Nutmeg High: Poison Centers See Uptick In Abuse Of Spice

ABC News:

A sprinkle of nutmeg in eggnog or a pinch in apple pie can add the perfect punch to a holiday dessert. But winter's favorite spice has also made headlines as an unconventional way of getting high -- it's called a nutmeg high.

Nutmeg contains myristicin, a natural compound that has mind-altering effects if ingested in large doses. The buzz can last one to two days and can be hallucinogenic, much like LSD.

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Comments

[consandy]

02:33 AM on 12/18/2010

My husband imbibed in ye old nutmeg to get high way back in the sixties. Because he wasn't "coming on" to it, he ate another dose. This lead to him getting incredibly sick; so much so, that when I first met him 30 yrs. ago he would NOT allow me to cook with it! He's mellowed out now and I can sneak it in here and there. :)

[Daniel Malo]

03:05 PM on 12/13/2010

www.facebook.com/free.the.leaf
cannabis=industry.medicine.peace.

[Samdog 07]

12:20 PM on 12/12/2010

Nutmeg fans might enjoy this Swedish cake recipe--just be sure someone's nearby to
call 911:

"Tens of thousands of copies of a Swedish food magazine have been recalled this week after an error in an apple cake recipe sent four of its readers to the hospital with nutmeg poisoning. The recipe should have called for two pinches of nutmeg. Instead, the magazine went to press telling chefs to use 20 whole nutmeg nuts."

http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/09/03/food-magazine-typo-poisons-sweden/

[Alvarask]

06:56 PM on 12/12/2010

That doesn't sound like a typo. I mean...I can see "2 pinches" becoming "20 pinches" as a typo of some kind...but going from 2 pinches to 20 WHOLE nutmeg nuts....that`s odd.

[truthisneeded]

06:24 PM on 12/14/2010

swedish people must love their nuts

[acidfree]

01:25 AM on 01/21/2011

I love the swedish loving the nuts that I have....

[gfirmin57]

09:52 PM on 12/11/2010

There is a word for this: Darwinism.

[xstevejx]

08:13 PM on 12/11/2010

In a Food Network Unwrapped show (Unwrapped is a show on Food Network, but this was a behind-the-scenes episode), they were talking to a research guy who mentioned they ran across a recipe that called for a lot of ground nutmeg, which they ended up scaling back because of this.

[SierraNevadaOnTap]

06:45 PM on 12/11/2010

ANOTHER reason to legalize cannabis - - one toke and you know pretty quickly if its enough and you will not die from it. i would bet most of these nutmeg users are teenagers - - sad.

[gfirmin57]

09:52 PM on 12/11/2010

Qualify that: very stupid teenagers.

[peachpage01]

12:50 PM on 12/11/2010

Well Merry Christmas!

[MuchMadness]

08:47 PM on 12/10/2010

Well, there's Connecticut's next tourism campaign.

[Hank007]

05:07 PM on 12/10/2010

"Like most drugs of abuse, they all have a cycle and all go in and out of being popular," said Bernstein"

Drug? It's a spice. Like many plants, it can be intoxicating if used in certain ways. It can also have great medicinal benefit. Oh wait, forget I said that, lest it be made illegal. Seeing as America is going backwards anyway, time for a new 'spice war'.

[hmmmmm]

05:20 PM on 12/10/2010

ha ha you mean a "war on spice". thats clever!!!

[HotheadPaisen]

06:21 PM on 12/10/2010

Totally. War on spice/ Mace would be the weapon of choice.

[acidfree]

01:29 AM on 01/21/2011

I think he means "spice war" ala Dune....although that could be the spice talking...

[garystartswithg]

06:33 PM on 12/10/2010

but if you can call it a drug then they can do all kinds of magical things with it -- welcome to the modern world. just out of curiosity what benefits does it have? I was young and dumb 10 yrs ago and ate lots of nutmeg and it wasn't exactly a party. i fell down when i tried to get up, got a really bad headache, and it lasted a couple days. if it were anything like LSD then maybe it would have been worth it. media hype is just going to make kids more curious.

[kevinbr38]

10:15 AM on 12/11/2010

This isn't media hype, and I really don't think lot's of kids are following HuffPo. Unfortunately, they have plenty of drugs to choose from out there.

[floridalib]

05:06 PM on 12/10/2010

I know what I'm doing for Christmas........

