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A Series of Experiences
Coca & Alcohol
Citation:   Raffles. "A Series of Experiences: An Experience with Coca & Alcohol (exp65075)". Erowid.org. Sep 29, 2007. erowid.org/exp/65075

 
DOSE:
  repeated oral Coca (tea)
  1 cig. smoked Coca (plant material)
    inhaled Coca (plant material)
    repeated sublingual Coca (plant material)
    repeated oral Coca (extract)
BODY WEIGHT: 85.4 lb
Coca interested me as a relatively cheap and legal drug with a lot of potential. Having researched its history and safety issues I purchased 100 tea bags of the Dellase brand from ebay for around 12 UK pounds including postage and packaging. I had no problem with importing and received the product about 14 days from ordering. I used the coca in a number of forms to find the “best” form. Below is a summary of this adventure.

Drinking
In the past I had drunk coca tea and looked forward to trying this delicate tisane again. I repeated this drinking to refresh myself of the effects. I made the tea as one would make green tea yet let the bag sit for longer (around 7 minutes). I sipped the coca tea over a 5 minute period, it had a pleasant earthy slightly bitter taste similar to damiana but slightly lighter. After drinking it I noticed my breathing become noticeably easier, similar to the effect of psuedoephedrine. Five minutes on I felt a very “natural” feeling of spreading energy. I felt as if I has just awoken from a long and deep sleep and was now pleasantly refreshed. In turn with no “residual” tiredness I felt positive and upbeat. The effect wasn’t chemically stimulating like coffee but was more of a natural feeling of invigoration.

A while later having enjoyed the tea for several days I upped the dosage to four bags. The taste was much richer and the tea was a dark muddy colour. It was still a pleasant flavour but a bit intense. This time my lungs ached and while I felt no tiredness nor did I feel pleasant, I felt restless and strangely confused. I think while the tea drinking is pleasant it is best limited to one tea bag at a time since the positive effects to not seem to increase with dose.

Smoking and snuff snorting
Smoking was a strange experience. I had read in the course of my research that Southern American shamans had in the past smoked coca leaf to induce a trance like state while in the west Coca cigars had been distributed and apparently even Shakespeare had smoked coca. Feeling I was in good company I smoked a cigarette containing a gram (one tea bag) of coca. It was an exceptionally smooth and pleasant smoke with a faint flavour similar to tobacco. Afterwards I felt pleasantly relaxed and calm yet I as not really in a “trance like state”. The effect was similar to a mixture of catnip and tobacco I once tried. I feel that this was something of a waste of coca. I later attempted snuff out of curiosity hoping that the active alkaloids would cross through the mucus membrane as nicotine does in snuff tobacco. To make the snuff I ground up a gram of leaf matter in a grinder and inhaled gently (snuff is inhaled not snorted like the refined product). There was a distinctive stimulation yet I feel that snuff pails in significance to chewing which is easier and more pleasant.

Chewing
In my mind this is the bet way to use coca by far. At first I used only one bag (although the dose used by Native Indians is eight to ten grams). I used with toothpaste with bicarbonate of soda in the ingredients to aid absorption. The tooth paste is actually better than regular baking powder as I discovered later. There is a very noticeable difference in effectiveness when toothpaste containing bicarbonate of soda is used in preference to baking soda alone.

Within seven minutes of chewing the numbness had started, after ten minutes I could move the quid and it would numb the area it touched within seconds. After fifteen minutes of chewing the numbness began to fade and I spat out the quid. Almost as soon as I did so the effects started. I had been suffering mild hay fever and yet suddenly my sinuses were completely open. I could breathe deeply and it felt pleasant to do so. I felt a growing sense of energy and a sense of alertness yet curiously I felt amazingly relaxed and calm. My thoughts, all now positive, flowed with a marvelous lucidness. The effect was mild yet at the same time it was somehow completely captivating. Motivated and invigorated I began to have vivid day dreams. The effects began to subside about twenty minutes after spitting out the quid while the stimulation lasted another twenty. There was no noticeable comedown just a revival of residual tiredness.

The next time I chewed I used two bags. Again I used toothpaste to aid absorption. I was out walking by a river and the effects did seem to take longer to come on. Yet my mouth was still pleasantly numb when I noticed that the water gurgling and flowing had a distinctly metallic and crisp sound. As I stood noticing this I felt my consciousness gently elevate and expand as my thoughts took on a more philosophic and complex dimension. This shift in perspective wasn’t as intense as it can be with cannabis yet was infinitely more pleasant. I as thinking like myself yet my thoughts were appearing to be much more sophisticated and perfect as if my capacity to develop taught had been enhanced.

