Psychedelics
5 Takeaways from Colorado’s Proposition 122 – The Natural Medicine Health Act
Entheogenic plants are on the rise! And a new one to US consumers, blue lotus; is already getting attention from the US military.
What’s blue lotus?
Blue lotus, which goes by the official name of Nymphaea caerulea, is a type of water lily. For this reason, it’s also known as ‘blue water lily.’ It lives in fresh water environments, and is found often in East Africa, and Southern Arabia. It’s considered an ornamental plant, and has spread to different parts of the world through trade.
The plant has the ability to grow in mud that lacks both nutrients and oxygen; and has flowers that open in the morning, and close in the afternoon. The flowers can range from blue to white to mauve to pink. It should not be confused with its cousin plant, N. Lotus, which is known for its white flowers, or N. Mexicana which generally has yellow flowers. These are both found mainly in South Africa.
The plant was used through history, with many mentions from Ancient Egypt; where it shows up in writings like the Book of the Dead, and the Ebers Papyrus from 1,5000 BC. It’s thought the Turin Papyrus references it as well. These document its uses as a spiritual enhancer, as well as a medicine for tons of ailments. Egyptians considered it a symbol of life and immortality; and it was used to communicate with the divine; and to help navigate entrance into the afterlife. It’s associated with euphoria and at times hallucinations; and the flower shows up commonly in Egyptian art.
The main psychoactive compound is apomorphine, while other compounds are thought to contribute, like nuciferine. It’s been used historically as a medical agent for things like: sex drive enhancement, pain, depression, anxiety, insomnia, and upset stomachs. Apomorphine is associated with improvement in Alzheimer’s symptoms, as well as with erectile dysfunction.
It’s also associated with being an edible plant in South Africa, from which the rootstock was eaten by local communities. While this practice is said to date back to at least 1800, the logic answer is that it likely went on for hundreds, or even thousands of years, prior. Its said this is no longer a custom anymore. When it was eaten; this was done raw, or the plant was used to make curry.
Lotus flowers are aromatic, and were used to create perfume in ancient times. They are still used in aromatherapy today. It seems some amount of knowledge of the plant must have surfaced around 2009, as that year it was banned or restricted in Latvia, Poland, and Russia. Always an odd move when a plant has been around and used, for so much of history.
Blue lotus and the US military
These days, blue lotus is generally vaped. It’s not a scheduled drug in America, so its not illegal to possess or use; but its also not well known about yet, so there aren’t any well-known providers. It can be purchased in America in ‘smart shops,’ which specialize in the sale of psychedelics, entactogens, and other hallucinogens; but is more likely found in online marketplaces.
Blue lotus received attention in recent years due to several cases involving US soldiers. Although having said this, ‘several cases’ amounts to just a few cases, with no death involved. The cases were put together into a study, which came out in 2021. It is not specified why any of the involved, used the plant.
The study in question is called Toxicity From Blue Lotus (Nymphaea caerulea) After Ingestion or Inhalation: A Case Series. It consists of case material related to five military soldiers in active duty, who ended up in an emergency room due to altered mental states. Four of the soldiers had vaped a blue lotus product, while the last drank an infused drink.
All the soldiers presented with strange behavior, as well as a disturbance in general perception. Anxiety was also frequently seen. One soldier, age 27, was brought in by emergency medical services when his friends found him leaning against a wall, and staring into nothing. He reportedly had been found in this state, several times within the weeks prior. This soldier had ordered a vape liquid said to contain blue lotus through an internet site, but wouldn’t give much more information. Within a few hours, he was back to normal.
Another soldier, age 29, was brought in by emergency services for low responsiveness. This patient also reported vaping the substance. His family noted to EMS services that they believed he had been hallucinating, and had shown other strange behaviors. Like the first case, the symptoms resolved within hours. In fact, by the time EMS services arrived, he was already doing much better, and didn’t have to be held for more than four hours.
The third was a 22-year old soldier who was reported to have been engaging in bizarre behavior; which included sitting on a fence when he was found. The soldier reported drinking a wine that was infused with blue lotus flower; something he bought from eBay. Like the first two, his symptoms didn’t last long enough to be held past 2 hours, 45 minutes; and he was given no treatment.
The fourth example was a 19-year old soldier who came into the emergency room with chest pains. He reported that his pain began three hours prior to arrival, and that he had taken four hits from a vape, which he said was spiked. The vape came from the soldier’s friend, and there was an assumption it contained blue lotus. The pain went away quickly enough that he was released less than four hours after arrival. Like all the other cases, there was no confirmation of whether it was indeed blue lotus or not.
