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Pan [common drug in India] (betel nut)

Splatt

Splatt

Ex-Bluelighter
Joined
Sep 25, 2001
Messages
9,111
I was talking to an old friend last night and she spent a few years or more of her life in India when she was young and she told me about something that was very common at corner shops and road stalls called "Pan". It was a red crystaline substance that you put under your tongue and hold there for five or ten minutes, after about ten minutes you started to feel a rush then a half hour trip would come on. She described it was a weird mental state which included visuals and a weird body and head rush, but you would be back to baseline soon after.

Apparently you cannot swallow it as you get bad stomach pains and/or vomit. So it was common to see red spit all over the place.

Does anyone know what this substance may be who has traveled to India before?
 
my friend who just got back from three months in india for a university service trip says she saw dudes spittin red shit out of their mouths but they had a different name for it. she never did it.... she didnt realize it was a drug and she was on a service trip.
 
Just remembered the other word she used for it. Not sure if this was the main ingredient, an additive or the brand name, but it was Beetelnut. She said the effects were definitely psychoactive and a lot of kids used to get off their face on that and OTC valium.
 
When I was in India I saw plenty of this stuff. There are lots of different ways to prepare it, but the basic ingredient is Betel Nut.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paan

I asked some people about the effects, but none of them told me it made them 'trip', all they told me is it's quite stimulant.

I don't know exactly which is the thing that makes them spit red, because some of them don't. I guess it depends on the preparation of the Paan and the actual ingredients.

Anyway, I chew some betel nuts, but did not get any effect. And never was brave enough to take one of those strange leaves with that kind of toothpaste on them, maybe next time. :-p

EDIT: As always, erowid has some good info http://www.erowid.org/plants/betel/betel.shtml I just found it. :-)
 
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Betel nuts are a stimulant like Quat or coca is to some cultures. My main problem with taking them is the red spit and stained teeth. Anyhow, these aren't psychedelic.

Oh, and doesn't Pan pretty much mean "everything" or "all"?
 
Man… I chew Paan for a little while probably about two weeks. The dentist 3 years later still asks me if I chew tobacco. Those little pieces of nut are fucking hard! Arecoline has a history of developing better memory for "serial tasks". I remember reading that at some point. It's just not worth it. Like a less heart racing, but slightly nauseating high dose of caffeine.

Willow… pan would have to be latin/greek origin in that context and Betels Nuts are most common in SE Asia, subcontinental area. I'd guess there's much different etymology.

I've read that betel nut is the words most popular stimulant as well. Not a "mind-food" might be the wrong forum.

Peace,
PL
 
I tried to get into betel nuts when I lived in Taiwan, where they're called 'binglang', and chewed exclusively by working class men.

Blah! If you can get past the increased RED salivation, swollen mouth membranes (including the back of the throat!) and little sharp bits from the nut that can get lodged in your gums, the psychoactive effect is hardly pleasurable. The closest thing I've had to it is cigar buzz -- it has the poisoned, nauseous feeling of too much nicotine. It would disorient me and affect my coordination like marijuana (not like other stimulants), but without the euphoria.

Besides arecoline, the Taiwanese preparation also contains safrole. Since we all know what THAT's a precursor for, I tried many valliant times to enjoy this drug, without success.
 
From my understanding, arecoline works in similar ways to nicotine. Seems many compare it to nicotine, far more often than they do caffeine, so I think my understanding is at least somewhat correct.

And yeah, why is this in the PD forum?
 
Because I was originally told it had more profound effects than just basic stimulation, and when I ask them again what effects they got, they still tell me it was nothing like a nicotine buzz. Strange..
 
arecoline is a stimulant found in betel nuts. I've got a load of them but only used them a few times. I found it to be a weak stimulant with a slightly off-putting edge to it and a barely noticeable buzz. I've heard that fresh nuts are stronger but the dried nuts are really, really hard and nothing special, in my experience. I was not able to get much of an effect at all.

Moving this to Other Drugs. Mods, please send elsewhere if necessary.
 
