TOWN Halls across Spain are calling for the Stramonium plant, which grows wild, to be destroyed after two people have died and another two have been hospitalized after taking a homemade drug made from the leaves.
A young Spaniard was left fighting for his life over the weekend after eating the leaves of the Stramonium plant, commonly used in rat poison.
The 23-year-old has now come out of a coma but remains in a serious stable condition in hospital in Badajoz.
It comes just a week after two teenagers – Alberto del Olmo and Pablo Echegoyen – died at a rave in Getafe after also eating the toxic plant – known as thorn apple or devil’s weed – which can grow to five feet tall.
Now the mayor of Getafe has ordered municipal staff to destroy the plant wherever they find it.
Meanwhile a man – Ivan M.G. – has been arrested for supplying the weed as a recreational drug in Getafe and released on bail.
He is charged on two counts of involuntary manslaughter plus another count of causing negligent injury to a third person who had to be hospitalized but was discharged two days later.
His girlfriend, Cristina V.L., faces similar charges but was released without bail.
The pair may also be charged with a public health crime.
Both the seeds and the leaves of the plant, which belongs to the same family as the deadly nightshade, are very toxic and hallucinogenic.
It is sometimes used in medicine but combined with alcohol or other drugs can be an explosive cocktail attacking the cardiovascular system in some cases causing a heart attack.
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