The last case was a 20-year old soldier who ended up in the emergency room because of bizarre behavior. He took a hit off a vape containing blue lotus, and proceeded with “thrashing his extremities;” I assume wildly enough for people to be concerned. He is the only one of the five to receive any actual treatment, which was simply fluids given intravenously. His vital signs returned to normal within three hours, and he requested to go, prior to a re-evaluation. A subsequent doctor’s visit showed metabolic normalcy.
The main takeaway points of this study
There are a few things to take out of this study, even though it was very small scale. The first is that blue lotus does not seem deadly. These are the only five cases spoken about related to the military. If there are more, they weren’t mentioned, which implies probably not. If these are indeed the worst case scenarios, then this study speaks to the general safety of the drug. These cases, perhaps, stand as examples of extreme scenarios; the kind that can happen with anything.
The next thing to understand, which is very important; is that blue lotus was not confirmed in any of these cases, and the products all (or nearly all) came from internet vendors. We could very well be looking at a study of five men, who all had issues unrelated to blue lotus, but who all thought they ingested it. Given that these came from internet purchases, and it doesn’t sound like any of the material was tested; we actually have no formal idea of what happened to these men. It’s quite possible they responded to additives, or that the products were not blue lotus at all.
This study makes clear two ting; how shady a lot of internet providers can be, and how important it is to understand dosing of a compound. It could be that all the products were what they were sold to be, and that the blue lotus did this. Or, it could be that none of the products were sold as what they were advertised to be. This might be less about blue lotus, and more about internet providers who want to make a buck. But it could also be that the men ingested far more than they should have.
Overall, assuming these were blue lotus cases, one of the biggest takeaways, is that its not terribly different from a THC overdose, or a bad trip on psychedelics. A person will feel very bad, and act in strange ways; but they’re also likely to settle back down within hours, and then be fine. In fact, this entire study does little to indicate this is a plant of concern to health and well-being; while its history shows it to be a useful medicine.
Conclusion
There doesn’t seem to be a reason for concern over blue lotus. This isn’t to say it can’t cause problems when taken in high amounts, when cut with additives, or when fake products are sold under its name. But there aren’t reports of death, and few of toxicity. Between these two factors, it presents, as yet, another useful plant (when used properly), which doesn’t deserve to have fear attached.
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When it comes to plant drugs, you often have the option of the plant, or manufactured products. Which is better? Read on…
Plant drugs
Not every drug is a plant. Though some like LSD and MDMA are based on plants or are synthesized using plants (ergot fungus and sassafras, respectively), some popular drugs, are nothing but a plant. Think of weed. We call it by this word because it’s literally a weed that grows by roadsides in many places. It doesn’t require any preparation beyond heating it; and plenty is gained without heat at all. Magic mushrooms are another great example of a basic plant drug that can be pulled from the ground and ingested, with no further preparation.
Beyond this, we have a range of drugs that started as natural, but were then processed into something stronger. Like heroin. Heroin is morphine processed with ascetic acid. Or cocaine, a processed form of coca leaves that involves nitric acid. In these cases there’s a certain amount of processing that goes on, but its done around the basis of the original plant. However, due to the processing; the results are a much more intense product. Cocaine is even processed further to make crack, a more intense version of cocaine.
Plant drugs have been used for thousands of years, long past recorded history. Some of what we know comes from fossilized findings, and carbon dated remnants. In terms of recorded history, from medical books to scripture; plants factor in as far as recordings go back. Different locations of the world worked with what they each had available. And they often came to the exact same understandings of a plant, in differing periods and locations; for which there would have been no communication or ways to share ideas.
Plants were (and are) widely used for spiritual purposes by many indigenous tribes the world over; as well as for medical treatments, and recreational use. Sometimes they are used so much, and so entrenched in culture; that modern governments allow them. Peyote is a great example. It’s used so widely by native cultures in the US, the federal government finally legalized the plant for spiritual use; a law that applies to anyone who wants to use the plant for this purpose, even beyond native tribes.
Synthetic drugs
The other side in plants vs manufactured products, is the manufactured products. These fall into two categories in my mind: products that are made from a plant, but produced in a different form; or completely synthesized, lab-made drugs. In either case, these products don’t grow directly out of the ground.
When it comes to products made from the plant, without creating a new drug; one of the best examples is vape products for cannabis and tobacco. And by this I specifically mean oil vapes, since dry herb vapes don’t require any level of production for the weed used. Oil vapes are vapes that use oil cartridges, and these cartridges contain compounds from the plants, that are leached into the oil. Instead of dealing with the plant, the user just deals with an oil cartridge and a battery.
