Plant Intoxicants: Classic Text on the Use of Mind-Altering Plants

(Paperback)

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This pioneering study of psychoactive plants and their role in society, initially published in 1855, is one of the first books to examine the cultivation, preparation, and consumption of the world's major stimulants and inebriants. It presents a fascinating panorama of the world-wide use of psychoactive plants in the nineteenth century. He devotes a full chapter to each of 17 plants, ranging from coffee and tea, through tobacco and hashish, to powerful narcotics and hallucinogens such as opium and fly agaric. Witty, engaging, and intellectually open.

Reviews

"Plant Intoxicants illustrates an enchanting universal use of psychoactive plants in the nineteenth century. Von Bibra brings to the subject a keen intellect, an engaging sense of humor, and a refreshing open-mindedness unusual for his, or any other time." * The Reader's Review *
"An excellent work covering a fascinating and sometimes controversial subject. Recommended." * Critical Review *
"An entertaining journey into von Bibra's 19th-century examination of the cultivation and use of stimulants, narcotics, and hallucinogens. Ethnobotanist Jonathan Ott, considered to be von Bibra's contemporary counterpart, complements the author's work with an extensive annotation." * Napra Review *
...this book remains an important cultural artifact. Although the chemical and cultural understandings of the plant intoxicants he discusses have moved on, it still remains a valuable text to the drug historian and, moreover, it is a genre defining pharmacography. * Psychedelic Press UK, January 2013 *