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    Disclaimer
    ⚠ Benzodiazepines can cause physical dependence with regular use. Withdrawal can be life-threatening. Never combine with opioids or alcohol.

    GABA Well-documented
    Well-documented
    Multiple authoritative sources agree on dosing and effects.
    • 2 corroborating sources
    • 1 ROA with full dose ladder
    • duration data present
    • 17 combo interactions documented
    • PubChem toxicity data

    Depressant Supplement Benzodiazepine

    Summary PsychonautWiki

    GABA, also known as gamma-aminobutyric acid, is the main inhibitory neurotransmitter. Drugs targeting GABA include benzodiazepines, barbiturates, alcohol and GHB/GBL.

    Dose Information TripSit

    ROA Light Common Strong Heavy
    Oral 200-400mg 400-800mg 800-1600mg 1600mg+
    Light Common Strong Heavy

    Onset, Duration & After-effects TripSit

    ROA Onset Peak After Effects
    Oral 15-60 min 5-8 hrs 1-2 hrs

    Effect Profile

    10 reports

    Scores (1–10) curated from multiple sources:

    • Effect keyword matching from PsychonautWiki catalog
    • Weighted by importance: core (×3), major (×2), minor (×1)

    Full methodology

    Benzodiazepine 7.6
    Intense 8/10

    Strong anxiolysis and euphoria with moderate cognitive impairment, mild sedation

    Anxiolysis ×3
    10
    anxiety suppression anxiolytic reduced anxiety muscle relaxation
    Sedation / Relaxation ×2
    5
    sedation muscle relaxation
    ⚠ Motor / Cognitive Impairment ×1
    7
    motor control loss amnesia double vision
    Euphoria / Mood Lift ×1
    10
    cognitive euphoria euphoria physical euphoria disinhibition
    Based on reports from:
    Erowid Experience Reports
    View methodology →

    Add to PsychonautWiki Journal

    The PsychonautWiki Journal logging app doesn't include every substance. To track GABA there, start adding an ingestion, search for the name, and choose to add it as a custom substance. Paste these values:

    ⬇ Download import file Import this file as custom substances and you get "GABA (Substance Search)" with every route's full dose ladder and timeline, no typing. Works on iOS and Android (v15+); the format is confirmed by the app's developer. The manual values below work for older versions.
    Name
    GABA
    Unit
    mg
    Description 
    GABA
Source: SubstanceSearch (substancesearch.com)

Oral dose (mg): light 200-400 · common 400-800 · strong 800-1600 · heavy 1600+

Oral duration: onset 0.25-1h · peak 5-8h · after-effects 1-2h

Note: ranges are harm-reduction guidance, not a prescription. Start low, go slow, and test your substances.

    Tip: for quicker logging you can also add a Custom Unit in the app, e.g. common dose ~ 600 mg (Oral).

    The app keeps custom substances simple, so the full dose ranges live in the description text above. Ranges are harm-reduction guidance, not a prescription.

    Tolerance

    Build-up develops over 1–4 weeks of daily use; hypnotic tolerance faster than anxiolytic tolerance
    Reset weeks to months depending on half-life and duration of use; taper recommended

    Tolerance Decay

    Full tolerance 3d Half tolerance 37d Baseline ~60d

    Effects Erowid

    Aggregated from 10 Erowid experience reports

    Positive Effects 2

    Anxiety Suppression 60.0% 70%
    Sedation 30.0% 70%

    Adverse Effects 1

    Nausea 30.0% 70%

    Combinations TripSit

    Cross-Check GABA with another substance

    Community Trip Reports

    Anecdotal first-person accounts from Reddit, Erowid, and Bluelight. Click a source to expand. Reports are harm-reduction context, not medical guidance. Tags summarise each author's own verdict — how reports are classified.

    Erowid 6 reports 1 positive 2 neutral 3 cautionary visit
    Sublingual, Vaporised and Insufflated cautionary exp #23114

    GABA (gamma-amino-butyric acid) is an extensively studied, though poorly understood neurotransmitter found primarily in the limbic system deep inside the brain. Scientists say that it is an 'inhibitory' chemical, which essentially means it can act as a Central Nervous System Depressent.

    Blue skies · 500 mg insufflated / 1000 mg sublingual / 1000 mg smoked
    Very Casual, Clean positive exp #115639

    A Very Casual, Clean Experience I had been pretty skeptical about this substance due to conflicting reports and a lack of research on it, but I picked it up a while back just to see for myself since it's also fairly cheap.

    salowi · 400 mg oral / 1 g oral / 2 g oral
    Weird Side Effects Rush of Hormones neutral exp #109531

    GABA was recommended to me by my Doctor as a means to help address low growth hormone levels, as well as tension relief and sleep aid. I have taken a lot of supplements over the years, and have only noted a few that have notable effects on a per-dose basis; GABA is one of them.

    NooMan
    Great, If You Don't Have Side Effects neutral exp #52550

    GABA was recommended by an enlightened MD who was assisting in getting me off Ativan. I was taking Ativan to relieve anxiety and as a sleep aid, I developed tinnitus and ongoing lethergy while using Ativan, and never would have gone on the stuff if someone had also mentioned the nasty addiction/withdrawal element.

    Rolf · 2500 mg sublingual
    One of the Worst Experiences of My Life cautionary exp #114029

    I was suffering badly with anxiety and the local doctors were next to useless, so I started to scout around for alternatives. I had been prescribed Librium (chlordiazepoxide) for a few weeks.

    Stewraer · 0.5 tsp oral / 10 mg oral / 10 mg oral
    Used for Anxiety cautionary exp #95288

    I've noticed there are only two reports on GABA in the experience vault, so I thought I'd share some of what my girlfriend uses it for. She suffers from OCD, generalized anxiety disorder triggered by PTSD and many phobias.

    Akhenaten · oral
    GABA's nerd page Pharmacology, chemical data, effect profiles, and more
    →

    Helpful Links

    💊 Pill Identifier 📘 Experience Reports 📖 TripSit 📖 PsychonautWiki