes. Things began to get interesting at thirty minutes. There was an undercurrent of energy running through me but something was not quite right. Not so much feeling it but sensing it, I knew my stomach was amiss. I delayed either of us drinking the SP as I wasn't going to risk having a newbie tripping balls if I wasn't in any condition to help if things went awry for her. That was a good decision. One that kept reinforcing itself over and over for the next half hour or so. A few minutes after the delay, the delirium began. As it increased slowly, my head began to spin. By fifty minutes I had significantly impaired motor control, trouble concentrating, a wicked head spin(like the bad end of a drunk) and nausea that demanded attention. Meanwhile, my companion is able to talk with ease, is feeling no nausea at all, and is occasionally dancing around the apartment. She says she feels a bit tipsy and really good. By the hour mark, I'm in enough agony that I can't even handle her talking to me and so ask for some silence. Bless her heart, she gave it to me! I know it's just a matter of time now before I'll be stumbling off to the bathroom to purge.

Nor did I have long to wait. I went forth into the comforting darkness of the bathroom and purged until I felt my esophagus was hanging out. I did feel a little better for a moment. Then the delirium and dis-coordination took hold again and I sat back in a slump against the tub and nearly passed out. Somewhere in that first volley, the youngster went out to avoid the awful sound of me. Wish I could have joined her. Much to her credit, she came back in within ten minutes and made sure I was ok. I rejoined her in the living room and tried to be sociable. But with little luck. The dizziness was almost unbearable, making the trip I was now on not very much fun for me. I'm sure it had to detract from her fun too although she openly denied this. Somewhere after this time we smoked a bowl I had preloaded much earlier for smoking while coming up on the SP we didn't get the chance to drink.

For the next hour or so, things continued to get somewhat worse despite my best wishes. Somewhere around two hours, I purged again. This time until I was sure I'd purged my entire stomach and the first foot of intestine along with it. She wasn't too far behind me for purging at this point although she doesn't precisely recall it. I had noticed a little bit earlier through my haze that she had laid down on the floor and had her eyes covered. We both went back to the living room to try to cope and be there for one another through the trip. Again with little luck for me. It was all I could manage to remember to ask her how she was doing from time to time. Before the top of the third hour I could no longer cope and made my apologies to her and went to lay down. Even though things would continue to be difficult for a few hours yet, they also got a lot more interesting at this point.

I found myself laying in bed treading the line between this waking realm, the spiritual and sleep. I was nearly conscious of the outer world in a foggy, general way while simultaneously having varying visions internally. I had many images play across my mind before a break in the vision highlighted the urge to purge. Again. I think a kidney came out that time! Damn sure felt like that anyway. For a third time I lay slumped against the tub for maybe ten minutes resisting the urge to at least take a nap right there. My wonderful companion chose to leave the living room where she was quietly riding the journey and go lay down in her room around this point, ensuring I'd be able to rest better. I returned to bed, hoping that sleep might overtake me and allow me to end this. Before that happened I again had some vivid inner visions. I found that they fell into two categories. Strong male characters, some of them with clearly identifiable features(like freckles or moles), especially a familiar seeming, rather well built African American man with a bald pate(obviously shaved) wearing a simple,white tunic and exuding a protective essence. All purely male characters were in the foreground. When men and women were present together, it was always in the secondary position, that is, the next 'row' behind the foreground. I wouldn't consider this the background as I've had other more layered vision in the past. I don't recall any visions or presences that were purely feminine in nature. There were at least two 'clips' that were quite sexual in nature as well. Because of the position of any scene with a female and the vividness of those two other scenes, I have begun to wonder if perhaps I, like all too many other men, objectify women unduly(meaning beyond the parameters dictated by Nature). This is somewhat disturbing to me as I try very much to be egalitarian in habit towards male and female.

Sometime after those sights, I fell asleep. I awoke about an hour or so later(I normally check the times at which I awake at night, a stupid, old habit) and recalled that the laptop and a couple of lights were still turned on. I carefully stumbled out to the living and dining areas to shut everything off while looking at as little as possible to avoid a recurrence of heavy dizziness. When I looked at the screen of the laptop to select the right option I noticed another otherwise fun aspect to the journey. I was having heavy, sliding tracers! Sometimes spanning the entire width of my vision. It was a bit like watching an object in a wind tunnel as there seemed to be very thick lines of flow bending around and stretching behind whatever object I was trying to center on. Yet another remarkable layer to this very non recreational substance. If I hadn't been stupid earlier in the day, I might even be enjoying more of this otherwise difficult trip. I resolve here,even while still in the throes of Rue, to try it again. At least as a potentiator for SP. Maybe even one day as a stand alone again. Maybe. I then return to bed where I continued to occasionally awake throughout the next several hours still feeling significantly altered. Fortunately I didn't purge anymore. I'm sure I would have puked my testes right out!

Finally, somewhere around four AM, I started too actually feel like myself again. I was able to go the bathroom without stumbling there and back. My stomach, quite expectedly, feels like it's been torn to shreds and put together again somewhat poorly. I can tell though that it probably won't last too long so, reassured, I go back to bed. I awoke probably around ten AM still with the lingering hangover and a slight pain in the gut that gladly was entirely abated by a simple breakfast and a glass of milk. My companion reported no lingering effects at all. She did however take some pics of herself while under the influence and didn't recall doing so while reviewing those pics. Nothing embarrassing thankfully. I believe she was just trying to preserve the moment for posterity, so to speak. Oh yes, for the record, I weighed 'bout 235 and she probably 115 so weight doesn't seem to play a factor in the effects of Syrian rue for either of us. She stated that she'd try it again sometime by itself.

It's been eight months since that night. She has yet to attempt another journey with Syrian rue. I've experimented with it both solo and as a potentiator for San Pedro. My tolerance level is around the three gram mark. That's just a little over a level teaspoon. A teaspoon and a half brings on the heavy spins, nausea and purging followed by vivid dreams. If I take it too quickly, it tends to induce nausea as well. I've done a tea a couple of times but my preferred method of ingestion is to put them in some gel caps(that I sacrifice from my ginger supply) and swallow. No aftertaste unless you forget to drink plenty of water with it. Be careful how much you eat as well. I've noticed that smoking bud then indulging in your munchies can likewise lead to nausea. The times I've purged have all been somewhat difficult, leaving me feeling like something internal's about to be external. This, unfortunately, is NOT terribly uncommon for me when purging, no matter the reason. Syrian Rue is truly remarkable. It can take you places seldom seen, but know that they come with a price. If purging is not on your agenda, skip it. If the spiritual realms intrigue you, you might find them here or through it's assistance with another substance(like shrooms or SP). I got a fresh glimpse into another realm, one I haven't visited in years. I'm thankful for that. Not so coincidentally, my experiments with esphand have also led to some weight loss due to the dietary restrictions. I'm now down to 224 and holding. I also seem to have a better mood than I normally exhibit(I was treated many years ago for depression with SSRI's and I couldn't stand them!). Whether it's incidental, coincidental or anecdotal, I don't really care, I'll take any net positive change wherever it comes from. To sum up, this is a cheap, very powerful substance that comes with substantial risks and rewards.

Exp Year: 2009	ExpID: 84422
Gender: Male
Age at time of experience: Not Given
Published: Jan 27, 2013	Views: 15,801
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