How Belladonna Is The Most Important Poison By Infiltrating Ancient, Ritualistic Practices And Popular Media Across Time

Intro: What is Ergot poisoning and how does it affect the brain? Scientists have found that ergot; the poisonous fungus that grows in rye, is highly toxic. The symptoms display themselves in an altered state of mind. Ergot has also been used for medicinal purposes beside being a naturally occurring fungus.Ergot poisoning was the fundamental reason for the mass hysteria during the Salem Witch Trials of 1692.

In chapter 1 titled “Chloroform (CHCI3 )” of The Poisoner’s Handbook by Deborah Blum, the most interesting story developed within the chapter was the unsolved mystery of eight deaths in a refuge called Odd Fellows Home. Frederic Mors, who claimed to be responsible for all these eight murders, confessed his own guilt in front of the district attorneys. As it was said, “To prove that these elderly residents had been poisoned, they needed solid evidence. [Rumors, suspicions, and anecdotes, a confession by a suspect who might just be crazy, weren’t enough to charge a man with murder.]” (Blum 13).

This type of poison can be found in the seeds of the Strychnos nux-vomica tree. That plant is commonly found in India, Southern Asia, and Australia. This is a very strong poison so a very small amount is enough to cause some serious health problems and even death. As little as 0.15 milligrams of Strychnine can a person sick, and less than 5 milligrams can kill a person. It is most commonly measured in milligrams. The molecular formula for Strychnine is C21H22N2O2. It is a solid state of matter. Some of the other uses of this poison are that it has been used as rat poison and as a pesticide. It can even be found mixed in some street drugs like LSD, cocaine, and heroin. Back in the day it was used in a pill to treat human ailments. When Strychnine enters the body it glycine mediated nerve cell inhibition, which means it prevents the operation of the chemical that controls nerve signals to the muscles. The chemical that controls the nerve signals acts like an “off-switch” for the muscles. When the chemical is is gone, muscles throughout the body suffer severe and painful spasms. Even though the person's consciousness and brain are not affected, the muscles will begin to get tired and then the person will not be able to breathe. The body will try to repair the chemical for the muscles but will not be able to, due to the severe

Despite the widespread popularity amongst First Nations people, however, and while “at least some of the traditional remedies involving devil’s-club may have a sound biochemical basis (Turner, 1982, p. 17)”, it hasn’t been widely used at this stage in the modern commercial market. There is ongoing research to determine its potential benefit for commercial pharmacological use, and there is some concern for what the implications of this could be for this slow-growing, sensitive shrub.

It is awesome that you mentioned such a little known drug! I actually had to look up Bufotenine and found its interesting source and properties. Bufotentine naturally occurring glandular secretion in the skin of toads, but is also found in wild mushrooms and plant life in the tropics (.   In addition, Bufotenine is a weak hallucinogenic when administered intravenously, but powerful, toxic, and potentially fatal consequences when ingested in large quantities (. Bufotenine blocks serotonin in the brain and producing hallucinations and but also causing cardiovascular constriction, increasing blood pressure and limiting blood to the vital organs (.  The use of Bufotenine dates back to the Middle Ages, with folk lore indicating magical and mystical

During the sixteenth and seventeenth century, the government used some poisons to punish criminals and others were available to everyone. Two poisons used to punish criminals were hemlock and aconite. Hemlock is a plant that is found in Europe, North America, and South America and contains a poison called coniine. Coming in contact with coniine will cause rapid heartbeat, weak and irregular pulse, breathing problems, fatigue, paralysis, diarrhea, vomiting, blindness, and blurry and double vision. Drinking or smoking coniine will most likely result in death. The poison aconite comes from the plant aconitum napellus. Aconite is also known as wolfsbane, devil’s helmet, women’s bane, and monkshood. Aconite is known as women’s bane because it affects women more than men. “Women were thought to be especially vulnerable to the poison” (“Types of Poisons”). Might not seem possible since women and men usually have the same effects, yet the evidence is right there. Symptoms of aconite include: muscle weakness, visual and auditory problems, seizures, and respiratory malfunctions. These two poisons were only used to punish criminals, but what about the poisons that the general public was available to use? There were many, but the main two would be snuff and deadly nightshade. Snuff is a powder from of tobacco and is used by snorting through the nose or dipped. Tobacco products have been

Ergot, the toxic fungus found on rye, is mostly found during the spring and summer months with humid climates (Clues and Evidence). When reproducing, the contaminated grain releases a yellow thick, sticky substance which contains the fungus that spreads the poison throughout the crop. Once the grain is infected, it’s seeds contain lysergic acid which is what the hallucinogen LSD is created from (Clues and Evidence). Some side effects of ingesting Ergot are: “... strange mental aberrations, hallucinations, a feeling of burning skin or insects crawling under the skin. Women frequently miscarried, and fertility was generally reduced during outbreaks… many victims lost hands and feet” (Schumann). Victims of the lethal infection also experienced convulsions, paralysis, tremors and acting disturbed or insane(Schumann).

