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| | [[Image:Datura fruit.jpg|thumb|200px|Fruit]] | | [[Image:Datura fruit.jpg|thumb|200px|Fruit]] |
| | [[Image:Datura innoxia fruit split open.jpg|thumb|right|200px|''D. inoxia'' with ripe, split-open fruit]] | | [[Image:Datura innoxia fruit split open.jpg|thumb|right|200px|''D. inoxia'' with ripe, split-open fruit]] |
| − | Datura contains the alkaloids [[scopolamine]] and [[atropine]] and has long been used as a [[poison]] and [[Psychedelics, dissociatives and deliriants|hallucinogen]]. The [[dose-response curve]] for the combination of alkaloids is ''very'' steep, so people who consume datura can easily take a potentially [[death|fatal]] [[overdose]], hence its use as a poison. In the [[1990s]] and [[2000s]], the United States media contained stories of [[adolescent]]s and young adults dying or becoming seriously ill from intentionally ingestin | + | Datura contains the alkaloids [[scopolamine]] and [[atropine]] and has long been used as a [[poison]] and [[Psychedelics, dissociatives and deliriants|hallucinogen]]. The [[dose-response curve]] for the combination of alkaloids is ''very'' steep, so people who consume datura can easily take a potentially [[death|fatal]] [[overdose]], hence its use as a poison. In the [[1990s]] and [[2000s]], the United States media contained stories of [[adolescent]]s and young adults dying or becoming seriously ill from intentionally ingesting datura.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5233a2.htm |title = Suspected Moonflower Intoxication (Ohio, 2002)| accessdate = September 30| accessyear = 2006| publisher = [[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention|CDC]]| format = HTML}}</ref> |
| − | g datura.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5233a2.htm |title = Suspected Moonflower Intoxication (Ohio, 2002)| accessdate = September 30| accessyear = 2006| publisher = [[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention|CDC]]| format = HTML}}</ref>
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| | ===Records of use=== | | ===Records of use=== |
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| | The effects of Datura can be extreme, leading to a complete inability to differentiate reality from fantasy. Many experience accounts can be found at [http://www.erowid.org/experiences/subs/exp_Datura.shtml www.erowid.org]. | | The effects of Datura can be extreme, leading to a complete inability to differentiate reality from fantasy. Many experience accounts can be found at [http://www.erowid.org/experiences/subs/exp_Datura.shtml www.erowid.org]. |
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| − | ==Cultural references==
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| − | ===In literature===
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| − | Martin Cruz Smith's novel,"Nightwing" gives an excellent, if fictional account of datura usage and Hopi folklore surrounding same.
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| − | [[Image:SacredDaturaFx Wb2.jpg|thumb|right|The distinctive datura flower]]
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| − | *[[Stephen King]]'s [[Gunslinger]] from the Dark Tower series, Book 1
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| − | * [[Jean M. Auel]] described use of datura in her ''[[Earth's Children]]'' series: In ''"[[The Clan of the Cave Bear]]"'', the clan share a retrocognitive vision under influence of datura. In ''[[The Plains of Passage]]'' Ayla uses datura as an [[analgesic]] and [[sedative]].
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| − | * In [[Paul Theroux]]'s 2005 novel ''[[Blinding Light]]'', a writer becomes addicted to a rare species of datura. Under its influence he is blind, but inspired, transcendently aware, and megalomaniacal.
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| − | * Datura is the plant given to pacify the mentally handicapped brother in [[William Faulkner]]'s ''[[The Sound and the Fury]]''.
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| − | * Datura is explained in [[Wade Davis]]'s ''[[The Serpent and the Rainbow]]'' to be a critically important hallucinogen in a series of toxins and cultural practices that produce [[zombie]]s, administered at the time of retrieval from the grave as an antidote to previously administered [[tetrodotoxin]].
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| − | * The use of datura as a poison is mentioned in the novel ''[[The Eiger Sanction]]'' by [[Trevanian]].
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| − | * Datura is the name of the antagonist in the novel "[[Forever Odd]]" by [[Dean Koontz]]
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| − | * Datura is also the name of a fictional chemical in [[Ryu Murakami]]'s surreal 1980 novel [[Coin Locker Babies]]. It's a gas that, when ingested, completely destroys a person's self-control and restraint, resulting in "a form of criminal psychosis [and] the creation of an irreversibly destructive personality" without remorse.<ref>Murakami, Ryu. ''[[Coin Locker Babies]]''. Kodansha Intl. Ltd. (English trans., 1995), p.118</ref>
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| − | * Datura is a key [[entheogen]] in ''[[The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge]]'' by [[Carlos Castaneda]]
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| − | * In the novel ''The Sundial'' by [[Maarten 't Hart]], datura is used twice as a poison.
