9–14 (See text) Datura is a genus of nine species of highly poisonous, vespertine-flowering plants belonging to the nightshade family (Solanaceae).

All species of Datura are extremely poisonous and psychoactive, especially their seeds and flowers, which can cause respiratory depression, arrhythmias, fever, delirium, hallucinations, anticholinergic toxidrome, psychosis, and death if taken internally.

[14] All Datura plants contain tropane alkaloids such as scopolamine and atropine, primarily in their seeds and flowers, as well as the roots of certain species such as D. wrightii.

Since datura directly causes the effects of anticholinergic syndrome, the symptoms of its toxicity are often cited by the traditional mnemonic: "Blind as a bat, mad as a hatter, red as a beet, hot as a hare, dry as a bone, the bowel and bladder lose their tone, and the heart runs alone".

[23] Datura, as well as long-term psychoactive/toxic usage of other anticholinergic drugs, also appear to significantly increase the risk of developing dementia.

[26] For example, in the 1990s and 2000s, the United States media reported stories of adolescents and young adults dying or becoming seriously ill from intentionally ingesting Datura.

[29] Although most poisonings occur with more common species of Datura such as D. stramonium, several reports in the medical literature indicate deaths from D. ferox intoxication.

[14][36] A group called Thugs (practicers of thuggee) were reportedly devotees of an Indian religious cult made up of robbers and assassins who strangled or poisoned their victims in rituals devoted to the Hindu goddess Kali.

[38] The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported accidental poisoning resulting in hospitalization for a family of six who inadvertently ingested Datura used as an ingredient in stew.

[39] In some places around the world, such as India due to the Drug & Cosmetic Act 1940 & Rule 1995, buying, selling, or cultivating Datura plants is prohibited.

[14][36] Solanaceous tribes with a similar chemistry (i.e. a similar tropane alkaloid content), include the Hyoscyameae, containing such well-known toxic species as Hyoscyamus niger and Atropa belladonna, the Solandreae containing the genus Solandra ("chalice vines") and the Mandragoreae, named for the famous Mandragora officinarum, most of which are considered traditional witches' herbs and poisons.

Due to the potent combination of anticholinergic substances it contains, Datura intoxication typically produces the effects of anticholinergic delirium (usually involving a complete or relative inability to differentiate reality from fantasy); bizarre thoughts, hyperthermia; tachycardia; bizarre, and possibly violent behavior; dry skin; dry mouth; illusions; and severe mydriasis (dilated pupils) with resultant painful photophobia that can last several days.

[41][42] The psychoactive alkaloids scopolamine and atropine are also both known for their characteristic hyperactive effects and ability to cause stark and dream-like hallucinations.

[29][45][46] Due to their agitated behavior and confused mental state, people with acute Datura poisoning or intoxication are typically hospitalized.

Gastric lavage and the administration of activated charcoal can be used to reduce the stomach's absorption of the ingested material, and the drug physostigmine is used to reverse the effect of the poisons.

[36][45] In Pharmacology and Abuse of Cocaine, Amphetamines, Ecstasy and Related Designer Drugs, Freye asserts, "Few substances have received as many severely negative recreational experience reports as has Datura.

[51] In ancient Mexico, Datura also played an important role in the religion of the Aztecs and the practices of their medicine men and necromancers.

[53] In modern-day Mexico, some datura species are still used for sorcery and other occult practices, mostly in the southern region of Veracruz, specifically in the city of Catemaco.

[54][55] Bernardino de Sahagún, in around 1569, called attention to Datura in these words: "It is administered in potions in order to cause harm to those who are objects of hatred.

[6][10][57] During the anti-witchcraft hysteria of colonial times it was considered unlucky or inappropriate to grow D. stramonium in one's garden due to its supposed reputation for aiding in incantations.