this post was submitted on 18 Oct 2026
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Feel free to be loose with your definitions. "Not usually considered a drug" is fine to qualify as "non-drug", for instance. I'm not really thinking so much of "foods", though, but maybe "food ingredients" and substances found in food ingredients are fine, especially if they're quasi-drug-like or if you'd get a lot of the same benefits/enjoyment from it consuming it straight rather than in food.

Also ITT, tell other users why their substances actually are drugs actually.

Mine:

  • Chamomile - good for my mood and gives me vivid dreams.
  • Capsaicin - I and Wilbur Scoville are well acquainted.
  • Cacao - I don't really do cacao any more because I've quit caffeine, but I include it here because I still miss sucking on unsweetend baker's chocolate daily.
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[–] Uranium_Green@sh.itjust.works 3 points 2 days ago

Saffron: either a few strands in hot water as a tea, or the much more affordable saffron extract tablets; gives a mildly speedy/stimulant effect, genuinely interesting.

Valerian root extract: smells like feet, knocks you off of your feet.

Licorice root: sugar free sweetener that increases your BP in larger amounts, I literally use a stick of it to stir my tea, the sweetness is felt at the back of the mouth and typically comes on as an aftertaste, doesn't have a strong anise flavour.

Kanna: a small plant from South Africa that an extract of will give entactogen effects (reminiscent of MDMA, but with a much lower ceiling)

Syrian Rue Seeds: seeds which contain harmala alkaloids, the thing that changes DMT into a 3-hour experience in Ayahuasca. The seeds are traditionally used as an incense in Persian/middle eastern cultures.

Ginger: it has 3 different properties if left fresh, dried or cooked. The main spicy component of fresh ginger becomes more pungent if left to dehydrate (dried ginger), or becomes sweeter if cooked/baked from fresh (the molecule literally ends up closer to vanillin, the main flavour of vanilla)

Nutmeg: consumed in a large quantity raw, will causes stoning and mild anticholinergic effects.

Cloves and clove oil will block out a tooth ache.

Poppy seeds have a very small amount of morphine naturally on them, you can make a painkilling tea from them, but I wouldn't recommend doing this, and would suggest if ever attempted to titrate up slowly.

[–] GreenKnight23@lemmy.world 8 points 3 days ago (1 children)

insomnia. after the second or third day of no sleep you start seeing some really wild shit.

[–] crenquis@lemmy.today 2 points 3 days ago

That used to be my drug of choice

Sugar. That shit is like meth.

[–] Corkyskog@sh.itjust.works 3 points 3 days ago

You can just buy straight linalool terpenes now (the smelly stuff in lavender attributed to sleep).

I drop a couple drops on a stuffed animal or small pillow in bed and it's like knockout wonder.

[–] lemmyng@piefed.ca 34 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Cheese. One of its ingredients, casein, can trigger opioid receptors.

[–] measureyoucanpleasure@piefed.social 11 points 4 days ago (1 children)
[–] prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone 11 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

I love that erowid is still alive and kicking.

I'd have died in my 20s without it. Like, literally.

[–] kindnesskills@literature.cafe 46 points 5 days ago

Music. It's mind-altering and mood-altering.

[–] Mercer@lemmy.zip 6 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Definitely black tar heroin oh and English Breakfast Tea, and cats

[–] Agent641@lemmy.world 4 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

That shit will rule your life if you dabble in it. Cats, I mean.

My cat makes little effort noises and grumbles when I cuddle her, which is the funniest thing in my world at the moment.

[–] Kaligalis@lemmy.world 8 points 4 days ago

Apart from caffeine (which is definitely a stimulant and therefore a drug) I also use sweets and other carbs recreationally and to enhance my performance at work.

[–] NotASharkInAManSuit@lemmy.world 9 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Playing guitar, thrashing a scale up and down without making any mistakes makes you feel like you could eat gods.

[–] hardcoreufo@lemmy.world 7 points 4 days ago (1 children)

I hit all the wrong notes, still eat gods.

[–] NotASharkInAManSuit@lemmy.world 3 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Eat ‘em up, baby, eat ‘em up.

[–] TaeKwonDoh@lemmy.world 3 points 3 days ago

Eat 'em and smile

Caffeine.

Spicy foods.

Favorite foods, like maybe something you only get once in a great while that you really like.

[–] crenquis@lemmy.today 3 points 3 days ago

Tulsi (Holy Basil): Has just enough anti-anxiety properties to quiet the inner voice that keeps me up at night.

Sugar is great for when I'm sleepy in the afternoon (good strong black licorice is a good complimentary to that, since it seems to keep my blood sugar from dropping in the first place)

[–] jh29a@lemmy.blahaj.zone 10 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (1 children)

Staying up until 1 to 2 am. I feel more creative in the evening, but in the night, I don't have the energy to commit to a vision, so I just kind of imagine a few different things poorly

[–] FoxAlive@lemmy.zip 1 points 3 days ago

So many of my projects are getting manic and locked in until 3 am, then the next day I'm burnt out and tired and never finish it. I'll get around to it eventually, but only because in procrastinating another project I never finished.

[–] FoxAlive@lemmy.zip 2 points 3 days ago (1 children)

400 mg of l-theanine. Aka two pills. If I don't take any for a while I start with one otherwise it feels like like a extremely mild stimulant.

Just regulates my mood, and gives me focus in the day. Smooths out caffine too makes me feel less wired, and makes me more awake/cognitive awareness. For the mood part i would compare it to eating a 5mg edible where you don't feel high but are more smiley and giggly.

It helped with anxiety and I rebound better off poor sleep.

