Native Weed Sends Teens to Hospital

KFOR ^ | August 2, 2011 | Marika Lorraine

[TheBattman]

Were they fans of this group:

[NoLibZone]

Jimson Weed Willie We weed up

[dila813]

That is worse than kids eating 4-oclocks when I was in high school.

At least that one only made you throw-up for 6 hrs for the trip.

[Gene Eric]

>> suffering hallucinations so severe, we’re told he is trying to smoke his nurse’s ...

I stopped reading right there.

[tanuki]

Whatever you do, DON’T bring this plant inside the house. I was warned by people who know in Arizona that keeping this plant in an unventilated area is tantamount to committing suicide-its toxin is that potent. From time to time, people are drawn to its pleasant odor. Big mistake.

[TigersEye]

It has a deadly nerve toxin in it. They might have mentioned that in the article.

[The KG9 Kid]

"... Tuesday morning two young men went to the hospital and one into police custody in Bethany. One of the teens, a 17 year old, is suffering hallucinations so severe, we're told he is trying to smoke his nurse's fingers. It's all because of a weed native to Oklahoma that's a growing trend among teens. It has many names like Jimson Weed, Moon Lilly and Thorn Apple... Officers know it as "Trouble."

"... Wednesday, August 3rd. It was hot in Bethany. We were working the day watch out of Narcotics. My partner's Bill Gannon. The boss is Ed Backstrand, chief of detectives. My name's Friday..."

[Always Independent]

This is LOCO weed and it grows wild in many places. Tried it once when young and stupid. Quite a story.

[BIGLOOK]

It's Datura which is known by many names and different species are found widely throughout the west. It' even sold as a flowering garden plant known as Moon Flower because of its attractive, fragrant flowers.

Best avoid it.

[waterhill]

Mesquite beans are also potentially hallucinogenic/deadly.
It depends on the way they are processed.
Thats all I will say. Don’t mess with them.

[waterhill]

Mesquite beans are also potentially hallucinogenic/deadly.
It depends on the way they are processed.
Thats all I will say. Don’t mess with them.

[Melinda in TN]

It grows wild all over the place here. My daughter asked me to come see a pretty flower that was growing in her fenced dog yard one day and I said “chop it down”. I doubt the dogs would have eaten it but no need taking a chance.

[SWAMPSNIPER]

[CGASMIA68]

peyote buttons,Yummmm

[Dusty Road]

They grow wild all over the place here, I've got one in the back yard that's been there for years. When it blooms you can smell it from across the yard and the honeybee's swarm all over it. Enjoy the big white flowers and enjoy the smell, but leave it at that. When the die back in the winter they form a big tuber underground with the consistency of a hard potato and that's when the native Americans would retrieve them. They're supposed to be more potent at that time.

[Dusty Road]

Mesquite beans are also potentially hallucinogenic/deadly.

---

Never heard that before. You won’t find a place any thicker with mesquites than here in the Permian Basin. Right now if it wasn’t for mesquite beans dropping the cows, deer, turkey and quail wouldn’t have a thing to eat.

[BTCM]

My yuppie neighbor had a large one flowering in her porch garden box and did not have a clue as to what it was. She had to google the damn thing before whe would believe me.

[Spartan79]

Same stuff that Gene Autrey sang about in Back in the Saddle Again, "Where the lonely cattle feed, on the lowly gypsym weed". Locoweed. Does have a pretty flower. I grew up in the Texas Panhandle, where you'd see it a lot. Never had any notion to eat it, though.

[wolfcreek]

Myself. Didn't help that description of the plant and how to use it was published in the HighTimes encyclopedia.

IIRC, the flower itself could kill a large animal.