Lavender: We Smoked It!
It all started as a simple joke by @theherbalhive in a conversation in this week discussion circle:
Needless to say, that I took it personally, like a new challenge that needed to be conquered, also, I really like smoking herbs, so I picked my partner in crime @rubido for an experiment.
My history with smoking herbs
In 2018, I was trying to gain weight, and discovered that smoking cigarettes can decrease muscle gain by 30%, so beside the fact that cigarette is harmful for the reasons that we all know , this was a determining factor in making me stop smoking, that was my trigger.
I was a cigarette smoker since I was 10 years old, and it took me a lot of dedication to manage to do it, and few trials and error, but I am proud to say that by the 31st of October, I officially was free of nicotine for a month, and ready to stop forever.
I never looked back, and beside few relapses with an occasional cigarette at a party, I was not interested in tobacco anymore, and up until today, I kept my body relatively healthy.
Of course, I kept smoking weed, that's a fact! It was actually a determining factor in my recovery from years of tobacco poisoning my body. I gradually decreased the amount of tobacco in my spliffs, up until the day where there were only cannabis in my joints.
Lucky for me, I was living in South Africa at the time, and dagga as they call it, is everywhere to be found, in abundance, I was also an avid grower, making sure to always be "fully stocked"
With time, I started getting into finding other blends to mix, of herbs that I could have a healthier effect than tobacco. I dived into a world that was completely unknown to me, and tried so many different smokable leaves, with all of them very specific effects:
- Mugwort: Tonic
- Raspberry leaves: Sore tummy (and induce labour, we tried it!)
- Mullein: Sore throat
- Sage: Gets you "spiritual"
- Mint: Sore throat
The set up
We first made sure, that the lavender was dried, few days prior, and took that very fancy scale (courtesy of Rick), to weigh at least 3,5 grams.
What was interesting, is that the lavender was easy to be crushed, and just the simple action of crushing it, already produced a calming effect for me.
The smell of lavender has that property on people apparently, that's why it's often put in pillow cases.
Of course, we added a little bit of trim (THC and CBD), just to help it burn, but the goal was to really focus ourselves on the lavender 😁
The Experiment
First thing that stroke us, is the quality of the smoke. A pure bright white smoke, very little tar to be burnt, and a beautiful dancing silhouette. We decided to take a drag one by one, and I was the first one to go:
The smoke is surprisingly smooth, it reminds me of nothing I tried before, it is a bit sweet too, and not overpowering.
It just blends so well with marijuana, they apparently have Linalool as a common terpene, which means that they almost have identical tones. I actually wanted to finish the whole thing!
Smoking Lavender Has a unique taste that's for damn sure. The only thing I can compare it to some of the stronger fragrances in pipe tobaccos mixed with Parma Violets. Its Not overly harsh on the throat so I could see using it in the future as a tobacco replacement to quit smoking. Not to mention I slept really well, but that could have been all the ass sex we had
As you can see, Rick and I we don't mess around, when we have to do something in the name of science, I can also add that nobody got harmed during the making of this post.
We actually were very calm afterwards, and I went home early, woke up this morning completely energized! It was the lavender all along, I know it!!! 😆 There is also few research online, backing up that lavender can help with headaches, and I can also confirmed that there were no headache for me.
Will I do it again? Yeah, but let's try something different next time!
Ed out!
Thanks for sharing the experience, never smoked lavender before but it was surprisingly all right.
Good to see you as always buddy
You, sir, deserve 80 lbs of potatoes for your work! I'll drop the pile in front of your porch (so it can look like mine)
noice, can you make sure its right in front of the door please. Id like to trip over them in the morning.
hahaha I had to read this out loud to the crew. Who am I kidding, there's no one here 😄
That is probably the best post I have ever read about lavender in my life. Literally weeing myself laughing. I never expected to read about ass sex and lavender in the same post either. Adds a whole new dimension to the whole 'lavender is relaxing' thing. Thanks for making my day.
Always happy to be of ASS-istance ;)
It made the entire post, now god knows what sort of dirty foreplays our elderlies are doing in these so called "Tea parties", as @rubido said to me privately, "lavender is the gay-teway to anal sex" 😁
Your post killed it by the way!
I'll tell you something now, straight up , my Nana...who died 6 years ago at 98, smoked lavender all the time since she'd given up smoking in the 1980s. All grown herself, the whole house stunk of it. Under her pillow, in the bathrooms, little bags of drying Lavender all over the house. When the small had faded, she'd just crush it up and smoke it and refill the bag with some fresh out of the garden.
