List of psychoactive plants

This is a list of plant species that, when consumed by humans, are known or suspected to produce psychoactive effects: changes in nervous system function that alter perception, mood, consciousness, cognition or behavior. Many of these plants are used intentionally as psychoactive drugs, for medicinal, religious, and/or recreational purposes. Some have been used ritually as entheogens for millennia.
The plants are listed according to the specific psychoactive chemical substances they contain; many contain multiple known psychoactive compounds.
Species of the genus Cannabis, known colloquially as marijuana, including Cannabis sativa and Cannabis indica, is a popular psychoactive plant that is often used medically and recreationally. The principal psychoactive substance in Cannabis, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), contains no nitrogen, unlike many (but not all) other psychoactive substances and is not an indole, tryptamine, phenethylamine, anticholinergic (deliriant) or dissociative drug. THC is just one of more than 100 identified cannabinoid compounds in Cannabis, which also include cannabinol (CBN) and cannabidiol (CBD).
Cannabis plants vary widely, with different strains producing dynamic balances of cannabinoids (THC, CBD, etc.) and yielding markedly different effects. Popular strains are often hybrids of C. sativa and C. indica.
The medicinal effects of cannabis are widely studied, and are active topics of research both at universities and private research firms. Many jurisdictions have laws regulating or prohibiting the cultivation, sale and/or use of medical and recreational cannabis.
Many of the psychedelic plants contain dimethyltryptamine (DMT), or other tryptamines, which are either snorted (Virola, Yopo snuffs), vaporized, or drunk with MAOIs (Ayahuasca). It cannot simply be eaten as it is not orally active without an MAOI and it needs to be extremely concentrated to be vaporized.
"Species, Alkaloid content, where given, refers to dried material"
1,2,3,4-Tetrahydro-6-methoxy-2,9-dimethyl-beta-carboline, Plant, 1,2,3,4-Tetrahydro-6-methoxy-2-methyl-beta-carboline, Plant, 5-Methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine, Bark, 5-Methoxy-N-methyltryptamine, Bark, Bufotenin, plant, beans, Bufotenin N-oxide, Fruit, beans, N,N-Dimethyltryptamine-oxide, Fruit
Some Graminae (grass) species contain gramine, which can cause brain damage, other organ damage, central nervous system damage and death in sheep.
None of the above alkaloids are said to have been found in Phalaris californica, Phalaris canariensis, Phalaris minor and hybrids of P. arundinacea together with P. aquatica.
Species, Alkaloid Content (Fresh) – Alkaloid Content (Dried)
Beta-carbolines are "reversible" MAO-A inhibitors. They are found in some plants used to make Ayahuasca. In high doses the harmala alkaloids are somewhat hallucinogenic on their own. β-carboline is a benzodiazepine receptor inverse agonist and can therefore have convulsive, anxiogenic and memory enhancing effects.
Opiates are the natural products of many plants, the most famous and historically relevant of which is Papaver somniferum. Opiates are defined as natural products (or their esters and salts that revert to the natural product in the human body), whereas opioids are defined as semi-synthetic or fully synthetic compounds that trigger the Opioid receptor of the mu sub-type. Other opiate receptors, such as kappa- and delta-opiate receptors are part of this system but do not cause the characteristic behavioral depression and analgesia which is mostly mediated through the mu-opiate receptor.
An opiate, in classical pharmacology, is a substance derived from opium. In more modern usage, the term opioid is used to designate all substances, both natural and synthetic, that bind to opioid receptors in the brain (including antagonists). Opiates are alkaloid compounds naturally found in the Papaver somniferum plant (opium poppy). The psychoactive compounds found in the opium plant include morphine, codeine, and thebaine. Opiates have long been used for a variety of medical conditions with evidence of opiate trade and use for pain relief as early as the eighth century AD. Opiates are considered drugs with moderate to high abuse potential and are listed on various "Substance-Control Schedules" under the Uniform Controlled Substances Act of the United States of America.
In 2014, between 13 and 20 million people used opiates recreationally (0.3% to 0.4% of the global population between the ages of 15 and 65). According to the CDC, from this population, there were 47,000 deaths, with a total of 500,000 deaths from 2000 to 2014. In 2016, the World Health Organization reported that 27 million people suffer from Opioid use disorder. They also reported that in 2015, 450,000 people died as a result of drug use, with between a third and a half of that number being attributed to opioids.
The plant contains a latex that thickens into opium when it is dried. Opium contains approximately 40 alkaloids, which are summarized as opium alkaloids. The main psychoactive alkaloids are:
Laurelia novae-zelandiae ~ pukateine