Datura has been variously known as thorn-apple, prickly-burr, Jimsonweed,
devil's weed, or toloache. It is a sprawling herbaceous shrub with
fragrant, trumpet-shaped flowers which stand erect, and (usually) spiny
seedpods. Some Daturas are perennials and some annuals. There are at least
fifteen distinct species with many varieties as Daturas have been cultivated
for centuries for their showy flowers and medicinal properties. Most originated
in the New World, with the two notable exceptions of D. metel and D. ferox which
originated in Eurasia. Daturas are members of the family Solanaceae which contains
other ethnobotanicals such as tobacco and mandrake, and other common vegetables like
eggplants, tomatoes, and peppers.
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Datura's main effects are caused by its anticholinergic properties.
They include the following: Stimulation and/or anxiety. Extreme nausea.
Dilated pupils. Blurred or fixed-focus vision. Rapid heartbeat. Extreme
disorientation. Loss of memory. Loss of time. Delirium. Profound
sensitivity to light and noise. Seamless crossover into a variety of
realistic dream states. Extreme uncoordination, loss of body control, and
vertigo. Extreme audio, visual, and tactile hallucinations. Apparent
astral travel to familiar places. Interaction with friends, relatives, and
other random people who are not physically present. Extreme drying and
irritation of the mouth, throat, eyes, urinary tract, and other mucous
membranes. Potential for uncontrollably emotional or violent activity.
Inability to recall anything--even that you are under the effects of a
drug--for quite some time.
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All parts of the plant contain active chemicals. The flowers are generally the
weakest going up in potency with the leaves, stems, roots, seedpods, and seeds. All parts
can be used, but great care is necessary in determining the correct dosage, as
alkaloid combinations and concentrations vary with each species and part of the plant.
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The heaviest forms of ingestion include eating the seeds or drinking a tea
of the leaves, stems and seedpods, and/or seeds of the plant. Other reported
methods of Datura ingestion include smoking the leaves and flowers, snorting
a powder made from the crushed seeds, or rubbing a paste made from the pounded
plant materials on the body.
Carlos Castaneda in his infamous book The Teachings of Don Juan: Yaqui Way of Knowledge describes
several different Datura preparations using different parts of the plant including flowers, roots, and leaves. According to
Don Juan, the different parts are taken to learn different lessons, and some parts, the flowers in particular,
are never to be taken by the sorcerer himself; they are only used in hexing practices. Castaneda's account
has led many unwitting people to try Datura without knowing what they were getting themselves into.
Datura or Brugmansia is also known as an admixture to other shamanic preparations.
It has been said by some that the tropane alkaloids in the daturas are potentiated by
harmala alkaloids such as those found in Banisteriopsis caapi. In the Peruvian Amazon
Brugmansia is often added to a brew of B. caapi to produce a tropane-ayahuasca. Similarly
in the Peruvian Andes shamans sometimes add Brugmansia to San Pedro cactus (Trichocerus sp.) preparations
known as cimora beverages. In India D. metel seeds are added to the Cannabis
bhang drink or smoked with Cannabis for added intoxication and to simulate the union of Shiva, the male (Datura) principle,
and Shakti, the female (Cannabis) principle. In Tanganyika seeds are added to beer. It is not recommended that any of these potentiating mixtures
be undertaken without the blessings of a well-adjusted shaman, and even then with trepidation.
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Datura intoxication can last from a few hours to many days depending on
what you use (species and part of the plant ingested) and how you use it
(dosage and method of ingestion).
The seeds are typically the most potent, followed by the leaves, flowers, and stems. Ten seeds is often enough for baseline to mild effects. Keep in mind, however, that various alkaloid fractions vary considerably among different species, among different parts of the plant of the same species, different ages of the plant, and even between the same part of the same species grown or harvested under different conditions.
There have been extremely varied reported results, especially with smoking and
snorting (ranging from mild headache to full-on delirium), and all forms of Datura
ingestion are potentially hazardous. One should never experiment with Datura lightly
or it will be your last time experimenting with anything. Start with low doses and
be prepared to be intoxicated and disoriented for quite a while. A safe environment
and a sober guide should be mandatory, as well as having a large supply of water
readily available.
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When ingesting any amount of Datura tea or other preparation, you should
be prepared to be under the effects of the plant for 12 to 24 hours if not longer.
The Datura "hangover" usually consists of blurred vision, moments of disorientation,
and moments of stimulation or profound energy. Residual effects have been known
to last from three days to a week. There have been some instances of blurred vision,
dizziness, and disorientation lasting for many months after Datura ingestion.
And, of course, there have been numerous instances of DEATH by ingestion of Datura,
usually due to heart or respiratory failure.
That having been said, smoking a Datura preparation will cause a rapid and
uncomfortable body stimulation and drying of the mouth and throat that will last
from thirty minutes to a few hours. Snorting a powdered preparation will cause
more intense bodily irritation and delerium lasting for many hours. Using a Datura
preparation as an ointment is potentially very dangerous because of the inability to
accurately measure dosage and absorption rate. This is the "Flying Ointment" method
used in traditional shamanism and witchcraft, and it is very powerful, with
the delirium sometimes lasting for weeks. It should only be attempted by veteran
users who are familiar with the plant, and even then at high risk.
