Description

Latin name: Lactuca virosa
Also know as: wild lettuce, bitter lettuce, laitue vireuse, opium lettuce, poisonous lettuce, tall lettuce, great lettuce

Origin: Albanien
Supplier-ID: AG-515S

Lactuca virosa – Wild Lettuce

Lactuca virosa is a plant in the Lactuca (lettuce) genus, often ingested for its mild analgesic and sedative effects. Lactuca virosa has long been known in the world of “natural remedies” or “alternative treatments”. It is often referred to as the poor man’s opium.

Lactuca virosa was studied extensively by the Council of the Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain in 1911. They discovered two chemicals responsible for the properties of Lactuca virosa; lactucopicrin and lactucin. Lactuca virosa was used in the 19th century by physicians when opium could not be obtained. In the United States, the plant experienced a resurgence in popularity in the 1970s. Today the plant is un-scheduled by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), meaning it is legal to grow, purchase, and own without prescription or license.

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