Police in London, Ont., recently asked gardeners to destroy seed pods on any jimson weeds on their properties. The request came after at least 5 local teenagers ingested the seeds in pursuit of a cheap, legal high. For all of the teens, the trips ended in hospital. One 14-year-old spent a night in intensive care, drifting in and out of consciousness and hallucinating; 6 staff members were needed to restrain him.
The nearby communities of Brampton, Midland, Waterloo and Hamilton have experienced similar problems in the past 2 years, and similar poisonings have also been reported in Quebec. A year ago, the US National Clearing-house for Alcohol and Drug Information reported that jimson weed poisonings were on the increase among teens.
Detective-Constable Steve Cochrane of the London Police said the plant is not covered under Canada's Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, but ought to be. "It's very dangerous," he said. "There's a sense of abuse, an element of danger." London Police intend to lay charges if sellers misrepresent the seeds as another drug. FIGURE
Jimson weed (Datura stramonium) is also known as devil's apple, fireweed, stinkweed and stinkwort. It is both a potent hallucinogen and highly toxic. According to the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, symptoms of poisoning may include dry mucous membranes, thirst, difficulty swallowing and speaking, blurred vision and photophobia, followed by hyperthermia, confusion, agitation, combative behaviour, urinary retention, seizures and coma. As one cliché-loving nursing supervisor told the Salt Lake Tribune last year: "They are red as a beet, dry as a bone, blind as a bat and mad as a hatter."
All parts of the plant are poisonous, although the highest concentrations of the anticholinergic agent are found in the seeds (typically equivalent to 0.1 mg of atropine per seed.) A student hospitalized last month in London reported ingesting just 1 seed.
Recreational users may ingest seeds or prepare jimson-based tea or cigarettes. The plant is also used in folk medicine to make topical salves and poultices. Some teens learn how to use the plant through Web sites and news-groups. However, most news-groups accessed by CMAJ described it as a bad trip. "The high lasts about 36 to 48 hours," said one. "It will allow you to do very stupid and dangerous things."