I so wish she was still alive, for no other reason other than to answer my new found need to know if she also liked a stiff one up the back passage!
Best wishes fella :-)
I had to read it out loud, this was just exactly the angle we were going for. 😆
Your Nana was probably a true gangster, I am sure she also had some poppies growing in the backyard.
Her and my grandad were farmers , the old country style and your pics reminded of her old farmhouse. A bit ramshackle, stuff growing everywhere. You really sent me down memory lane today mate. Thank you.
Bro you're getting all touching now 😭
It's a pleasure that we manage to bring your back to this memory!
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This it real experiment, not just by written but showing of great advantages of lavender
Thanks!
You are welcome
I am surprised by the use of lavender for smoking. It is really very interesting the multiple uses that can be given to herbs. Although I don't smoke, I found your post very interesting and complete, besides being important to have an open mind to know the different experiences of people. Thanks for sharing your experience. Greetings.
That's very good that you don't smoke, and I truly appreciate that you still went with it! It's like a vegetarian watching someone eat a burger hahah.
Cheers!
Hahahahaha, oh yes!
Great research 😁 and nice gifs
Thanks hahaha
This seems like a great idea to mix with some THC. I usually vape instead of smoke, so I wonder if having lavender this way is feasible (and perhaps safer) option? Regardless, thanks for doing the experiment and reporting about it.
Thanks for passing by!
Yeah especially with those "herbal vapes", so not the ones for dabs. The safest option will always be infusion, if you don't enjoy having a sore throat.
It was pleasure to report :)
Looking forward to the next test and running herbs through my head for suggestions. 🤔
Rosemary keeps popping up. Supposedly good for memory, so maybe some memory tests need to be done before, during and after smoking. 😉
Oregano can be kind of spicy, I wonder of it would give you a sore throat. 🤔
I got some of this too! I am going to wait for the next herb to be named before smoking the stock of all the dry herbs around the house haha.
About Rosemary, I found this earlier so it seems that you are right.
Oh, nice! It's confirmed then, rosemary is one to smoke. 😁
Lol, try to avoid going on a herb smoking binge before the herbs are announced, they might blend into one another and then what will you write!
This is exactly what I was thinking!
Being a teen in the late 60s early 70s, Durban poison was the best and available everywhere, although it was illegal of course, but we were all wana-be Hippies over weekends back in those exciting days, but most of us became staid Moms and Dads especially hearing of friends who moved onto stronger stuff and OD'd!
I looove Lavender and would never have thought to smoke it! My advice is just to research before trying other herbs as some could be toxic or carcinogenic!
Exactly, very good point! We did though, it produces less tar than other herb for that matter :)
I can totally imagine @lizelle the hippie, with the pants, the colourfoul shirts 😁
LOL, John Lennon glasses, tie-died tops & a shaggy dog hairstyle to go with it completed the look😅 Not sure if you ever read my story about the psychedelic orange bell bottoms I made from Mom's leftover upholstery fabric? Wore it only once as I invited friends in for coffee after a night out and blended in with couch as I sat down! T'was funny but also embarrassing so I never wore them again🤣🤣🤣
Hahaha I love this story! (I think I've alreay read it, not that I am stalking you 😄)
I also have a shaggy dog hairstyle now, I am bringing back the "70s lizelle" look!
I have never thought to smoke lavender, sounding very smooth. I have tried mullein, raspberry leaf and coltsfoot though. Loved this post, had me laughing as well and the set up for your experiment, very professional! Looking forward to many more xxx
Some of these herbs have such strange names, I cannot help but think that it's because of witchcraft and pagans rituals :)
We clearly know our stuff hahaha
Thanks for passing by, I am about to jump on yours (post)
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Yes!!! Thanks so much for this great initiative, had lots of fun participating!
Now I am going to treat my little lavender seedlings with extra care until they are big enough for me to smoke them. I wonder if rosemary will work, as my garden is full of it! Maybe that should be the next experiment.
Hahaha how big are they?
Speaking of rosemary, I found this, it seems to help with toothache?
They are still small haha. Maybe in a year. But I have family with a coastal property where there are loads of lavender. I will steal some there and dry it.
Hahah now I am game to try the rosemary one.
Don't tell them what you gonna do with it. 😄
Never! They will never know. But we needed to cut out various lavender bushes last year. I used some of the semi-dried leaves to braai some steaks. That was something special. The smoke from the lavender leaves and wood is awesome.
Whaaat?
Brilliant! I have to try now. Lavender alone, or you added spices too?
