Ergonovine, also known as ergometrine and lysergic acid propanolamide is a medication used to cause contractions of the uterus to treat heavy vaginal bleeding after childbirth.

[14] An overdose produces a characteristic poisoning, ergotism or "St. Anthony's fire": prolonged vasospasm resulting in gangrene and amputations; hallucinations and dementia; and abortions.

[23] One person who had the opportunity to try ergonovine to see its psychedelic potential stated that it was mild relative to other psychedelics, but that ergine may synergize with it;[24] indeed the contrast between Hofmann's self-administration of Ipomoea corymbosa extract and synthetic ergine is apparent in his essay on the initial analysis of I. corymbosa and I. tricolor seeds.

[25] The psychoactive property of these simple lysergic acid amides, closely related to LSD, is well established.

Undoubtedly the answer lies in the extremely low dosage of ergonovine used to stop postpartum bleeding, viz 0.1 to 0.25 mg.

[26] Ergonovine was first isolated and obtained by the chemists C Moir, H W Dudley and Gerald Rogers[citation needed] in 1935.

[27][28] Caroline De Costa has argued that the adoption of ergonovine for preventive use and for treating bleeding contributed to the decline in the maternal mortality rate in much of the West during the early 20th century.

[29] As an N-alkyl derivative of ergine, ergonovine is also covered by the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, effectively rendering it illegal in the United Kingdom.