Post by Alice on Dec 10, 2012 13:37:52 GMT -5
Taxonomy: The Datura genus is a member of family Solanaceae, Nightshades. It includes seven species, the most well known being Datura stramonium.
Includes Species:
Datura ceratocaula Jacq. – Torna Loco
Datura discolor Bernh. – Desert Thorn-apple
Datura ferox L. – Long Spined Thorn-apple
Datura inoxia Mill. – Thorn-apple, Downy Thorn-apple, Indian-apple, Moonflower, Sacred Datura, Toloatzin, Toloache
Datura leichhardtii F.Muell. ex Benth. (syn. D. pruinosa) – Leichhardt's Datura
Datura metel L. – Devil's trumpet[2]
Datura quercifolia Kunth – Oak-leaf Thorn-apple
Datura stramonium L. (syn. D. inermis) – Jimsonweed, Thorn-apple
Datura wrightii Regel – Sacred Datura, Sacred Thorn-apple
Other Names: Desert Thorn-Apple, Devil's Apple, Devil's Trumpet, Downy Thorn-Apple, Ghost Flower, Indian-Apple, Jimson Weed, Leichhardt's Datura, Long Spined Thorn-Apple, Love-Will, Mad Apple, Mad Herb, Manicon, Moonflower, Oak-Leaf Thorn-Apple, Sacred Datura, Sacred Thorn-Apple, Stinkweed, Sorcerer's Herb, Thorn Apple, Toloache, Toloatzin, Torna Loco, Witches' Thimble, Yerba Del Diablo (Spanish: Herb of the Devil)
Warnings: Datura is quite toxic. Depending on the species and its maturity, sensitive skin may be irritated simply by touching the plant. While it is a useful psychoactive and hallucinogen, overdose can easily lead to extremely unpleasant side effects, and at a sufficient dose it can be lethal, especially to children.
See uses for an explanation of some of Datura's potential effects.
The recommended treatment for Datura poisoning is physostigmine, which occurs naturally in the Calabar Bean.
Use: Datura has been used in shamanic and religious rituals for the whole of human memory, and was especially sacred to the Aztecs.
It is sprinkled around a home to break spells, and is useful for protection from evil spirits.
Datura leaves placed on the crown of a hat are said to protect its wearer from apoplexy and sunstroke.
As a cure for chronic insomnia, place Datura leaves in your shoes and place them under the bed, facing the nearest wall.
Datura is also attributed the power to cure schizophrenia and madness, based on homeopathic principles and the fact that Datura poisoning mimics the symptoms thereof.
The most common effects of Datura are hallucinations, delusions and erratic behaviour, but this is also usually the desired effect. Interestingly, the most common hallucinations for most people seem to be encountering old friends whom one has lost contact with, and smoking fictional cigarettes.
This plant is set apart from most hallucinogenic substances by the fact that the subject is usually unable to differentiate reality from hallucination. It causes experiences such as speaking to non-existent people seem normal as they are occurring.
It can also cause hyperthermia (sudden extreme rise in body temperature) in some individuals, which may be potentially damaging to health. An internal temperature of 106 degrees farenheit is enough to risk brain damage.
The most immediate effect of Datura is dry mouth and dehydration. Be sure to have large amounts of water on hand.
Other symptoms include light sensitivity, caused by pupil dilation, and in rare cases paranoia.
It is also common for large doses of Datura (usually exceeding ten seeds) to cause vision problems, which may fade gradually over several days after consumption.
In rare cases, excessive doses are said to cause temporary blindness; and in others to cause vision problems or mild visual hallucinations lasting years after the original experience. I have never been able to substantiate these claims.
Unrelated to its hallucinogenic potential, Datura is a potent bronchodilator, a substance which causes the airways to expand. Smoking Datura leaves is a convenient treatment for asthma and other bronchial complaints, and was used thus to the effect of an inhaler for many years. The effect is almost instantaneous, but be aware that is may also cause mild psychoactive effects. Usually these last no more than a few minutes.
Datura is a very mild painkiller.
It has also been reported that Datura can be helpful for urinary complaints such as the bladder retaining liquid (which causes frequent urination), dilating these passageways as it does the airways. The reported dose for this effect is one seed or less orally every day.
The following is a little anecdote on my personal experience with Datura. The article was written the morning after the experience.
