Coleus blumei

[Stillman]

Once I collect some seeds I would be interested in trading etc. for sure they are pretty garden plants regardless of wether they are active.

[mutant]

OK, cheers people.

IMO, no 'dead' horse is quite dead enough, at least in the Coleus topic. I mean, you always have several people denying it's active, some of them of a respectable opinion, but when all the naysayers are over, each stating his thesis, then that's when the coleus pioneers come into play - cause, you know, it is indeed active - I intend to maintain the strain, and try to spread it to possible explorers, until it proves its not more active than each commercial strain. In any case, it's easily one of the most handsome strains I have seen.

It does need warmth and protection in cold weather, and because it's a big plant it needs its root space in order it can show how big it can be...

Of course I am not saying only my plant is active, only that it's a variety unlike what you regularly see, something that looks a lot like what some books depict, like Plants of the gods and encyclopedia of psychoactive plants. Stillman, your variegated one has a body type that resembles mine, minus the little colours - mine is super colourful. Keep the reports and pics coming, threads like these are nothing without pics.. will try to add some of mine...

dood, some habits are the total dream canceller. IMO, its kind of vein to supposedly work on dreams or even working techniques into being a dream-o-naut or working with lucid dreams and keeping a habit that keeps you forgetting them or even eliminating dream recollection, huh?

Some dood might wanna try to put some or more coleus leaf in joints with grass. It helps using some lousy sleepy pot, cause coleus will enhance it to a more stimulating high. But it takes a regular smoker to tell the difference.

Other than that, for those who are into it, you can always try to eat 120-140 mid sized and large leaves. Given it's the correct strain, you are supposed to get a 2-3 hour mild but psychedelic high, reminiscent to psilocybin. So in my eyes, this myth has yet to be disproved. Making some kind of extracts is also in the right direction.

For dream work, smoking a couple of leaves prior to sleeping I said to work. But skip the pot part, I would say.

My coleus has a characteristic relatively strong smell when you rub the plant and characteristic taste when you smoke it.

Contrary to some smoked salvias, like f.e. the quite sedative S.coccinea, smoking coleus leaves does not bring on side-effects, like head-aches, and contrary f.e. to salvia splendens, which is extremely hot and unpleasant to smoke , coleus is a smooth and it burns well.

So, it's a quite a nice addition to a smoking mix.

[ubza_1234]

no sorry I have no photo, but it was a long time ago. Thanks anyway mutant for attempting to send them out. I appreciate it...did received them the other day, said quarantine picked them up :S

[Gunter]

Other than that, for those who are into it, you can always try to eat 120-140 mid sized and large leaves. Given it's the correct strain, you are supposed to get a 2-3 hour mild but psychedelic high, reminiscent to psilocybin. So in my eyes, this myth has yet to be disproved. Making some kind of extracts is also in the right direction.

 

I view this as false information.

What claim is there that it is a psychedelic?

Who said it was and when?

Having tried this method with numerous strains, and having researched this topic for years i can tell you that this is totally false.

Find a single credible study of it and share it with us.

Find a claim in any scientific literature that states that Coleus is a psychedelic and share it.

Wasson never said it was active or that it was used as an active in terms of a psychedelic. In years of traveling to mexico to study salvia not one researcher has ever documented the use of Coleus or it being a psychoactive.

As for smoking it, smoking pretty much anything can be active if you combine it with cannabis, this thread is a joke and is contributing to misinformation about a plant that is little more than pretty.

Some guy online saying it works when he smokes it with weed is supposed to refute decades of research and experimentation that proves otherwise?

Seriously?

Has anyone noted how much BS there about this topic?

some say it is only active when fresh,

some say it is only active when you smoke it,

some say only some strains are active,

some say that the active dose is large,

some say that a couple of leaves got them off.

There is not one scientific report of it being used by anyone in any way as a psychoactive or psychedelic. The wasson paper where he said that he was given contradictory information about it, where he states that some said it was active and others told him it was not, was published in 1962. It has been nearly 50 years since that paper and there has not been one credible report or study, it has been examined by thousands of people, many of them in very scientific ways.

