I planted these two wild lettuce plants in the summer of 2017, and this year the growth has really taken off. The reasoning for my planting this was that I could never find wild lettuce growing on our property; or anywhere nearby in all my walks. I had been reading up on the plant last year and all its medicinal properties for pain relief and anxiety issues.
Right now I currently have a wild lettuce tincture in the cupboard brewing. It still has four weeks before I will be able to test it out. This is for me and my anxiety and to help relax my mind when I am having an episode due to my auto-immune disease. My doctor had prescribed Xanax, but anyone who knows me, I do NOT like taking medications that are developed in a laboratory. I prefer natural homeopathy and natural remedies.
I also want to make a wild lettuce resin for my husband for his chronic back and neck pain, Back in 2013, he had neck surgery; having a plate put in from C3-C6 in his neck. He had degenerative disc disease and it was wreaking havoc on his all over lifestyle, work related tasks and just a general pain that he was having problems handling day in and day out. The surgery helped with the pain, but then his doctor prescribed Schedule 1 narcotics. (Sigh) And if you know anything about opioids, they are NOT easy to stop once you have become dependent on them.
I am hoping once I can harvest the sap/latex from within the wild lettuce stems that I can produce enough of the resin for him to be once and forever not dependent on any pain medications. It has been a long road for us with this and he has been trying all types of alternative medications (growing cannabis, sampling CBD oil treatments, etc). Adding the wild lettuce resin will be another one, but without the concerns of drug-testing issues and him (Mr Golden D) not being legally a MMMP (Medical Marihuana Program card holder); as wild lettuce is not a narcotic and does not show up on drug-testing.
According to WebMD's website:
Wild lettuce is a plant. The leaves, sap (latex), and seed are used to make medicine.
Wild lettuce is used for whooping cough, asthma, urinary tract problems, cough, trouble sleeping (insomnia), restlessness, excitability in children, painful menstrual periods, excessive sex drive in women (nymphomania), muscular or joint pains, poor circulation, swollen genitals in men (priapism), and as an opium substitute in cough preparations.
The seed oil is used for “hardening of the arteries” (atherosclerosis) and as a substitute for wheat germ oil.
Some people apply wild lettuce latex directly to the skin to kill germs.
Some people inhale wild lettuce for a recreational "high" or hallucinogenic effect.
How does it work?
Wild lettuce has calming, relaxing, and pain relieving effects.
I had purchased a packet of ten wild lettuce seeds last year and planted two in the front herb and flower garden area. Plus this year I planted two more in the back of the property as I had heard these may have the tendency to be a biennial producing the milky sap substance in the stems that is used to make the resin.
ALL images are my own