On 11/28/2012 at 9:51 AM I took a small dose of pure Datura. Nine dried seeds chewed and swallowed. For those who wish to know my estimated weight is somewhere between 150 and 180 pounds, I don't actually own a scales that weighs pounds.
By about 10:15 AM I was subject to extreme dry mouth and urinating quite frequently. This secondary effect leads me to believe that Datura must have some properties as a blood detoxifier. The more water passes through your kidneys, the more toxins they are able to remove.
I was distinctly high by 10:44. A little, floaty so to speak, and starting to get drowsy, a sensation which persisted for the rest of the day. I spent about half my time in bed resting, but never actually slept.
By 11:00 the effect was even more intense, and I experienced a significant mood heightening effect which made everything funny. I giggled for several minutes about the word "Gibralter"
I was quite dizzy for a while, but in an odd way like my weight kept shifting on me. Standing was like holding a large box with a live animal in it.
By noon I had noticed difficulty focusing my eyes, but today I'm having no problems.
I also discovered that I am an acid. For several hours I tasted a faint aftertaste like Lemon. I'm not sure if this was a tactile hallucination or simply a taste of the acids in my saliva due to dehydration. As a side note to anyone who wants to try this, keep lots of water.
The height of intensity was around 3:00. Very dizzy and spacey, hard to focus sometimes, but it made me very thoughtful and made divination easier than usual. Datura in this dose is not as debilitating as many psychoactives. I was still able to get up and move and complete basic chores with relative ease. I washed the dishes around 5:00.
I was mostly back down by 9:00 in the evening, and the following morning there are no lingering effects. Keep in mind that this was a fairly small dose just to see how it would effect me. Next time I'll use more.
The commonly recommended dose of Datura for a hallucinogenic experience is between ten and fifteen seeds, but this is subject to weight and other tolerance factors. Many of the reported experiences with Datura begin with a considerable overdose, it is not uncommon for the uninformed to consume entire seed pods, or handfuls of loose seeds.
Even such extreme doses are rarely lethal, but can be quite dangerous if for no other reason than the erratic behaviour they cause.
For best effect the seeds should be taken whole, chewed at length, and swallowed, ideally on an empty stomach.
Updated: 10/14/12, 12/10/12
Includes Species:
Datura ceratocaula Jacq. – Torna Loco
Datura discolor Bernh. – Desert Thorn-apple
Datura ferox L. – Long Spined Thorn-apple
Datura inoxia Mill. – Thorn-apple, Downy Thorn-apple, Indian-apple, Moonflower, Sacred Datura, Toloatzin, Toloache
Datura leichhardtii F.Muell. ex Benth. (syn. D. pruinosa) – Leichhardt's Datura
Datura metel L. – Devil's trumpet[2]
Datura quercifolia Kunth – Oak-leaf Thorn-apple
Datura stramonium L. (syn. D. inermis) – Jimsonweed, Thorn-apple
Datura wrightii Regel – Sacred Datura, Sacred Thorn-apple
Other Names: Desert Thorn-Apple, Devil's Apple, Devil's Trumpet, Downy Thorn-Apple, Ghost Flower, Indian-Apple, Jimson Weed, Leichhardt's Datura, Long Spined Thorn-Apple, Love-Will, Mad Apple, Mad Herb, Manicon, Moonflower, Oak-Leaf Thorn-Apple, Sacred Datura, Sacred Thorn-Apple, Stinkweed, Sorcerer's Herb, Thorn Apple, Toloache, Toloatzin, Torna Loco, Witches' Thimble, Yerba Del Diablo (Spanish: Herb of the Devil)
Warnings: Datura is quite toxic. Depending on the species and its maturity, sensitive skin may be irritated simply by touching the plant. While it is a useful psychoactive and hallucinogen, overdose can easily lead to extremely unpleasant side effects, and at a sufficient dose it can be lethal, especially to children.
See uses for an explanation of some of Datura's potential effects.
The recommended treatment for Datura poisoning is physostigmine, which occurs naturally in the Calabar Bean.
Use: Datura has been used in shamanic and religious rituals for the whole of human memory, and was especially sacred to the Aztecs.
It is sprinkled around a home to break spells, and is useful for protection from evil spirits.
Datura leaves placed on the crown of a hat are said to protect its wearer from apoplexy and sunstroke.
