Flower Power Gone Wrong

Note: this blog does NOT advocate or condone the use of Datura, it is just for the purpose of information. 

Personally, I don't see the problem in eating flowers. I don’t like the taste but if you want to stuff your mouth full of lillies or roses, that is not my problem; you are free to explore. However, there is one particular flower that you should consider abstaining from- Datura. It goes by many names— Jimson weed, the devil’s trumpet or thornapples. 

While it holds a special position as a medicinal plant in Ayurveda, if misused, it can lead to disastrous effects in the body due to its poisonous nature. 

Its roots or seeds can be ingested, smoked or absorbed to obtain its hallucinogenic or euphoric effects, one of the leading reasons for its consumption. It acts on the cholinergic system in the body. Some case studies have documented the symptoms and the effects of the drug on behaviour. Based on medical findings, the case studies found symptoms like severe agitation that would only decrease after the introduction of treatment, hallucinations, nausea or cholinergic poisoning.  

A YouTuber by the name of ShroudedHand had compiled 5 Datura trip stories of anonymous people who had posted their experience to the website— ‘Erowid Experience Vaults’. 

According to the poster— tek22’s story, he lived in South Central Pennsylvania and had been given a bag of brown spiky pods. He split the largest pod open and ate the seeds inside. He described them to be extremely bitter. 

The first signs of the effects of the seeds manifested through physical discomfort and extreme thirst that couldn’t be ignored. Unlike the effects of other drugs, his mental state was relatively stable, but his physical condition felt ‘unhealthy’. He experienced quick disorientating visuals— black cats spilled onto the floor in front of him, seeming wet and angry, and deep crimson blood dripped from the ceiling. He felt a strong sense of detachment. An old Bible appeared on his lap; it started to ooze blood as well. When he tried to analyse the room he was in, it turned into a busy metropolis city with ‘shining chrome and flashing lights’. He felt a strong urge to urinate and stumbled into the bathroom only to throw up next to an Amish man. He wasn’t sure if the man was real or a hallucination. On exiting the bathroom, the street outside was a scene of Europe during world war 2. Everyone on the street was dressed in a Nazi uniform, making him feel unsafe. 

His dehydration and need to urinate returned quickly. He decided to go to his friend’s house, but in front of the stairwell leading to the house, the blood from his earlier hallucination cascaded down the stairs, rising above his legs as a strong sense of vertigo overtook him. He stated that there was a memory gap between the stairwell incident and his friend’s house, but the next thing he remembered was sitting on his friend’s couch watching dolphins dive through the walls in an endless loop. The sense of dehydration became unbearable. 

He did not recognise anyone in the room and closed his eyes to stop the panic, but on shutting his eyes, he saw another room with new people. Opening his eyes revealed yet another room with new people. After some point, he did not even know if his eyes were open or closed, he didn't know where he was or what was happening. Eventually, his senses blended together and he felt a strong spiral lying feeling. Although he couldn’t see anything, the sensation of touch remained. He felt as though he was trapped in a small metallic box. He believed he had died and entered hell; it only consisted of the overwhelming feeling of darkness and hopelessness. This was his reality, he felt. This was his punishment for squandering the gift of life. After blacking out, he woke up in his friend’s apartment after 8 hours. While the physical effects washed away, the psychological mark remained. 

A lot would say that this man was lucky he didn’t require hospitalisation. Usually, the treatment consists of gastric decontamination with the administration of activated charcoal. Agitation is controlled by benzodiazepines (That’s a mouthful!). Early gastric emptying and decontamination can be safe and efficient usually before the toxins are absorbed by the body. 

If this hasn’t convinced you that you shouldn’t consume Datura, then all I can do is provide you with the link to my source for the datura trip story. I think that while it is unfortunate people choose to ingest something so toxic for brief euphoria, they have added to a treasury of information that can help us understand the drug better and maybe it even adds to your discretion, to know which flowers to put in your mouth. 

About the author: Aameya Kapoor

Member of the Psycreative Column

Third year, B.Sc. Applied Psychology student, SDSOS, NMIMS

Aameya kapoor is an avid reader and writer who enjoys researching about any topic under the sun. She constantly watches analogue horror even though she knows that she won't be able to sleep that night. A word of advice from her- singing Yeh Jawani hai Diwani by Kishore Kumar will distract you enough to ignore that lingering feeling of dread when you’re alone in the dark. When she’s not scaring herself to death by watching horror shows that she shouldn’t even be watching at night, you may find her engrossed in a sketch or painting that she may not ever finish. (She says that she’ll get back to it but it will never see the light of day). 

References

Maheshwari, N. O., Khan, A., & Chopade, B. A. (2013). Rediscovering the medicinal properties of Datura sp.: A review. Journal of Medicinal Plants Research, 7(39), 2885–2897. https://doi.org/10.5897/jmpr11.1657 

Sebastian, Trancă, D., Iuliu, Trancă, S., Szabo, R., & Cociş, M. (2017). Acute poisoning due to ingestion of Datura stramonium – a case report. Romanian Journal of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care, 24(1). https://doi.org/10.21454/rjaic.7518.241.szb

​​Shrouded Hand. (2017, April 27). 5 Terrifying Datura trip stories [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhHkCLlLBPc