ST. JAMES TEENS ILL AFTER INGESTING HIGHLY TOXIC WEED

SEVERAL St.James-area teens became ill after ingesting the highly toxic
Gimson weed, prompting police to issue a public warning

Const. Bob Johnson said police learned of young people eating the plant
when officers got a report Sept. 12 of an ill 17-year-old girl.

Johnson said the teens believed they were eating the hallucinogenic Peyote
plant.

The four young people were treated at Grace General Hospital and released.

Johnson also said there are reports of inmates at Headingley Correctional
Institute and Stony Mountain Institution eating the plant (Datura
stramonium), which commonly grows on the prairies.

Johnson also said the plant is not illegal. Users either smoke it or brew
it into a tea. Hallucinations are the most common side effect, from simple
visual changes in natural colours to intense hallucinations of crawling
insects.

However, the level of toxins vary from plant to plant, making its use as a
recreational drug extremely dangerous.

In most cases, where its use is not controlled, users become seriously ill
or delirious. In some cases, deaths have also been reported.

It's also known as Jimson Weed, Locoweed, Angel's Trumpet, Thorn Apple,
Devil's Trumpet, Mad Apple, Stink Weed, Sacred Datura, Green Dragon and
Devil's Trumpet.