Until recently that's is. In the past I have smoked blue lotus, chamomile, parsley, passion flower, & dream herb they all provided little effects expect for the dream herb when I was asleep of course. Recently I bought my cats some catnip also known as Nepeta Cataria. After seeing the effect it had on them I decided to try some myself.

I really wasn't expecting much since it supposedly only affects cats. First I smoked some which produced a mild effect definitely greater then all the other legal herbs I've tried besides salvia. Next I vaped a small amount which prodced a slightly greater effect then both smoking & drinking as a tea. I would definitely suggest vaping catnip if you like smoking or vaping other herbs...

So...
What was it like?
My cat goes absolutely nuts on that stuff-kitty crack it is!

Is that the botanical our trade name?

Hmmm, may be better than banana peels...

Yeah DM777, tell us what the experience was like and how much you vaped to achieve it.

It might be worth making a Nepetalactone-extract from Nepeta Cataria and try smoking
& vaporising it. Also try quidding the extract and try a Tea of this extract.
Such an extract can be made using steam destillation, according to Wikipedia.

Perhaps if the active compound(Nepetalactone) is in a more concentrated form(crude extract)
it's psychoactive effects can more easily be achieved & become more intense & immersive.


And if all that yields nothing, perhaps smoking/vaping/drinking tea of /quidding a little
of that extract before bedtime could still prove it to be valuable as an Oneirogen.

Catnip is a great mild sedative with anti-anxiety effects, in stronger doses it is a bit euphoriant too.
I've enjoyed it in smokes and teas for those effects and its an old time grandma-remedy for nervous insomnia, sometimes combined with lavender. Its much tastier than chamomile.
In certain circles its added to changa for its anti-anxiety effect, which it reportedly is better at than added lavender flowers. I've also heard of it being combined with Calea in changa to support Caleas dreamy feel.
Its a mint, and in traditional medicine its dried to preserve its mintyness. Cats dont like mint so cat catnip is over dried and not minty. Both are sedative and anxiolytic. The minty form is used, in addition to the above effects, to induce sweating to break fevers like that caused by the flu.
I like to cook with fresh or minty-dried catnip, adding a little to curries or more to peas and rice. Basically interchangeable with mint in the kitchen but with its own subtle variation and slight sedative action.
In my area its commonly found growing along rivers in parks.

Cool! Please keep posted, if anyone does an extract.
I like catnip, because it smells like cannabis a little bit.

I think that male cats like it because of a chemical in it that smells like cat pheromones.

i smoked my fair share of catnip, it is pretty enjoyable nothing to crazy, but definite effects a nice buzz, pretty nice taste and smell.

suggestion, try adding a little ethanol to the tea. add catnip to a little ethanol (just enough to cover it), boil your water, and then pour the water over the catnip/ethanol mixture. that way the hydrophobic compounds will extract as well and you can see if it has a greater effect orally.

I find catnip to be somewhat interesting. It has quite interesting effects in feline cats but also has opposite effects in humans. Once smoked or taken as a tea, it can affect the mundane plain just ever-so-slightly. It is mild in effects but are apparent. Especially when you take the tea and then smoke some(in my experience). Though, you need to smoke quite a lot to feel anything 'different'. It has quite a nice smell and burns quite quickly.

In smaller levels it is slightly relaxing, calming and eases sleep and digestion. In higher levels it contains all of the same effects but becomes slightly euphoric. This can cause some slight visual changes. I've experienced some interesting effects in terms of visual tracking and external stimuli. The environment seems slightly more in depth and sounds seemed slightly altered. With eyes closed the eyelids seem more colorful and apparent. There is something to it but does not amaze. Apparently, catnip was used in 1969 as a kind of entheogenic herb. Perhaps mistaken for something else? Or mixed in with other herbs? I am not convinced it is entheogenic on its own, but it certainly has some beneficial medical outcomes and slight buzzing effects. I tried mixing it with tobacco and cannabis, but the powerful effects completely overshadowed Nepeta Cataria to say the least..

I'd be interested in a tincture or some other extract other than tea, but unfortunately, I'm all out of nip.

I've tried a proprietary water-based catnip spray (sold to entertain cats - or their owners?), sprayed intranasally. This produced the above-mentioned slight visual changes, and mild euphoria. Anti-anxiety effects were subjectively apparent. One other subject broadly confirmed these effects.

