Changa #
| Common Nomenclature | Changa |
| Major Active Compound | DMT ( Mimosa Hostilis) |
| Street & Reference Names | Changa; Aussiewaska |
| Anticipated: Onset / Duration | 30 Seconds / 30 Minutes |
| Maximum Dose Experienced | Unknown |
| Form | Plant Material |
| RoA | Smoked |
| Source / Jurisdiction | Dealer / Overseas |
SUBJECTIVE EXPERIENCE #
Changa is commonly defined as a DMT-infused smoking blend. More specifically, it is DMT (or a DMT containing plant) combined with a MAOI, the latter being a monoamine oxidase inhibitor, which prevents the former from being broken down before it can become psychoactive.
It is believed to have originated in Australia, circa 2001, where enthusiasm for this field of interest can only have increased following a visit by Terence McKenna in 1997. With reference to this, I have also seen changa referred to colloquially as Aussiewaska (ref ayahuasca). Note too that locally there are a significant number of DMT bearing plants available, including the national flower, the *Golden Wattle.
In terms of risk and potential harm, MAOIs must generally be treated with extreme caution. Even cursory research reveals a host of dangers. Wikipedia, for example, is explicit:
“MAOIs should not be combined with other psychoactive substances (antidepressants, painkillers, stimulants, both legal and illegal etc.) except under expert care. Certain combinations can cause lethal reactions…”
The extent of the risk is variable, but this is, absolutely, not an aspect to treat lightly. If you are unable to leave a clear drug-free run before and after using an MAOI, the potential interactions and perils must be investigated thoroughly.
Whilst the most common RoA for DMT is undoubtedly vaporization, the changa smoking method brings its own attributes. For example, it prolongs the duration, and is considered by many to make the experience more coherent in nature.
Regarding my own exploration, my host assured me that the changa was 50% strong. The DMT source, mimosa hostilis, was apparently imported from Brazil.
On the issue of execution, YouTube videos suggest that most users smoke from a pipe or a small bong, and usually hold for about 5 seconds or so, albeit with some holding longer. All seem to fall deep into an abyss, but simultaneously retain overall control and an awareness of sober reality, with many able to narrate their experience in real time. It is hard to gauge how much they immerse into the real McKenna-esque DMT space, and how much they just skim the surface.
Note that I recorded this trip retrospectively due to incapacity during the journey itself. With an experienced sitter in situ I launched the experiment at 7pm.
Using a small water bong, I filled the bowl, fired up, and inhaled lightly but solidly. It was quite a harsh and not particularly pleasant smoke.
The general headspace quickly emerged, and was hard to distinguish from that of previous DMT exploits. The visuals, however, were sustained rather than fleeting, enabling a clearer perspective.
With eyes closed I entered a vibrantly colourful interior chamber, adorned with clearly defined architraved polygonal features, which were drifting gently. This was not threatening, but rather a little unsettling. I was in full possession of my faculties and was able to analyse and contemplate.
When I opened my eyes, the visuals were still there, but only as a semi- transparent sheen. This strengthened and weakened, and hovered between myself and the wall beyond. When I focused upon it, the field solidified and floated towards me, such that the objects seemed to drift into my chest if I followed them downwards to my now horizontal body.
Unlike the strange snake-like intertwining CEVs I had experienced with psilocybe, these comprised a manufactured worldly construct: an actual indoor environment rather than a pattern.
Perhaps 5 minutes into the trip, curiosity got the better of me, and I took another toke. The same phenomena continued but the construct was strengthened and perhaps more stable. My earlier anxiety was dissipating as I came to terms with the alien strangeness.
After another few minutes I re-loaded the bowl and took a third toke, holding for approximately 6-8 seconds.
I was, by now, confident enough to face the exterior world. I walked into what was a typical suburban rear garden, similar to my own back home. I was in for a surprise.
Beneath my feet the lawn presented an incredible sight. I saw it as a mini- forest of individual clusters of grass-plants, which were swaying and moving in unison. They were lush and vibrant and alive as they danced and drifted in harmony before my eyes. The patterns they formed were clearly evident (the technical term for which is appropriately pattern recognition).
As I looked towards the wooden lattice on the fence, this too was drifting and swaying, and moving back and forth, with the overlapping wood presenting a rhythmic three dimensional interplay. Again, it was extremely colourful, dollhouse-effect-like in appearance, and seemed almost alive.
Everything in sight was gently ebbing and flowing, with objects shifting seamlessly and elegantly in relation to each other. I felt comfortable, almost in awe, as I watched and gazed.
With the entire visual field in motion, the fabric of reality itself seemed to be coming apart. Indeed, at one point this notion was so plausible that I contemplated what would be behind it should it break any further.
Walking back across the lawn towards the house, I stopped again, as the grass itself was simply astonishing. It really was like a like a miniature woodland in its own right, dancing in the non-existent breeze as I floated over it.
In the house the shag pile rug exhibited a similar moving effect. Although not as rich or marvellous, it was still alive in terms of motion and movement.
I was pro-actively navigating the experience. I could choose to tune into the visuals (OEV or CEV), allowing myself to be semi-immersed, drifting into the headspace and flowing with it. Or I could pull myself out and try, with some difficulty, to manage normal reality and discern the unfolding manifestations from the outside.
I have adopted the word tuneable to describe this measure of control, as it does seem to fit the capacity to direct the trip from a higher level of consciousness.
As the effects of the changa slowly diminished I was still able to enter the fading world of colour and pattern when I closed my eyes, and see into the sheen as I opened them, until this too gradually waned.
On a time check I noted that it was 7:25pm: the entire exercise had lasted about 25 minutes. It seemed much longer. I was still experiencing a certain headiness, and a glow, but the visible other-worldiness had gone.
An hour after the experience, the headiness was still present, but was less intense. I felt much more relaxed and serene than I had before embarking upon the experiment, and indeed, than I had for some time.
Although not particularly tired, I retired to bed at midnight, about 5 hours after initial inhalation, and fell asleep reasonably swiftly. I awoke a couple of times during the night, with a mild headache, which was wrapped in the heady feel of the trip afterglow. I also experienced a significant degree of lucid dreaming.
During the following morning I felt more tired than usual, with some mental fatigue, and a slight ongoing headache. It may well be relevant that the latter is frequently reported as a side effect of MAOIs.
Overall changa provided an extraordinarily rich and vivid experience. I engaged in a real and distinct journey of colour and wonder. Having stated this, I feel that I skirted the edges of its potential and that I could have gone deeper and immersed more completely. Should future circumstances allow, I will endeavour to do so.
Aussiewaska: an unexpected origin but a predictable name