Experience:56.6 g Raw Theobromine Cacao (oral) - Unusual Stimulation

Experience reports - Cacao

Preparation:

Two ounces (56.6 g) of raw theobromine cacao were crushed to a fine powder using a mortar and pestle. A pinch of ginger and a pinch of cayenne were added. Ginger was used to soothe the stomach and cayenne is said to help the absorption of the active chemicals in cacao. The mixture of powders was added to 7 fluid oz of very warm water that was just cool enough to keep my finger submerged without pain. About a teaspoon of agave nectar was used to make the brew more pleasant to drink.

The following is what I wrote during the experience:

T + 0:00 - T + 0:29

“Felt moderate stomach discomfort, no nausea”

“Felt abnormally warm in the air-conditioned house with no physical activity”

“Still at baseline”

T + 0:30 - T + 0:59

“Slight anxiety” “Slight increase in tactile sensations”

“No visuals”

“Persistent stomach discomfort”

“Increased laughter?”

T + 1:00 - T + 2:59

“Slight visuals”

“Stomach discomfort”

“Warm feeling gone?”

“Feel connected to myself”

“Slight speech suppression”

“Slight tracers?”

“Feeling sharp and alert”

“'Bouta cook burgers”

“CEV’s at a +”

“Slightly distracted [from cooking]”

“Active mind”

“Time feels normal”

“Body feels energized and good”

T + 2:00 - T + 2:59

“Maybe time is a bit off”

“Visuals a little more prominent but not much?”

“Decreasing intensity?”

“Time is still a little wonky”

T + 3:00 - Next Day:

The experience had not ended but I was fairly certain that it would soon so I left my journal at home and decided to go out and smoke some weed with a few friends. I still felt very energized and after smoking what was for me a small portion of cannabis the visuals seemed to increase in intensity. They were very shallow, two-dimensional, brightly lit, and fast moving. As a user of psychedelics, cannabis is already more visual that it would be for most people, however the visuals I saw were more defined than usual, and much brighter in color. Nonetheless they were fairly meaningless and disorganized, and easy to ignore. The following day I noticed that my visual static was more active than usual. (I have mild HPPD from my last shroom trip).

Qualitative Remarks:

There was definitely a bit of a headspace to this drug. It seemed to facilitate analysis enhancement, and allowed me to think a bit deeper on everything that crossed my mind. While watching TV I was more involved with what was going on and more stressed when difficulties arose for the characters. This immersion enhancement was surprising. The effects of theobromine cacao best compare with other serotonergic drugs such as classical psychedelics (LSD, mushrooms, peyote. . .) Immersion enhancement is an effect of cannabis, as is increased anxiety (at least it can be), however both of these effects occurred before any cannabis was consumed. The human brain is very powerful, and I do believe that the intensity of this experience was low enough that the placebo effect might have been partially or entirely responsible for this experience. I recognize that I am not the cleanest subject for testing due to my past psychedelic experiences. It is much easier for me to see visuals or enter a trippy headspace than it used to be, and the placebo effect is strong in me. I feel strange and trippy right after dropping a tab of LSD even though I know the experience does not begin for 15-30 minutes, so I know the placebo effect is strong. If anything this experience was threshold, and further investigations must be carried out with this elusive drug. I have heard of much more intense cacao “trips”, but I have so far not found a source of cacao that is potent enough for an experience like this. I will keep looking, and if I do find a source of good cacao, I will return to PsychonautWiki to finish my work reporting on the effects of theobromine cacao.