My Favorite Open Up Products – Natural Substances for a variety of usages

Author: Bent Psychology & Neuroscience Bachelor student, Focus on Psychopharmacology, Expertise in Cannabis, Psychedelics, Party-Drugs and Smartshop Products. Translator & Content-Creator

If you ever looked through our smartshop assortment, you probably noticed that we offer a lot of products form the brand ‘Open Up’. Open Up is Sirius’ own brand, and it is known for offering a large variety of natural products, that all have (to some degree) an effect on your body and/or your mind. In this blog, I want to give you a little overview about the different categories of Open Up products, as well as providing some personal experiences. Keep reading if you want to learn more about legal and natural energizers, sedatives, and psychedelics.  

Kratom

I start of my list with not a single product, but a whole category: Kratom is a tree that can be found in Thailand and Malaysia, and regions close to them. What makes Kratom so special is that, in low doses (1-2 grams), it acts as a stimulant, by making you alert and energetic, while in high doses (> 3 grams), it can be considered a sedative, calming your mind and body. In addition to the dosage, the type of Kratom also plays a role in the effect: Red Kratom is more sedating, white Kratom is more stimulating, and green Kratom is the most balanced between stimulating and sedation. Kratom can be used as an alternative to (party-) drugs and/or alcohol. I’ve only tried green Maeng Da Kratom in low doses so far, and for me it felt like a strong coffee with some extra euphoria. I would not advise you to take it every day, because it can be addictive, but it serves its purpose well if you take it occasionally. 

Hydrocotyle

This interesting plant Hydrocotyle is not really a Smartdrug in the sense that you will feel an immediate effect; it should rather be considered as a supplement or tonic. There is some research that found that hydrocotyle can boost your brain functioning if you include it in your diet for a long enough time. I personally drink a hydrocotyle tea every morning, and I feel mentally refreshed and balanced. It also has a nice taste and can be mixed with any tea you like! Just take 1-2 teaspoons and let them soak for 5-10 minutes and enjoy!

Energizers 

Most people take some form of energizer regularly, for most it is either coffee or energy drinks, or maybe even both. These drinks can be nice if you want to be awake and alert, but they also come with their adverse effects, such as the ‘caffeine-crash’, a state of being tired after consuming a lot of coffee. I’m now going to review 3 products that can serve as alternatives to coffee, each with their own unique twist: 

Cola Nut

This Plant was originally included in the recipe for Coca Cola (hence the name) and is a natural source of caffeine. If you need your daily caffeine fix as quick, uncomplicated and cheap as possible, then I can really recommend you the Cola Nut Capsules. It is also sold as a powder that you can mix with food or drinks.  

Guarana

Guarana is known as a ingredient in several energy drinks. These, however, are often containing insane amounts of sugar and other harmful ingredients. Open Up Guarana is sold as a pure powder, that you can mix with food or drinks. It has a bit of a bitter taste, so you need to find something that you like that you can mix it with. Personally, I prefer (plant-based) yoghurt to ingest guarana. You can add any other ingredients (fruits, cornflakes…) you like to make it fit your personal taste! What I like the most about Guarana, is that it’s effects are less quick and intense, but more slow and spread over the whole day, so you don’t get the “crash” that is often reported when someone drank to much coffee. 

Yerba Mate

Yerba Mate is a drink that is especially popular in south America, but it is slowly finding it’s way into western culture. Maybe you’ve heard of Club Mate or similar drinks. These, just as with energy drinks, often contain other ingredients (like chemical flavors) that are rarely healthy for you. Sirius sells pure Yerba Mate that can be made into a tea. Traditionally, Mate is taken with a special cup and a special straw, but you don’t necessarily need those. Personally, I prefer Mate as energizer to study, because it doesn’t make me as physically active as for example caffeine or guarana, but it helps me to mentally focus for long amounts of time. 

Sedatives

Some people need some additional energy in their life, but others could use a little help when it comes to relaxing and sleeping. Therefore, I will now review my 2 favorite ‘sedative’ products form Open Up:

Skullcap

Skullcap, also known as ‘Glidkruit’ in the Netherlands, is a natural sedative that has been used to aid sleeping and relaxation since a very long time. It has it’s name because the flowers look a bit like skulls or helmets. I can really recommend a skullcap tea if you want to go to sleep but do not feel tired yet. It’s taste is quite nice for itself, and you can also mix it with any other tea you like (Personal recommendation: Skullcap + CBD Tea). One disclaimer I have to make is that you should never use any substance every time you go to sleep, because even if skullcap does not possess addictive properties, you will get used to it until you eventually feel little to no effect. The same also applies for the following herb.