In 50 years of experimentation the best anyone can come up with is a mild buzz when you smoke it with weed? Seriously what a joke. I've tried and grown more types of this plant than a lot of people will ever see and it has yet to be active for me or anyone i know who took it first hand with a single exception, a person who tried eating tons of leaves reported a very mild sedation, he insists it is active but not psychedelic and that it is worthless as an active when it all comes down to it.

I challenge anyone to accept mutants offer, grow his so called strain and then do a simple blind study to see if they can tell the difference between it and some other similar leaf. Give a few bowls out of different things and record who gets what and report back, i will wager 1000 cactus seeds (seriously) that anyone who does this will inevitably refute the idea that it is active in any significant way. Do it, make the post and post it here with the information and i will send you 1000 seeds of san pedro hybrids if you can demonstrate any activity over smoking inert leaf.

Edited November 20, 2011 by Gunter

[zelly]

1000 seeds?

really?

What are the hybrids?

[theuserformallyknownasd00d]

Hey mutant, I never said I was trying to work on my dreams, I'm quite aware its near impossible when you have particular habits. That was mearly what happens to me when I smoke coleus, which is very rare in itself. I will also have seeds available soon from a plant I consider active, they will be sent from aus so won't have delivery probs and should be ready in a month. I'll try and post a pic of this plant this evening..

EDIT. this isnt my plant as my girl cannot come over tonight with her cam, but this is the closest pic I could find to my plant.

Edited November 21, 2011 by thed00dabides

[phyllode]

There was a report in the old Entheogen Review 1996 in which the ingestion of C. blumei and P. harmala led to an entheogenic and visionary experience. Have also heard of 40-50 leaves orally doing similar (from someone who would be known by a few senior members of this site) in 3 people.

The plant is now classified Solenostemon, not Coleus.

Edited November 21, 2011 by phyllode

[mutant]

gunter:

^^

" I view this as false information".

>>>> that was not information, I called it a myth, are you kidding me dude?? I am just saying this myth with the oral 120-140 leaves hasn't IN MY EYES been proven a myth. Someone has to do it with the tall strain. You were all negative from the begining. Are we supposed to take what you say for granted because you say it? because its you?

"What claim is there that it is a psychedelic? "

>>> its the same sources that claim its active at 120-140 big leaves. I also do claim this, it makes pot high more stimulating and more psychedelic, in a somewhat visual way, yeah.

many active plants like Leonotis do nothing when you smoke them. some people are INSENSITIVE. some are hardheads. whatever. maybe there needs some training, like in other stuff. there are also reports of oneirogen activity.

you say blind study. I tell you I would tell if there was coleus in the mix from the taste. so does it have to be a first timer?

this is all too complicated.

besides your being all too negative and absolute. and whats more, I need not to convert those who made up their minds. No need to convince anyone. it will surface eventually...

dood, thats a nice coloured specimen. cool.

Edited November 21, 2011 by mutant

[Gunter]

1000 seeds?

really?

What are the hybrids?

 

PC x ?

? including peruvianus, scop and bridgesii as potential pollen sources

I really want to see more evidence for it, considering the mountain of evidence against coleus being active and the flimsy evidence in support of it being active.

[Gunter]

you say blind study. I tell you I would tell if there was coleus in the mix from the taste. so does it have to be a first timer?

 

Yes a first timer, at least 10 people, 5 get coleus, 5 get leaf, then repeat a few times varying who gets what, have them all report first hand with written descriptions of the activity. Do this properly and no matter what the results are i will give the person who does this 1000 seeds. Properly involves a written protocol and a write-up of the experiment.

You know what is funny about this, if you read online at forums you can find dozens of reports of it not being active at all, but there is not one report like that at erowid. But then Erowid is known to choose trip reports based on the perception they want to create, not based upon the way things are. This is what an Erowid spokesperson explained at a conference i attended, that their trip reports are basically worthless as a representation of typical activity. It is just a form of propaganda.

here are some quotes about it from various sources online:

I heard it was slightly psychoactive. Read some trip reports. Got a Coleus plant, drank a large amount of tea and tried smoking it and nothing. Is the Coleus thing BS like the bannana peels or what?

-------------------------------------

Coleus when dried has no effect. Smoking it wet or dry has little or no effect. Most people feel nauseous when taking it, but claim it quickly passes with the onset of the effects kicking in.