Edible products are also included here. A brownie is not directly weed, and a gummy is not directly a mushroom. The drugs must be processed to some degree to create an edible form. This is something the average person can do in their kitchen with the right setup; but something for which there is a large and growing sales market, as well. Whereas you can choose what to put in when cooking at home; store-bought products include whatever ingredients the given company chose for their recipe.
When it comes to synthesized lab-made drugs, some examples are drugs like LSD, MDMA, antidepressants, synthetic opioids, Tylenol, and methamphetamine. There is no original form of any of these, so the only way they exist, is as lab-made products. Whether they’re synthesized using a plant is not important; as the drugs themselves are too different from the plants that they’re made from, to be associated with them in terms of effects.
Plants vs manufactured products – when manufactured is better
Some drugs only exist as one or the other. There is no natural form of methamphetamine, but there is also no lab-made version of salvia. Others exist in both realms. You can eat amanita mushrooms, or buy the gummy version; and same with cannabis. Both of these plants, and their accompanying industries, are great examples of the difference between plants and manufactured products.
Which is better? This is a matter of opinion. When it comes to weed, some manufactured products, like vapes, provide a more intense high than the plant itself; because they’re a more concentrated version. This is a useful concept for medicating; when often a very strong version of something is needed to get a medical effect. The weed industry provides both options, plants and manufactured products; and either can be decent in terms of effects, with manufactured products often offering a more intense experience.
Amanita mushrooms are another plant drug that has a good reason for manufacturing. These mushrooms come with a main compound that can make a person sick; though not enough to die. This compound, ibotenic acid, can be processed out through the decarboxylation method of boiling. This can be done by the individual who wants to use them; or by manufacturers who produce gummies or other edible products. In the latter case, all the user must do, is eat the product.
Manufactured products also come with the upside of dosing. We don’t all want or need the same amount, but its hard to know how much of the active compounds (or dangerous compounds) we’re taking in, when consuming plant material. Manufactured products generally have measured levels of compounds, creating a consistent experience; and making it easier for those who are less familiar with something, to get it right. This idea of consistency promotes the API market for pharmaceuticals.
Plants vs manufactured products – when plants are better
There are some issues, however, with manufactured products. Just like they can sometimes be more potent than their plant counterparts, sometimes it’s the opposite. Amanita mushrooms are once again a an applicable example. They’re newer to American culture, and don’t have a history of use as a plant. But they’re also hallucinogenic mushrooms (though different from psilocybin, as they work mainly off the compound muscimol). Producers seem generally afraid to create products with full-blown effects, which creates a market of products that don’t do much, even though the mushrooms themselves, do.
In terms of products being too strong, this is also an issue. A newer rise in emergency room visits is connected with very high THC products, which have become the norm. Whereas plants don’t generally have more than 20% THC (although this amount is incredibly inflated from earlier decades), manufactured products boast numbers like 90% THC. This is no longer in the standard realm of today; and its not shocking that more people get sick. Luckily, THC overdoses are not deadly, just uncomfortable.
Another issue is companies adding toxic substances. Not only does weed not need a lot of pesticides or other chemicals, it wasn’t an industry associated with them as a black market. Yet now with mass legal production, we’re suddenly dealing with sprayed weed, and overuse of agricultural chemicals. What once was a clean black market, is now a grossly dirty legal market; yet its the legal market that always brags about testing. Even though those tests back up just how dirty legal production is.
And then think about vapes. Weed might be sprayed with chemicals, but it doesn’t have to be. A vape cart doesn’t exist without the addition of some chemicals. Some are used that don’t have to be, like flavoring or colorants. But other things are necessary since its not a standard state for weed to be in, and it has to be preserved for transport. As such, things like stabilizers and preservatives (vitamin e-acetate) come into play. And this is beyond whatever other tinkering a manufacturer might do.
The same can be said for gummies, and other edibles. The US food market is not a pretty place, because regulation allows for tons of dangerous chemicals in food production. Sure, its possible to make a clean cannabis or mushroom edible, just like its possible to grow organic vegetables, or produce clean meat. However, just because something can happen, doesn’t mean it will. Edibles are food products; and liable to have a list of chemical ingredients, that only people with high level science degrees can pronounce.
Final thoughts
The reality is that for some drugs, both a plant option and a manufactured option, exist. It comes down to a buyer’s personal decision as to what is better. If you want the most basic, unadulterated form; the plant is best. But if you need a stronger product, want the convenience of vapes or edibles, need specific dosing, or have more trust in manufactured products; then this is probably the better option. Either way, if its well made/grown, you should definitely catch a buzz.
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