Canada's cannabis legalization goes into effect

Mother Nature's drug lab

Better than aspirin

Opium poppy (Papaver somniferum) produces - you guessed it - opium. To harvest it, you simply incise the capsules and let the white latex exude and dry. Opium contains high amounts of morphine, the strongest existing pain medication. A chemical variation of morphine provides the semi-synthetic drug heroin.

Mother Nature's drug lab

Fancy a magic mushroom?

Mushrooms are chemical artists - some of them even produce psychoactive substances. Among them: this grey-coloured Pluteus salicinus. It grows on wood and contains psilocybin, which causes visual and mental hallucinations similar to LSD. Side effects are nausea and panic attacks.

Mother Nature's drug lab

Drug snack to go

Leaves of the coca plant harbour chemical compounds similar to cocaine. They alleviate pain and act as stimulants. In many countries in Latin America, chewing on raw coca leaves is quite common. It helps tourists deal better with altitude sickness, too. By fermenting and drying the leaves and processing them chemically, cocaine is produced.

Mother Nature's drug lab

Beautiful poisonous flowers

Angel's trumpets are beautiful to look at but you should refrain from tasting them. All parts of the plant contain alkaloids - chemical compounds with strong effects on the human body. When you eat or smoke the plant, your heart rate will increase and you will start to hallucinate. As with all natural drugs, finding the right dosage is difficult. Deadly accidents occur quite often.

Mother Nature's drug lab

Bummer with thornapple

On the internet, poisonous Datura plants - also known as thornapples - are advertised as natural drugs as well. Really not a good idea: The plant induces strong hallucinations, sometimes with a complete loss of reality. People tend to hurt themselves severely under its influence.

Mother Nature's drug lab

Hawaiian Babies

Argyreia nervosa is native to Asia, even though the plant is called Hawaiian baby woodrose. The seeds of this climbing vine contain ergine, a compound similar to LSD. It causes colourful visions and euphoria but also nausea, prickling and psychoses. Overdosing can happen easily as one seed alone already has a strong effect.

Mother Nature's drug lab

Ecstasy with cactus

The peyote cactus in Mexico and Texas is full of mescaline, a hallucinogenic compound that is illegal under the international Convention on Psychotropic Substances. Mescaline alters thinking processes and one's sense of time and self-awareness. The cactus is cut into pieces and eaten or boiled into a tea. The cactus species is now listed on the Red List as vulnerable.

Mother Nature's drug lab

Beware of nutmeg

Nutmeg in high amounts can act as a drug, since it contains the hallucinogenic compound myristicin. But don't worry: you'll never reach the necessary dosage if you only use nutmeg as a spice. Getting high on nutmeg seems a bad idea anyway, as side effects include headaches, nausea and diarrhea.

Mother Nature's drug lab

Psychedelic leaves?

Yes, it's true: the evergreen kratom tree (Mitragyna speciosa), native to Southeast Asia, incorporates the opioid-like compound mitragynine into its leaves. In traditional medicine, the leaves are chewed to relieve pain, increase appetite and treat diarrhea. But they can also be used to mix drug cocktails.

Mother Nature's drug lab

One of nature's most dangerous killers

The tobacco plant produces poisonous and addictive chemicals, such as nicotine and other alkaloids, and harbours them inside its leaves. With this poisonous cocktail, the plant tries to ward off animals that might want to eat it. When the leaves are dried and smoked, the chemicals enter the human body - together with many cancerous substances generated by burning tabacco.

Author: Brigitte Osterath