Datura FAQ

[Avarim]

                                   DATURA
                      Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

                     version 1.1 (last modified 7-9-98)

                        brought to you by Crazy Kieri

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CONTENTS

1) What is Datura?
2) What are the typical effects?
3) What part of the plant do I use?
4) What is the method of ingestion?
5) What is the typical dosage?
6) How long does it last?
7) What are the active constituents of Datura?
8) Where can I find it?
9) Are there any other plants with similar properties to Datura?
10) So is there anything GOOD about this plant?
11) What are some medical applications of Datura?
12) How old is the history of Datura use?
13) Where and how is Datura still traditionally used today?
14) Is Datura easy to grow?
15) Where can I get Datura plants and/or seeds?
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1) What is Datura?

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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2) What are the typical effects?

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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3) What part of the plant do I use?

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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4) What is the method of ingestion?

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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5) What is the typical dosage?

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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6) How long does it last?

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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7) What are the active constituents of Datura?

Datura's effects are do to the presence of tropane alkaloids including
scopolamine (hyoscine), atropine, aposcopolamine (apohyoscine), apoatropine,
tropine, meteloidine and over twenty others. Typically young plants contain
primarily scopolamine while older plants contain primarily hyoscamine,
though the specifics vary by species.

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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8) Where can I find it?

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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9) Are there any other plants with similar properties to Datura?

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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10) So is there anything GOOD about this plant?

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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11) What are some medical applications of Datura?

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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12) How old is the history of Datura use?

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). 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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13) Where and how is Datura still traditionally used today?

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 pubery 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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14) Is Datura easy to grow?

In general Daturas are very easy to grow. D. metel and D. stramonium now
grow wild all over the world as "weeds." The germination rate of these
species appears to be very high. Other species may be more difficult to
germinate but typical techniques will work. Click here for basic cultivation
strategies for a few of the Datura and Brugmansia species. Click here for a
link to general germination advice for amateur ethnobotanists.
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15) Where can I get Datura plants and/or seeds?

There are many companies who sell seeds and/or plants of Datura, Brugmansia,
and other interesting solanaceous plants.