It is a kind of latex. The flower buds and the young seed pods are also edible and are said to taste like peas. The nectar is collected and dried to make sugar. The seeds are also edible. The plant is used medically in the U.S. for the anodyne properties of its root and its rhizome root has been employed successfully like those of A. Common milkweed can reproduce crop yields.
Common milkweed has a long history of use as a human food.
The young shots and well-filled follicles of this plant are edible if boiled with one or two changes of water. These were a staple of many American Indian tribes and thought to be cultivated by some. The dried latex was chewed. The roots were used for various diseases of the lungs and thorax and were listed in the U.S. Pharmacopoeia in the late 1800's. It was also medicinal by a number or Native American tribes.