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Ololiuqui: The Ancient Aztec Narcotic

Remarks on the Effects of Rivea Corymbosa (Ololiuqui)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 February 2018

Humphry Osmond
Humphry Osmond*
Affiliation:
The Saskatchewan Hospital, Weyburn, Saskatchewan, Canada
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Extract

This is an account of a model psychosis (6) produced by eating the seed of a tropical American plant which is known in Mexico as ololiuqui. It is only quite recently that Schultes (16) has made order from chaos in the matter of the identity of a climbing vine called Rivea corymbosa. I was introduced to ololiuqui by Mr. Leslie LeCron during a visit to Los Angeles in which he showed me Taylor's (22) article where he compares it with the peyote. Mr. LeCron discovered that seeds of Rivea corymbosa could be obtained from Dr. I. D. Clement, Director of the Atkins Gardens and Research Laboratory of Harvard University. I am indebted to Dr. Clement for sending me a supply of the seeds which would otherwise have been very difficult to obtain. It is reassuring for the investigator to know that the substances with which he is experimenting have been collected by skilled scientists who exercise meticulous care, for medical and pharmacological investigators have very often suffered from improper or imperfect botanical determination.

Information

Type
Original Articles
Information
Journal of Mental Science , Volume 101 , Issue 424 , July 1955 , pp. 526 - 537
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1955 

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