-------------------------------------

I dried the leaves, smoked.. nothing.

powedered the dried leaves, did an acetone exctraction.. nothing.

cold water extraction... nothing.

boiled leaf juice down to a goo.. nothing.

-------------------------------------

ive tried coleus. it was dissapointing. i just got smoke in my lungs that didnt need to be there.

-------------------------------------

I tried it with no result.

-------------------------------------

It *could* have been entirely placebo, but I swear I experienced something

very similar to a mild psilocin dose. Angular repeating geometric

patterns on walls (if I looked for them) and the like.

-------------------------------------

had several "attempted" tries at coleus all ending with a very, very, mostl likely placebo relaxation. Swim belives if anything it is only midly active

-------------------------------------

Smoking it doesn't seem to work period. I think the psychoactive compounds are destroyed by heat.

-------------------------------------

 

There is so little consistency to the reports of coleus, placebo has yet to be ruled out.

[phyllode]

Gunter wrote:

There is so little consistency to the reports of coleus, placebo has yet to be ruled out.

The species is highly variable in leaf shape and colour, as well as level of aroma, and it is Solenostemon scutellariodies to be botanically correct now. The strain reported active to me looked more the attached photo below. The salvia posted by Stillman on page5 is Salvia splendins.

Edited November 22, 2011 by phyllode

[Gunter]

and yet it is still coleus, that has become the common name when the genus Coleus was split into Plectranthus and Solenostemon, so there is no harm or confusion in referring to it as coleus

If you look at the introduction of the myth of coleus being active in the literature, there never was a claim it was psychedelic or even active, a lot of the so called active strains are not proving active for all who try them, results will vary so widely that it is silly to assert that the activity is strain dependent, it seems to have to do with who is trying it, not what type is tried.

Edited November 22, 2011 by Gunter

[phyllode]

It seems more likely to me that it would be strain variable, or technique, rather than affecting some people and not others. Almost all plants not selected over time in traditional usage, and with wide geographical range, have wide chemical variability. 'Coleus' has been asserted (in conjuction with p. harmala) as an entheogen by one correspondent in Entheogen Review. The person who had 40-50 leaves said that it worked the same in two other people. Scultze and Hoffman reported that the Mazatec called it 'the child' and said it was related to Ska Maria Patoria. This is good enough evidence for me of 1) effects and 2) probable strain variability. Different strains even smell different!

I don't think it's agreed on where C. blumei (S. scuttelariodes) is native to. The fact that it made it to the Mazatec (possibly pre-conquest) is interesting.A number of Lamiace plants believed introduced to Australia have now turned out to be native strains (eg Orthosiphon aristatus). The concept of a widely distributed species without horticultural selection NOT having variability seems very outdated.

Edited November 22, 2011 by phyllode

[Gunter]

It seems more likely to me that it would be strain variable, or technique, rather than affecting some people and not others. Almost all plants not selected over time in traditional usage, and with wide geographical range, have wide chemical variability.

I realize that this has not been ruled out. However the idea that it was used traditionally is dubious.

Scultze and Hoffman reported that the Mazatec called it 'the child' and said it was related to Ska Maria Patoria. This is good enough evidence for me of 1) effects and 2) probable strain variability. Different strains even smell different!

This is a point of interest for me, because the book you are referring to was not written by those men, it just bore their names. It was written largely by Ratsch, whose name appears in later editions. The person who reported it being called "the Child" was Wasson, but his paper, published in 1962, makes no claim that it was ever used, it does claim that he received contradictory information about it, including being told it was not active or used traditionally.

here is a link to the original work:

http://www.sagewisdom.org/wasson1.html

and a quote:

Some Indians insist that these others are likewise psychotropic, but we have not tried them; others say these are merely medicinal.

If you look into this matter you find that while Salvia was observed being used, Coleus has never been observed being used in over 50 years of people traveling to the region and working with the Native Shamans. Wasson never claimed it was used or active, his only claim was that he recieved contradictory information about it and that the Natives told him that it was related to Salvia, and it is, they are in the same plant family as you well know. the natives were aware of this, but there is zero documentation of it being employed, contrast that to Salvia, which has been documented extensively.

I don't think it's agreed on where C. blumei (S. scuttelariodes) is native to.

