HERB           : Sweet Flag
BOTANICAL NAME : Acorus Calamus
SYNONYMS       : Calamus, sweet sedge, rat root, sweet
                 myrtle, beewort, bachh (Hindu),
                 Racha (Vedic), Shihch'ang pu (chinese)
LOCALES FOUND  : Europe, Asia, China, North America from
                 Nova Scotia to minnesota; southward to
                 Florida & Texas.

The effects of Calamus, produced from the root, are as a
stimulent when a dried root of about 2 inches length and
the thickness of a pencil; a Hallucinogen when 10+ inches
of selfsame root are eaten. It is legal in the US and can
be bought in dried form in many parts of the country for
under $3 an ounce. It has an additional medicinal value,
according to the Cree Indians, to relieve constipation, in
the smaller doseage.

The root can be chewed and eaten raw, and has a taste of a
bitter ginger root. Eaten this way it numbs the tongue for
4-10 minutes. Although possible this takes developing a
taste for it.
   A tonic or tea can also be made, far more useful if all
you can find is the ground root, 1 ounce per 1 pint of the
boiling water, preferably mixed with a few pleasant tasting
herbs like spearmint or peppermint and served with honey
(NO MILK PRODUCT - IT WILL CAUSE IRRITATION, POSSIBLE
VOMITTING IF SUCH IS DONE). Preferably take it on an empty
stomache. In this form it does not act as a Hallucinogen
but does have its other effects.
   Calamus can also be added to a meade recipe, but will
give it a slightly bitter aftertaste no matter what other
herbs you add to the brew.

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