Calming and Uplifting - A Summary
Tobacco - N. rustica
Citation:   Spacewarrior. "Calming and Uplifting - A Summary: An Experience with Tobacco - N. rustica (exp112955)". Erowid.org. Mar 23, 2019. erowid.org/exp/112955

 
DOSE:
  smoked Tobacco  
  0.3 g oral Mushrooms - P. semilanceata  
    insufflated Tobacco (liquid)
    smoked Cannabis  
BODY WEIGHT: 65 kg
This report summarises several experiences of sacred tobacco using different means of administration and combining with cannabis and magic mushrooms (p. semilanceata).

I'm not really a regular tobacco user. My first experience with tobacco was a dose of strong snus which almost knocked me off my feet, and ever since I've only occasionally smoked tobacco socially, much like how I use alcohol. I do not have any diagnosed mental issues nor do I take any medication, however I have a suspicion that I have dysthymia and that I'm a chronic procrastinator. I live a very solitary life which I sometimes loathe and sometimes enjoy.

I ordered an ounce of rustica which came to my address rolled up in a log. It had piqued my interest due to its more sophisticated entheogenic and chemical background - its widespread use by American natives, high nicotine content and the presence of beta-carbolines, which are apparently not found in the usual stuff. The MAOIs/beta-carbolines in turn were interesting as an enhancer of psychedelics and an antidepressant. In my case, I was looking to try it with magic mushrooms (p. semilanceata) which happen to grow in my area like crazy come late September. According to what I've learned, the right MAOI can double the effectiveness of a traditional psychedelic. I tried that only once with a tiny dose. After that, I had several experiences of smoked rustica, an infusion of rustica, and cannabis+rustica spliffs, which showed a particularly good synergy.

Rustica + Mushrooms
It was a cloudy autumn day. This was my first autumn of hunting and using the mushroom, but by this point I had had several experiences under my belt, ranging from microdoses to McKenna's recommended "five grams in silent darkness", so I was fully aware of the sheer power of these little friends.

I took 0.3g of dried mushroom (a dose small enough for me to feel but also small enough to function like a human) and went for a bicycle ride to a nearby park. The plan was to smoke the rustica approximately 20 minutes after taking the mushrooms (i.e. to time the onsets of both substances together). I arrived, parked my bike, and went for a walk, during which I smoked a rustica rollie. It's obviously very potent, so I puff on it most of the time and only occasionally inhale. A bit later I could feel the mushrooms slowly coming on, so I went to a certain place where there's a kind of art piece made out of a solitary tree. The tree was tied up and obviously brought here from somewhere else. I'd been here before, but this time I felt particularly sorry for that tree. It wasn't where it wanted to be, chained down by a bunch of hairless monkeys, and all alone with no friends - all for our entertainment. I sat down in contemplation and began to feel the slight bodily tingle of mushrooms. As usual, it was kind of unnerving, but also kind of relaxing. The ground under my feet also began to shift ever so gently. After sitting on a bench for while I tried writing down some of my thoughts and struggled with forming sentences. In hindsight, it was probably the rustica making the mushrooms stronger, but that's only an assumption. Still, I would not expect that 0.3g would be that strong without some help.

Rustica alone
I had great experiences with the plant. It rubs me in a much more pleasant way than commercial tobacco in terms of the nicotine high, but also has a very mild mental aspect to it. Many say it has a 'grounding' effect which I can somewhat attest to (unless it's placebo effect). Puffing, versus inhaling, gives a milder but longer-lasting experience (the same can be said of tobacco in general of course) and at times when I was outside of my asocial comfort zone, I found myself being more talkative (I'm usually very tight-lipped) and made a better impression on people around me, which might be caused by the antidepressant nature of the MAOIs.

Another interesting difference between rustica and commercial tobacco that I've found is that my stomach takes no issue with rustica. Yet even a bit of commercial tobacco (as saliva from chewed tobacco for example) makes my stomach react quickly, violently, and painfully. I have also taken long pauses between using rustica and experienced no cravings, but I chalk it up to individual differences - I don't think I have an addictive personality, and perhaps have a genetic advantage as well. No substance abuse in the family. My father had recently quit smoking and didn't experience as much difficulty as most long-time smokers.

I had also done an infusion by leaving the leaf in water overnight and draining the water. This kind of infusion can be done intranasally, which I didn't really enjoy. My body takes it fine even if I swallow a tablespoon of the stuff, and I can definitely feel it.

Rustica with cannabis
The first or second time I combined these two wonderful plants was possibly the happiest weed high I'd ever had. It was so easy to laugh at the idiot I was just an hour ago, my depressive thought patterns seemed so silly and disconnected from life. It became so easy, enjoyable and rewarding to simply do things like clean my room, arrange my paperwork and take care of myself in general. This pattern would continue to a lesser extent into the following experiences. Music was more emotionally moving, more so than on cannabis alone. If you want to know in particular - I started listening to the second album by Low Roar. The first song was captivating, the second one was very sad, the third had me bawling my eyes out. I still attribute it to the antidepressant aspect - the depression isn't just being sad - it's more like not feeling much of anything at all. This time, at last, I could feel a profound sadness, my heart finally opening up, telling me that it hadn't completely shriveled up and there's still some life in me.

I consider myself a bit lucky that this plant chimes well with me.

Exp Year: 2019ExpID: 112955
Gender: Male 
Age at time of experience: 23
Published: Mar 23, 2019Views: 1,273
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Tobacco (47) : Combinations (3), Therapeutic Intent or Outcome (49), Retrospective / Summary (11), Alone (16)

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