After hearing much about various encounters with 'Opium Lettuce,' and reading reports, I decided to give it a try. I began to look at pictures of the plant, and realized it seemed very familiar to me. I live in a very grasslands agricultutral area, with many fallow fields near me, so I grabbed my botany guide, and walked to a field in my backyard.
Sure enough, after 5 minutes of searching, there it was. A nice-sized clump of the lettuce growing tall. I identified it correctly, and began picking leaves from the base of the plant. I then realized a milky-white sap was coming from the base of the leaves, and retrieved my pocket knife. I cut very shallow across the stalk of the plant, revealing a beading collection of the sap- much like blood beads from a papercut. I collected this sap with the blade of my knife and deposited it in a plastic container.
I let the container full of sap dry in my hot attic for about 9 hours, before returning to it. It had turned a brownish color and coagulated. I packed a pea-sized amount into my bowl, and lit up...
00:00- I light up, keeping a direct flame on the small ball of now sizzling residue. It doesn't taste too bad.
02:00- Feeling a slight body buzz, muscles feel looser than normal, my head is just a tiny bit spinning.
05:00- My body feels very warm and relaxed, similar to that of a true opiate buzz, and my vision is just a smidge blurry. This feeling continues.
20:00- Still feeling a good amount of buzz, beginning to taper off.
60:00 Buzz is mostly gone.
Overall, I wouldn't go out and pay money for this stuff, but it's nice to know it grows plentifully in my backyard. I will probably try it again some time.
