Product Review

Overview Wild Lettuce (scientific name Lactuca virosa) is a tall, leafy plant with small bright yellow flowers.It looks similar to prickly lettuce (scientific name Lactuca serriola), with a few differences. The leaves and stems are less spiny, and grow closer together. A member of the lettuce family, wild lettuce grows wild in North America and England. Wild Lettuce is also called bitter lettuce, laitue vireuse, opium lettuce, and rakutu-karyumu-so. It is known for having mild sedative and pain relieving properties, due to a milky substance called lactucarium which is found in the leaves and stem of the plant. The effects of lactucarium are considered to be similar to opium, though the substance contains no actual opiates. These effects earned wild lettuce the common name of opium lettuce. History and Use Wild lettuce was widely used in the nineteenth century as an alternative to opium. In was included in the materia medica for a number of years. In the 1970s, the herb gained popularity as both an herbal remedy and a recreational herb. It has been used to treat a number of ailments including asthma, cough, insomnia, headaches, pain, sore muscles and menstrual problems. In the past, Wild Lettuce has been prepared for use in a number of way. Most commonly, the leaves and stems would be dried and prepared as a tea. Other times, the plant would be simmered in a pot with water and sugar, and then reduced to form a thick syrup. Though bitter, the effects of these preparations proved quite effective. While these are the two most traditional means of preparing Wild Lettuce for use, there are a number of more modern options as well. Wild Lettuce can used to make tea, to gain the benefits of the herb while reducing the amount of smoke in your lungs. It can also be smoked or used in a vaporizer. The herb can be bought in a dried cut blend, as a powder, or as a resin made from the collected milk or sap.