And for those that don't know its found in green tea or matcha which is originally how I learned about it. I bought matcha powder and noticed it made me feel almost "stoned" or just a weird uplifed mood in the mornings, then just started buying l-theanine. Mornings are supposed to be depressing and a struggle even with coffee so I knew something was wrong.

[–] Psythik@lemmy.world 2 points 11 hours ago* (last edited 11 hours ago)

Damn I wish L-theanine did something for me. I thought it was a scam because it does absolutely nothing at all for my mood or anxiety. Shame, because it's supposed to work well for ADHD when combined with caffeine...

(FWIW a 5mg edible would do nothing for me either. I guess I just have a naturally high tolerance to everything.)

[–] RBWells@lemmy.world 10 points 4 days ago

I love some spicy food, oh yeah.

Music and movement, dancing can feel like a drug.

[–] HeHoXa@lemmy.zip 6 points 4 days ago

Pickle, olive, etc

[–] solrize@lemmy.ml 19 points 5 days ago
[–] Boozilla@lemmy.world 17 points 5 days ago (2 children)
[–] alternategait@lemmy.world 2 points 3 days ago

Or when my cat gives me headbutts.

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[–] notabot@piefed.social 18 points 5 days ago (2 children)

English Mustard. A nice thick layer of it, as in, thick enough that you question the structural integrity of the result, and everyone else questions your sanity, in a cheese (other fillings are available) sandwich will light your day up. The heat is different to capsaicin, you feel it more in your nose and sinuses, but it has a similar effect. You get a mild, giddy, flying feeling for a moment, then settle down into a haze of sensation. The endorphin (I assume it's endorphins anyway) release feels great, all my muscles relax, and it's a pretty good painkiller too.

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[–] Strider@lemmy.world 10 points 4 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (4 children)

Sugar. Would love to get rid of but for one it's everywhere and if I minimise I will suffer and be insufferable.

It's not a drug but sure has identical properties...

Oh, favourite. Well, it's a love hate abusive relationship.

[–] lonefighter@sh.itjust.works 9 points 4 days ago (1 children)

I once spent an entire summer giving up as much sugar as possible. No sweets, minimal added sugar, minimal processed food, pretty much my only sugar was fruit. I ran every single day.

I was miserable. Insanely depressed, grumpy, exhausted, moody, awful cravings and just so generally unhappy. None of this "I quit sugar and now I'm so full of energy and feel so healthy and happy!" Absolutely the opposite. At the end of the summer I had lost exactly 4 lbs and it wasn't because I had gained muscle mass either.

Said fuck that, life is about balance and if I can't eat ice cream once in awhile it's not worth being alive. But sugar is absolutely addictive and it gave me a new perspective on anyone trying to quit anything like cigarettes or heroin.

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[–] PeriodicallyPedantic@lemmy.ca 13 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

Starch.
Specifically, potato.
More specifically, fried somehow.

[–] janus2@lemmy.zip 13 points 4 days ago

meditation and early hypnangogic sleep stages, just watching my brain do weird brain shit. sometimes I get this insane, intense sensation of being/observing something formless and simultaneously infinitely large and infinitely small. like my location/place neurons doing some kind of existentially overwhelming hardware stress test lol

[–] Hadriscus@jlai.lu 5 points 4 days ago

Sugar... mostly sugar. I baked a legendary citrus cake yesterday and I've had most of it in two sittings.

[–] GreenShimada@lemmy.world 6 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (6 children)

Oh boy!

Cacao is done better as KokoSamoa. Roast whole cocao beans until the air smells like hot cocoa. Then grind in a mortar and pestle and scoop into a ball. Let the ball solidify, then later, put it in a cup of hot water with sugar. It tastes like pure heaven. Zero dairy, and has a solidly just above mild euphoric feeling.

A tea of a little mugwort, a little wormwood, and star anise is bitter as fuck but will send you on a 30 minute swirly ride where your paredoilia is cranked up to 11. You can sweeten with honey, but it's not exactly a sipping tea. (wormwood can be toxic in high amounts, this is not withccraft advice, see a shaman if you experience swirling lasting more than 4 hours)

OP, chamomile and lavender are a great pair for calming. Chamomile, hibiscus, lemongrass and rosehip also do a good job at that. Camomile, lavender, mugwort and hops will send you to sleep and you'll enjoy some fun, vivid dreams.

Breathwork alone can easily get you to a weird, fun place.

And, of course, the smell of rain in the desert and fresh cut grass. To quote Hank Hill, "Why would anyone want to do drugs when you can just mow the lawn?"

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[–] FluidBeef@quokk.au 5 points 4 days ago

Caffeine. It might be a self-medication thing but I drink it all day.

[–] Apytele@sh.itjust.works 12 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) (4 children)

Ginger and Valerian (interestingly Valerian is the component of most bedtime teas that's associated with vivid dreams. You might actually be reacting to that, check the ingredient list on your tea or supplement).

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[–] Epp@lemmus.org 10 points 5 days ago

Kava. I like to mix it with lavender, chamomile and valerian root for a very mellow calm.

[–] Apeman42@lemmy.world 10 points 5 days ago (2 children)

Something in sleepytime tea hits me almost like a good indica. I think it's the valerian root, because regular chamomile tea doesn't do it.

[–] ProdigalFrog@slrpnk.net 3 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Something to keep in mind; virtually all commercial tea bags release insane amounts of microplastics in every cup (like millions). Recommended to cut open the bags and put the tea itself into a stainless steeping ball to avoid the plastics.

The only commercial bags I know of that are actually made of wood based paper and are safe are Yogi tea bags.

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[–] YiddishMcSquidish@lemmy.today 1 points 3 days ago

I get a crick in my neck on occasion and will take valerion by the handful until it goes away. I get a little light headed afterwards.

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