Sassafrass

[badmojo420]

I got some organic wild harvest sassafras root bark. i know i cant make tea with it which i usually do but what else can i do with it?

 

[Ringsixty]

you can extract the oil. You can also overdose on the oil

can't think of any other use.

 

[badmojo420]

how do i extract the oil?

 

[Ringsixty]

you dont need to know that...man
Its a poison...it will mess you up

 

[badmojo420]

so i should just stick to making sass tea then huh

 

[MrEDuck]

how do i extract the oil?

Steam Distillation. It's usually around 70% safrole.

 

[Bigtacofarmer]

I know where there is a ton of sassafras growing, is the Distillation easy?

 

[badmojo420]

I know where there is a ton of sassafras growing, is the Distillation easy?

im gonna look into it, i have half ounce maybe 3/4 of ounce. if i need more i have access to as much as i need (with in reason of course) for fairly cheap, $23/lb at my local hippie shop.

 

[canndo]

I'm not so sure about the tea, the stuff is carcinogenic.

 

[stickyicky666]

Gumbo file is ground up sassafrass...I don't get fucked up eating my gumbo lol

 

[MajorCoco]

The oil is "supposedly" carcinogenic. I say that, because the main problem with safrole (easily obtained, as someone mentioned, by steam distillation) is that it is a highly restricted substance in almost all countries. It is used a mainly in the chemical and fragrance industries, but is restricted because it is the primary chemical starting point for the manufacture of MDMA.

It is therefore beneficial for the powers that be that it is regarded as toxic, as it discourages its use in soaps and fragrance products, which might make it harder to control.

 

[MrEDuck]

It is carcinogenic, it was banned from use in food products by the FDA before MDMA became a commonly used drug.

 

[canndo]

I understand that much of the current fragrance purposed oils have little or no safrole in it. (in them?) Anyone know if this is true? and... one might suppose that any oils originating from Brazil might be reasonable? I've always been curious about the entire process but it all seems far too daunting for me.

 

[MrEDuck]

You can always make your own safrole by isomerizing the allyl ether of catechol thermally to form 3,4 dihydroxphenyl-1-propene, then forming safrole by reacting it with dihalomethane in the presence of a strong base by using a phase transfer catalyst.

 

[badmojo420]

I'm not so sure about the tea, the stuff is carcinogenic.

thats true, but in a tea form its much less concentrated than an extract of oil would be... much much much less. when i make a cup o sass tea i use probably 3 or 4 grams at most to steep out the flavor. there is very little psychoactive effect in the tea, just enough to help you fall asleep.

just ground up sass? and you just eat it? kinda sounds like eating nutmeg to me (which also doesnt really fuck you up lol)

 

[badmojo420]

You can always make your own safrole by isomerizing the allyl ether of catechol thermally to form 3,4 dihydroxphenyl-1-propene, then forming safrole by reacting it with dihalomethane in the presence of a strong base by using a phase transfer catalyst.

you lost me at isomerizing this is a bit out of my league

 

[MajorCoco]

It is carcinogenic, it was banned from use in food products by the FDA before MDMA became a commonly used drug.

It is proven to be broken down into carcinogenic metabolites in rats, but that hasn't been proven in humans.

I'm not saying for sure that it isn't carcinogenic, but then oxygen is quite highly carcinogenic, and I wouldn't recommend against continuing to use that everyday. If it weren't for MDMA I think that more research would be done on it, to clear-up the question of carcinogenic status once and for all. As it is I suspect that the increased risk of cancer is likely to be low. http://www.aromaconnection.org/2009/09/safrole-human-carcinogenicity-risk-over-stated.html

I'm not advocating ignoring warning signs and using the stuff, just trying to give a measure of the real level of risk that you would expose yourself to if you did.

Safrole is not used much in fragrances because of its links to cancer, no other reason. Safrole can actually be easily obtained from sources other than sassfrass root bark. There is a certain type of S american houseplant which, when steam distilled, gives 70-90% safrole. If demand was increased, then this could turn into a sizeable cash crop for Brazil the surrounding countries, because the oil is obtained from the whole plant rather than just the root bark. The plant also grows vigorously.

 

[sonar]

You can make some old fashion root beer.

 

[TexRx]

Gumbo file is ground up sassafrass...I don't get fucked up eating my gumbo lol

I loves me some file on top of my gumbo! LOL! I think I wouldn't try to make a sassafrass extract, personally.. not if it can be dangerous!

 

[canndo]

thats true, but in a tea form its much less concentrated than an extract of oil would be... much much much less. when i make a cup o sass tea i use probably 3 or 4 grams at most to steep out the flavor. there is very little psychoactive effect in the tea, just enough to help you fall asleep.

just ground up sass? and you just eat it? kinda sounds like eating nutmeg to me (which also doesnt really fuck you up lol)

Wait a minute, are we talking about using sassafrass as an inebriant in and of itself? I never heard of that, I presumed that it had three purposes, 1. It smelled nice, 2. It tastes good and 3. it can be used as a precursor to something that made you feel nice. I was unaware that it was inherently psychoactive.