Socrates dies, poisoned by the alkaloid coniine, found in the hemlock plant. The alkaol family has had a greater influence on human history than any other family of chemical compounds. They affect the nervous system and are generally highly toxic, depending on the amount ingested, of course. They are natural fungicides, insecticides, and pesticides. Examples include Mandrake, which restores sexual vigor; belladonna, which dilates the pupils; and henbane, which is a sleeping pill and analgesic. These and other hallucinogenic alkaloids have been consumed over the centuries in various forms and cultures. Some reports (see Penny Le Couteur, Jay Burreson – Napoleon’s Buttons) say that those who would later be (obviously unfairly) called witches applied fats with dissolved alcohols to the handle of a broom, and, sitting astride it, rubbed the mixture containing atropine and scopolamine on their genital mucosa, where it is best absorbed by the body. The resulting flights are illusions created by hallucinogenic alkaloids, which have also been used for millennia in other, earlier cultures. These include the sensation of flying, falling, distorted vision, euphoria, hysteria, and the sensation of leaving the body. Other similar examples include foxglove, parsley (in large quantities), aconite, hemlock, and jimson weed. Another way to accelerate its absorption into the bloodstream is through the lungs, namely by smoking the substance. Other plants in the nightshade family, introduced to Europe from the New World, include tobacco (Nicotiana), peppers (Capsicum), tomatoes, and potatoes. An alkaloid similar to atropine is coca (Erythroxylon coca), also of American origin. Coca leaves have been used for centuries as a stimulant in Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador, but in quantities of only half a gram per day, which is believed to be non-addictive. This method of ingesting the alkaloid in small but frequent doses is similar to our caffeine intake in tea and coffee. The situation is quite different for those who consume extracted and purified cocaine. Other alkaloids include morphine, derived from the opium poppy, and nicotine, found in tobacco (also of American origin).
