[thechat] the absinthiste

[Erika Meyer]

>it is legal to have it, consume it, and it's legal to bring it into 
>the country.

It had better damn well be legal.  Nothing pisses me off more than 
the illegalizing of god's green herbs.  Well, almost nothing.

"All plants are medicine."

Wormwood grows wild in Northern California (I've seen it here in 
Portland, too.)

Preparing willow & hazel for basketry, your hands get all raw from 
peeling piles of sticks.  You gather the wormwood, make an infusion 
and soak your hands in it, and it heals them.  I've done it.  I was 
very thankful for the wormwood.

It's also supposed to purge your body of worms, if you need that. 
But you know anything you take to kill worms in your gut has to be 
some gnarly shit.

Okay, I've tried a lot of psychotropic substances in my life, 
mushrooms I found growing and thought were "probably" fun (they 
were... blue-stain mushrooms won't kill you, anyway, and I knew that 
much).  You got to know your mushroom.

I've smoked industrial hemp that grows wild in the midwest (and 
wouldn't recommend it).

When I was a teenager, I once ate huge amounts of nutmeg to catch a 
buzz. (sort of works but not worth trying twice).

I've ingested certain flower seeds, after scraping off as much 
strychnine as possible...  psychedelic but still made me sick.

I've chewed fresh alder bark to make red dye for coloring ferns for 
basketry (picture bright orange saliva gushing out of your mouth... 
it's weird but probably harmless... I'd heard the old Indian ladies 
did it..)

I knew a guy in Germany who tried Fliegenpilze (Amanita Muscaria) but 
that's where I draw the line.

Nothing that starts with "Amanita" for me, thank you.  And no 
wormwood tea, unless I have worms and no health insurance, ha.  And 
I'll probably be avoiding Datura (Jimson Weed) as well.

>My brother had a bottle that he bought in the Czech Republic, which 
>apparently was one of the places famous for good absinthe. You can 
>buy it in England too.

yeah, I've seen it.  I'd probably try it once, too, though I suppose 
the thrill comes from overindulgence & poisoning your brain.

But this guy takes the cake, with his big herbal infusion, jeez.

... then again, reading back, maybe I am (or was once) that crazy, 
back in the day. Maybe that's why the piece affected me so strongly.

But truly, you got to know your medicine.

Erika
--