Jimsonweed Cautions

Cautions:

"This is a plant that should never be taken internally for any reason. The primary
alkaloid found in Jimson Weed is scopalamine, with varying smaller amounts of
hyoscyamine and atropine, all highly toxic. The proportions found in different plant
parts, species, and localities are extremely varied, making it highly unreliable even
in trained hands for internal use. " Ref. C p.91.
"A final word of caution. The periodic attempts of some people to eat or smoke
Jimson Weed to get high or hallucinate, based wrongly on good sources (the
Castaneda books, as an example) or bad ones ("Herbal high" pamphlets or sleazy
little ads in the back pages of drug culture periodicals.. or sketchy rumor), can be
very nasty indeed. The traditional uses of plants for euphoric, ritual, stimulant, or
hallucinogenic purposes can be lumped into two categories. Those such as coffee,
tobacco, marijuana, khaat, and even peyote can be, and usually are, part of socially
accepted frivolities or rituals, consumed in that social milieu by average persons.
Quite frankly, nearly every person on this planet takes something nearly every day
to alter themselves, be it kola nuts, coca leaves, kava, betel nuts, tea, Coca Cola..
even sugar. The other group of plants, however, are dangerous, and guidance until
the desired reactions can be separated from the body toxicities and put to use.
In traditional cultures where such ritual herbs are employed, they are used by
ordained and trained holy men, shamans.... specialists, if you will. Jimson Weed is
one of these plants and should be left completely to those few men and women still
trained in the traditions that call for this dangerous sacrament. To dabble in Jimson
-weed for dilettante pseudoritual purposes or to try to get stoned with it is a silly,
gratuitous, and dangerous thing. Things that make you feel good are legal,
semilegal, or illegal but are widely known and generally available for the asking.
The few relatively safe exotic pant drugs are rarely found outside the area of use
and are even more rarely encountered in the contraband marketpalce. Besides,
Jimson Weed makes anyone feel absolutely wretched whern taken internally."
Ref. C p.92