SACRED WEEDS

An interesting video series of investigations into mind altering plants

This You Tube playlist introduces several sacred plants and examines their effects and ultimate uses from a medical point of view.

The first video -

The whole series brought up some interesting arguments among the experts. This is one of those taboo subjects that I love sufficiently to explore more thoroughly.

In traditional Chinese medicine there are a large number of materials which are capable of creating altered mind states. There is one, that I know of, which is a black and dark green bodied centipede.

Considered highly poisonous, the centipede (Scolopendra subspinipes) is generally 6/7 inches long and has bright red legs, head and tail which must be removed before the dried fibrous body is smashed to a powder and consumed. The effect from it depends significantly on the dose, but when I tried it myself, I found the effect closely resembled that from LSD. It was hallucinogenic and activated an enhanced awareness of sounds, smells and colours. There was no noticeable long term effect or symptoms of withdrawal.

When we were treating drug dependency in our clinics, we administered some herbs known to produce similar effects to barbiturates or narcotics. They would help to alleviate sudden withdrawal when a client stopped using the illegal drug of choice. By slowly reducing the dose of our substitute herbs, we could assist the client to adjust gently to normality. Other ingredients in the formulas we used would support nourishment of the body in the recovery process.

For example, a common addiction to amphetamines, known as speed or cocaine and their derivatives, can be treated by replacing the pills or powders with a strong tea including Ephedra, a kind of grass which grows abundantly in Northern China and Mongolia.

An extract of Ephedra called Ephedrine is used in the treatment of Asthma in western medicine. The temporary increase of alertness and activity is very similar to that felt when consuming most amphetamines.

In the UK

Practitioners have continued to be grateful for the benefits of ephedra in the UK. However in recent years reliable supplies have been very hard to source.

Ephedra is included on a list of the Schedule 20 Part 2 herbs in the European Medicines Regulation 2012. These herbs may only be used by ‘qualified Medical Herbalists’ in their prescriptions and are not on General Sale. Other herbs on this list are:

• Adonis vernalis

• Aspidosperma quebracho-blanco

• Atropa belladonna (herba)

• Atropa belladonna (radix)

• Chelidonium majus

• Cinchona spp.

• Colchicum autumnale

• Convallaria majalis

• Datura stramonium

• Gelsemium sempervirens

• Hyoscyamus niger

• Lobelia inflata

Since the 2012 legislation there have been suggestions that the status of all Schedule 20 herbs will be reviewed.

I think the video series, shared above, does a great job of highlighting the most famous of the taboo European herbal highs and the subject of herbalism as a whole.
It reveals the arguments against the exploration of nature’s gifts, presented by certain of the ‘experts’, as hollow and loaded with dogma derived from religious prejudice and historical fear of pre-Christian healing knowledge.

It is my prediction that herbalism is about to experience a dramatic renaissance as pharmaceutics decline due to serious toxicity and un-natural composition.

ONWARDS!
xx