planthelper Posted October 30, 2003 extract of norman taylor's book narcotics Copyright 1949/63. PITURI about 1830 it became apparent to the english in australia that they could no longer confine themselves to a comparatively narrow costal strip, and that perhapse the "island" wasworth of exploration. various adventures finally pushed a little way into the vast interior, whereupon it became obvious that australia was a pretty big continent, partly forested, but with muchch salt desert and a huge deficiency ao rainfall. some of it was scarcely fit even for ticket-of-leave men,while not a few of the prospectors were killed by the boomerangs of the natives. one of the best expeditions was headed by burke and wills, who reache hundreds of miles inland to a region described by one of the australian scientist as of "expressionless monotony". here john king, one of the few survivors of the party, found himself without much water and with very little food. without PITURI, which some friendly natives gave him, he would probably have died. but after chewing pituri it "soon caused him to forget his hunger and the miseries of his position". this is the first recorded use of pituri, allthough the australiens did not then know its name,.... ....... the dessert shrub known as pituri (also as pecherie, pedgeri, pitchuri, and seventeen other variants) is a member of the potato family, which contains some of the most dangrous narcotic alkaloids ever discovered. one of them, scopolamine, is now ( 1963 and older/ translator)prescribed by doctors in doses as small as one-one-hundredth of a grain, and even physicians are warned by the U.S pharmacopoeia thus: "caution. scopolamine hydrobromide is extreemly poisonous. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
planthelper Posted October 30, 2003 yet it si this alkaloid that is found in pituri, and for its diluted effects the "black fellows" originally walked four hundred miles to gather it. so poisonous is the plant that some natives who never chew it, throw it in the waterhole used by emus, who quickly becomes stupefied and hence eassily caught. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Torsten Posted October 30, 2003 scopolamine is found in the other two Duboisia species, but is not the active ingredient in Duboisia hopwoodii. Pituri's activity comes from the incredibly large amounts of nicotine of contains. Anyone who has played with chimo or pharmaceutical nicotine products will know just how different large dose nicotine is to the negligible effects derived from cancersticks. it is the nicotine which was so desired, which is why the species was only havested from areas where it was high in nicotine and low in other alkaloids. This just happens to be the area where Burke and Wills got lost and died.... as well as an area about 200km west, 200km south and maybe 300km north of there. I have spent the last 2 yars studying up on that area and I cannot understand how anyone could call it "expressionless monotony". It is also known as channel country as this is where hundred of rivers appear and disappear in the sandy dunes as they push their waterload towards lake Eyre (which in itself is another mystery). From the air it looks like the ripples on the beach, but here each ripple is 100m wide. It is still one of the most dangerous places in australia. Stations (ie cattle stations) are about 50 - 100km apart and there is NOTHING inbetween other than stunning yet inhospitable desert country. Sadly time got away on us this year and now the wetseason looms. We expect to head out there as soon as the wetseason finishes, and I just know it will be the trip of a lifetime. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Torsten Posted October 30, 2003 I only addressed the first poart of your post, but there is more... and for its diluted effects the "black fellows" originally walked four hundred miles to gather it. In fact it was traded over thousands of miles. It was the only trade item that would guarantee safe passage through warring tribes. so poisonous is the plant that some natives who never chew it, throw it in the waterhole used by emus, who quickly becomes stupefied and hence eassily caught. All Duboisia species are used this way. Hopwoodii can be used, but is way too precious if harvested from the pituri area. Only the toxic stuff containing nornicotine is generally used this way. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nabraxas Posted October 30, 2003 i like the bit about the budgerigar/pitcherigar aboriginal drug totem bird---but i don't want to tell it because i'm sure others here can explain it better than i. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
planthelper Posted October 31, 2003 thx,i am no good secretary... i remember that it says, something like several hundreds of trader eagerly awaited the new arrival... got to go , sprayed bragg all over the keybord. edit: amoung habitual users the natives had pet names for addicts, such as pituri pinnarou ("old man pituru') or pituri coono mielkee ("one- eyed pituri") [ 31. October 2003, 07:29: Message edited by: planthelper ] Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Torsten Posted October 31, 2003 Originally posted by nabraxas: i like the bit about the budgerigar/pitcherigar aboriginal drug totem bird---but i don't want to tell it because i'm sure others here can explain it better than i. Michael Bock would be the best person to ask as he has presented this before at a victorian mini conference. He'll be at EB3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