The convulsive symptoms that can be a result of consuming poisonous ergot contaminated rye bread must have been the cause of girls being bewitched. Rye is a common grain which was heavily relied by the Puritan society during that time, and the important part of it to highlight is that it was contaminated with the fungus (Ergot). It is most likely to grow in damp conditions. Variations in weather are therefore crucial for its growth. In New England, Rye was often grown when wheat crops were devastated by rust. Consuming Ergot causes hallucination and suffocation, which might have been interpreted at that time by the Puritans as being tormented or possessed by the

In the Poisonwood Bible, the second biggest factor in Leah Price’s struggle for independence from her father and her religion is the culture of both Kilanga and Bethlehem. During the reader’s short scene of her time in Bethlehem they could infer that she is being surrounded with a immensely Christian culture. The normal preacher’s child spending every free minute at a church affiliation. As a young girl Leah is being forced into this lifestyle early on and she doesn’t really have a choice in her beliefs since her father is a preacher. Kingsolver uses this to show the reader why Leah will have an open mind to the Congo culture because she is old enough to understand that she has a choice. Kingsolver also uses the fact that her father is pushing

The composed record on therapeutic cannabis extends back more than 2,000 years. Yet after several studies, examinations and reports, there is still no accord about its belongings. Fiercely enthusiastic contentions rage about regardless of whether Maryjane ought to be viewed as a honest to goodness drug (2). Could Maryjane soothe wellbeing issues? Is it alright for restorative use? Logical information on questionable subjects are ordinarily misconstrued, over interpreted, and distorted (1). Cannabis plants have been utilized for both natural medicine and inebriation. The present open deliberation over the therapeutic utilization of weed is basically a verbal confrontation over the estimation of its restorative properties in respect to the danger postured by its utilization (1). Is there a probability that the diminishing may have the capacity to utilize weed as a type of agony help? The debate still rules on inside of congress and the restorative

Many of these deadly poisonous plants are the stuff of folklore and have alarming names such as Devil’s helmet,deadly nightshade, the little apple of death and the suicide tree. Whilst these would be enough to put any sane person off eating them I suppose it only helps if you know the name!

Ulbricht et al. find that the bark and root contains a glycoside that when metabolized by the body, increases cyanide levels which can result in a toxic build up and cyanide poisoning. The authors recommend if there is a toxic overdose, Ipecac should be used to stimulate emesis followed by gastric lavage. The study also warns if the berries, root and bark are not cooked properly, severe and uncontrollable GI distress (abdominal cramping, vomiting, diarrhea) occurs in addition to the risk of cyanide toxicity.

This article is about the new forms of marijuana being sold on the streets and the dangerous effects it has on its users. Marijuana is a collection of chemicals sprayed on tea leaves, grass clippings and other plant materials and is usually called K-2 or Spice. It first started with teenagers who were looking for a new and cheaper “high”. Most people who become addicts to drugs like this start out just experimenting with the cheapest high possible but then move on to new and more intricate types of street drugs. A 2015 study showed that calls to poison control has more than doubled since last year because of drugs like synthetic marijuana. This drug is becoming more and more dangerous because it keeps changing. This is a problem because when

stramonium intoxication. On June 18, the decedents and two other male adolescents had consumed tea brewed from a mixture of roots from a Jimson weed plant and alcoholic beverages.” This is just one example of poisoning. It is also believed that this weed was used as a poison in the Jamestown Massacre in 1676 according to both the CDC article as well as ‘Datura spp.” on the Cornell University website.

There was a young girl named Anna, who went to Moss St. Elementary School and was in kindergarten. One day, her whole kindergarten class went on a field trip to discover flowers, but mostly the dangers of them. Anna saw the beautifulest flower she leaned over to try to touch it. Then, the teacher stopped her. That flower is called Aconitum, it is a very deadly flower that contains nepalese poison with high content of alkaloid. If ingested, it can cause a severe gastrointestinal that affects the heart, where it causes slow rate leading to death. Also numbness of the mouth and tongue, clammy skin, and labored breathing.