I felt awake, alert, positive and strong but at the same time I felt so calm and relaxed. My thinking was not rushing as with ephedrine, caffeine or amphetamine sulphate (all passionate indulgences-I love stimulants). Instead it was deliberate and poised, flowing with precision. Strangely there was no “head buzz” and I could only detect a slight light-headed feeling. I felt sober, it was if I had briefly become exactly who I wanted to be, yet sadly only briefly. The effects soon tapered following the same progression as before and there was still no distinction comedown.

For one chewing experiment I used five bags, my highest dose to date. Its hard to contain more without embarrassing spillage. This time I used baking soda hoping for a more powerful experience. I was disappointed as the experience did not work as well. Many of the positive effects did not increase to another level it was as if they had reached a zenith. Instead there was more stimulation then before as well as a noticeable urge to chew again as the effects subsided. I gave in to this urge and remained in this state.

I think chewing is the best way to use coca, although not the strongest. It helped me to relax to a similar level of satisfaction as cannabis yet at the same time was immensely invigorating. When I get more coca this will be the method I will use most often. An important note is that during chewing my heart rate did increase, and while this was similar to the increase caused by caffeine (like three cups of strong coffee) it was notable.

Coca Liqour.
This would be the most powerful coca experience and the one most similar to cocaine, a drug I have had considerable past experience with. Having read of the work of Dr Pemberton as well as the creation of various coca wines, most notably vin mariani, I decided that a drink enjoyed by Popes and Queen Victoria had to be worth a try. Essentially I would be getting high off the metabolite cocaethylene which is supposedly more potent than cocaine itself.

Eventually I worked out the ratio to be 85 bags to a 70cl bottle of vodka to be nearest to the old ratios of drinks gone bye. The drink was easy to make, I simply emptied 85 teabags into a bowl emptied a bottle of vodka over the top and stirred every half hour, in-between putting a top on the bowl to stop evaporation. I then left overnight and filtered out through a cheesecloth in the morning before pressing and straining for more liquor. I ended up with a little over three quarters of the bottle back as liquor.

For the first test I drank two and a half shots of the stuff from a hipflask at a tedious work party. Within ten minutes I felt warm and within fifteen powerful and strong, perhaps “bullish” is the best word. I began to converse with people in a cocky confident sort of manner. All my social insecurity had gone and been replaced by a feeling of cockiness and superiority. The effects were not strong but were very noticeable. It was not like alcohol or coca but more like a small bump of white powder with another indiscernible dimension. As I went around the room chatting a friend approached my and commented no my manner of speech and body language, apparently I was nodding a lot he then asked it I had any cocaine. After this I drank abnormally quickly during the speeches about four glasses in forty minutes.

For the next experiment I drank three shots straight. The taste was pleasant and earthy and actually rather good. We the effects kicked in I felt a rush of warmth and positive energy, my skin began to tingle pleasantly and I felt outgoing and very stimulated. I was with a friend and suddenly began to babble incessantly the words rushing out as my thoughts seemed to sky rocked through my mind. Realistically this was not dissimilar to a cocaine experience except there was no rush of euphoria. I felt no effect from the alcohol only this sensation of immense happiness, positivity and super stimulation. Soon after I came down and felt fragile, shakey and down. A Red Bull and brandy made me feel more together yet the feelings were hard to shake for another half hour.

For a while I only drank one or better two shots at a time as a self esteem and confidence booster. At these lower doses I felt warm, happy and positive as well as outgoing yet not over stimulated, however soon the bottle approached its end and I decided it needed a royal send-off.

For the final dose I drank a tiny bit over five shots straight and the went out for a walk. For some reason there seemed to be a delayed response but then it was bam! My thoughts rushed and I felt giddy with euphoria. I felt perfect and constantly celebrated just how great I was. The walk was short as I decided to return home to listen to music. As I listened to music my thoughts took on a poetic, profound quality. The music (all dance) sounded spectacular and when I listened to the track sandstorm I felt spiritual.

After a while I went on porn and disaster struck. I couldn’t get an erection no matter how hard I tried. Then about one hour from ingestion I began to come down. Even a large glass of wine did nothing to fix this comedown. I still felt highly stimulated and edgy at at the same time emotional and low. I fail to remember how long this went on for. Again my heart rate climbed yet this time it was more dramatic. I’m guessing that if this was done repetitively cardiovascular as well as liver damage would result.

In conclusion, coca is a plant with an enormous potential I have only began to scratch the surface of. From now on I will probably chew it or maybe only make a fifth on a litre of the crazy liquor for special occasions to save on buying cocaine instead. Hey its cheaper and legal. Chewing appears safe and fun as well as good for both manual and mental labour. The liquor was fun yet was a bit intense so I think I may shelve that as not my tipple but interesting nether the less.

Exp Year: 2007ExpID: 65075
Gender: Male 
Age at time of experience: Not Given
Published: Sep 29, 2007Views: 28,046
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Coca (158) : Retrospective / Summary (11), Various (28)

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