Just olive oil and some lemon juice and the trusty marina braai salt. I did buy some thick tomahawk steaks and braai-ed it for like 30 minutes on the bone side and loaded it with the lavender smoke. Was something special. (I know meat and things like tomahawk steaks are super expensive that side of the pond, visiting my brother in the UK we turned into vegetarians for the month.) (Sorry commented on my own comment the first time haha)
Hahaha that made me laugh a lot!
Yeah there is something special about a nice piece of mature steak, right? Slowly cooked on the braai. OH so you mean Lavender smoke?
Glad I could make you laugh!
Yeah, the lavender smoke. It was something special. My mother who does not eat steak, always asks me when are we going to do it again. 😅
Ha, my ex just got a huge bag of raspberry leaves for tea... Might have to try to smoke some... But I have tried lavender, has too strong of a taste for me.
Bro, I would never do just lavender pure, alone. It's way too potent!
How was the rasperry leaves?
haven't tried the leaves... And no... pure lavender would be HORRIBLE, lol. I mixed it with some good indica one time trying to knock myself out, lol. Wasn't much either but left a taste in my mouth for a solid day, lol.
Good (logical) man!
The raspberry leaves, I think I overdid it, and got sick, so watch out!
That’s cool! I can totally see the terpenoids working with cannabis to provide a powerful entourage effect. You should roll a joint of our bud, and dip it in a lavender extract one of these days. I bet that would be fantastic!
That would totally work, unless the the extract is made with oil, and in that case the result can be a bit surprising sometimes, it burns all weird for example.
You would probably have to let the rolled cigarette dry for a day or two before hand. You know i actually believe I have seen the vape cartridges have added herbs, not so sure if lavender was used or not.
Dayum I've never vaped before, I didn't know you need cartridges, is it liquid?
It’s cannabis oil, usually made with the Co2 extraction process.
ok cool! I did actually vaped but with a herbal one, I never did the oil!
In the name of science!!!!
For science you should try Salvia, it's quite the experiment Lol. No don't do Salvia haha it's way too intense.
Oh yeah I did Salvia in my crazy years, it was one of the most intense thing, and so short!
You sound like you did it haha
Yeah I did it a few times a long time ago. Yes, its very intense and super short. Not calming at all. Much Much different than your lavander experience. Lol
you tried mushrooms?
Yes, a few times. I found them to be an amazingly spiritual experience.
You?
Yeah man, many times. Haven't done it for years, but we were thinking of doing it soon before the end of the year. Yeah it's always been something profoundly spiritual for me too, that's maybe why I wanna do it soon, with all that shit happening.
Yeah yourr probably right about it being a good time to do it again. It's been quite a while for me. Probably close to 20 years. I wrote about my experience with them in the early days of my steemit blog, back when I wrote about ideas, film and philosophy. Now it's just a travel blog lol
Yeah it's been 15 years for me so not that far! Why you stopped writing about film and philo?
I stopped because it was a lot of work for very little payoff and covid hit and they basically stopped making films hahaha.
I was also in university at the time and my brain was in that deep thought mindset so I had a lot of ideas at the time and writing intellectually came more naturally - not that anything I wrote was intelligent 🙃
😅
That's what all philosophers say!
Did you ever try Klipdagga (Leontis) when you were here?
Not at all, tell me more!
I know nothing about it, just that it has "dagga" in the name and according to PubMed
I don't know anyone here who has smoked it and searching online, I see it is in the "don't bother" category. This is what it looks like, it's a common weed here
This is insanely fascinating, and the effects, seems to describe a plant that affects the blood vessels. If it can resorb haemorrhoids for e.g.
And by the way, I've seen this plant before in SA, I also showed it to wifey, and she said the same.
Now I am actually curious and wouldn't mind trying it. We got snakes in the area!
You wouldn't smoke it for snake bites 😉 Here's a link to the publication PubMed
In my understanding of herbal medicine, the uses listed generally put the plant into the "astringent" category so yes, they do constrict blood vessels and reduce inflammation, which is why they help insect bites and bad skin as well as headaches of a certain kind
If I get bit that's the first thing I'll do...
What snakes do you get in the area? Ugh, I woke up to find a dead snake on the kitchen floor this morning, courtesy of the youngest cat. I was sad because it was a harmless Brown House snake that eats rats and mice
We have vipers, and grass snakes. Now it's getting cold though, the opposite of you...
You were sad that it wasn't a poisonous snake that could have killed you cat?
No, I am sad when any snake is killed and the snakes in the area are all harmless types anyway
I gotta be honest, in most cases, I won't be messing around the snakes in the first place, to see if it's the harmless type.
The trick is to make sure that you can identify correctly before you ever even think of touching
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Yes!!! Thanks so much!