Hello.
I had spoken to you briefly following your presentation at … which was absolutely wonderful, by the way.
I am curious about the effects of a drug my Israeli client had taken. He says it grows wild – he even found it in wild patches of grass/weeds in Jerusalem. In Hebrew it is “datora inoxia” or, in Spanish “herba el diablo.” He also referred to it as “Satan’s weed.”
He had become completely psychotic on the drug, and had 7-8 psychiatric hospital admissions as well as the accompanying homelessness and arrests. He stopped using two years ago and is on an anti-psychotic that manages the psychotic symptoms very well. He has been experiencing steady improvement, resulting in reduction of medication. He has even attended college, is writing music and is able to work part time.
We want to understand what this drug does to a brain and is it realistic to hope that the improvement will continue?
Thank you for any insight or understanding you can lend to this subject.
Diana LCSW, ACSW
Diana,
I had a hunch during our discussions that the plant your patient had ingested was from the Datura genus of the Solanaceae family of flowering plants. The substance you described and the symptoms he was presenting are consistent with my suspicions. Datura sp. are found in usually arid areas throughout the world.
Datura inoxia, like other Datura species, contains the highly toxic alkaloids atropine, hyoscine (scopolamine), and hyoscyamine. All parts of the plant contain these anticholinergic alkaloids in different concentrations though many consider the seeds to be the best part to brew up in a tea. In high doses these alkaloids are quite poisonous and have actually caused major psychosis and even death in users.
Here in the U.S. Jimson Weed (Datura stramonium) has been the most commonly abused but we also continue to witness the abuse of Deadly Nightshade (Atropa Belladonna), Hebane (Hyoscyamus niger) and Angel’s Trumpet (Brugmansia sp.) all of which contain the same or similar alkaloids as found in Datura as do many other species of flowering plants.
The Aztecs called the plant toloatzin, and used it long before the Spanish conquest of Mexico for many therapeutic purposes. Although the Aztecs warned against madness and “various and vain imaginings”, many native Americans have used the plant as a hallucinations and rites of passage. The alkaloids of these plants are very similar to those of mandrake, deadly nightshade, and henbane, which are also highly poisonous plants used cautiously for effective pain relief in antiquity.[1] Datura intoxication typically produces a complete inability to differentiate reality from fantasy (delirium, as contrasted to hallucination); hyperthermia; tachycardia; bizarre, and possibly violent behavior; and severe mydriasis with resultant painful photophobia that can last several days. Pronounced amnesia is another commonly reported effect. Wide variations of toxins in the plant resulting from growing conditions, temperature, etc. make Datura exceptionally hazardous to use as a drug. In traditional cultures, users needed to have a great deal of experience and detailed plant knowledge so that no harm resulted from using it.[2] Such knowledge is not available in modern cultures, so many unfortunate incidents result from ingesting Datura. In the 1990s and 2000s, the United States media contained stories of adolescents and young adults dying or becoming seriously ill from intentionally ingesting Datura.
I have treated a few Datura abusers over the years with symptoms consistent to that of a major thought disorder. These symptoms all resolved themselves with time and reassurance counseling though there are some reports of continued psychosis for years after individuals had ceased their intake of such substances. I suspect that these prolonged reactions occur in individuals previously predisposed to thought disorder. However, Hallucinogen Persisting Perception Disorder (HPPD; DSM-IV 292.89) has also been reported with Datura use in those with no predisposing factors for thought disorder.
- Richard Evans Schultes (1970-01-01). “The plant kingdom and hallucinogens (part III)”. pp. 25-53. http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/data-and-analysis/bulletin/bulletin_1970-01-01_1_page005.html.
- Preissel, Ulrike; Hans-Georg Preissel (2002). Brugmansia and Datura: Angel’s Trumpets and Thorn Apples. Buffalo, New York: Firefly Books. pp. 117-119. ISBN 1-55209-598-3. http://www.amazon.com/Brugmansia-Datura-Angels-Trumpets-Apples/dp/1552095584.
Hope this is of some help to your work and best of luck to your patient for a complete resolution to the very frightening symptoms of anticholinergic toxicity. Hopefully, he has learned that he should now avoid such substances in the future.
Thanks also for your very kind words about my presentation.
Darryl Inaba
Thank you for the information! I was expecting a short, to the point email. Thank you so much for the time and thought you put into your response. I will share it with the young man as he is very motivated to understand and manage his illness. He wants so much to recover his cognitive functioning. Now on a low dose of anti-psychotic he continues to struggle with audio hallucinations and works hard at discerning between reality and delusion. He describes the hallucinations as “Too much activity and noise in my brain. Like lightening. Racing thoughts and voices.”
It is amazing to me, as I have witnessed his transformation. When I first met him, he was psychotic and non-sensical, living on the streets. Today he is translating a book into English, plays music by ear and writes 2-3 songs a week, is drawing and painting, works part time as a caregiver and helps to lead small church groups. He has even reconstituted enough that he was able to go with a group last summer to tour concentration camps (where his grandmother had been interned).
If only all our clients were like him! To see someone’s brain recover, and for them to get their life back.
He actually did a radio interview last summer, telling the story of his addiction and recovery. If you would like to listen to it, I will get his permission to send you the link.
I am glad for this question to be on your website if you think it will help others.
Thank you again. The information is invaluable and your caring is even a larger gift.
Diana