 

I disagree, not only is it considered understood where it came from, it is said that the Coleus plants that Wasson saw were purchased as ornamental plants at a market.

There is not a single publication out there claiming that Coleus has been observed being grown or used by Mazatec shamans, in years of study there is not one account of it growing wild in Mexico, quite unlike Salvia. Isn't it interesting that not one researcher since Wasson in 1962 has reported it being used or being grown by the Mazatec?

The only claims that it was used can be traced to Ratsch, who is notorious for publishing rumors as fact. All of his citations go to Wasson, who never claimed he saw it used and who claimed not only that he was told it was used, in the same paper he claims others told him it was not used. however people love to ignore this and pretend that it has been reported as being used by the Mazatec, which is simply not true.

One of the foremost experts on Salvia Daniel Siebert, has yet to report on Coleus being used. At his site is a paper by Ott, this paper is worth reading:

http://www.sagewisdom.org/ott2.html

here is a quote, please note that when he states that it is not native, he gives Schultes as a reference. Ott also states that there is no "firm evidence" that coleus is psychoactive.

Wasson also mentioned the curious datum that the Mazatecs regarded Salvia divinorum to be the most important member of a ‘family’ (all, botanically speaking, indeed members of the same family, Labiatae), being la hembra, ‘the female,’ whereas el macho or ‘the male’ was Coleus pumilus Blanco, and el nene, ‘the child,’ or el ajihado, ‘the godson,’ was Coleus blumei Bentham. This is more than strange, given the fact that both species of Coleus are post-conquest introductions to Mexico (Schultes 1967), and their juxtaposition with Salvia divinorum in the minds of the Mazatecs might be seen as reinforcing the suspicion that their use of the ‘leaves of Mary Shepherdess’ too is a post-conquest innovation. Unfortunately, we have no firm evidence for the psychoactivity of either species of Coleus.

[Gunter]

and here is an excellent work on Salvia

http://www.erowid.org/library/books_online/salvia_divinorum_and_salvinorin_a.pdf

Check out page 12, it has a quote from one of Wassons papers followed by a quote from Valdes:

Some Indians

insist that these others are likewise psychotropic, but

we have not tried them; others say these are merely

medicinal (WASSON 1962).

The curandero also had several horticultural specimens

of Coleus spp. growing near his house. Wasson has reported that the Mazatecs believe Coleus to be a medicinal or hallucinogenic herb closely related to S. divinorum

(Wasson, 1962). However, DonAlejandro said the plants

were not medicinal and his daughter had bought them

at the market because they were pretty (VALDÉS et al.

1983).

Now in that same work there is another interesting part, page 109

PEGANUM HARMALA

POTENTIATION OF COLEUS

(6/1: 1997)

Recipe: Four cups of fresh Coleus (species?) plants blended

with two cups water. One quarter cup Peganum harmala

seeds blended with five cups water.

4

The Coleus was boiled for three hours in a two-gallon pot.

Halfway through cooking, I strained and then saved the

liquid and added fresh water to the vegetable matter. I followed the same process for the Peganum harmala seeds. I

filtered the liquids through a coffee filter. The resulting

liquid was dirt black in color and rather thick.

I had been contemplating this for months. Now it was time

to meet the maker. If this mixture was psychoactive, I had

no idea. My intention was to find a shamanic teacher. My

setting was solo, in my darkened bedroom. I sat down,

and stared at the goo. One hand held my chaser of MOUNTAIN DEW, the other, hopefully a psychedelic.

30 minutes after ingestion, I felt dizzy and sick. At two

hours, crystal clear geometric carpets hung in my mind.110

This went on for some time, becoming increasingly intense.

Then faces of holy men appeared, one after another. One

stayed and I was in disbelief. But I knew he was my teacher.

We spoke not, but I was filled with such a blissful feeling

that I started to cry. Then my teacher disappeared. The

carpets went on for some time more. Then I drifted to sleep.

I know that Peganum harmala extremely potentiates Coleus.

I hope other shamanic explorers will try this combo. —

D., AR.

