Conium maculatum

[raskolnikov]

I happened to find that you can buy on the internet Conium Maculatum seeds or the plant itself for just a few dollars.

It's the plant Socrates used to give himself death. It's everywhere advertised as poisonous and lethal with just a minimal quantity.

Anyone did further research?

 

[lv-gras]

I happened to find that you can buy on the internet Conium Maculatum seeds or the plant itself for just a few dollars.

It's the plant Socrates used to give himself death. It's everywhere advertised as poisonous and lethal with just a minimal quantity.

Anyone did further research?

have been keeping an eye out for it personally, it is native or used for landscaping in many areas

 

[raskolnikov]

Looks to be really poisonous. I was thinking it could disguise better death as accidental intoxication compared to N. But only my idea.

 

[NoMore]

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1530689/Chemist-used-plant-to-commit-suicide.html

 

[raskolnikov]

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1530689/Chemist-used-plant-to-commit-suicide.html

Very interesting. Great that he also quoted Socrates. Have to give a look around here :D

I've read seeds have the most % of active molecule (coniine), while other sources say leaves and fruits have. I wonder if a large amount of seeds, crushed and decanted in alcohol would be effective. Anyway it appears to be highly toxic, with a very low LD50.

 

[lv-gras]

used to live near some hemlock.... oh well

 

[Volatile]

It kills by suffocation. The guy in the article had his throat close up 70%

 

[and 10 others]

I was thinking it could disguise better death as accidental intoxication compared to N. But only my idea.

N won't be accidental AT ALL!!! Conium maculatum won't be peaceful but if you don't get help, you will die eventually.

 

[VanHeineken]

A while back I did a lot of research on

-Poison Hemlock (Conium Maculatum)
-Water Hemlock (Cicuta Virosa)

For a while it was my plan to ctb by Water Hemlock but after my research I totally discarded the idea. And so should you my friends!

It is true that these two plants are very poisounous and EXTREMELY DEADLY, especially the Water Hemlock, but the problem is that they will also give you an incredible painfull death. I am really talking real and excruciating pain here! Some of you might remember the piece I wrote about this on the old Reddit SanctionedSuicide?

Since it's a little while ago I did the research, and because I changed my mind about using this plant to ctb, I have forgotten some of the details, but please believe me when I say this is painfull.

Also I would like to add that the story of Socrates' death is most likely incorrect in the way that they left the pain and suffering out of the story. They probably did this out of respect for his person. Some of you will know that the account of Socrates' death is written down and the story mentions no pain and suffering? This has caused a myth that dying from Poison Hemlock (Conium Maculatum) is painless. Even in an episode in the Poirot TV crime series there is an episode which somebody kills a man by Poison Hemlock and that the man is slowly, and with very little pain, can watch his body starts to die from losing his motions in the feets first and the heart last. But this is not true to fact!

Also, uptil about 100 years ago they did very little distinction between Conium Maculatum and Cicuta Virosa, keep that in mind if you're doing research by reading old texts.

One more little interesting fact: Back in the days of Socrates they used to execute people by using Poison Hemlock and Water Hemlock. Water Hemlock was given to the murderers and rapists and other criminals because this death was the most gruesome, and Poison Hemlock was given for political crimes, like the one Socrates was sentenced to death for.

Please believe me when I say this is not the way you want to die!

 

[Steve]

You can consider Cerberus Odallam if you are in the tropics. But again, a pretty painful death. Vomiting, stomach cramps, heart starts to stop beating.

 

[and 10 others]

Generally, death by poisonous plants will be painful. I couldn't find one that was accessible and peaceful.
@VanHeineken do you think one could die accidentally by Hemlock? Or will it always be considered suicide?

 

[VanHeineken]

Generally, death by poisonous plants will be painful. I couldn't find one that was accessible and peaceful.
@VanHeineken do you think one could die accidentally by Hemlock? Or will it always be considered suicide?

Unfortunately it happens that people from time to time accidentally gets poisoned by these plants. The plants are easily confused with Cow Parsley (Anthriscus Sylvestris) which is a very common and non poisonous plant.

Suicides by these plants are extremely rare.

 

[and 10 others]

Suicides by these plants are extremely rare.

I'm sure it takes a lot of courage and strong will to go though with it, knowing how painful it is. Just taking the water hemlock by mistake instead of the poisonous one and it will get hellish.

 

[VanHeineken]

I'm sure it takes a lot of courage and strong will to go though with it, knowing how painful it is. Just taking the water hemlock by mistake instead of the poisonous one and it will get hellish.

The good news are that you are guaranteed to die.

And there is no antidote for at least Water Hemlock. I'm not completely sure about Poison Hemlock, but I think there is no antidote for this one either.

But the bad news is that this death will be WORSE THAN BEING BURNED ALIVE. When you are being burned alive you will at least faint after a while. I read a truly horrifying account of one person dying of Water Hemlock poisoning. It was nasty! I also read about a person who killed himself to escape the pains caused from it.

 

[Lowri]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Actaea_pachypoda sounds promising. Cardiac arrest.

 

[and 10 others]

The good news are that you are guaranteed to die.

And there is no antidote for at least Water Hemlock. I'm not completely sure about Poison Hemlock, but I think there is no antidote for this one either.

But the bad news is that this death will be WORSE THAN BEING BURNED ALIVE. When you are being burned alive you will at least faint after a while. I read a truly horrifying account of one person dying of Water Hemlock poisoning. It was nasty! I also read about a person who killed himself to escape the pains caused from it.

Yeah I've heard about people who sat there and got unconscious while they were burning. Unlike what most people think that they will be running and screaming until the end.

The thing about most poisonous plants is that they don't have any significant antidotes. Doctors can help you to survive by ventilating machine and such, but you have to do it on your own. They are usually very slow and painful. So someone who is going to do it, should intentionally endure the pain until the end without asking for help. you need to have a VERY GOOD REASON to do this. Maybe the best part of hemlock is the nicotine, the rest of it will be painful as hell.

 

[useless]

From a plant book:

Water hemlock contains cicutoxin, a clear, brown resin so poisonous that one mouthful of the root can kill a healthy adult human. Death was agonizing. Symptoms include severe stomach pain, vomiting, diarrhea, pupil dilation, difficulty breathing, frothing a the mouth, violent convulsions. Death may ensue within 15mins or 8hrs. Victims may chew their tongues to ribbons, and asphyxiate on their vomit, unable to unclench their jaws.

 

[sadak_the_wanderer]

Some misinformation in this thread.

Yes, water hemlock is a bad way to go. Poison hemlock, however, is just fine.

The Old Vegetable Neurotics (Harley, 1869) was written by a physician who used poison hemlock, opium, and so forth in treatment of patients. Roughly a quarter of the book is on poison hemlock, how it was extracted, what parts contain the poison in question (coniine), and so forth. He takes great care to experiment on a mouse, then a somewhat larger animal, like a dog, and on himself as well. He describes its effects, how long it takes to wear off, and so forth. The first chapter is on the effects of hemlock, the second on the extraction of the active principle from the plant matter,

You can find the book on archive.org quite easily. Amy Stewart, in Wicked Plants, goes over the common misconceptions about hemlock.

My kingdom for a wiki.

 

[jizz676]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Actaea_pachypoda sounds promising. Cardiac arrest.

so its painless?