Here is a little thing I've had for a while, enjoy!
I went to the library some time long ago to attempt to be productive in my writing and could not help but stop by the used bookstore within. It’s always interesting to see what’s in the gardening section and I came across this gem:
Even better, it was a gift of the town’s library commission, and EVEN MORE BETTER it’s filed as a YA book. A book about psychoactive flowering plants for YOUNG ADULTS to read. (and it’s called Magic in Bloom!) Good job library commission! This was just too funny. (A friend of mine later asked, "Was it coincidence that the author's name is 'Mello?'")
The cover it shows morning glory flowers, which I have heard are hallucinogens (if you get a packet of morning glory seeds it usually will say something about not for consumption, which is what prompted me to look up and thus find out about morning glory properties). Paging through the book I also noticed they spoke of nutmeg, which I was also aware to have psychoactive properties.
Will be an interesting read.
I felt a little weird just getting this book on psychoactive plants, so I looked desperately around for something else suitable to purchase and luckily found Margaret Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale” which I have heard is fantastic and after having read Oryx and Crake I have determined that I enjoy Atwood’s style.
LATER FURTHER READING.....
It is actually a quite interesting and objective book (I suppose it has to be, being a part of the Encyclopedia of Psychoactive drugs), with lots of explanations about ancient cultures and religious use of drugs that elders would use to initiate children into adulthood (unfortunately including beatings until nausea... or unconciousness I imagine) so that it forced the children to learn the consequences of these drugs and their potential circumstances from use (nowadays, adult initiaiting children into drugs means jail time).
I also noted that the psychoactive plants they have listed thus far come from the potato/nightshade family (morning glories, tobacco, potatoes of course and etc), nutmeg and cannabis/hemp family. Green potatoes are green due to a chemical called solanacae, which I have always been told is poisonous, aka hallucinogenic is seems.
Anyways, interesting stuff, noting cultural differences and plants being controversial and all.
