“Opium Lettuce”: Useful SHTF Plant Or Harmful Myth?

With the United States deeply in an opioid crisis, solutions seem futile. Most preppers know about the wild plant (a weed) known as “opium lettuce” that could be useful when the SHTF.  But others are saying its effects are nothing more than a myth!

So where’s the truth? Probably somewhere in between, like always, however, keep in mind, foraging for a weed on your own land is free and Big Pharma can’t make money off your addiction to it.  That is, if “opium lettuce” was addictive, which it’s not. There is actually no opium in the plant, according to WebMD. But wild lettuce gets its nickname “opium lettuce” from the pain-relieving and sedative effects of a white substance produced in the stems and leaves of the plant.

According to the website, Ask A Prepper, in the earlier days, people using wild lettuce prepared it a couple of different ways. One way was to cook the plant in a pan of water and sugar mix until it reduced to a thick syrup-like consistency. While this was an effective form, it was quite bitter even with the sugar added. The most common form, however, was drying the stem and leaves to use as an herbal tea.

Lactuca Virosa is the scientific term for the morphine-like plant, and many people have used it in place of addictive prescription pain medication, like opioids. The plant is also often called “wild lettuce,” and it’s fairly abundant especially in North America. Known as a weed to most, it gets plucked from lawns and tossed in compost piles, but it’s important to know what it can do, and how safe it actually is.

Similar To Morphine: The Weed Every Prepper Should Know About

Knowing how to spot this plant could provide natural and beneficial pain relief when prescription drugs are not readily available. And according to some studies, “opium lettuce” could actually work, however, don’t expect it to kill pain to the extent that a prescription pain killer can.  It’s important to understand that plants, in their natural forms will have limitations while chemical-laced manufactured drugs do not.

And there are potential side effects. One source lists the side effects as “nausea, vomiting, anxiety, and dizziness.” Ironically, those are almost the exact same side effects one can expect from a prescription opioid, minus the “chemical dependence.“ Still, there is very little evidence that this plant is harmful when ingested.  Most of the evidence claiming that the effects of “opium lettuce” are nothing more than a myth revolve around the fact that it is less effective than prescription opioids and assume people will be smoking it as opposed to drying the leaves and using it as a tea. It is obvious that lighting anything on fire and inhaling the smoke is not the most healthy way to get the benefits of any herb, but hey, to each their own.

What is great about wild lettuce, is that it isn’t addictive and could be a viable alternative to the deadly opioids which obviously are highly addictive.

*For informational purposes only.  This is not intended to treat, cure, or diagnose any disease or ailments.  Please seek professional medical attention if you have any questions or concerns regarding your health or any supplements.

This article has been contributed by SHTF Plan. Visit www.SHTFplan.com for alternative news, commentary and preparedness info.