What are some symptoms that can occur when jimson weed is ingested?”
Overview: Jimson weed is a common name for a plant known botanically as Datura stramonium, which has been used as a medicine and intoxicant for centuries. The plant’s main ingredients are the belladonna alkaloids atropine and scopolamine. Since Jimson weed is native to much of the U.S. (from New England to Texas), it’s most often used by young people in those areas unfamiliar with its reputation and unprepared for its side effects. Street Names: Thornapple, stinkweed, locoweed Appearance: Jimson weed can reach a height of 5 feet, bearing white flowers and prickly seed pods that split open when ripe, usually in fall. Effects: The phrase “Red as a beet, dry as a bone, blind as a bat, mad as a hatter” has been used to describe Jimson’s effects, and it does a good job of summing them up. All parts of the plant are toxic, so pleasant effects are limited — a big reason the plant is used only by novices. Atropine and scopolamine block the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, causing dry mouth, di
“All of my favorite little hallucinogens are here,” says Ms. Stewart, who is 39 and whose distinctive markings include a head of curly strawberry hair, Birkenstocks and a sunny disposition. She zooms in on a stumpy plant starting to bloom. “This is datura,” she says. “In August, this will have white trumpet-shaped flowers. They also call it jimson weed.
