Opium lettuce (Lactuca virosa) : a free and natural analgesic. From “weed“ to medicine.

We tend to forget that medicine originally came from plants. The drugs you find in the pharmacy are synthesised chemical compounds that were extracted from plants. Yet, we trust these pharmacy drugs more than plants in nature. Herbal medicine is becoming a lost art because we have lost touch with nature. Everything you need can be found in nature to stay healthy, it’s just a question of knowing what to find and how to use it. During a walk, I fell on Lactuca virosa, otherwise known as Opium lettuce. This plant contains lactucine which is an analgesic substance that relieves pain. No side effects, no addiction issues and it’s free! It’s really simple to turn this “weed“ into useful medicine. The result is a small quantity of analgesic but very concentrated and highly powerful. I hope this encourages more people to reconnect with nature and to realise how much we are slowly losing.