Topic: Nutmeg

In our century, nutmeg's story has taken another twist. The myristicin it contains - a hallucinogen with nasty side-effects - has inspired its use as a recreational drug. Malcolm X got high on nutmeg in a Boston jail. And Charlie Parker, it was said, would eat whole nutmegs, as hallucinogenic snacks, with milk or cola on the side.
http://www.findarticles.com/cf_0/m0FQP/4421_128/54169227/p2/article.jhtml

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A jazz musician who played regularly with the legendary saxophonist Charlie Parker (known as 'Bird') recalled that: 'Bird introduced this nutmeg to the guys. It was a cheap and legal high. You can take it in milk or Coca-Cola. The grocer across the street came over to the club owner and said, "I know you do all this baking because I sell from eight to ten nutmegs a day." And the owner came back and looked at the bandstand and there was a whole pile of nutmeg boxes.''
In 1946, before his conversion to Islam, Malcolm X used nutmeg whilst in jail when his supplies of marijuana ran out. In his autobiography he wrote: 'I first got high in Charlestown [prison] on nutmeg. My cellmate was among at least a hundred nutmeg men who, for money or cigarettes, bought from kitchen worker inmates penny matchboxes full of stolen nutmeg. I grabbed a box as though it were a pound of heavy drugs. Stirred into a glass of cold water, a penny matchbox full of nutmeg had the kick of three or four reefers.' When the authorities became aware of such uses of nutmeg it was removed from many prison kitchens.
http://www.moodfoods.com/nutmeg/

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+ MACMILLAN DICTIONARY OF TOXICOLOGY:
myristicin :
A naturally occurring methylenedioxyphenyl compound found in
nutmeg. It has been suggested that myristicin may be
responsible, in whole or in part, for the toxicity of nutmeg.
The spice (5-15g) causes symptoms similar to atropine
poisoning: flushing of skin, tachycardia, absence of
salivation, and excitation of the central nervous system.
Euphoria and hallucinations have given rise to abuse of this
material. As a methylenedioxyphenyl compound, myristicin
gives rise to a type III spectrum with reduced cytochrome
P-450 and can inhibit monooxygenations catalyzed by this
cytochrome. See also AMPHETAMINES; CYTOCHROME P-450, OPTICAL
DIFFERENCE SPECTRA; HALLUCINOGENS.
+ ILLUSTRATED CHURCHILL'S MEDICAL DICTIONARY (page 1227) and
+ INTERNATIONAL DICTIONARY OF MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY (page 1868)
(These have exactly the same text.)
myristicin
A toxic, crystalline, safrole derivative present in star
anise, parsley seed oil, and nutmeg oil. When ingested in
large quantities, it can cause convulsions, hallucinations,
tachycardia, and possibly death.
STANDARD FOR NUTMEG OILS. British Standard Specifications
for East Indian and West Indian Nutmeg Oil (BS 2999/37/38: 1971)
are published by the British Standards Institution.
Adverse Effects
Nutmeg, taken in large doses may cause nausea and vomiting,
flushing, dry mouth, tachycardia, stimulation of the central
nervous system possibly with epileptiform convulsions, miosis,
mydriasis, euphoria, and hallucinations.
Within 4 hours of taking 28 g of nutmeg in water and orange
juice, a 19-year-old woman felt cold and shivery. This was
followed after 6 to 8 hours by severe vomiting accompanied by
hallucinations. For a week she had poor concentration and was
disorientated. The hallucinogen in nutmeg was believed to be
myristicin. - D. J. Panayotopoulos and D. D. Chisholm (letter),
Br. med. J., 1970, 1, 754. A similar report. - R. A. Faguet
and K. F. Rowland, Am. J. Psychiat., 1978, 135, 860.
Within 3 days of receiving ground nutmeg 9 teaspoonfuls daily
to control the diarrhoea associated with nodullary carcinoma
of the thyroid, a patient complained of dry eyes and mouth,
blurred vision, dizziness, tingling, and feelings of
depersonalisation and remoteness. The symptoms gradually
subsided as the dose was reduced. - G. S. Venables et al.
(letter), Br. med. J., 1976, I, 96.
Ingestion of freshly ground nutmeg 1.5 to 4 g three to four
times daily for 2 days by 2 subjects produced constipation,
but no aspirin-like effect on biphasic platelet aggregation
was noted. Both subjects also felt light-headed, slightly
disorientated, occassionally nauseated, flushed, and had
nasal congestion and very dry mouths; pupil size was
unaffected. - W. H. Dietz and M. J. Stuart (letter),
New Engl. J. Med., 1976, 294, 503.

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