As a cure for chronic insomnia, place Datura leaves in your shoes and place them under the bed, facing the nearest wall.
Datura is also attributed the power to cure schizophrenia and madness, based on homeopathic principles and the fact that Datura poisoning mimics the symptoms thereof.
The most common effects of Datura are hallucinations, delusions and erratic behaviour, but this is also usually the desired effect. Interestingly, the most common hallucinations for most people seem to be encountering old friends whom one has lost contact with, and smoking fictional cigarettes.
This plant is set apart from most hallucinogenic substances by the fact that the subject is usually unable to differentiate reality from hallucination. It causes experiences such as speaking to non-existent people seem normal as they are occurring.
It can also cause hyperthermia (sudden extreme rise in body temperature) in some individuals, which may be potentially damaging to health. An internal temperature of 106 degrees farenheit is enough to risk brain damage.
The most immediate effect of Datura is dry mouth and dehydration. Be sure to have large amounts of water on hand.
Other symptoms include light sensitivity, caused by pupil dilation, and in rare cases paranoia.
It is also common for large doses of Datura (usually exceeding ten seeds) to cause vision problems, which may fade gradually over several days after consumption.
In rare cases, excessive doses are said to cause temporary blindness; and in others to cause vision problems or mild visual hallucinations lasting years after the original experience. I have never been able to substantiate these claims.
Unrelated to its hallucinogenic potential, Datura is a potent bronchodilator, a substance which causes the airways to expand. Smoking Datura leaves is a convenient treatment for asthma and other bronchial complaints, and was used thus to the effect of an inhaler for many years. The effect is almost instantaneous, but be aware that is may also cause mild psychoactive effects. Usually these last no more than a few minutes.
Datura is a very mild painkiller.
It has also been reported that Datura can be helpful for urinary complaints such as the bladder retaining liquid (which causes frequent urination), dilating these passageways as it does the airways. The reported dose for this effect is one seed or less orally every day.
The following is a little anecdote on my personal experience with Datura. The article was written the morning after the experience.
On 11/28/2012 at 9:51 AM I took a small dose of pure Datura. Nine dried seeds chewed and swallowed. For those who wish to know my estimated weight is somewhere between 150 and 180 pounds, I don't actually own a scales that weighs pounds.
By about 10:15 AM I was subject to extreme dry mouth and urinating quite frequently. This secondary effect leads me to believe that Datura must have some properties as a blood detoxifier. The more water passes through your kidneys, the more toxins they are able to remove.
I was distinctly high by 10:44. A little, floaty so to speak, and starting to get drowsy, a sensation which persisted for the rest of the day. I spent about half my time in bed resting, but never actually slept.
By 11:00 the effect was even more intense, and I experienced a significant mood heightening effect which made everything funny. I giggled for several minutes about the word "Gibralter"
I was quite dizzy for a while, but in an odd way like my weight kept shifting on me. Standing was like holding a large box with a live animal in it.
By noon I had noticed difficulty focusing my eyes, but today I'm having no problems.
I also discovered that I am an acid. For several hours I tasted a faint aftertaste like Lemon. I'm not sure if this was a tactile hallucination or simply a taste of the acids in my saliva due to dehydration. As a side note to anyone who wants to try this, keep lots of water.
The height of intensity was around 3:00. Very dizzy and spacey, hard to focus sometimes, but it made me very thoughtful and made divination easier than usual. Datura in this dose is not as debilitating as many psychoactives. I was still able to get up and move and complete basic chores with relative ease. I washed the dishes around 5:00.
I was mostly back down by 9:00 in the evening, and the following morning there are no lingering effects. Keep in mind that this was a fairly small dose just to see how it would effect me. Next time I'll use more.
The commonly recommended dose of Datura for a hallucinogenic experience is between ten and fifteen seeds, but this is subject to weight and other tolerance factors. Many of the reported experiences with Datura begin with a considerable overdose, it is not uncommon for the uninformed to consume entire seed pods, or handfuls of loose seeds.
Even such extreme doses are rarely lethal, but can be quite dangerous if for no other reason than the erratic behaviour they cause.
For best effect the seeds should be taken whole, chewed at length, and swallowed, ideally on an empty stomach.
Updated: 10/14/12, 12/10/12
