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Comment by Nursie | Hacker News Reader

> Today the only drug I believe is fairly safe and has a much harder effect is Changa(dmt + Maoi)

Erm, sorry, but I'm really not sure the words 'safe' and 'maoi' should be in the same sentence there. There are a lot of precautions one needs to take to make sure you don't end up with severe hypertension and requiring a trip to an emergency room.

I think we should probably take the outcomes and evidence of the ongoing scientific research, for what is safe or not.

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To my understanding, MAOIs only pose a hypertension risk in combination with stimulants like tyramine, caffeine, amphetamine and derivatives, etc. DMT isn't a stimulant.

Also, hypertension risks are generally a problem for MAOI prescriptions: people who take MAOIs every day. With DMT, a MAOI is only consumed once, with the DMT. DMT is rarely taken on a regular and frequent basis, so it's unlikely someone would be consuming a very risky quantity of MAOIs over the long term.

MAOIs may increase DMT risk in other ways, but I don't believe hypertensive crisis is an issue for that specific combination.

> To my understanding, MAOIs only pose a hypertension risk in combination with stimulants like tyramine, caffeine, amphetamine and derivatives, etc

They pose a risk with alcohol and lots of different foodstuffs too - https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/depression/ex...

> MAOIs may increase DMT risk in other ways, but I don't believe hypertensive crisis is an issue for that specific combination.

Not with DMT itself, but if taking an MAOI at all you need to take a lot of precautions (fasting, avoiding certain foods and drink etc) to avoid the possibility.

It's manageable, clearly, but just blanket saying not only that it's fairly safe, but that it's the only fairly safe drug disregards the specific risks associated with MAOI use over and above those presented by (for instance) LSD or MDMA.

All those precautions is when you ingest it. Research.

I actually had a bunch of caveats like those in my original comment, but edited them out because I felt like they were unnecessary. Yes, MAOIs definitely shouldn't be taken in combination with foods or beverages or substances which are contraindicated for it, but that's mostly an issue for "non-selective" MAOIs, and is unlikely to affect someone who only takes a single MAOI dose once per year.

I just meant DMT isn't known to pose a particular risk when combined with a MAOI, unlike taking a MAOI with amphetamine or something. Obviously people should research what they should and shouldn't take with them.

People don’t know much about the subject Maoi smoked and ingested works differently. I’m fine relying on my 20 years of personal experiences and the little literature there is on the subject.

You probably shouldn't be advising people that it's the only safe drug. That's all. MAOI use presents risks that are not found with other drugs, so it requires as much or more care and attention to be safe.

But in the case of this maoi Which is different than found in Pharma.. a vs b. in the way it Works smoked vs ingested there is No evidence it should cause harm. Its Been used for centuries. I have enough experience to say that most recretionaæ drugs are unsafe and i do not put changa in this catagory. Most people here just talk about What they read.

If they read good science, I'd put that above your anecdotes every time.

Many things have been used for centuries, including Belladonna. Doesn't mean a lot

A ten second google search will show you examples of people who have had this side effect from "Changa".

Care to share this finding. I worked at festivals with 40k people doing everything u can imagine and have yet to come cross anyone. I’ve seen people die or ruin their life from most drugs including ordinary pharma apart from dmt and Changa which is always described as life changing best experience ever.

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