New York Magazine The Strategist
While kanna is a psychoactive, it’s not psychedelic, so you won’t experience hallucinations. And it’s not neurotoxic, which Stephanie Karzon Abrams, a neuropharmacologist and the founder of Beyond Consulting (a group that provides research to organizations and clinics working with plant medicines), says is huge. “If you take a big dose, the most that could probably happen to you is that you’ll feel nauseous, you’ll probably get a headache,” Abrams says. Kanna has been known to induce a nauseated or a tingly feeling in the stomach, even in small amounts, because “of the serotonin signaling in both gut and brain", she explains. For some, this can also induce an appetite-suppressing effect. And taking kanna if you’re already on prescription SSRIs is generally considered a no-no. “That’s a lot of serotonin flowing through your body, and that can be a lot to handle,” says Abrams.
