Smoknig Kava?

[WussPunkSUX]

I was on Erowid looking for an efficient way to consume the Kava Kava I just bought, and I came across this trip report.
http://www.erowid.org/experiences/exp.php3?ID=7411
It was from last year, and it's the only report I've read about smoking Kava.
My question to you all is, is this a good idea? Even if it doesn't work, it won't hurt my lungs any more than say... smoking ciggarettes or pot would. What do you all think?

 

[quale]

Thats damn cool!! Of course until some other people verify it I don't trust it, the power of suggestion can be a powerfull thing. Damn all my kava kava shit is pressed.
Anyway most kava (even in gelcaps) has shit like rice powder and gelatin in it. No idea how that is to smoke.
If you do smoke it you will be entering pretty much uncharted territory. I don't think anyone has any idea how bad smoking kava is for you, I don't think they have even isolated the active ingredient yet. I would guess that smoking it once isn't going to deystroy your lungs but I sure as heck don't know.

 

[WussPunkSUX]

Yah, I just have the caps that I bought from GNC. I think I'll be a guinie pig this weekend and try it out... what the hell? =) It can't be that bad.

 

[SovietContin]

It's not going to do anything. It doesn't even work if you eat it anyways. It's about as powerful as green tea. I've eaten grams of the stuff.
Maybe if you could get the pure isolate it'd do something, but I seriously doubt it.

 

[supertodd]

I've smoked Kava Kava about a month ago after reading about it in that trip report on Erowid. I had a pressed pills from GNC. I crushed up one pill and smoked 60% of it in a metal pipe, I had to stop because the smoke was kind of nasty. But I definitly got a buzz, very slight, but deffinitly not palceblo. It was stronger than a normal Kava high, which I feel is very weak even after 30 pills I only have a slight buzz. The smoking high was kind of numbing in my fingers and toes and king of dizzying. I would recomend more people to experement with smoking Kava, it would probally be more efficient if you had it in a more potent form, maby the powered kind, the liquid extract, or the raw root. I hope that helped.

 

[negrogesic]

Empty out all the kava-kava capsules, mix with isopropyl, filter through a t-shirt, evaporate the liquid, smoke the sludge.

 

[WussPunkSUX]

See, I always got very nice effects from downing massive amounts (25-30) capsules into a tea.
I'm going to smoke a capsule this weekend and find out.

 

[supertodd]

I would also think smokeing Kava would be better for you liver than injesting it. But I guess it all equals out when you consider the lung damage.

 

[Sniff]

Originally posted by SovietContin:
It's not going to do anything. It doesn't even work if you eat it anyways. It's about as powerful as green tea. I've eaten grams of the stuff.
I cant agree with you there...
There are many different grades of kava, and the caps are never all that good in my experience. Get yourself a bag of straight-up powdered kava root. Put 2-3 tbsp in a loose cloth, tie it up and knead in water for 5 mins. the resulting drink will fuck you up Its a lot like being REALLY drunk, but without any nausea or dizziness, and you feel comfortably warm inside.
As for smoking it, my friends have had limited success smoking the powdered root without extraction, reporting a very 'anaesthetic' feeling in their heads, so I think smoking the extract would probably be quite worthwhile.
EDIT: If you are eating the capsules, buy some lecithin capsules to take with them. I have found the effects of kava to be MUCH stronger when taken with lecithin.
[ 14 August 2002: Message edited by: Sniff ]

 

[Inspektahdek]

I've smoked kava on bowls of weed and the past and experienced deep relaxation, definitely not placebo. Take a cap and empty it on a bowl. Do this several times for the most relaxed high you will prob ever experience. CHEERS!

 

[gz]

Do most people agree that this is safe? I have 1lb of pure powdered kava root... $20 online
I'd like to try it, but not if it isn't pretty safe. I've used 1 cup of Kava mixed with some soy bean oil and water, filtered through shirt. Fucking nasty drink, partly the soy bean oil *barf* and partly the nasty taste of Kava. I barely felt anything really, maybe a slight slight relaxation, but not "fucked up" at all. In fact, I was driving right after drinking it. I tried it once with milk and valerian root too, the valerian put me to sleep, but I'm not sure how much of a role the kava played, because I didn't feel much, just normally sleepy.

 

[Sniff]

Sorry if this is a bit off topic, but I didn't think it was worth a new thread...
Here is how to make a very palatable kava drink:
dissolve a tablespoon of honey in 1/4 cup of hot water. to this, add the following:
1 freshly grated nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
5 crushed cloves
1 pinch of allspice
1/2 tsp powdered ginger (or a small fresh chunk, chopped up)
use about 1 heaped tablespoon of Kava (or more depending on taste), put it in a clean loose weave cloth, and secure with a rubber band. Put 1 cup of apple juice in a bowl, and dip the cloth full of Kava in the juice, and knead it in the juice for around 5 minutes. Mix the juice with your honey/spice mixture, and strain the mixture.
Drink it cold... it actually tastes good !
See, you don't need to smoke it

 

[jasonATL]

Kava's generally weak unless you've got the actual root (and not just gelcaps from a health store). This is what people in remote areas of the world chew to achieve what we'd call a "benzo" experience. It's very good at calming you down. The gelcaps may work, but you have to take a hell of a lot of them to feel anything, and even then, it may only be a psychosomatic response.