Just a short rant here. I’m constantly seeing advertisements in stores for “drug free” herbal remedies. Perhaps the fuckwads that write these things need to do their homework. Anything that affects the mind, whether it’s a pill or the compressed roots of god-knows-what, IS A DRUG!
Don’t you DARE call your Ma Huang drug free! It’s got fucking ephedrine in it! The plant itself may not be a drug, but it certainly contains one. That’s like saying marijuana isn’t a drug; it’s just the cannabis plant. Oh sure, that plant contains THC, but let’s not mention that in the advertising.
This is not only false advertising, it could be downright dangerous. There are prescription drugs that react badly with some of these herbs. If some lummox doesn’t read up and just takes the advertisement at face value, serious consequences could result. No, it’s not likely, but it certainly is possible.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again : advertisments are pure evil.
Dorland’s Illustrated Medical Dictionary (28th Ed.) defines drug as:
It further defines herb as:
Ergo, herbs ARE drugs, inasmuch as they’re remedies used to treat abnormal conditions.
Most drugs, in fact, originated as herbs. Morphine, for example, comes from the seed pods of the opium poppy, digitalis comes from the foxglove plant, and the first birth control pills came from a species of Mexican yam. There is a whole branch of pharmacology called pharmacognosy that specifically deals in this kind of thing.
One caution that I feel compelled to point out is that there are a number of herb-drug interactions. If you decide to take herbs for any reason, and you take medication, make sure your doc knows about the herbs. Herbs need to be regarded as the drugs they are.
I know Robyn, my comment was meant to show that his definition didn’t work, since drinking enough water can effect your brain. Hitting yourself in the hammer can effect your brain. Lots of things can effect your brain. The word drug is a very loose term that’s hard to define, but his definition was way off base.
The definition given in the OP was off, but as I posted, drug has a very specific meaning. Herbal products, be they from a bottle from a well-known drug company or from the Chinese herbalist up the street, are drugs. They ARE intended to be used for the treatment of disease, the commercial disclaimers notwithstanding. That makes them drugs.
And I see your point as well. (we’d better stop agreeing, this is The Pit after all)
When I said it had a broad definition, I meant in the social sense. Like when someone says “sex is a drug”. Obviously it isn’t technically a drug, it would have to be a noun to be a drug, for one thing. Still, people say that anyway, and you understand what they’re saying when you do. But let’s not continue to hijack an already pointless thread.
Point taken Freeky. The definition I gave was told to me a long, long time ago (in high school maybe?). I hadn’t really given a whole lot of thought to how vague of a definition that is.
Of course, the basic point of my post still stands. No matter what defintion you give for a drug, herbal medications fit the bill.
I was dredging around various undisclosed locations and came up with this little jewel:
Lovely. Does anybody have any idea if it’s true? Gee I wonder if this warning is on the bottles of the stuff you can get in the health food store? Maybe them ancient Chinese powder peddlers knew a thing or two about catching a buzz!
Actually, I think that one is a little over-the-top, speakeasy. IIRC (those more knowledgable, please correct me if I’m wrong), there are short-term and long-term MAOI’s. Passion flower contains a short-term MAOI and ingestion of it will not produce the symptoms you quoted. Some prescription drugs are long-term MAOI’s and eating large amounts of anything on that list while on those can indeed cause death.
I believe I have ingested Passion Flower, and as you can tell, I am alive. Yes, I am a card-carrying herbal crackpot!
Herbs are not to be taken lightly. I have umpteen herbal books, and the good ones do caution about interaction with prescription medication. I check my books before I try anything new, and frankly, I rarely try anything new. There are a few “core” herbs I use for most everything, so it seems.
Since I do not currently take any prescription medication, worrying about my herbs clashing with them is not currently an issue. However, the herbs can react to each other. You have to be careful. Any crackpot herbal person who starts taking herbs willy-nilly is being foolhardy.
That said, I definitely think herbs have their place. Things like echinacea and goldenseal, garlic, etc., are pretty well-documented as being helpful.
One thing I have to say about some medical types - I get the impression that some of them don’t think herbs do ANYTHING. At least there was that smug pharmacist that I met who said that. And the company nurse where I work told me (with a straight face) that vitamins were a waste - that we didn’t need them. Oh well. I usually don’t broadcast my use of herbs to medical types. I don’t want to hear the lecture about how any good they do is all in my head. (I’m not saying that all doctors would say that, but my hunch is that some of them feel that way.)
Well, one good thing passion flower has going for it that nobody can deny - it greatly potentiates the effects of magic mushrooms! Of course, if you’re using it for this reason, there’s a much better MAOI for the job. Eating three grams of peganum harmala seeds effectively doubles the potency of psilocybes!
I wouldn’t know about potentiating the effects of magic mushrooms. My preferred variety is portabella.
I think the point of the OP is that there is no small shortage of fuzzbrains who take the advice of some aging hippie and assume that if it’s in the form of a green leaf, it’s OK; it can’t/won’t hurt you.
This is pretty fallacious reasoning by any definition. You certainly wouldn’t take oleander capsules because you know oleander is poisonous. Foxglove, while the source of the highly beneficial drug digitalis, is also highly poisonous if ingested. Moreover, herbs are not held to the same standard as drugs and vary wildly in terms of strength, purity, and so on.
[trueconfession]I’ve been known to use herbs from time to time myself, but I do talk to my doctor about it before I take it to make sure it doesn’t react with anything else I may be taking.[/trueconfession]
I’m not saying “herbs are bad”. I’m just saying “for God’s sake, use your common sense!”