Valerian

Valerian has always been popular as a relaxing herb that can be used to treat pain or to ease sleeping. Because of it’s sedating properties, it is used to treat sleep problems and pain for hundreds of years. I also like it a lot, both for its taste and its effects. You can read more about it here. 

Sometimes, when I feel really stressed or tense, I mix skullcap with valerian (and another tasty tea) for the ultimate sleep ritual. That, together with a good book, makes me fall asleep in no time! Please remember that you should never rely on a substance to go to sleep and not to use it every day. 

Products for Lucid Dreaming

If you are interested in lucid dreaming, then you should pay the most attention to the following to products: Couldherb & Dreamherb. I myself have only tried cloudherb, for which I will provide a short description. If you are more interested in dreamherb, you can read more about it here. 

Cloudherb

Cloudherb (Tagetes lucido), sometimes called “Mexican Dragon” is a psychoactive plants that’s made into a tea to induce mild euphoric experiences and facilitate lucid dream. It has a very unique taste and aroma, and is can therefore used be as a spice sometimes.

It is also said to reduce stomach cramps and help after a day of heavy drinking, to counteract the hangover. From my personal experience, I can say that this worked for me, and Cloudherb also helped me sleep better on days where I had trouble getting to bed on time.

I haven’t really had any lucid dream-like experiences, but I felt that I’ve generally had more intense dreams when I drank a cloudherb tea before going to bed. I think that in order to experience lucid dreams, additional practice is needed. Still, Cloudherb can help experienced lucid dreamers to achieve the right mindset before going on a journey. 

Dreamherb 

I have no experiences with Dreamherb, but if you want to learn more about this plant that is said to induce lucid dreams, then check out this blog. 

Natural Psychedelics (Warning: Only for experienced Psychonauts!)

Did you know that Open Up also offers natural psychedelics that induce strong alterations in perception and consciousness, and possibly mystical experiences? Besides psilocybin, salvinorin-A and LSA belong to of the most common psychoactive compounds derived from natural products. Open up offers them in different forms for you to experience them. 

WARNING: THESE PRODUCTS ARE ONLY SUITED FOR EXPERIENCED PSYCHONAUTS THAT KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DEALING WITH. IF USED WRONGLY; THE FOLLOWING TWO PRODUCTS CAN BE DANGEROUS TO YOU AND PEOPLE AROUND YOU!  

Salvia Divinorum

Salvia Divinorum is a plant that belong to the same family as mint, and its main psychoactive ingredient, Salvinorin-A, is one of the strongest naturally occurring psychedelics. Unlike other psychedelics, salvionrin-A acts on the opioid receptors to produce its psychedelic effects. Pharmacologically, this is very uncommon and scientists still struggle to categorize and understand everything behind the mechanism of salvia. It has been used thousnads of years ago by the Aztecs and is still legally obtainable in most xountries today. If you smoke salvia, you will have a relatively short (10-30 minutes), but extremely intense trip. People report all kinds of mystical, spiritual, beatuifil, but also sometimes terrible experiences. Therefore it should be only taken be experienced psychonauts, and ALWAYS together with a sober tripsitter. While open up sells dried salvia leaves, there are also stronger extracts available in the Sirius smartshop. Read this blog if you want to learn more.  

Hawaiian Baby Wood rose & Morning Glory 

The last two products I want to review here are Hawaiian Baby Wood rose and Morning Glory. Both are beautiful plants that you can cultivate from the seeds sold at Sirius. Additionally, they both contain the psychoactive alkaloid LSA, which is chemically very similar to the famous psychedelic LSD. Like LSD, LSA induced long intense trips, that can induce transcendental states of mind, visuals and mystical experiences. Again, a WARNING is necessary: these products are for experienced psychonauts only and should only be taken when prepared accordingly and with a sober tripsitter. Read this blog about LSA if you want to learn more .

I hope you enjoyed my review of some of the Open Up products that are available in the Sirius smartshop. Please remember that you should always inform yourself as good as possible about any substance you want to ingest, even if its “just a plant”.

While some of the products that were reviewed have very mild effects, some also come with their set of possible side effects. If you have a medical condition, you should always talk to a medical professional before taking anything. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact our customer service. 

Bent Psychology & Neuroscience Bachelor student, Focus on Psychopharmacology, Expertise in Cannabis, Psychedelics, Party-Drugs and Smartshop Products. Translator & Content-Creator

Bent is a third-year Bachelor Student at Maastricht University. He focuses on learning about Brain anatomy, drug mechanism and research on psychedelics. He has a lot of experience when it comes to cannabis and psychedelics, both anecdotal and scientific. He believes that society should fundamentally change the way (psychedelic) drugs are perceived and regulated.

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