I'd describe it as 'tripping without tripping' (which isn't as good as getting high while waiting to come down).

I'd look into making a tincture, it's really very easy. Surely catnip's rather easy to get hold of?

Siberian catmint, Nepeta sibirica, is well worth a look. Grow some and smoke the dried flowers. A concentrated extract would be worth examining - hopefully this year I'll harvest enough for a decent experiment or two.

Very interesting.. I wasn't aware that existed. Was it pleasant and/or comfortable in terms of using it intranasally? Though, it doesn't interest me, the effects you describe are exactly what I experienced with the extracted tea and bowl smokes.

Surely I can acquire more from the local herb shop. Quite inexpensive for both the tincture and plant material. I'll get around to it once something opens up on this topic. I agree that it is "tripping without tripping." Somewhat of a threshold. I have a feeling there is something yet to be unlocked about this mysterious, charming and subtle plant. Its history is of interest, especially its supposed use as a entheogenic or add-mixture with otherwise, other plants or specific entheogens. Perhaps mixing other mint-like plants gives it more prominent effects.

Nepeta sibirica seems like another good candidate, probably stronger/similar in effects. Please do explain the experience of your concentrated extract, if you do get around to it. I'd be interested in mixing both Sibirica and Cataria.

The nasal spray trick was not too bad, really. If I made my own, I'd add a little saline to make it more comfortable.

Hang on, I've got a bit left of the catnip spray AND a bottle of saline nasal spray right here by the computer. Here we go...

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Damn, the catnip spray is clogged. But I just looked in the bottle and I wouldn't say it looks mouldy but it certainly makes me think that ensuring some degree of sterility is a good idea if you're going to spray something up your nose.

Meanwhile, on the Siberian front as it were, I've noticed it to be a more powerful mood elevator than the usual catnip and it also appears to release muscular tension to the extent that it has made my spine pop in pleasant ways.

Smoking a large amount of flowers (using a bong) produces a prickly paraesthesia reminiscent of the tactile effects of low doses of S. divinorum - hence my interest in obtaining a concentrate somehow. Also, from quidding the leaves pipiltzintzintli style, light visuals came on - significantly more than with cataria - and an aphrodisiacal effect was noted, which kind of adds up from some of the other effects mentioned. Or I might just be very good at placebo effect induction across the board, who knows?

The leaves seem to be more potent when they are younger, i.e. the more promising effects occurred during a single experiment conducted in the early summer. Quidding a larger amount of leaves in the autumn did not produce much of an effect apart from minty burps.

The first experience carried a sense that this was a subtle but potentially very powerful plant ally that should be treated with full respect otherwise its tentative effects may vanish entirely. Grow your own, do not attempt to commercialize as a 'drug'. Now say 'mum'.

Mum

The idea of a mix sounds good, I have both in my stash box. (My friend's cat always tries to get into my stash box as a result!) There may be something in the sibirica that synergises with nepetalactone???

Ha ha ha! That cat must have some addiction or something?

May I suggest that the Siberian material also has nepetalactone, but in a much denser, higher potency? Or perhaps another new compound involved? You've experienced much stronger effects in terms of bodily feelings and mood elevation with this plant, which does curiously attract me.

From quidding, what kind of visuals do you speak of? Placebo is always usually present. Being a Siberian-like plant, the aphrodisiac effect does make some sense. The prickling sensation seems entheogenic if you are considering it similar to that of S. divinorum.

Mixing the two plants should bring on stronger effects in general.

Well, it's grow, grow, grow until I get enough for extraction AND working out seasonal/diurnal variation effects AND considering how to get analysis done, should it come to that.

The visuals were firstly a sudden strong 'dimensionality' popout thing when looking at a brick wall and feeling incredibly calm and relaxed at the exact same time as one of the joints in my spine 'popped' in a satisfying manner.

A couple of hours later there were closed eye visuals of regular filigree patterns of foliage with little blue flowers rather like Veronica chamaedrys, to be exact.

This occurred with, as far as I remember, about 14 leaves chewed and held in the mouth over the course of about an hour. The first effect occurred after about 90 minutes and the overall experience was maybe 5 hours, although I fell asleep before the effects had concluded.

