Similar to Opium: This Painkiller Grows in your Backyard

Health, pain by Roxy Bentsen Faulkner

 

Pain, everything from injury to disease, is a very common ailment or symptom that’s known to bring down the strongest of the strong. Nowadays pain is so common that we’re witnessing a considerable epidemic of people who are dependent on opiates.

Sadly, with so many people trying to find some relief, it’s caused a huge number of our population to become dependent on a chemical bandage, which most likely only masks the problem, instead of fixing the cause.

Sadly, it’s become so far-reaching that those in the medical field see many people who are in real need as “seekers”. So, rather than getting relief from actual pain, they’re being turned away.

Because of this, they’re obtaining it illegally, and pain clinics and rehab clinics are popping up all over the place, in an effort to help people combat their addictions.

Wild Lettuce Is A Healthy Alternative

The scientific term for wild lettuce is Lactuca Virosa, and lots of people have used it instead of addictive prescription pain medicines. The plant is tall and leafy, with small yellow buds, and can be grown right outside your door.

It’s most commonly found in North America and England and it’s a cousin to the lettuce that we usually find at the grocery store. It’s also called bitter lettuce, or more fittingly for this discussion purpose, opium lettuce.

(Wild Lettuce)

The reason this plant is called opium lettuce, is because it has pain relieving and sedative effects that it’s known to produce through a white substance found within the stem and leaves. 

The milky substance it produces is called lactucarium, and although it doesn’t actually have any opiates in it, it does have similar side effects when used- it acts directly on the central nervous system (CNS) to help reduce the feeling of pain, similar to morphine.

Even though it does seem to be the best kept secret ever, it’s been used as an alternative to pain relief throughout history.

Historical Uses

Back in the 19th century, some people were already using wild lettuce as an alternative to opium. However, it wasn’t until the 70’s that it began to gain considerable popularity by people wanting a more natural remedy. Individuals started using the plant to relieve pain as well as for recreational purposes.

In the early days, people used wild lettuce by preparing it a couple of different ways. One way was to actually cook the plant in a pan in a mixture of water and sugar, until it was reduced to a thick syrup-like consistency.

But, even though this was an effective form, it tasted very bitter even with the sugar added. The most common way of ingesting the plant was to dry the stem and leaves out and use them as an herbal tea.

Even today, the tea remains popular. However, people also use the plant by drying it out for smoking and vaporizing. If you’d rather not grow it yourself, you can always buy it as a dried herb, extract, or resin substance.

How to Use Opium Lettuce 

When a stem or leaf from a wild Lettuce plant is broken or cut, it will bleed a thick milky sap. This sap can be made into an alcohol tincture, (Lactucarium) or the fresh leaves and flowering tops can be tinctured, or dried and made taken as teas,smoked or less often in capsule form. Approximately 1.5 grams of opium lettuce sap is typically infused in a tea. It is alleged to have a sweet taste. Only about 0.25 grams are smoked in a pipe. It is considerably more potent when smoked.

Other Known Benefits

The most popular reasons that people are attracted to this natural pain killer and medicinal plant are listed below:

  • Migraines– People who use it for this purpose claim that after starting the herb they experienced fewer migraines than they did before using it.
  • Insomnia– One reason that many people use the wild lettuce is because they have trouble sleeping. It produces a relaxed and euphoric feeling, which helps them to fall asleep much easier, and without the addictive qualities that are commonly found in prescription sleep aids.
  • Anxiety– Wild lettuce acts as a mild sedative, which allows people who suffer with anxiety to find relief from the stress it causes.
  • Asthma and Cough– Wild lettuce has cough suppressant properties, which helps to relieve and subdue coughs. Also, patients who suffer from asthma and use opiates found that they have more episodes if they’re going through an opiate withdrawal. So, using wild lettuce rather than prescription opiates, might be a better alternative for them.

Besides the benefits listed above, wild lettuce also produces a euphoric state, much like that produced by opiates, even though it doesn’t contain any actual opiate… so the plant is perfectly legal.

 Gee, do you think the government will outlaw this plant too? 😉

The Oily Guru

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