This is copied w/out permission from the book Plants of the Gods:
(Schultes/Hoffman)<- yes, the Hoffman

Kaempferia galanga is used as an hallucinogen in New Guinea.  Throughout the
range of this species, the highly aromatic rhizome is valued as a spice to
flavor rice, and also in folk  medicine as an expectorant and carminative.
A tea of the leaves is employed for sore throat, swellings, rheumatism,
and eye infections.  In Malaysia, the plant was added to the arrow poison
prepared from Antians toxicaria.
This short-stemmed herb has flat-spreading, green, round leaves measuring
3-6 in. (8-15 cm) across.  The white flowers (with a purple spot on the lip),
which are fugacious, appear singly in the center of the plant and attain
approximately 1 in. (2 1/2 cm) in breadth.
Beyond the high content of essential oil in the rhizome, little is known of the
chemistry of the plant.  Hallucinogenic activity might possibly be due to
constituents of the essential oils.


another place in the book said this:
common names:
Galanga
Maraba

There are vague reports that Galanga is employed as an hallucinogen in New
Guinea.

The highly aromatic rhizome is valued locally as a condiment, a tea from the
leaves is employed in folk medicine.



Please let us know what you find out if you try this.
p.s.
I would not try this, although it appears the natives eat it to flavor
their rice, so it is probably safe to try.

->- Chris Hooten  (chooten@atlas.sdsu.edu)