The Ultimate Guide to Kanna

Published on the ThirdWave website: https://thethirdwave.co/psychedelics/kanna/

“Sceletium tortuosum is a little-known psychoactive plant from South Africa. It has a variety of common names, including kanna, canna, canna-root, channa, gunna, kougoed, kauwgoed, Kauwgood, Kon (meaning “quid”), and Kou. Kougoed (and therefore “kanna” through association) means ‘chew(able) things’ or ‘something to chew’. Part of the confusion around the naming is that various different plants have been called “kanna”, “canna”, or “kouged”. Additionally, kanna shares its name with the eland antelope, the most revered animal in the cultures of the South African Bushmen and Hottentots, who are said to have named the plant after the antelope.

…

While kanna is legal in all countries, it has received little attention outside of South Africa. Its main active constituents are mesembrine and mesembrenone. Although some writers have described it as a hallucinogen, kanna is only mildly psychoactive and often used with other plants, particularly cannabis or dagga (Lion’s Tail or Leonotis leonurus), but it is not considered a psychedelic.”