# Wild lettuce **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 4, 2017, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wild-lettuce/783759 "2017-04-04T19:02:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2017, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wild-lettuce/783759/1 "2017-04-04T19:02:06Z")
Wild lettuce I was reading today that wild lettuce has natural opium like chemicals and is effectively for pain relief and is legal. How would a person know how to dose something like this? Play with it till you get it right? It seems like the active chemicals could vary greatly from plant to plant. ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2017, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wild-lettuce/783759/2 "2017-04-04T21:04:01Z")
Where did you read that? My guess is that you would have to either eat a lot of wild lettuce and hope for the best, or extract the “opium like chemicals” from the plant at home. I can’t see this being more effective then using OTC or prescription pain killers. I’ve read tthat medical Marijuana is sometimes used to [control chronic pain for some patients](http://www.webmd.com/pain-management/news/20100830/marijuana-relieves-chronic-pain-research-show#1). ---
**Author:** ![Ignotus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ecc23a/32.png) [@Ignotus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignotus)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2017, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wild-lettuce/783759/3 "2017-04-04T21:15:19Z")
Wiki: [_Lactuca virosa_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lactuca_virosa). ---
**Author:** ![Elemenopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b5e925/32.png) [@Elemenopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elemenopy)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2017, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wild-lettuce/783759/4 "2017-04-04T21:24:29Z")
In old books, I’d occasionally run across a reference to “smoking lettuce.” Is this what they were referring to, or was it just another nickname for marijuana? ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2017, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wild-lettuce/783759/5 "2017-04-04T23:26:11Z")
> [@Elemenopy](#): > > In old books, I’d occasionally run across a reference to “smoking lettuce.” Is this what they were referring to, or was it just another nickname for marijuana? Plenty of info online but I still don’t understand dosing. It may be so diluted that dosing is not much of an issue. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2017, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wild-lettuce/783759/6 "2017-04-05T00:57:44Z")
I’ve heard this too. IIRC, the amount is negligible and only appears after the plant has bolted and the sap has turned milky, so in any case, it wouldn’t taste good. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2017, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wild-lettuce/783759/7 "2017-04-05T01:02:09Z")
> [@Ignotus](#): > > Wiki: [_Lactuca virosa_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lactuca_virosa). > [@](#): > > In North America, it has been documented as introduced in **California, Alabama, Iowa, and Washington, DC** Now that is a combination of states(and districts) you don’t see in a whole lot of contexts. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2017, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wild-lettuce/783759/8 "2017-04-05T01:17:46Z")
I just tried some, the sap is super bitter and takes an hour or so to dissipate the taste in your mouth. very unpleasant. I didn’t feel anything unusual but did go home and take an uncharacteristic knap for an hour or so. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2017, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wild-lettuce/783759/9 "2017-04-06T03:59:35Z")
Cecil mentioned wild lettuce in this column: [Is iceberg lettuce a drug?](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2578/is-iceberg-lettuce-a-drug)