EPENA

COMMON NAME: parica, yopo

For centuries the Indians of the Amazon have been turning on with a variety of hallucinogens that come to them through the courtesy of Mother Nature. One of the fastest-acting of all is epena.

Epena is prepared from scrapings. of the red resin beneath " the k of the Virola calophylla tree, a member of the nutmeg family native to the rain forests of Columbia and Brazil. After the resin has been thoroughly dried, it must be crushed td a fine powder, mixed with ashes, and snorted in a manner similar to commercial snuff.

The active constituents of the plant are DMT, 5-Methoxy-DMT, and bufotenine. In all probability, DMT is the ingredient that accounts for the plant's hallucinogenic effects.'

The epena trip lasts about thirty minutes. Its powerful offacts are virtually instantaneous.

The half-hour excursion floats the tripper through a variety of sensations, including perceived color and size changes in objects, and an intoxicated, dizzy feeling combined with. a sense of increased alertness and clear vision.

Euphoric, pleasant feelings, along with a sense of light stimulation, may continue for several hours after the more dramatic effects of the trip have subsided. Because the drug severely irritates the mucous' membranes of the nose, it often causes the user to sneeze uncontrollably. To avoid that part of the experience, natives have been known, to mix their snuff with water and use it as an enema to get off: A hallucinogenic cousin of epena, called cohoba, has been made from the pulverized seeds of Anadenanthera colubrina, also known as Piptadenia perigrina.

Beginners experimenting with epena usually snort small amounts for starters to avoid possible unpleasant side effects. Uncomfortable trembling for the first five minutes of the trip may be followed by headache and confusion for the next ten minutes if too much is snuffed.

Epena should be avoided by those not feeling up to par physically, since the drug exaggerates existing pain. A full stomach sometimes causes unnecessary nausea.

Epena is an MAO inhibitor, which means that if you combine it with the wrong things' it, can result in unpleasant eonsequences ranging - from headache to heart trouble to death. MAO -inhibitors depress the action of monoamine oxidase (MAO), a crucial enzyme in the body. They are, as a result, incompatible with substances requiring this enzyme. Keep` away from tranquilizers, barbiturates, atropine, Ritalin, antidepressants, insulin, amphetamines, antihistamines, alcohol, avocados, ripe bananas, broad beans (pods), excessive caffeine, canned figs, chicken liver, excessive licorice, sedatives, mescaline, nutmeg, aged cheeses, any quantity of milk , products, excessive amounts of chocolate, pickled herring, yeast extract, cocoa, narcotics, sauerkraut, ephedrine, macromerine, and oils of dill, parsley, and wild fennel. If you have made the mistake of combining, potent headache and vomiting will ..ell you something's wrong. Get yourself to a hospital quickly!