# How much nutmeg do you need to eat to hallucinate? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 26, 2019, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-nutmeg-do-you-need-to-eat-to-hallucinate/833091 "2019-04-26T20:15:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2019, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-nutmeg-do-you-need-to-eat-to-hallucinate/833091/1 "2019-04-26T20:15:18Z")
So I just discovered that eating an amount of nutmeg will make people hallucinate. It takes hours to do that and the first few hours of effects don’t sound pleasant. You also can take too much which can give you heart problems so it’s probably not a good idea to try it, but I’m left wondering. What quantity are we talking here? Do you need fresh ground or is that old powder at the back of your spice rack going to do it? ---
**Author:** ![road\_lobo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d78d45/32.png) [@road\_lobo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/road_lobo)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2019, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-nutmeg-do-you-need-to-eat-to-hallucinate/833091/2 "2019-04-26T20:36:38Z")
It sucks. [https://www.erowid.org/psychoactives/faqs/natural\_highs\_faq.shtml#nutmeg](https://www.erowid.org/psychoactives/faqs/natural_highs_faq.shtml#nutmeg) NUTMEG Family: Myristicaceae Genus: Myristica Species: fragrans Usage: 5-20 grams of ground nutmeg is ingested. Fresh ground is best. Can also be taken in a “space paste” concoction (see below). Space paste is difficult/expensive to make and tastes like shit; however, it may actually decrease the side effects. Effects: Possible nausea during first hour; may cause vomiting or diarrhea in isolated cases. Takes anywhere from one to five hours for effects to set in. Then expect severe cottonmouth, flushing of skin, severely bloodshot eyes, dilated pupils. Personally I compare it to a very, very heavy hash buzz. “Intense sedation”. Impaired speech and motor functions. Hallucinations uncommon in average (5-10 gm) doses. Generally followed by long, deep, almost coma-like sleep (expect 16 hours of sleep afterward) and feelings of lethargy after sleep. May cause constipation, water retention. Safrole is carcinogenic and toxic to the liver. ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2019, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-nutmeg-do-you-need-to-eat-to-hallucinate/833091/3 "2019-04-26T20:51:52Z")
According to a friend, more than enough to make you feel really sick and never want to taste nutmeg again. ---
**Author:** ![skdo23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@skdo23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/skdo23)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2019, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-nutmeg-do-you-need-to-eat-to-hallucinate/833091/4 "2019-04-26T20:59:18Z")
> [@Sitnam](#): > > Do you need fresh ground or is that old powder at the back of your spice rack going to do it? I remember reading once that Malcolm X would pass the time in prison by tripping on nutmeg smuggled from the prison kitchen, which I doubt was fresh ground or of the highest quality. ---
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2019, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-nutmeg-do-you-need-to-eat-to-hallucinate/833091/5 "2019-04-26T21:13:49Z")
Terrible idea, you’ll feel like shit for a long time, also there is a condition known as nutmeg psychosis. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2019, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-nutmeg-do-you-need-to-eat-to-hallucinate/833091/6 "2019-04-26T21:20:49Z")
Hmm, Cecil addressed the [nutmeg](https://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/691/is-nutmeg-hallucinogenic/) issue but doesn’t give a dosage. (Esp. getting buzzed vs. getting really sick.) ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2019, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-nutmeg-do-you-need-to-eat-to-hallucinate/833091/7 "2019-04-26T21:47:39Z")
In other words, more than you would put into food, and doing so is not a very good idea. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2019, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-nutmeg-do-you-need-to-eat-to-hallucinate/833091/8 "2019-04-26T23:08:24Z")
I’ve told the story here before years ago, but a friend of mine’s wife (then girfriend) really screwed up some baking instructions and put way, way, way too much nutmeg in some dessert she was cooking up. Ya know, let me just look it up, because when I posted it, it was a recent story. [Ah, yes, here it is](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=68919): > [@](#): > > A good friend of mine’s SO misread a recipe and accidentally put in about three or four tablespoons of dried nutmeg. Anyhow, they ate their dinner, despite the overwhelming nutmeg flavor and my friend ended up with severe, severe nutmeg poisoning, if there is such a thing. He did mention mild hallucinations, but any pleasure derived from such an experience was offset by the intense nausea, fever, shaking and general overall feeling of shittiness. The paramedics, when they showed up, did not believe his story of a nutmeg OD. They figured he was on some kind of drugs. Hey, this is Hungary, so maybe they’re not up on their nutmeg literature. From his description of it, it was not a pleasant trip. ETA: Actually, that entire thread is worth a read for the OP. ---
**Author:** ![skdo23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@skdo23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/skdo23)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2019, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-nutmeg-do-you-need-to-eat-to-hallucinate/833091/9 "2019-04-27T00:20:44Z")
> [@skdo23](#): > > I remember reading once that Malcolm X would pass the time in prison by tripping on nutmeg smuggled from the prison kitchen, which I doubt was fresh ground or of the highest quality. I also seem to remember that a standard matchbox full would do the trick. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2019, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-nutmeg-do-you-need-to-eat-to-hallucinate/833091/10 "2019-04-27T00:50:23Z")
> [@skdo23](#): > > I also seem to remember that a standard matchbox full would do the trick. That is still probably more than you’d want to take at any one time. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2019, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-nutmeg-do-you-need-to-eat-to-hallucinate/833091/11 "2019-04-27T01:20:28Z")
**[Moderating]** Do I really need to explain why I’m closing this?