The Arapahoe County sheriff’s office reported today that three juveniles were taken to the hospital Sunday after ingesting a plant called “Moonflower,” which causes intoxication.
Deputies received a report of two intoxicated juveniles, neither of whom could stand or speak coherently.
The boys became uncooperative and had to be restrained in order to be taken by ambulance to the hospital.
A third person showed up at the hospital, displaying the same symptoms.
A doctor reported all three patients had evidently ingested Moonflower. One reportedly told hospital personnel that he’d taken “moonpods.”
Moonflower, or Datura, is a plant with large flowers that blooms at dusk. It is known by common names such as jimson weed, devil’s weed, devil’s cucumber, thorn-apple, pricklyburr, angel’s trumpet and devil’s trumpet, acording to the sheriff’s office.
It can cause toxicity within an hour of being ingested, and its effects can last for up to two days.
It can cause confusion, agitation, anxiety, hallucinations, seizures and coma, according to the journal Pediatrics.
Since the 90’s, according to authorities, it has been known to cause serious illness and death in adolescents and young adults.