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Tropanes act as muscarinic antagonists which block
neurotransmission of acetycholine in the parasympathetic nervous system, thus leaving the body in a state of tremendous exitation. The main physical "side effects" of Datura ingestion
including dry mucous membranes, flushing, rashes, hypertension, tachycardia,
bronchodilation, blurred vision, dizziness, and vertigo are due to muscarinic
antagonism. Incidentally, muscarinic receptors were named for muscarine, a chemical
found in the mushroom Amanita muscaria, whose intoxication exhibits some similar
effects to that of Datura. The two plants are often classed together as "delerient"
drugs.
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Several species of Datura, including D. metel and D. stramonium, now grow wild in almost all parts of the world. Other species live exclusively in the dry parts of the southwestern United States and Mexico.
Datura can most often be found in the wild in waste areas such as ditches along highways
or other places where earth has been disturbed and few other plants can grow. In this sense
Datura can be called a true "weed" in that, in general, it has very good germination rate in
diverse environments.
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Genus Brugmansia, also knows as the tree daturas, used to be considered part of the genus Datura. After
careful consideration, student of R.E. Schultes and esteemed botanist Timothy Lockwood but
the debate to rest in 1979 (The Ethnobotany of Brugmansia. Journal of Ethnopharmacology
1(2):147-164). Brugmansias have flowers which more-or-less hang down while Datura flowers more-or-less
point upward.
Genus Solandra is also very similar in morphology and alkaloid content to Datura. See the article Yerba del Diablo for a description of Solandra and Datura in Huichol mythology. Solandra flowers, like those of Brugmansia, can often change colors over several days. This would surely have been a sign of power to ancient peoples.
Also, the so-called "witching herbs" Atropa belladona (Deadly Nightshade), Hyoscamus sp. (Henbane),
and Mandragora sp. (Mandrake) are members of the Solanaceae family and contain tropane alkaloids. It has been said that legends
of mystical flight and tranformation into animals was a result of esoteric practices involving tropane intoxication. Medeival European witches even began using Datura in
their brews along with other solanaceous plants.
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Well, Datura has always been called "dark" and "evil" by those who would squelch indigenous practices of direct communication with divine power. Also, tropane rituals are frequently associated with nudity and "paganism", and early Christian sects were quick to point out the association with the "Horned God" of the hunt (by their accounts the evil Satan devil). Incidentally, Huichol mythology contains the horned figure... brother deer tail... who is intimately associated with Datura and Solandra.
As there is nothing inherently evil in the world, there is nothing inherently evil about Datura. In fact, Datura has many medicinal
uses (see below) as well as its commonly accepted poisonous and deleterious ones. But remember, Datura dissolves boundaries of fantasy and
reality and prolonged use can lead to a blurring of these extremes with sometimes alarming results. The easiest way to insure the best Datura
has to offer is to grow the plants for their beautiful, intoxicating flowers. More than a little energy exchange will be involved and lessons
can be learned without ever ingesting any part of the plant.
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Datura has been used medicinally probably as long as it has been used as a visionary plant. D. inoxia has been used as
a poultice and analgesic by the Zuni for treating bruises and minor wounds. Similarly it was used by the Aztec for such matters as
skin ulcers, hemorrhoids, and anesthesia for setting bones. Arthritis, rheumatism, and general swelling are conditions frequently treated with Datura by
various groups. The Yucateco and Lancondon Maya prefer the rarer D. inoxia to the common
D. stramonium for medicinal purposes and cultivate it in secret gardens. Datura leaves and flowers have been smoked for centuries to alleviate athsma
and other pulmonary conditions, and it has been shown by modern research that scopolamine happens to be an excellent bronchiodilator. Today scopolamine is commonly used to treat motion
sickness.
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Remains of Datura seedpods and seeds have been found in ritual context in the Pecos
River area of southern Texas dating to at least 2000 B.C. These plant remains are
often associated with remains of other known hallucinogenic plants including peyote
(Lophophora williamsii), Texas mountain laurel or mescal bean (Sophora secundiflora),
and Mexican buckeye (Ungnadia speciosa). (NOTE: The hallucinogenic effects of the latter is questionable). In addition, petroglyphs in this region dating
from 2200 to 950 B.C. depict many shamans holding "Datura staffs." Iconographic
depictions of Datura in Mexico date from 2500 B.C. associated with the Olmec people.
D. metel has been known as a hallucinogen in the Old World since early Chinese and Sanskrit herbals. The 11th
century Arabian physician Avicenna also knew of Datura. Taoist legend calls D. metel one of the circumpolar
stars, and the Hindu's believe it is the "tuft of Shiva" and as such is often depicted on statues of Shiva in his headdress.
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The bastion of Datura cult use is still in the American Southwest and northern Mexico. Datura is,
however, still used in Africa, India, China, and virtually anywhere else it can be found. The rituals involved
vary considerably... from puberty initiation to divination. For a full discussion see Yerba del Diablo.
In Mexico the groups using various daturas include the Huichol, Yaqui, Tarahumara, and at least several Maya groups including the Lacondon.
In the Southwestern United States the Chumash (now extinct), Navajo, Zuni, Yokuts, Mohave, Yuma, Desert Cahuilla, Western Mono,
Shoshoni, Kitanemuk, Luiseno, and Hopi have used or still use Datura in some way. I'm sure there are others as well. In Africa the Tsonga
use Datura in female puberty initiation rites. The Algonquin of Michigan traditionally use a brew of D. stramonium for divination.
In general, in addition to being used medicinally, Datura is freqently used to aid in acquiring a dream helper/guardian (often during puberty
initiation), divination of illness, locating lost objects, gathering personal power, and various forms of "sorcery" including love magic and poisons.
These uses are not unique to Datura or even solanaceous plants and in fact many diverse entheogenic plants find similar uses in varying cultures.
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