Nicotiana glauca

[TigerTom]

I was at the American River today with my wife and son fishing and found this growing.



Anyone ever smoke this stuff? I know it supposedly has no nicotine but has anabasine. Not sure of the effects or if it's a good idea. (Note: I'm a pipe and cigar enthusiast and as such don't directly inhale, for what it's worth).

Anyway, I collected several seed pods and plan on growing it anyway as a novelty of the invasive weed type.

Any thoughts or experience with this one?

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

Good eye!
I might go back in fall to pick the stalk cured leaves, then kiln them for a month and see how they smoke.

If it tastes half decent, it would be worth it, I think, regardless of psychoactive properties.

 

[TigerTom]

Psychoactive? I didn't find anything about that in my reading.

Psychoactive in what way?

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

Psychoactive? I didn't find anything about that in my reading.

If that's the case, I'll skip smoking it and just grow it as an ornamental. It's quite a nice looking plant once established.

Psychoactive as in nicotine.

 

[TigerTom]

Ya, I just looked it up. When I see/hear the word "psychoactive" I usually jump straight to the idea of hallucinogens.

And I edited my post but you beat me to it.

 

[davek14]

Isn't Anabasine *less* toxic than nicotine (maybe), and in similar ways to nicotine.

Anabasine - an overview | ScienceDirect Topics

www.sciencedirect.com

 

[TigerTom]

Isn't Anabasine *less* toxic than nicotine (maybe), and in similar ways to nicotine.

Anabasine - an overview | ScienceDirect Topics

www.sciencedirect.com

Seems legit. May be a new sleep aid.

 

[TigerTom]

Good eye!
I might go back in fall to pick the stalk cured leaves, then kiln them for a month and see how they smoke.

If it tastes half decent, it would be worth it, I think, regardless of psychoactive properties.

Just had a thought. I don't have a kiln (yet) but if you're up for an experiment I could color cure some leaf and send it your way.

There are some large leaves that could probably be harvested.

I'm not exactly sure when mature or ripe would be, but I could look for some starting to yellow.

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

Logistically, I think it would be more expedient to harvest all the leaves when they begin to show significant yellowing. That is, if they do yellow.

I moved to a condo for now so I do not have a kiln.

 

[deluxestogie]

In terms of acute toxicity, anabasine is quite similar to nicotine, of which it is an isomer. Anabasine has been identified as a potent teratogenic compound. The fatalities from anabasine appear to be from ingestion of the leaves mistaken to be an edible green, and served as food.

Since people have been "experimenting" with all species of Nicotiana for many thousands of years, one can surmise a bit from the fact that only a few of the 80 plus species have been adopted for either leisure smoking or ceremonial use, and N. glauca is not among them.

Bob