Podcast: Expert Talks About 'Kanna,' The Legal African Succulent That Elevates Awareness, Concentration And More

Welcome to a new episode of the Benzinga Psychedelics Podcast where we're joined by Stephanie Wang, founder of business KA! Empathogenics and speaker about alternative mental health, emotional wellness, resilience-building in the nervous system and connection to self, others and nature through the lens of plant medicine.

KA! focuses on bringing to market products that contain the ancient healing plant kanna, paired with modern science, for an alternative, legal means to help people with mental health issues. Kanna is legal in the U.S., unlike most psychoactive substances.

KA! is a daily supplement that acts as "a natural antidepressant" through a novel formulation of kanna, a Southern Africa succulent historically used to regulate the nervous system, increase joy and deepen connection to self, nature and others. 

In this episode, we talk about the diversity within the universe of alternative, natural-based mental health treatments and what therapeutic benefits an empathogen like kanna can effectively offer as an unconventional treatment. We learn about the science behind kanna and how to use it in combination with other plant medicines.

Interaction With Psychedelics & The Need For Education

Used for a wide range of mental and physical health conditions, including sex and intimacy, Wang says kanna can help in "full-spectrum aliveness" restoration. She defines it as “a plant ally" that can help manage anxiety, and improve cognitive execution abilities, memory, focus, problem-solving and creativity.

Kanna is, like MDMA an empathogen, which are substances that help people increase emotional availability. As a psychoactive but not psychedelic, it changes inner states without producing hallucinations while helping to calm brain activity and enabling centering and grounding.

Apt for daily doses, kanna can be related to microdosing psilocybin. There's even a "sweet spot" for combining these two meds, says Wang. Separately, it holds certain contraindications with other meds involving the risk of serotonin syndrome.

There are key differences between kanna and MDMA, psilocybin microdoses and between kanna products available in the market today. It’s important to distinguish between kanna extract and herb since extract is a lot more potent than herb. Finding a good kanna source is key because quality and alkaloid content can vary. "There's lots of nuance in the search for good kanna," says Wang, adding that each person should find their dose. 

"What's really needed is a lot more education, because most people still really have not heard much about kanna, and they tend to maybe confuse it with kratom or kava. Also, I think people will be embracing these alternatives more, because the trend for self-directed healthcare and really empowering themselves as healers is an ongoing trend and is only getting stronger," she added. 

Listen to the full episode on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts by searching for "Benzinga Interviews."

Photos courtesy of KA! Empathogenics.