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| − | * ''[[Cape Cod (essay)|Cape Cod]]'' by [[Thoreau]] contains a quote from Beverly's ''History of Virginia'' describing the effects of datura usage.
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| − | *Also in the autobiographical novel "Jesus Weed" by Gerald Taylor.
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| − | *In [[Hunter S. Thompson]]'s ''[[Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas]]'', Dr. Gonzo refers to a time he got sick from eating a large quantity of Jimson weed (in the section "A Terrible Experience with Extremely Dangerou
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| − | s Drugs").
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| − | *Datura is featured as the central MacGuffin employed by the evil [[Knights of the Golden Circle]] in the graphic novel "Batman: Detective No. 27" by [[Michael Uslan]] and [[Peter Snejbjerg]] and published by [[DC Comics]] in 2003.
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| − | *Datura as a psychoactive substance is featured in [[Leena Krohn]]'s novel that has the Finnish name ''Datura tai harha jonka jokainen näkee''; the novel has been translated at least to [[German language|German]], under the name ''Stechapfel''.
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| − | ===In music===
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| − | * Singer/songwriter [[Tori Amos]] penned a [[trance music|trance]] song entitled "Datura" for her 1999 album "[[To Venus and Back]]". The song features Amos reading a list of various plants that are growing in her garden over hypnotic [[piano]] and rhythms. She consistently mentions datura within the list, as if to indicate it is overgrowing and destroying her garden. The flower, in the song, is used as a metaphor for destructive relationships.<ref>''Attitude'' (UK) - November 1999</ref>
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| − | * In the opera [[Lakmé]] by [[Léo Delibes]], Lakmé dies after eating datura leaves.
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| − | * ''[http://www.datura.it/ Datura]'' is also the name of an Italian [[Techno music|techno]]/trance group formed [[1991]] in [[Bologna]] by the musicians [[Ciro Pagano]] and [[Stefano Mazzavillani]] and the DJs Ricci & Cirillo. One of their biggest hit singles ''[http://www.discogs.com/release/85735 Yerba Del Diablo]'' ("Devil's weed") also pays reference to the plant.
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| − | *The band [[Murder By Death]] mentions datura in their song "Killbot 2000" from their album "Who Will Survive and What Will be Left of Them."
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| − | *The [[psychedelic rock]] band [[Bardo Pond]] named a song "Datura" in his album "Set and Setting". Many other Bardo Pond album and song titles have been derived from the names of esoteric psychedelic substances.
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| − | * The guitarist [[Buckethead]] named a song "Datura" in his album "Electric Tears".
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| − | *Icelandic hard rock/stoner band takes its name from this plant(spelling it in Hindi, though "[[Dhaturah]]"), claiming that the plant has influenced its songwriting. In the song "The Devil is a Nice Guy" the singer/actor/keyboardist Kjartan describes his experience when he was strung out on [[Devil's weed]] and spent two days in the Icelandic Kárahnjúkar writing songs and chatting with the devil"
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| − | * The Australian [[psychedelic rock]] band [[Grey Daturas]] takes its name from the plant.
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| − | * The band [http://www.myspace.com/ddm/ Dane and the Death Machine's] album [http://www.myspace.com/DDMThanatron/ Thanatron] has a track entitled "Datura".
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| | ===In film=== | | ===In film=== |
| − | * In the movie [[XXX (movie)|XXX]] the darts used to knock out Xander ([[Vin Diesel]]) and that he later uses to appear to kill an undercover policeman are referred to as 'Datura knockout darts' by their creator.
| + | <gallery> |
| | + | Image:Datura blossom (large)-9682.jpg |
| | + | Image:Flower of Tenerife- Datura-6260.jpg |
| | + | Image:Datura-1383.jpg |
| | + | Image:Datura-1190.jpg |
| | + | Image:Angel trumpet (Hindu datura) in the garden-2788.jpg |
| | + | Image:Jimsonweed-8622.jpg |
| | + | </gallery> |
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| | ==Notes and references== | | ==Notes and references== |