Datura
Timeline
| c. 5th Century BCE | Legend has it that when the Buddha preaches, dew or raindrops fall from the heaven onto Datura plants. 1 | |
| c. 301 BCE | Theophrastus, a student of Aristotle, writes about the hallucinogenic effects of Datura stramonium. The text contains one of the earliest references to the concept of tolerance to a drug. 2 | |
| c. 4th-6th Century CE | The Kamasutra of Vātsyāyana includes at least two references to datura. One reference instructs a man to annoint his penis with honey infused with datura before sexual intercourse, to make his partner "subject to his will". 3 | |
| c. 8th Century | The Buddhist scripture Guhyasamāja Tantra instructs in the ritual use of datura. 4 [Details] | |
| c. 10th Century | The Buddhist scripture Vajramahabhairava Tantra refers to Datura metel several times. 5 | |
| 11th - 12th century | Datura is associated with the worship of Shiva, the Indian god associated with the creative and destructive aspects of the universe. 1 | |
| 11th Century | Arabian doctor Avicenna reported on Datura metel under then name 'Jouzmathal ('metel nut'). This report was later repeated in Dioscorides's writings. 1 | |
| 1543 | Leonard Fuchs includes a drawing of Datura stramonium in his herbal. 1 | |
| 1578 | Datura is used as an aphrodisiac in the East Indies. 1 | |
| 1676 | A group of soldiers in Jamestown, Virginia ingest boiled datura and become delirious for days. 6 [Details] | |
| 1968 | Datura over-the-counter remedies for asthma are banned after people begin using them recreationally | |
| 1968 | Carlos Castaneda gives a fictionalized account of the use of datura in his best-selling book The Teachings of Don Juan. 7 | |
| Oct 24, 1968 | In response to reports of the recreational use of medications containing Datura stramonium, the FDA adopted a policy that preparations of D. stramonium that are labelled with directions for use in self-medication will be considered "misbranded", a federal crime. 8 [Details] |
References
- Schultes RE, Hofmann A. Plants of the Gods. Inner Traditions, 1992.
- Siklós B. "Datura Rituals in the Vajramahabhairava-tantra". Curare. 1993;16(2):71-76.
- Beverly R. The History and Present State of Virginia, In Four Parts. 1705. Part II, pg. 24.
- Castaneda C. The Teachings of Don Juan. Univ. of California Press, Simon & Schuster. 1968.