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I Lost My Pets and Almost Burned the House Down
Datura
Citation:   Lucky. "I Lost My Pets and Almost Burned the House Down: An Experience with Datura (exp64941)". Erowid.org. Jun 15, 2008. erowid.org/exp/64941

 
DOSE:
10 leaves oral Datura (tea)
BODY WEIGHT: 185 lb
I am in my mid thirties and have tried many different things in my time (lsd, mescaline, mushrooms, etc. I would call myself experienced with hallucinogenic, which were always fun for me especially when I was younger. This experience was not one of those times. I must mention that I was trying to make a very light dose to just see what the effects would be. I did not intend to become incapacitated. Although I tried to document my experience exactly, I soon realized this was an impossibility. Here is what I do know.

11:00 AM
I boiled exactly 10 leaves about 6-8 inches long in 8 cups of water for 10 minutes. This was the first time with this plant and I didn’t want to overdo it. I took it off the burner and let it steep for a few minutes. As that was cooling I made a pitcher of really sweet tea from concentrated dry tea mix. Then I filled 20oz glass with ice and filled the cup halfway with tea. I then filled the rest of the glass with the leaf brew. I ended up using only about 6-8 oz of the brew.

11:30 AM
I drank the tea all at once. It tasted quite nasty even though it was heavily sweetened. It only took me a few minutes. I then removed the leaves from the pot, threw them away, and the pot with the remaining brew back on the stove.

11:45 AM
I started to wonder if I had enough and thought it a good idea to make another glass. So I did, exactly as before and drank it quickly as well. This time I noticed it was a little hard to get down though, almost like my throat was closing up making feel like I was choking. I started to walk back to the couch and realized I felt funny, like my body was drunk but my mind perfectly coherent. From this point on, I cannot tell you the exact timing of anything else because although I didn’t realize it yet, I lost track of all time and reality.

12 ish (maybe)
Oh shit! I am totally wasted. I am sitting on the couch and notice things are really strange. Corners of the walls turning into spider webs, very blurry vision. I was watching TV but realized I can’t really see it anymore or understand what they’re saying. I forgot to mention I was alone, for now, my wife and daughter were due back late that afternoon. More on that later. I never intended to be this messed up. So I decided to get up off the couch and go the bathroom. I realized then that it would take every effort, almost herculean strength just to get off the couch.

Finally I got up off the couch and stumbled to the bathroom and caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. Oh my God! The first thing I noticed was that my eyes were completely dilated. Then I looked down at my hands, I had a hard time focusing but when I finally did I realized they were beet red. I mean red. Worse than the worst sunburn you have ever seen. I looked back up at my face in the mirror and I finally came into focus again I realized my face looked the same. Now I am freakin. My whole body was red, from head to toe. I need to mention at this point that I still felt like I was still there mentally. All I noticed were these physical problems. Completely dilated pupils, inability to focus, beet red skin.

I decide that I had better try to puke up whatever I could so tried. Only a little came up, more like an acid reflux type thing. Except now I have a bigger problem, my throat is closing up. Breathing was difficult and I had dry mouth like never before. No amount of water would satisfy. And every time I tried to drink it felt like was going to choke. I must mention that although I thought at the time my mind was still rational; I realize later that I was far from rational. Even still I calmly (even though I felt I was dying) went to my computer to look up websites to try to find out if there was a way to reverse the effects I was having.

Somehow I made it to a site ( I think) but then realize I couldn’t read it. Every word on the page was gibberish, it didn’t make any sense. I knew the answer was somewhere but I couldn’t find it. Looking back, I estimate I spent hours on the computer staring blindly at the screen. At the time I thought it was minutes. I went outside to smoke a cig and realized I couldn’t see anything outside; it was way too bright, so I came back in quickly.

I then thought of how fucked up I was and that I need to warn my daughter of the danger of this drug (she’s 12). I went into her room and started to lecture her about the danger of drugs and to never try it and pick good friends,and so on. I remember thinking how good she is being. She sat quietly and listened to me intently. When I thought I made my point, I got up to leave and realized she left the room. I was pissed. How could she just walk away like that. I went out in the living room to complain and realized she wasn’t there. Nobody was there. I was still alone.

I remember feeling at that point like I am in trouble. What have I been doing. I must note that I still had all of the symptoms I had earlier, The most troubling being I stumbled everywhere I went; my body was beet red still, and choked every time I tried to drink something. I wondered how long it had been. I don’t remember exactly what time it was when I looked but I did realize it was a lot longer than I thought. I recall thinking my family would be home soon. I realize later I lost several hours doing what I don’t know. Then they came home. All of a sudden there she was: My Wife and boy did she look pissed. After what happened earlier though, I didn’t believe it was actually her. This part of the story is now her recollection of what she came home to. She is a paramedic by the way, too. She said she came home, opened the front door and smoke came pouring out of the house. She ran to notice that the stove was on fire. There I was just standing there, looking off into space. She was screaming at me ' what the hell is wrong with you'. I remember saying nothing is wrong, but she says I was mumbling something about she needed to get off my back and go to bed. Then I saw my daughter run by and thought what was wrong with her. I didn’t realize then but she was scared shitless about what was going on. Then they left. Or had they even been there? I wondered. Oh, think I'll go have a smoke. Then what seemed like a few minutes (actually hours) they came back.

We have pets by the way too. Three dogs and a cat. When they came home the second time, all the animals were gone and the door was wide open. Now she’s really pissed, She screams to me about almost burning the house down and now all the pets were gone. I told her she was nuts and to get off my back. Then they both left again.

Damn, I thought, were they even there? I spent the rest of the night on the computer (mostly just staring at the monitor).

I woke up the next morning on the couch and had a talk with my wife. I still felt funny but the worst was over.

So this is what really happened.

My wife and daughter came home about 5:30 PM to find the stove on fire. She put out the fire. I must have taken the leaves out the garbage and tried to make more tea. The stove was scorched. I think I drank more tea but can’t be certain. She drilled me about what was going on. She said I wouldn’t tell her and kept telling her everything is cool. She asked me repeatedly what I was on but I wouldn’t tell her. She didn’t realize I was as bad off as I was. She was more mad than anything. So she and my daughter took off and came back about 8:30 PM. She found me on the computer and screamed this time say I lost the pets.

I could go on and on with more details but I don’t want to miss the point. I could have burned to death in this house. I could have choked to death, heart attack ( heart was racing too). I could have easily died. Those things didn’t happen but I will tell what did. It has been two months since this happened and I am still not the same. I hate to say its permanent, I hope not, but truth is, I screwed myself up. My throat is partially closed. I have trouble breathing when I sleep. I cough up liquids sometimes because it tries to go down my windpipe. I still see shit that is not there.

But worst of all is my brain. I can’t maintain my thoughts. I am a writer but I can’t focus anymore. It took me forever to write this.

Exp Year: 2007ExpID: 64941
Gender: Male 
Age at time of experience: Not Given
Published: Jun 15, 2008Views: 70,832
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Datura (15) : Health Problems (27), Train Wrecks & Trip Disasters (7), Entities / Beings (37), Post Trip Problems (8), Difficult Experiences (5), Alone (16)

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