This man ingested 1/4 of a cup of peganum with Coleus.

http://www.erowid.org/plants/syrian_rue/syrian_rue_extraction5.shtml

with this source we have this information:

1 tablespoon = 9 grams = 200-600 g alkaloids from TiHKAL

there are 16 tablespoons in a cup

so 1/4 a cup is 4 tablespoons, this means that the dose in the coleus report is between 30-40 grams, the range of alkaloid ingested in this case is 800-2400 mg

having read many reports of the activity of Peganum i can tell you that nothing in this report suggests activity distinct from ingesting a large dose of Peganum.

and if you read the notes for this report from the editor you see the following:

4) This much Peganum harmala by itself is a huge dose and may have been

responsible for the effects reported.

1/4 cup of these seeds weighs about

35 grams. High doses of P. harmala have been reported by some to be

mildly visionary. The statement: “I know that Peganum harmala extremely

potentiates Coleus,” is hard to evaluate as no report of the same dose of P.

harmala and Coleus by themselves was given as a comparison

in a nutshell the report of this combination is not credible as an indication of the action or activity of Coleus

if you read an earlier comment in the paper you will note this:

e. (Incidentally, in the

last issue I asked if anyone had proof that Coleus is an entheogen. To date I’ve received no answer to that question—which suggests that this is another of those irritating psychedelic

myths.) — JIM DEKORN

The only report of Coleus being active to be published in the ER combined it with over 30 grams of Peganum.

In TIHKAL the following report is given for 28 grams of Peganum seed:

"A second trial was made at the same level. This time it came on very fast. That tremendous buzz on the other side of which are the wondrous realms of the subconscious. The most memorable impressions from this trip were of weird animals. I imagined myself spinning on a merry-go-round of strange winged creatures. I started to feel very sick and negotiated my way to the bathroom to face the inevitable -- voiding from both orifices simultaneously. It proved cathartic, and released me to experience the state more fully. I remember traveling to jungle-like places, full of imagery of vines, fountains, and animals. Minutes seemed like hours as I roamed in these spaces. Though the sensory effects were very disturbing when I got up, given high dose level, I could easily ignore my body when laying down and traveling in my mind."

Doses of Peganum in this range are known to be very psychoactive and visual, there is nothing to suggest that Coleus contributed anything to the trip mentioned in the ER, and the editor himself comments to that effect.

There is zero evidence that coleus is active as a psychedelic, and inconsistent evidence that it can be a mild sedative. Combining it with cannabis or massive doses of harmala alkaloids does not constitute proof of activity.

[mutant]

phyllode that looks like it, I think

[phyllode]

Not quite Mutant.

Agree the P. harmala could have been responsible for the action of that report, although we don't actually know what 1/4 of a cup means..30g p.harmala should result in extreme nausea and light sensitivity for up to 9 hrs.

The first hand report I was given (by a person well known to Ray of H.H) involved no p. harmala. 120-150 leaves were boiled as tea and consumed by 3 people, leading to strong effects. The leaf of this variety has noticeable effects when smoked. As someone who has bred varieties in horticulture previously, whatever skeptics think, I'm going after this strain. Looks like the photo I attached.

As for it's origin, botanical records say

Wild distribution: India and southern China to Indonesia, the Philippines, northern Australia, Melanesia and Polynesia. While it is likely, I don't think R.E.S can prove it was introduced after conquest. It could be debated whether it's one species.

Edited November 23, 2011 by phyllode

[Gunter]

goodluck

if you can read a recipe that says 1/4 a cup of peganum seeds and say that you don't know what 1/4 a cup means... well then i am done trying to reason with you

I wouldn't say i am the one being skeptical here, i think you are just trying to twist data to match your assertion, i am open to real evidence that it is active, but i am not going to pretend that i don't understand measurements or the taxonomic consensus of the native ranges of plants that are not reported to occur wild anywhere in the Americas

and by all means if you have a real report of a tea being made from the plant, why don't you share it? I'd love to hear the account.

but then i love your type of reasoning, any inactive tests can be dismissed as the wrong strain... despite the lack of active tests, you don't even need evidence to believe it is active, you can just keep playing this game of logic on yourself

Edited November 23, 2011 by Gunter

[phyllode]

goodluck

if you can read a recipe that says 1/4 a cup of peganum seeds and say that you don't know what 1/4 a cup means... well then i am done trying to reason with you

