A Drug Deal For Sex

Genesis 30:14-17
Rachel says she'll let Leah have sex with her husband if she gives her his son's mandrakes. Mandrake is a narcotic plant. That's right, this is a drug deal in the Bible. Not only that, it's a drug deal for sex! No mention is made if Leah's son Reuben who found the mandrake plants was upset that his mother gave away his stash.

Mandrake is the source of a narcotic much used during the Middle Ages as a pain-killer and perhaps the subject of more superstition than any other plant. The long root (sometimes called a mandrake) which crudely resembles the human form (actually the root looks like a parsnip) has been credited since ancient times with such attributes as the power to magically arouse ardor, increase wealth, and overcome infertility (e.g., Gen. 30.14-16). It was said that the root gave forth such screams when pulled from the ground that death or madness resulted for any who heard; it was uprooted, therefore, by a dog who was tied to it and then called from a distance. The potency of the mandrake, which contains several alkaloids of medicinal value, has made it one of the most frequently mentioned plants in literature. (click here for another dog story) [1]

MANDRAKE
USES:Traditionally known as an aphrodisiac and closely associated with witchcraft.
EFFECTS:Hallucinations followed by deathlike trance and sleep.
CAUTION:Mandrake can easily cause death by respiratory paralysis.




Following are two reported experiences with mandrake: [2]


Mandrake: A Spooky Experience

by R.J. Student Nurse
http://www.erowid.org/experiences/exp.php3?ID=2014

The taste: absolutely disgusting. Trust your intuition regarding dose - pour a load into a saucepan, add water, boil & simmer for 20 minutes, strain, add a generous amount of honey and have a piece of fruit ready for afterwards. Be prepared to go for a pretty violent shit at some point. You need to have a healthy constitution before taking this. Senses are heightened, there's are feeling of paranoia, edginess, nervousness, urgency too, like Something's about to happen. I had it one Saturday night. It kicks in suddenly, say 3 hours later. I had the sudden urge to go and see the late show of Sleepy Hollow - before wandering around my (mostly deserted) halls of residence feeling like Jack Nicholson in The Shining. But........ next morning, a most pleasant hangover feeling, all nice and relaxing and a feeling that almost anything is possible.

However, a friend had some and all she got was the trots!!!!




Mandrake: Stick to Legit, Illegal Drugs

by Dandelion
http://www.erowid.org/experiences/exp.php3?ID=2015

Recently i had a day off from work and decided to spend it experimenting with mandrake root. Mandrake contains scopalamine, which is (along with atropine) also found in thorn apple/belladonna. both were commonly used in 'witches potions' to induce out of body experiences, so my plan was to try to leave my body. these drugs are known to cause some unpleasant (but, i thought, hallucinogenic) effects.

well, because a housemate had tried mandrake last year at a certain dosage with no effects noticable enough to count, i decided to make a much stronger tea with it. it is mind-bogglingly bitter, and because i mixed moleasses with it for sweetness, the tastes are associated for me and i can't stand even the smell of molasses anymore. i made about 1.5-2 pts of tea with around 6 tablespoons of mandrake. drank a bunch, nothing. drank another glass. felt some vague feelings, thought 'maybe it's coming on' and lay down to focus on it. it faded in around ten minutes so i drank more. i played tag like this with vague effects for a while, taking huge gulps in an attempt to get strong effects from it. eventually i quit, and went out for dinner. i felt no effects.

as soon as i ate a medium-sized meal, my stomach began to hurt. i lay in bed for a while, feeling like i had indigestion. well, that feeling turned into the most horrific drug experience i can even imagine having. it did not involve any alteration of consciousness except that caused by the waves of cold chills, the protracted vomiting fits which dredged up stuff i'd eaten 8 or more hours earlier, and the diaherria which shortly consisted solely of yellowish water. for close to 10 hours all i could do was lay shivering under tons o' quilts, crawl to the bathroom to puke up clots of fairly-well-digested food and quarts of water i'd been drinking to keep hydrated, and shit water. i almost had someone take me to the hospital, even knowing how barbaric they are there about drugs (they tried to help a friend who was freaking out on mushrooms and made the mistake of going there by interrogating her for almost an hour about where she got the shrooms)

eventually my girlfriend found a reference to mandrake which said it could be used as an emetic, a very powerful emetic, and not to use it since other less dangerous herbs give the same effects. they said, if you were driven for some reason to use it, to make a tea approx. 1/6 the strength of the one i'd made, and sip a tablespoon an hour for four hours. holy shit i drank about two pints of the shit!

moral of the story: stick to legit, illegal drugs.


[1]The Columbia Encyclopedia
[2] Erowid Mandrake Vaults - http://www.erowid.org/plants/mandrake/mandrake.shtml
[3] ibid. A Spooky Experience (Mandrake) by R.J. Student Nurse - http://www.erowid.org/experiences/exp.php3?ID=2014
[4] ibid. Stick to Legit, Illegal Drugs [Mandrake] by Dandelion - http://www.erowid.org/experiences/exp.php3?ID=2015





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