Hello,

Here's something I was told by a fairly reliable source, but still I would like to make sure...

So this guy tells me that a lot of "psychedelic" plants that we can buy in Western Europe, as they are also used for decorative purposes, have been inactivated in some way (he told me how but I didn't remember) which means: no more fun... He also told me that seedlings from these plants still carry this characteristic, but that it is gone in the next generation of seedlings... Any other form of propagation would still be "inactive"...
It's something they supposedly do to the plants DNA which is carried over to the next generation, but then the DNA is back to normal for the generation after that...

Makes sense in a way, and rather feasible too I guess,...any ideas please?

PLUR

That sounds improbable in the extreme.
Genetic engineering of every psychedelic plant out there would cost a fortune.
Perhaps the individual was just confused over the issue of fungicide use on morning glories.

I don't really know where to start... but I strongly disagree that what you suggest "makes sense".

Why is your source "fairly reliable"? Which "lot of psychedelic plants" is your source talking about? And above all, "inactivated" how?

We know plant varieties can be selected generation after generation, following a particular trait, which could of course be the higher or lower concentration of a compound. But breeding selection and what you mention are quite different things.

First, we should know which plants are we talking about. In most of them, the biosynthesis of alkaloids is not completely understood. Much less the connection between the expression of certain genes and the occurrence of these alkaloids. And even if we happened to know, and manipulating genes just like that was technically feasible, would it be a worthy effort and investment in order to render plants "harmless" just in case someone decides to eat them up? I don't think so.

With all due respect, the suggestions from your source seem a lot of bs to me and sound like paranoid talk. If he cannot provide good references to back that up, maybe he should refrain from making these claims.

The actual conversation took place many, many moons ago but I remembered it as I was checking out a few local vendors of exotic plants for anything interesting...

I thought he was credible because he had studied to become an agricultural engineer or something... If I run into him I will surely bring up the subject, but I think Vodsel is right, the guy must have been misinformed or paranoid, or both...(or he was trying to pull my leg, apparently quite successfully as well)

Thanks for setting me straight guys, I'll remember to be a bit more critical next time someone tries to convince of something similar...

PLUR

I grow foreign psychedelic plants and I can assure you they are not inactivated. The are very potent.

This seems like it's verging on CT territory?

Who would have gone to the effort to such a massive genetic engineering project? The government? Why has no one heard about this? Why would they think it's worth the resources?

I am doubtful in the extreme. It's certainly not the case in the US, where you can buy extremely potent HBWR seeds on such mainstream sites as eBay and Amazon, and there are of course, many many vendors based her as well.

Blessings
~ND

it's not far-fetched at all, and involves mutating a plant's genetics to inactivate certain genes.

are they doing that to psychotropic plants? commercial seeds, perhaps.

Definitely, ask. He might have been referring to some particular market variety that has been treated to prevent people from consuming it, like it may have happened with Argyreia nervosa seeds. But still, even if the technology to mutate plants is there, I seriously doubt the costs would compensate the value of certain plants as ornamentals. Chemical treatment of some seeds, likely. Gene manipulation in a large scale, I don't think so.