Smoking Herbal Sleep-aids
Valerian & Catnip
Citation:   phaze3. "Smoking Herbal Sleep-aids: An Experience with Valerian & Catnip (exp7412)". Erowid.org. Jun 3, 2003. erowid.org/exp/7412

 
DOSE:
1 capsl smoked Valerian (ground / crushed)
  1 capsl smoked Catnip (ground / crushed)
BODY WEIGHT: 150 lb
After testing positive for marijuana a few weeks earlier and facing all the expected parental bullshit for the offense, i felt compelled to find an 'herbal high' that was both legal and undetectable in standard drug tests. A quick online search revealed that two of the the herbal sleep-aids my parents had around the house could be smoked, as well as taken orally; Valerian and Catnip. Interesting. I'd taken the pills before, but felt nothing...perhaps smoking them was worth a try. The posted results of others who smoked the substances were mediocre, but my parents were sleeping soundly and I was in the mood to experiment.

I loaded the CD player in my room with some Paul Oakenfold and BT's ESCM, then flipped on my plasma lamp. I pulled the capusle of ground Valerian root apart and emptied half of the green powder into my pipe. I cracked the window to my room and lit up. The back of my throat was already burning badly after the first inhalation. 'Holy shit!' i thought, and looked at the bottle the Valerian pill had come from. It was actually labeled 'Valerian Combination,' and inspection of the back label revealed that the herbal supplement contained much more than Valerian...Hops Flowers, Wood Betony, Scullcap, Black Cohosh Root, Passion Flower, and Cayenne Fruit. Hmm. I was unfamiliar with most of these herbs, and suspected the Cayenne was the ingredient that made the smoke burn so badly. I managed to smoke the entire capsule anyway. I then emptied the contents of a catnip capsule into my pipe and began to smoke it. Ahh, much better. The catnip smoke was much easier to inhale, and left a pleasant minty feeling in my throat.

After I'd finished smoking both the Valerian (Combination) and the Catnip I settled down on my bed with a bag of mini pretzels and slipped on my headphones. The music sounded good. Really good. I watched the green swirls of electricity flow through my plasma lamp as I munched the pretzels. And I began to imagine that the liquid neon light was dancing to the music. Was I stoned? Not really. But I felt happy, interested, and relaxed. After i turned off the plasma lamp and my CD player about 30 minutes later, I drifted off to sleep easily, and slept soundly the rest of the night.

It was definately not an intense experience by any stretch of the imagination, yet still enjoyable and relaxing. I may try smoking pure Valerian, as I presume the effects would be stronger and the smoke more tolerable. The Oaxacan Salvia I ordered yesterday should be here in a little less than a week. I'm quite eager to discover what Lady Salvia has to offer.

Exp Year: 2001ExpID: 7412
Gender: Male 
Age at time of experience: Not Given
Published: Jun 3, 2003Views: 41,954
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Catnip (68), Valerian (48) : Alone (16), Preparation / Recipes (30), General (1)

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