(This article was first published in the American Free Journal Weekly, Sept. 2-8 2010 Vol. 19 No. 36)
Hiemia salicifolia is a plant native to Mexico, Central and South America. It is commonly called Sinicuiche or The Sun Opener. Although there is still very little information available on the entheogenic qualities of this plant, it is by no doubt a mind altering substance, and a legal one at that!
I started to experiment with Sinicuiche back in 2003. I had produced a weekend seminar on entheogens and shamanism at the Joshua Tree Inn and my contribution to my own seminar was a presentation on “available entheogens”. I had purchased samples of over a dozen available plant medicines prior to the presentation and felt personally obligated to bio-assay all the plants I was unfamiliar with, Hiemia was among those needing to be sampled.
I prepared the specimen I received using my stove instead of the traditional “sun-brew” method I had researched. I intuitively felt the cooking method would potentiate the effects more. Traditionally the leaves of the plant are put into a vessel and placed in the sun for a few days until the “tea” has slightly fermented. I non-traditionally just boiled seven grams of the dried leaves in four cups of water, reduced this to two cups, and then painfully drank the extremely bitter potion. Thankfully, although the taste is almost unpalatable, I somehow managed to consume it without the instantaneous reaction to regurgitate immediately, or at all, for that matter.( Note: the horrible taste does not affect the digestive system. Peyote and ayahuasca for example taste horrible going in and taste even worse coming back out, Sinicuiche at least somehow manages to stay down.) I clearly and undoubtedly felt the effects. My muscles relaxed profoundly, I had the sensation that my body was lighter than usual and “my hands felt like two balloons”. My head felt dreamy, somewhat like an opiate experience. The complete “trip” lasted almost three hours. It is said to “produce a yellow tint in the visionary field, which may persist for up to 48 hours if too much is consumed”. I wonder if that is how it received the name Sun Opener? If you were seeing a yellow tint for 48 hours you might think the sun is “opening” or rising for quite sometime! Well then again, maybe it obtained this name for the yellow flowers it produces? I personally never consumed enough to achieve any sense of color change in my vision – unfortunately!
After a few self-experimentations I convinced some other people to sample my “stove top brew”. Everyone agreed, the general consensus was that it tasted like something swept off the floor of a swamp but it did not induce any nausea, nor did it actually cause an upset stomach or intestinal problems. All in all, everyone seemed to enjoy the experience and compared it similarly to the one I had had. So, I included it in my presentation back then in 2003. In 2010 it remains 100% legal in every state, and still very few people are aware of it…..well, now you are!!
The active ingredients are the alkaloids; cryogenine, lythrine, nesodine and others which have anticholinergic (opposing or annulling actions of acetylcholine) and antispasmodic qualities which would attribute to the muscle-relaxing effects that were felt. The parts of the plant used are the dried leaves and branch tips. It can be purchased from a variety of companies on the internet. It is legal to possess, cultivate or consume anywhere, anytime as long as you are not intoxicated in public or under the influence while driving. Even if the police can not prove you are under the influence of an illegal drug this does not mean they can not arrest you for being intoxicated on a legal substance!
So kick back somewhere safe and make some nice iced, sun-brewed ( ..or stove top!) Sinicuiche tea! Let your muscles relax as the heat of the day slowly fades away, into a place induced, through a state produced, as you slowly sip… and then slip into the world of the Sun Opener Tea!