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Tea Made From the Root: BAD
Datura
by Joey
Citation:   Joey. "Tea Made From the Root: BAD: An Experience with Datura (exp116300)". Erowid.org. Sep 30, 2022. erowid.org/exp/116300

 
DOSE:
  oral Datura (tea)
BODY WEIGHT: 165 lb
Datura Tea Made From the Root BAD EXPERIENCE

I had been reading the Carlos Castaneda books and since I lived in San Diego, CA and had learned to identify Datura stramonium and noticed it growing virtually everywhere. I decided I was going to try it. But I wasn't sure how, so I asked the local shaman of Ocean Beach. Well, maybe he wasn't a shaman, but that's what I thought he was, since he lived and behaved so vastly different than anything I had ever encountered. It changed my life forever just meeting and then befriending this old guy, who had a gray beard about 4 feet long, was my mother's age, yet had the physique of a 20 year old shredded guy. And he was hilarious too. When I first met him, I didn't even notice him in the circle of people sitting in that backyard. Even though I was sitting right next to him and he was near 7' foot tall. And completely naked. And I didn't even notice him until he spoke. And that backyard was about 6' feet by 10' feet. So it was weird to put it mildly. Anyway he's a different story but I asked him about how to use Datura and he said I could make a tea out of the root. So that's what I did.

Well, after the first try, which was when I dug up a plant during one of my routes as I was a delivery driver for a baked goods company at the time. That day I stopped, got out of my truck and used a stick to dig up a Datura plant growing off the side of a back road. I used the stick because according to one of the Carlos Castaneda books if you use a metal object to dig it up you could injure the plant and it might result in something bad so I certainly didn't want the plant to get angry at me. So I dug it up, broke off the root and got back in my van where I proceeded to chew on that root and suck some juices from it.
[Erowid Note: Driving while intoxicated, tripping, or extremely sleep deprived is dangerous and irresponsible because it endangers other people. Don't do it!] At my next stop, I was strangely discombobulated. Not in any way I can be specific about but I felt weird and my customers also thought I was acting weird because they looked at me strangely and perhaps something else. That was the first time I tasted it.

Like the young, brave fool I was then I next sought out and dug up two large Datura plant roots using a stick. I brought them home that Friday evening to my new bride and told her "Hey hon I'm going to make a tea out of these Datura plants and see what happens! It's the plant that Don Juan called the Devil's Weed. In the book they have an elaborate recipe where they make a flying salve out of it but [old man beard with the physique of a 20 year old] said I could make a tea so that's what I'm doing!" Then I proceeded first to rinse off the dirt, then broke up the roots with my hands a bit, then boiled the shit out of them until the water was a dark brown. Then, like the fool that I was, without even thinking about the dose, poured almost a full big gulp size cup, probably around 20oz. I think I drank most of it pretty quickly.

The next thing I remember is going to bed very soon after. The next thing I remember after that was getting repeated, uncontrolled spasms and thinking I couldn't wait for them to stop. Nothing really occurred to me other than that the first few hours because time was gone, my eyes were closed in blackness, and I was tolerating spasms that kept coming. Also, I felt the worst I've ever felt before or since. I remember that. Then I remember hearing my new wife's voice and I finally opened my eyes. She was sitting above me with tears absolutely covering her face and she was still crying and calling my name. As I watched her I felt a rumbling in my lower abdomen, or stomach, then I felt that rumbling moving upwards, slowly. I was captivated by this thing that was moving from my lower body up through my stomach, through my chest, through my esophagus and into my mouth when suddenly it came out of my mouth and it was a voice that said "I'm okay hon don't worry". WTF where did that come from? Who said that holy fuck. Okay guess it was me but later that seemed to fit the description of separating from one's body because honestly at the time I didn't know where that came from but it wasn't from "me" at the time, if you understand what I'm saying. Meaning the volition to say that did not originate from the awareness I was experiencing as me.

I don't know how many hours had passed but eventually I had to piss so bad I called my sweetie for a bucket to piss in because there was no way I was ready to walk. It gets worse though. Because I couldn't see shit for the next 3 or 4 days. Saturday I slept all day and Sunday my perfect 22 year old vision I was so proud of was completely blurred. By Monday I still couldn't see right but had to drive again. I managed but I still couldn't read the paperwork and basically faked my way through it. Then the evil thing happened. I definitely think it's related to that devil weed because what happened that night and the following shit that happened is so unbelievable that you wouldn't believe me. You'd instead think I'm lying about something unrelated because the series of misfortunes that happened that Monday evening and throughout the rest of the week not only led to my job loss but something so unbelievably bad that it fucked shit up for people in my life for the remainder of their lives. Indirectly. Not of my doing whatsoever. Not negatively affecting my beloved wife. An incredible series of misfortunes that all fell like coincidence after coincidence that basically told me in no uncertain terms that fucking around with that plant had caused all this. Irrefutably even from a secular, non-superstitious perspective if you insist, because it all began with the condition that devil's weed left me in after fucking with it. Sorry I won't elaborate on that series of events because it's a horrible story and you, dear reader, wouldn't believe me. Again, sorry about that. But don't take this plant lightly. It's considered sacred for a very good reason that I'm sure of.

When I told the old bearded guy with the 20 year old physique he said "Oh you probably weren't ready for it." Yeah, that's one way to put it if you like understatements.

DO NOT TAKE THIS PLANT LIGHTLY!

Exp Year: 1986ExpID: 116300
Gender: Male 
Age at time of experience: 22
Published: Sep 30, 2022Views: 1,210
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Datura (15) : Alone (16), Preparation / Recipes (30), General (1)

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