Erowid actually has a decent betel nut vault: http://www.erowid.org/plants/betel/betel.shtml

Sounds like arecoline actually has some positive health benefits.

Arecoline is a mild central nervous system stimulant which increases respiration. As a stimulant it is used by more people in the world than any other, being extremely popular in India, Thailand, Indonesia and other Asian cultures. Arecoline has also been shown to improve serial learning and memory as well as counteracting intestinal parasites.
Click to expand...
http://www.erowid.org/plants/betel/betel_effects.shtml

Edit: It's bad for your teeth/mouth.

Regular usage stains the mouth, gums and teeth a deep red. Excessive use can cause inebriation and dizziness. Long term users cause damage to the teeth and soft tissue of the mouth.
Click to expand...
http://www.erowid.org/plants/betel/betel_effects.shtml
 
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Some mentioned safrole is present in some preparations which would cause a somewhat psychedelic effect.
 
All I can say is this - you are a moron to use this substance regularly! DON'T DO IT!

Betel nut/betel quid is HIGHLY carcinogenic. HIGHLY!!!! Much more so than cigarettes.

The rate of mouth and throat cancers in peope with betel nut/quid habits is huge! Far above the base average per region of the world. Not only do those with this habit have an increased incidence of squamous cell carcinoma, but also leukoplakia, lichen planus, and malignant fibrous changes at the corners of the mouth (forgotten its name off the top of my head).

A number of Asian institutes are starting research programmes into this substance due to the fact that the countries can no longer ingnore the fact that so many of their poor are becoming a burden on the 'health systems' they have in place. The epidemic is that huge. e.g. Taiwan. It is a problem mainly confined to the poor as it is socially unacceptible for the more wealthy and cheap to get hold of.
 
there are several indian (india) neighborhoods near where i live, with many restaurants...
a few years back, in one of the places that my friends and i were "regulars" at, the waiter, at the end of the meal, brought out a tray with one Paan for each of us...
we had no idea what it was..
but, there was a very "sheepish", naughty look on the waiters face as he offered them to us.....some of the other waiters were smiling as well...as if they were inviting us into their private club...
i never really found out whether betal leaves are illegal in the us.....it might be one of those grey areas...
anyway, apparnatly there are 2 basic ways to prepare paan....one is wrapping the betal leaf around chewing tobacco and some other harsh chewing substances.. the other is wrapping it, or rather filling it, with various indian sweets/candies... those tiny ones that are all different colors...
so, luckily we got the candy ones (the other one is awful tasting)....
i was very eager to see the effects of it so i was chewing it rather quicklyc and swallowing it... the waiter said "no, no...just keep it in the side of your mouth and sort of suck on it for awhile".
anyway, we all felt two very significant effects...
the first was the stimulant qualities...but, it was a stimulant in its very own, unique way....not like coffee...
the other effect was really amazing.... it was the most powerful digesting substance i have ever taken...and also in its own very unique way...
an indian meal can be very heavy and lay in your stomach for quite awhile....
after having the "paan", within minutes, it was as if we had never even had a meal... it was quite amazing...
i have had it many times ever since, and have always hed the same experiences
 
Yeah, arevcoline is much like nicotine but more stimulating. it even eases nicotine cravings! Not really heavy stiuilant but allows one to work more, and clears the head. Good for reading...

Also, helps digestion, like said, espeacially good for opioids user in that respect, lol!

Not good for mouth or teeth. and gets ones teeth and mouth red.
 
I'm pretty certain that arecoline is a muscarinic rather than nicotinic acetylcholine mimetic.

Betel/areca nuts may also contain other substances than arecoline. Some claim the presence of dopamine reuptake inhibitors, but I haven't verified that claim.

Also, according to Rhodium's drug synthesis archive, powerful DA reuptake inhibitors can be created synthetically from arecoline:
http://www.erowid.org/archive/rhodium/chemistry/cocaine.analog.arecoline.html
 
I've snorted arecoline HBr at high doses to see what it was like. No matter how much areca nut and betel leaf you chew, it is never going to feel much different than nicotine with cooling tactile sensations and a weird anxious rush.
 
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