Smoking Kanna Extract Experiences, Dosages & Review

Smoking Kanna extract or powder is purported to promote mental calm, positive feelings, pain relief and sedation.

Kanna, officially known as Sceletium tortuosum, is a South African plant with roots and leaves that are used for medicinal and recreational purposes. Kanna can be used in a number of ways, including smoking it or taking oral supplements that contain extracts of this herb.

People in South Africa have traditionally smoked kanna for many years for the benefits it provides. This herb has been associated with mood enhancement, stress relief and relaxation. It has also been used for the intoxicating effects it can produce.

Records of kanna use date back other 300 years where it was known under the name ‘kougoed’. Historically, the dried plant would be chewed for its psychoactive effects. The residue left over after chewing was then smoked in social gatherings.

Those who are considering smoking kanna should understand how this herb works and why it is typically used in modern times. They should also know about its potential benefits and the possible risks of smoking this herb or using it in other forms.

Kanna

Herbal Extract

Mood

Calm

Sleep

How It Works:

• Exhibits anxiolytic effects
• Used traditionally for relaxation
• Contains mesembrine alkaloids with weak sedative effects

Dosage:

No standardized dosage

Safety:

Insufficient research available

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Traditional vs. Modern Uses of Kanna

The use of kanna among the Khoikhoi and San peoples of South Africa dates back centuries. [1]

Kanna was traditionally used as part of rituals and during social gatherings. It was also used for medicinal purposes and to help warriors cope with stress and fear. This typically involved fermenting and chewing kanna roots and leaves.

The traditional uses of smoking kanna were mainly recreational. The plant extract was sometimes combined with cannabis and other types of plants that produce similar psychoactive effects.

This might explain why kanna use has been said to produce hallucinogenic effects. While this herb is not known to produce these effects, other herbs that it is smoked with might do so.

Modern uses of kanna usually involve taking it as an oral supplement or as tea for anxiety, depression and stress. It became available as a patented oral supplement in 2012 with the development of Zembrin.

These capsules, which have a self-affirmed Generally Recognize as Safe status, contain a 2:1 standardized extract of Sceletium tortuosum that is used for reducing stress, managing anxiety, boosting cognition and improving sleep. [2]

Effects of Smoking Kanna

This plant is purported to have analgesic, sedative, anxiolytic and weak narcotic effects. It is described as reducing anxious thoughts without causing mental impairment.

According to a historical review from 1928 of the use of this herb by indigenous people, it was “chewed and retained in the mouth for a while, when their spirits would rise, eyes brighten and faces take on a jovial air, and they would commence to dance. But if indulged in to excess it robbed them of their senses and they became intoxicated.”

Kanna contains certain alkaloids that influence mood regulation pathways in the brain. Some of the alkaloids isolated from this plant have been shown to increase serotonergic activity in neurons. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that affects mood, sleep and other functions.

The main active alkaloids in kanna are thought to be mesembrine and mesembrenone. Sceletium tortuosum is composed of between 0.3% and 0.86% mesembrine in the leaves and stems.

Mesembrine is a serotonin reuptake inhibitor, while mesembrenone also acts as a serotonin reuptake inhibitor as well as a phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE4) inhibitor.

The results of a 2013 study in Neuropsychopharmacology provided evidence of the actions of kanna alkaloids and their potential to provide anti-anxiety effects. This study showed that Zembrin has PDE4 inhibitory and serotonin reuptake inhibitory effects. [3]

More research is needed to understand the efficacy of kanna for anxiety, depression and cognition.

In anecdotal user reviews, the following effects have been reported:

• Feelings of euphoria
• Relaxation and mental calm
• Feeling of meditative tranquillity
• Increased sexual arousal
• Increased sensitivity of the skin to touch
• Subsiding of pain
• Reducing feelings of hunger
• Promoting higher sleep quality

Some users also experience negative effects, such as intoxication or a clouding of mental abilities. Different people appear to have different experiences when using this herb.

How to Smoke Kanna Extract

Kanna extract or kanna root for smoking can be purchased from some online retailers, although major ones, such as Amazon and GNC, do not appear to carry these products. You can also purchase a bulk powder form of this herb.

Consumers should only buy herbal products from reputable retailers to help ensure that they are getting a safe product.

The dosages reported among those who smoke this herb have a wide range of 50 MG to 500 MG, although the average amounts are typically between 100 and 250 MG. [4]

Consumers who plan on smoking kanna should ask their doctor about safe amounts to use. This will differ from one individual to the next due to factors such as age and existing medical problems.

The plant is prepared for smoking by first fermenting it, then drying it and crushing it into a fine powder. [5] Kanna usually produces noticeable relaxing or mood enhancing effects roughly 30 minutes to 1 hour after smoking it. These effects typically diminish over the course of the next two hours or so.

Side Effects of Smoking Kanna

Is it safe to smoke kanna? The safety of smoking Sceletium plants has not been determined through research studies.

Side effects, such as headaches, appetite loss and listlessness, have been reported in those who chew kanna, according to the Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database. [6]

However, there is not enough information to determine if these same side effects are also associated with smoking the herb. Pregnant women and women who are nursing should avoid using kanna.

The Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database states that using kanna excessively might cause intoxication. [6] This can make driving, operating machinery and performing other activities unsafe after smoking this herb.

Those who are on CNS depressants should not use this plant in any form without talking to a healthcare provider about the safety of doing so. Kanna has the potential to interact with antidepressants that raise the serotonin levels in the body, which can lead to dangerous sedative effects.

Those who use herbs and supplements that act as sedatives, such as 5-HTP, kava and yerba mansa, should also speak to a doctor before smoking Sceletium extract. Using kanna and herbs or supplements that have sedative effects might result in high levels of drowsiness.

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