Known as the "Lady of the Night", datura is the "Devil's Herb" mentioned
in Carlos Castaneda's books on Mexican shamanism. It belongs to
one of the most toxic sub-families of plants known to man, including such
historically (dis)reputable plants as the Deadly Nightshade, the
Mandrake root, and Henbane. These plants produce deliriant states
in sufficent doses.
The cause of the psychoactive effects are the presence of tropane
alkaloids(scopolamine, atropine, hyoscyamine) Dramamine is related
to scopolamine. The tropanes have many uses medicinally in controlled
doses.
Legality
Datura is legal to grow and possess in the UK and US, although the state of New Jersey (USA) apparently has a law regulating the growth of datura stramonium.
Common side effects of datura ingestion include dilated pupils,
parched throat, flushing of the skin, increase in body temperature, light-headedness, complete or partial dissociation from reality, as well as a dangerous increase in heart rate. Death can also occur by respiratory failure
One of the most perculiar traits of these plants is the hallucinations
and other consciousness-altering effects they cause. Intoxication
may last several days, whereby one can become immersed in interpolating
dream states. Talking to people others can't see, as well as
out-of-body experiences, are common. Datura has been used historically
around the world in ritual settings, including India, North America,
and possibly Europe. (We know other plants in this family were
ingredients in witch's sacraments in the Middle Ages.)
The Datura Dosage Database has been removed. The alkaloid content in datura species has the potential to vary widely from plant to plant, and even within the same plant, depending on a variety of conditions. In addition to this, individuals have different tolerances to datura, so that a singular batch might hardly affect one person, while making another seriously incapacitated.
Generally what this means is that the only way to insure
safe dosage is to start with ridiculously small amounts.
In my case that meant 10-20 seeds as a starting dose for every new
batch (meaning a batch picked at a separate day, or time of day).
My research on datura will be posted here soon, so please, stay tuned folks!