[garystartswithg]

06:35 PM on 12/10/2010

lol -- been there, done that, and its very overrated. of course if you were serving say a custard or something and wanted to watch your family fall down when they tried to get up from the table then it would be all worth it -- except they would be stuck at your place, and that would be really bad.

[kevinbr38]

10:18 AM on 12/11/2010

Happy 300 Gary. I may try in on my aunt Barbra. She has alway been on my case. LOL.

[gnorrfa]

04:42 PM on 12/10/2010

now the dea will be breaking down doors at bakeries and restaurants throwing cooks and owners into gaol! zanzibar will be invaded! nutmeg banned on flights. uncouth youths possessing nutmeg rounded up by local police. watch that eggnog! sales of mace will skyrocket!

[Rational Voice]

04:27 PM on 12/10/2010

Nutmeg can kill you. But it's perfectly legal. Use as much as you want.

Alcohol can kill you. But it's perfectly legal. Just try not to drink and drive.

Aspirin can kill you. But it's perfectly legal. Take as many as you want.

Drinking too much milk can kill you. But it's perfectly legal. Knock yourself out.

Tobacco WILL likely kill you. But it's perfectly legal. Smoke 'em if you've got 'em.

Eating too many potatoes can kill you. But it's perfectly legal -- eat as many as you want.

And so on...

Cannabis CAN'T kill you -- but it's illegal? ... WTF?!?

Clearly, cannabis being illegal has NOTHING to do with public safety.

[gnorrfa]

04:33 PM on 12/10/2010

you got that right! good take down, too bad it's not in lights. f&f

[gfirmin57]

05:51 PM on 12/11/2010

So drink a glass of red wine instead. It tastes good and it's good for you. Who gives a hoot about potheads wanting to get high legally?

[Rational Voice]

10:43 PM on 12/11/2010

"So drink a glass of red wine instead."

No thanks. Alcohol is a dangerous and destructive drug. I'll stick to something that isn't officially classified as a poison.

"It tastes good and it's good for you."

That's entirely debatable. Grape juice is arguably just as beneficial, and much more satisfying.

"Who gives a hoot about potheads wanting to get high legally?"

You should, because cannabis is just one of the excuses they use to suppress the public and strip us of our rights. "Terrorism" is quickly becoming another. Don't look now -- you don't have many rights left!

"First they came for the fourth amendment,
and I did not speak out, because I didn't deal drugs.

They came for the fifth amendment,
and I was silent because I owned no property involved in crimes

They came for the sixth amendment,
and I did not protest because I was innocent.

They came for the second amendment,
and I said nothing because I didn't own a gun.

And then they came for the first amendment,
and I could say nothing at all."

[LawrenceL]

09:47 PM on 12/12/2010

"Who gives a hoot about potheads wanting to get high legally? "

You're paying a lot of money to prosecute and inprison potheads, so unless you like wasting your own money, and I get the feeling you don't, you should give a hoot. Out of your own selfish interest.

[blacksun93]

03:51 PM on 12/10/2010

A few weeks ago I read a great article about Nutmeg used as a 'women's Viagra' in Africa where Nutmeg is grown. No mention of death from it. Apparently it is very hard to eat that much without vomiting. Here is the globalwatch article: far more interesting than this squib above: http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/africa/101123/viagra-nutmeg-sex-spice

[garystartswithg]

06:25 PM on 12/10/2010

after trying nutmeg its not all that -- you lose motor skills and get a bad headache. its pretty easy to get down a lot of it down if you cook it into something. i can't imagine how it would be considered a libido booster -- unless it has to do with making them easier to submit.

[MrUnlimited]

03:36 PM on 12/10/2010

Next on the agenda of our over paternalistic government: a nutmeg ban...to "protect the children", of course.

[camanokat]

07:44 PM on 12/10/2010

Nah, never going to happen. No corporate profits are being cut as result of nutmeg being legal.

[MoyturaSkywatcher]

03:35 PM on 12/10/2010

Malcom X reported the use of nutmeg in prisons, apparently a popular drug among inmates.

[Hank007]

05:07 PM on 12/10/2010

It helps with heroin withdrawal.

[Kellybelle22]

03:12 AM on 12/13/2010

How interesting. I never knew that! Do you know through what mechanism, Hank007? Wonder if it's through myristicin or whatever that chemical is.

Moytura, I'm eager to know whether you've had the joyous arrival yet. I hope all is well!