IIRC, I had just taken the plants out of the dark garage where I had left them for a day or two until I had time to plant them out. Maybe dawn harvesting would give best potency?


It curiously attracted me from afar. Also, it smells like a fruity, minty version of ganja.


So, does this apply to Leonurus sibirica, then? Or any others?

It would be interesting to have some initial factoring in to what is actually happening chemically with analysis so we can have a better idea of what could possibly potentiate the concentration. Your experience of seeing 'dimensionality' is enough to engage with it.

This 'dimensionality' you speak of is really interesting. Whether it be a subtle effect or prominent effect. I feel this effect would intensify with something much more stimulating or inebriating, like tobacco or cannabis. Light variations, of course. 1/2 & 1/2(bowl) of these two combined with 1 bowl of Siberian? Or 10-15 leaves quid? Or 1-2 cups of water extracts? Or 3-4 drops of concentrate? The CEV's may alter in fluidity with mixing. The calming and relaxing effects are no surprise. This 'popping' of your inner joints is medically fascinating. I suppose your muscular contractions are irregularly shifting due to intake, or maybe just releasing, yes. As long as its not painful.

Mixed with Leonurus sibiricus is an interesting thought! You could add that to the above mentioned idea. Though, I'm not certain of the alkaloid interactions. Seeing how mild leonurus is I wouldn't think of it as dangerous but always be cautioned! New realms, new reactions. I have no experience with Nepeta sibirica specifically so it is difficult for me to express or open new insights. I shall find Nepeta sibirica in the mean time and experiment with smoking, mixing and water extractions to see what can be achieved, seeing as I have no fresh leaves or the plant in general. Hopefully you'll be able to concentrate a vial or two if growing goes to plan. Plus, a fruity smelling ganja-like plant is always a good sign!

What are the conditions for growing Nepeta sibirica?

My cats fully endorse the catnip herb as highly intoxicating. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for me and my human contacts. No effects recorded here beyond mild relaxation for catnip tea and zero effects for smoking dried catnip.

Tried smoking catnip once when I was younger, heard it had an effect similar but shorter in duraration to weed. SO I took my kitten outside with a jay rolled of the nip, and smoked with the cat, lightly blowing puffs at the cat, (the cat didn't seem to mind.) ANyways I wound up getting pretty spaced out off half a joint the entire experience only last i'd say about 45 mins, but was definitely not placebo, I was able to recreate the experience a couple times when the weed supply was dry. It even kind of smelled like weed hen it was burning, it did not taste that way however. LOL

I've found the plants to grow quite happily in a temperate region, where they seems to prefer a rich, well-drained soil. Temperatures typically range between -10 and +30 Celsius. They like a sunny location, but will tolerate a little shade during the day.

The notes that came with one lot of the plants - variety "Souvenir de Pierre Chaudron" - also said, "They hate having wet feet." Of course they don't like getting totally dried out either, but when some of my plants looked like they'd totally died for lack of water (the foliage was brown and crispy, the stems were clearly dead), they sprouted from the roots again the following spring. So they are definitely very drought tolerant.

The plants that got dried out were grown from seed I had saved. They were germinated in 5" pots using a normal potting compost of reasonably good quality with a bit of extra sand to help drainage. Naturally, I was pretty upset to come back and find them all dried up and told myself I wouldn't be asking THAT guy to look after my plants again!

It was therefore very exciting to see the first green shoots appear the following spring. Now, in the fullness of time, we can see the bigger picture. How else would I have found out how drought-resistant this plant is? I'll bet the roots/rhizomes have some cool properties, too.

And thanks, Nexians, for helping me come to this positive realization, right here, right now!

They are happy enough in pots, although those plants turn out smaller. However, they may not be the same variety as the ones I've planted out. They are growing at a separate location with a slightly different climate. I will try putting them into larger pots to see if they grow any bigger next year. And when I start getting some clearer results, they'll be getting their own thread

How about catnip changa??

This year, the caterpillars got the better of my N. sibirica And my herb shop had run out of catnip last time I visited. Use of catnip in changa is already mentioned in a post above.

Sorry to hear! Hopefully you`ll have a greater chance next time around. Are you considering growing again