I wouldn't say i am the one being skeptical here, i think you are just trying to twist data to match your assertion, i am open to real evidence that it is active, but i am not going to pretend that i don't understand measurements or the taxonomic consensus of the native ranges of plants that are not reported to occur wild anywhere in the Americas

and by all means if you have a real report of a tea being made from the plant, why don't you share it? I'd love to hear the account.

but then i love your type of reasoning, any inactive tests can be dismissed as the wrong strain... despite the lack of active tests, you don't even need evidence to believe it is active, you can just keep playing this game of logic on yourself

 

Despite the report saying 1/4 cup of seeds, every report I have read of 25-30grams p. harmala seed resulted in physiological distress of a severity not reported here. You seem intent on finding disproof of this plant. Is this positive?

It is because I have been given a first-hand account of effects by a former 'Ray's shops' franchise holder that I believe it is active, but I am not a position to speak directly of their journey myself.

As I am used to variability in not widely used plants. It is normal to me that a species can have active and non-active strains.

So, YES there has been an ACTIVE test in THREE PEOPLE. I like to report interesting things I've heard. Your game seems one of permanently entrenched skepticism.

Edited November 23, 2011 by phyllode

[Gunter]

Despite the report saying 1/4 cup of seeds, every report I have read of 25-30grams p. harmala seed resulted in physiological distress of a severity not reported here. You seem intent on finding disproof of this plant. Is this positive?

so you are a skeptic? you don't believe the report but still quote it as evidence of the activity of coleus?

the person reported feeling dizzy and sick and their visuals were very consistent with high harmala doses, totally inconsistent with low harmala doses.

So, YES there has been an ACTIVE test in THREE PEOPLE. I like to report interesting things I've heard. Your game seems one of permanently entrenched skepticism.

 

you actually have not shared a report about this at all, you just say that a report exists without sharing it or reporting on it yourself. It is a second hand report, hearsay, i'd love for you to try the same material and report on it yourself.

What was the dose amount?

How was it prepared exactly?

What were the effects?

How long did it last?

did you speak to all 3 people?

I was told by a co=worker that she nibbled on 3 leaves and it made her trip for awhile, this was years ago, but upon further investigation she turned out not to be credible and the material she pointed out was inactive. It isn't like i haven't heard first hand accounts from people who have no credibility.

I am all for real evidence and information about this plant being psychoactive.

[PowerfulMedicine]

I just wanted to share my experiences with coleus. I have used coleus nearly twenty times and it is my opinion that this plant definitely is active.

I will first say that I have never gotten any effects from smoking leaves of this plant but I have also never mixed it with anything so I cannot rule out the possibility of it being active by this route. I have also tried making tea out of approximately 100 large dried leaves and got no effects.

The first time I tried coleus, I did a lot of research and found that many people report that they cannot get any psychoactive effects from it while other claim it is mildly psychedelic or sedative. I decided to be as careful as possible and took every precaution offered by reports that say coleus is active.

I came up with a few guidelines that I felt would help to ensure that I would get effects from this plant. The leaves have to be as fresh as possible. The leaves should be consumed within three hours of picking them from the plant. A large amount of leaves is needed. Quidding is effective as is a making a tea using luke warm water because the actives likely degrade or are volatile. It is also best to use the standard variety Solenostemon scutellarioides known as painted nettle which has red leaves with a yellow to green border and light green stems..

The first time I tried it, I quidded about 150 large leaves fresh off the plant over the course of 2 hours, swallowing the leaves after ten or fifteen minutes. The quid noticeably numbed my mouth after 20 minutes. Around half way through, I got a ridiculous histamine release and got a rash all over my body for like two hours. I also felt moderately sedated, but most of the other effects were overshadowed by the extreme itching and brightness of my setting. I have had similar reactions to this plant about four times. Only one other time was it as bad as this. The other times it has been mild and went away in 15 minutes. I am still not sure whether the plant caused this or if it was from some sort of environmental residue on the leaves.

Then I tried a luke warm tea using about 150 fresh leaves chopped in a blender and steeped for an hour and a half in 3 quarts of water, straining out the leaves before drinking it. Within half an hour I felt mild sedation and definite calming. This increased slightly about ten minutes later. Soon I felt a strong urge to walk. I walked around randomly outside and while walking I noticed that lights were brighter and had distinct halos. I also saw more visual static than usual. I felt more observant and noticed plants even more than usual.

