Are crude drugs of plant origin free from side effects?

Answer 1

First, ALL drugs (even herbals and over the counter medications) have a basis or are derived from plants, bark or roots (just like the Indians once used, but more refined today).

Any plant with the properties to affect the body, taken (ingested) for any reason, also have the ability to cause side effects. Some side effects can be severe. For example, too much aspirin (which first came from properties in bark) can cause stomach lining irritation and even bleeding in high doses.

Illegal drugs made from plants carry even more risks because the "mixture" of ingredients is not standardized. If we use the example of baking sugar cookies, making them taste good and be edible is we use a standard set of ingredients. Some skill is involved; newer bakers often burn the first sugar cookies they bake. But, beyond skill, the most important part is knowing the kinds and amounts of specific ingredients. If a new baker changes the ingredients or the amounts, they often fail miserably at making edible and tasty cookies. The same is true of street drugs, BUT because street drugs contain properties (or ingredients, even in a natural state) that act on the physical body, they can create "effects" on the brain, heart, lungs, etc. The "ingredients" are not standardized -- one plant can differ from another plant, or even one leaf can differ from another leaf in terms of its properties that can affect the body.

The lack of standardization is why the Food and Drug Administration will not approve or endorse "herbal" products. Every bottle and even every pill can have different levels of active chemicals and dyes.

"Crude drugs" (such as those made for street use by laypersons) would have much more variability in the final "product" than the variability found in herbal products manufactured by an "herbal company".

So, first, crude drugs of plant origin are NOT free of side effects. And second, crude drugs of plant origin could and often do have MORE side effects than even unregulated manufacture of "herbal" products.