FOUR BOYS HOSPITALIZED AFTER EATING JIMSON WEED

Four young boys are in hospital after being poisioned because they ate the
seeds of a deadly weed that grows wild in parks and yards.

It's the second time in a week that children have landed in a hospital
emergency ward suffering hallucinations and psychotic episodes after eating
the bittersweet seeds of the toxic jimson weed, a plant commonly called
stinkweed.

The boys are at McMaster University Medical Centre hooked up to heart
monitors and drinking an activated charcoal mixture to purge poison from
their bodies. They will be kept in hospital until today to insure there are
no long-term effects.

Nine-year-old Kelvin Dalton collapsed Wednesday afternoon and then started
hallucinating, seeing snakes and spiders. He couldn't talk and lost his
balance.

``He didn't even recognize me,'' recalls dad Mervin, who had no idea what
was causing the strange behaviour of Kelvin and his seven-year-old brother
Raymond.

It wasn't until their friend Bradley Scott, 9, told his mother, Corinne
Tudgian, what they had been eating that the frightening mystery was solved.

``I wondered if someone had fed drugs to him or poked him with something,''
said Tudgian.

Her son didn't suffer hallucinations but became very drowsy and had to be
kept awake.

Bradley says the four had been using the pods as pucks in a game of street
hockey. They picked the pods from a neighbour's front yard on Gibson Avenue
in central Hamilton. When another child told them the seeds tasted like
honey, they decided to eat them.

Tudgian said the families want to warn others about the dangers of the plant.

A health department spokeswoman said information about the plant and its
dangers are being circulated to area hospitals, school boards and family
doctors.

If necessary, a public education program will be launched to ensure
everyone is aware of the danger.

Late last week, five local youths were treated at St. Joseph's Hospital
after eating seeds from the weed. They suffered severe seizures and had to
be restrained to prevent self-inflicted wounds.

Tudgian said nurses at McMaster told parents about Internet reports of
several cases of death resulting from eating parts of the plant.

``We just want parents to be aware of what the plant looks like and the
symptoms and effects so they can get their children to the hospital before
it's too late.''

Jimson weed is native to South America and was introduced to North America
in the last century as an ornamental plant. The plant reseeds itself.

This is not the first summer people have suffered a toxic high from the
plant. In 1995, there were three cases of people being hospitalized after
eating jimson seeds. In 1994, 10 teens were hospitalized.

Symptoms of jimson weed poisoning can include dry mouth, dilated pupils,
rapid heart beat, thirst, difficulty swallowing and speaking, blurred
vision, hallucinations often featuring insects, seizures and coma.

DEADLY JIMSON WEED

Jimson weed (datura stramonium), also called stinkweed, is related to
nightshade. All parts of the plant are poisonous. Jimson weed contains
hyoscyamine, a sedative and hypnotic toxin, as well as dangerous levels of
nitrates. A very small amount, four to five grams, is fatal to a child if
ingested.

Datura is sometimes grown as an ornamental because of its large, showy,
trumpet-shaped flowers.

Symptoms of jimson weed poisoning, which occur within 60 minutes after
ingestion, include dry mouth, dilated pupils, rapid heart beat, thirst,
difficulty swallowing and speaking, blurred vision, hallucinations,
seizures and coma.

Emergency first aid: if someone has eaten any part of the plant, take them
to the nearest hospital emergency department. Take along a specimen of the
plant.

Checked-by: Pat Dolan