The experience had a generally trippy feel to it. There was a full moon out and for some reason I began to feel as though specific plants were associated with the moon. These plants included petunias, datura, and especially catalpa. I saw many catalpa trees and felt that they were strongly linked with the moon. Some other strange effects were that my sense of smell seemed more acute as well as my night vision. The effects lasted about five hours. I slept well that night, but didn't remember any dreams. The next day there was a definite afterglow with a very nice mood lift.

I have used the method above probably 6 or 7 times with similar effects. Sedation, calming, slight visual distortion, increased night vision, wanderlust, pressure in the head, changes in body awareness, a trippy feeling. I would describe the effects as being similar to the tail end effects of smoking plain leaf salvia but longer duration and no where near as powerful as salvia as a whole. It was only mildly psychedelic for me. I should also mention that I am a hardhead when it comes to just about all drugs, so I feel as though there is no doubt that coleus is psychoactive.

The method that I use now is to finely chop the extremely fresh leaves in a blender. Add the leaves to slightly warm not hot water, using enough water so that the volume of the water and 75-100 leaves is about one quart. I usually use about 150 large leaves at a time. Let the tea steep for an hour. Drink the tea and eat the remaining chopped leaves. I find that I get the most out of the leaves with way.

Any nausea that I experience is mild and goes away fast. In fact most of the nausea that I get is from the taste itself. Coleus generally does not bother my stomach once I have gotten it down. I have tried doses of 50-200 large leaves. At 50 leaves the effects are mostly mild sedation. 200 leaves is not much different from 150 leaves for me so I prefer to use less leaves and go with about 150 leaves. This is a lot of leaves. It is about enough to fill a plastic grocery bag.

The reason that many people do not report any activity from this plant is that they do not prepare it right. It seems like the preparation has to be pretty specific. Also I am not totally convinced that smoking it can cause any effects but maybe.

[Sallubrious]

Welcome to the forum PowerfulMedicine.

Have you duplicated your results in another test subject to verify that the coleus is active?

Not meaning to sound alarmist, but some of those symptoms you describe could be the onset of anaphylaxsis or an anaphylactoid reaction.

[PowerfulMedicine]

I would say that it is as much of an anaphylactoid reaction as with opiates or DXM. The only symptom was super itchy skin. No breathing problems or decreased blood pressure. I am not even sure if the rash was from the plant because I am pretty sure that the few times that I got hives were when I didn't wash the leaves before using them. They could have had car exhaust or god knows what on them.

I actually did get a friend to try it once and he said that he felt slightly sedated but didn't elaborate much on anything else. This friend was inexperienced with psychoactive substances, so he may not have been able to pick up on any of the subtle effects. I barely even picked up on the subtle effects the first time I tried it. But it seemed like he was acting different enough from his usual self to have been under some sort of influence from the coleus.

[Gunter]

Awesome contribution to the thread!

Sedation, calming, slight visual distortion, increased night vision, wanderlust, pressure in the head, changes in body awareness, a trippy feeling.

This sounds a lot like the effects of meditation and concentration, like introspection. Such effects seem to be able to be produced simply from heightening ones awareness of the body through attention.

Can anyone out there in academia take a few strains rumored to be active and test them on mice?

I bet that would be an acceptable graduate paper for some aspiring ethnobotany students.

[planthelper]

nice report powerfull medicine!

i would struggle, to quid and swallow a plastic bag full of coleus leaves...

i never have worked with this material, but maybe it's worth to try a different technic, extracting the leaves...

maybe, it's better not to use a blender. because although it might increase the uptake of possible activas, it certainly, does increase the ammount of unwanted material you have to indigest.

just take the fresh leaves and macerate them in a bit of (nice warm) rain water (maybe acidic or alakaline water would be better). macerating technic's could include, using the hands, or a wooden pestil, and straining/squeezing the material thru a cheescloth. the less water used the better.

than seperate the leaves from the liquid, and filter the water. other reports seem to suggest, keeping the coleus brew in the mouth for a while before swallowing.