Wild Lettuce Leaf Cut & Sifted Cert. Organic (Lactuca altissima) 1 lb: C

This is Starwest's nitrogen-flushed double wall silverfoil pack. Used as an infusion, decoction, tincture and smoke. Wild lettuce is also called 'Lettuce Opium.' It has traditionally been used as a relaxant. Lactuca altissima, also called Lactuca quercina, is not, strictly speaking, Lactuca virosa, although the two plants are so closely related they have often been mistaken for one another by the herbal authorities over the years (http://www.inra.fr/flore-france/la-ld.htm). The sesquiterpene lactones from Lactuca altissima are chemically identical to those from Lactuca virosa. As Grieve puts it, 'All lettuces possess some of this narcotic juice, Lactuca virosa having the most, and the others in the following order: L. scariola, or Prickly Lettuce, L. altissima, L. Canadensis, or Wild Lettuce of America, and L. sativa, or Garden Lettuce.' As King's puts it, 'The most energetic lactucarium is said to be obtained from L. virosa and L. altissima.' Wild lettuce is called 'Lettuce Opium' not in the politicized modern sense, but in the medicinal 19th century way, meaning that it is a valuable nervine, anodyne, hypnotic and anti-spasmodic, useful for restlessness, sleeplessness, and hysteria in children. Also helpful with a hacking cough, and in relieving rheumatic pain. Grieve's classic 'A Modern Herbal': 'The Wild Lettuce grows on banks and waste places, flowering in July and August. It is cultivated in Austria, France, Germany and Scotland. Collectors cut the heads of the plants and scrape the juice into china vessels several times daily until it is exhausted. By slightly warming and tapping, it is turned out of its cup mould, is cut into quarters and dried.' 'In the United States, after importation from Germany via England it is said to be used as an adulterant for opium. It is usually found in irregular, reddish-brown lumps the size of a large pea, frequently mouldy on the outside. In the United States the German and French lactucarium is considered inferior to the British product.' 'All lettuces possess some of this narcotic juice, Lactuca virosa having the most, and the others in the following order: L. scariola, or Prickly Lettuce, L. altissima, L. Canadensis, or Wild Lettuce of America, and L. sativa, or Garden Lettuce. Cultivation has lessened the narcotic properties of the last, but it is still used for making a lotion for the skin useful in sunburn and roughness. The Ancients held the lettuce in high esteem for its cooling and refreshing properties. The Emperor Augustus attributed his recovery from a dangerous illness to it; built an altar to it, and erected a statue in its honour.' 'Lactucarium is not easily powdered, and is only slightly soluble in boiling water, though it softens and becomes plastic.' 'L. virosa has been found to contain lactucic acid, lactucopicrin, 50 to 60 per cent lactucerin (lactucone) and lactucin. Lactucarium treated with boiling water and filtered is clear, but on cooling the