Post by TheApothecary on Dec 24, 2014 14:03:56 GMT
Stumbling across various online sources (including former iterations of this forum) claiming that lemon extract had the potential for psychedelic effects, it’s reasonable to say that I was more than a little skeptical. Psychoactivity, in my mind, was reserved for tropical roots, seeds and fungi…but the lemon fruit? This preconception coupled with reports of absolutely no effects whatsoever from various people on the web meant that I was expecting…well, nothing at all. I ordered several bottles of lemon essential oil from the internet (taking care to ensure that it was an organic, untreated extract). This is usually the point where I would say “I waited impatiently for *enter psychoactive substance* to arrive”, but in all honesty I forgot about it almost entirely until a package showed up in my mailbox. After a night of eating fantastic pizza with my girlfriend, and drinking only a single (and relatively weak) gin and tonic, I downed a glass of distilled drinking water with 30 drops of lemon essential oil mixed in.* It tasted no stronger than a glass of water with a couple of lemon slices.
I did my best to not concentrate on any potential effects - I have a nasty habit of concentrating too hard on the potential psychoactivity of substances, particularly of the “alternative” persuasion which of course skyrockets the likelihood of a placebo effect. After around an hour later with no effects, sleepiness kicked in and I fell asleep without issue.
T+02:00
Approximately one hour later, I was wide awake. I’m usually someone who sleeps through the night, so restlessness is abnormal for me, but there I was, awake. Upon opening my eyes, I noticed a slight distortion of my visual field. I would equate it to the level visual distortion experienced when you are just past tipsy but not completely drunk. Things were moving a little - not the noticeable breathing experienced on LSD, but more akin to the appearance of fluidity on low doses of LSA. I was at this point under the impression that the effects were due to the gin and tonic I had consumed before bed (remember I had just woken up), but as I mentioned this was a weaker drink with less than a shot of gin in it…I had completely forgotten about the lemon extract until I closed my eyes and noticed some light but definitive CEV’s. These were not the sort of placebo CEV’s that I struggled to see during my initial Yopo and HBWR experiments - though pretty light, they were certainly present. Not the highly constructed CEVs of Psilocybin or LSD, but more close to what I will describe as low-tech fireworks from the Super Nintendo era of graphics. Similarly, the colors weren't the deep and intensified shades I have experienced in the past, but were bright, bordering on electric. At some point, I fall back asleep.
T +02:45
Forty-five minutes later, I am awake again. This restlessness or perhaps closer to alertness is highly unusual for me in the middle of the night. This time, however, another noticeable effect had presented itself. It seems as thought (for me at least) lemon extract has an empathogenic effect. I found a text on my phone sent 20 minutes earlier from a former significant other. I do enjoy an amicable-from-a-distance relationship with this person, but there has always been an immovable barrier between us due to the way that things ended (we were together for six years, and it did not end well by any stretch of the imagination). Under the effects of the lemon extract, I found an overwhelming sense of forgiveness come over me. I expressed this to her, and took responsibility for my treatment of her during the aftermath of our separation. I felt a strong sense of platonic love for this woman - for the first time since our relationship ended, I wished her all the best in life with her new significant other and truly, truly meant it.
The rest of the night was spent swinging wildly from being wide awake all of a sudden, to having incredibly vivid dreams. I rarely have vivid dreams, and remembering a dream is even less common for me. Last night my dreams were vivid and memorable. I won’t call them good dreams - a lot of difficult subjects from my life were featured…but I do count them as a potential effect from the lemon extract.
Overall, I’m not sure what to think. On the one had, these could all be coincidental experiences. Oh the other…who knows? I mean, when I woke up the first time, I had completely forgotten that I had taken the lemon extract, so the possibility of a placebo effect (at least consciously) seems lessened. This substance clearly needs further investigation - I certainly cannot place myself in the “totally didn’t work” category, but I can’t definitively say that I experienced true psychoactive effects. That said, it was enough to pique my interest, and I look forward to experimenting with transdermal applications once I can eliminate potential tolerance build ups.
*Distilled water was used as a precaution. Some of the trace chemicals found in tap water are said to break down the LSA found in Hawaiian Baby Woodrose seeds during a CWE, so out of an abudance of caution and an unknown active compound I decided distilled water would be safest.
I did my best to not concentrate on any potential effects - I have a nasty habit of concentrating too hard on the potential psychoactivity of substances, particularly of the “alternative” persuasion which of course skyrockets the likelihood of a placebo effect. After around an hour later with no effects, sleepiness kicked in and I fell asleep without issue.
T+02:00
Approximately one hour later, I was wide awake. I’m usually someone who sleeps through the night, so restlessness is abnormal for me, but there I was, awake. Upon opening my eyes, I noticed a slight distortion of my visual field. I would equate it to the level visual distortion experienced when you are just past tipsy but not completely drunk. Things were moving a little - not the noticeable breathing experienced on LSD, but more akin to the appearance of fluidity on low doses of LSA. I was at this point under the impression that the effects were due to the gin and tonic I had consumed before bed (remember I had just woken up), but as I mentioned this was a weaker drink with less than a shot of gin in it…I had completely forgotten about the lemon extract until I closed my eyes and noticed some light but definitive CEV’s. These were not the sort of placebo CEV’s that I struggled to see during my initial Yopo and HBWR experiments - though pretty light, they were certainly present. Not the highly constructed CEVs of Psilocybin or LSD, but more close to what I will describe as low-tech fireworks from the Super Nintendo era of graphics. Similarly, the colors weren't the deep and intensified shades I have experienced in the past, but were bright, bordering on electric. At some point, I fall back asleep.
T +02:45
Forty-five minutes later, I am awake again. This restlessness or perhaps closer to alertness is highly unusual for me in the middle of the night. This time, however, another noticeable effect had presented itself. It seems as thought (for me at least) lemon extract has an empathogenic effect. I found a text on my phone sent 20 minutes earlier from a former significant other. I do enjoy an amicable-from-a-distance relationship with this person, but there has always been an immovable barrier between us due to the way that things ended (we were together for six years, and it did not end well by any stretch of the imagination). Under the effects of the lemon extract, I found an overwhelming sense of forgiveness come over me. I expressed this to her, and took responsibility for my treatment of her during the aftermath of our separation. I felt a strong sense of platonic love for this woman - for the first time since our relationship ended, I wished her all the best in life with her new significant other and truly, truly meant it.
The rest of the night was spent swinging wildly from being wide awake all of a sudden, to having incredibly vivid dreams. I rarely have vivid dreams, and remembering a dream is even less common for me. Last night my dreams were vivid and memorable. I won’t call them good dreams - a lot of difficult subjects from my life were featured…but I do count them as a potential effect from the lemon extract.
Overall, I’m not sure what to think. On the one had, these could all be coincidental experiences. Oh the other…who knows? I mean, when I woke up the first time, I had completely forgotten that I had taken the lemon extract, so the possibility of a placebo effect (at least consciously) seems lessened. This substance clearly needs further investigation - I certainly cannot place myself in the “totally didn’t work” category, but I can’t definitively say that I experienced true psychoactive effects. That said, it was enough to pique my interest, and I look forward to experimenting with transdermal applications once I can eliminate potential tolerance build ups.
*Distilled water was used as a precaution. Some of the trace chemicals found in tap water are said to break down the LSA found in Hawaiian Baby Woodrose seeds during a CWE, so out of an abudance of caution and an unknown active compound I decided distilled water would be safest.
