鴉片罌粟、咖啡因，你知多少？--讀《植物作用下的心智》
暖冬cool夏 (2025-03-25 12:19:27) 評論 (74)你有沒有想過大自然嬌豔無比的花朵可以是“罪惡”之花？你有沒有想過同樣是摘取植物身上的葉片或種子，一個可以被世人推崇，一個卻被列入黑名單？茶葉、咖啡豆、鴉片罌粟的種子，同意都是大自然的植物，卻可以有著各自不同或截然不同的待遇。
這是作者Michael Pollan在他2021年的新書This is Your Mind on Plants（《植物作用下的心智》）裏提出的一個的問題。作者Michael Pollan任教於哈佛伯克利大學，被2010年的《時代》雜誌譽為全球最有影響力的100名人物之一，他專注植物、食物研究，出版了好幾本這一類的著作。 這本書的切入點新穎獨特。作者為寫這本書，走訪了美國不少地方，也在自己後院嚐試種植過鴉片罌粟（btw,這是非法的），他喝過用鴉片罌粟種子泡的茶，吃過含有mescaline的仙人掌，一度身體力行地戒掉多年喝咖啡的習慣，並將這些個人體驗一一寫進這本書裏。
這本250頁的書我一星期不到就讀完，裏麵的觀點不是我一個對這方麵了解甚少的人可以評論或探討的，但這不妨礙我在此分享他的一家之言。
書分三大部分：鴉片罌粟、咖啡因、麥司克林 （mescaline，從仙人掌中提取的致幻劑)。
一、鴉片罌粟：鴉片罌粟通俗的英文名叫opium poppy,它的學術名是Papaver somniferum。我們常常會把“虞美人”（corn poppy)與“罌粟花”這兩個概念混用。實際上，不同於鴉片罌粟，虞美人雖然也含有一些鴉片成分，但主要是用來觀賞的。此書描述的是Papaver somniferum，鴉片罌粟，那種可以提取嗎啡的鴉片罌粟。
據作者書中所說，Papaver somniferum 的種子是可以合法銷售，但是它的種植、收割和使用卻是犯法的。作者曾經大膽嚐試種植、品嚐，並冒著風險在雜誌Harper’s上發表文章。眾所周知，鴉片有藥用價值，能鎮定止痛，但同時又會讓人產生依賴，上癮，對身體產生危害。據作者書中說，鴉片罌粟的種子是可以泡茶喝。在中東人的葬禮上，人們用其種子泡的茶招待人，以此幫助人們忘掉悲傷。
書中有這樣一句話，概括了鴉片罌粟的作用和地位。“在19世紀，罌粟在事物的（發展）進程中起到關鍵的作用，正如石油在我們這個世紀起到的作用一樣：鴉片是國民經濟的基礎、常需藥品、貿易中的基本物、詩歌中浪漫革命的推動力，甚至是引發戰爭的導火索。”（我用此句作為美語壇3/14日中譯英的練習：）
二、咖啡因：咖啡是公元 850 在埃塞俄比亞發現的，最初貨物的交換都是以烤熟後的咖啡豆進行交易的。後來有人偷偷把種子帶出來，進行根更廣泛地種植。漸漸地，咖啡開始風靡歐洲，代替了酒，成為人們的主要飲品。
咖啡因著其香濃的味道和提神功效得到了人的青睞。咖啡因可以改變人們的作息時間，打破人體內的生物鍾。作者甚至說，工業革命的發展離不開咖啡因，因為咖啡因延長了工人的工作時間，讓昏昏欲睡的人清醒，讓人在原本不可能工作的時間工作，大大提高了生產力和工作效率。這也是雇主願意在工作場所免費提供咖啡，提供帶薪喝咖啡休息時間（coffee break) 的原因。
當然不僅僅是工廠工人，三班倒的工人需要咖啡提神，文學家詩人也需要。一杯咖啡在手如一根香煙在指尖，是可以sharpen one's mind, 激發人的創作靈感，讓作者思如泉湧。書中提到，大文豪伏爾泰一天最多能喝上72杯咖啡。伏爾泰和巴爾紮克都是咖啡的狂熱愛好者。
茶，也含有咖啡因，隻是沒有咖啡裏的咖啡因含量高。茶發現於公元前1000的中國，最先是當作藥用，直至唐朝才被當做娛樂飲品而廣泛推崇。真正被西人所接受，我想大概始於絲綢之路，還有鴉片戰爭前茶葉和鴉片的大量貿易。書中有句話說得有意思： So here was another moral cost of caffeine: in order for the English mind to be sharpened with tea with tea, the Chinese mind had to be clouded with opium.
咖啡因的這個作用，聰明的植物早就意識到了，它們為了自身的繁殖，為了引誘動物昆蟲一次次來授粉，有時會在自己的花粉裏增加咖啡因成分。很多年後，人類也學會了在飲品中加入咖啡因，比如曾經風靡全球的Coca Cola在飲料裏加入咖啡因，就是從大自然得到的啟發。
但是咖啡也不是完全沒有副作用的。據專門研究睡眠的專家說，咖啡因的作用可以延續12小時以上，也就是說早上喝的咖啡可能會影響你晚上的睡眠質量，即便你感覺不到，它實際上已經影響了你的深度睡眠。有點諷刺的是，人因為前一天睡眠不好，第二天上班要靠喝咖啡打起精神，殊不知，一杯咖啡喝下去，當晚的睡眠又會受影響。
為此，作者嚐試著戒咖啡，根據作者的親身體驗，戒咖啡就如得了感冒，渾身不適。作者在成功戒掉咖啡後，最終又自我妥協，允許自己周末喝咖啡，有時因著寫作需要也會破例喝上幾杯。
另外，作者還親自去看過咖啡種植園，那些人工一顆顆破開咖啡豆。一杯咖啡需要大約50顆咖啡豆，而期間的辛苦，種植土壤氣候的要求，咖啡豆成熟後的人工采摘和剝離，
三、麥司卡林 (mescaline)，仙人球毒堿，是一種從仙人掌中提取的致幻劑。具體說，就是有那麽一兩種仙人掌，裏麵含有麥司卡林。一種是Peyote仙人球，植物肉內含有豐富的麥司卡林，Peyote是印第安人發現，並經過長期努力鬥爭後保存下來的。他們把它當做神靈一樣供著，收割後，會召集族人聚集一堂，舉行專門的儀式，供他們狂吃/喝，一“醉”方休。在美國，目前也隻有印第安人可以合法種植開采使用，其他人種植開采使用都屬於犯法。
Peyote仙人球的生長期長，從種子發芽到真正成熟可以采割需要十五年，所以這種仙人掌的產量低，加上印第安人信奉這是上帝所賜的仙物，拒絕人工培育，隻接受種子發芽後返回大自然生長的培育方式。據書中數據，美國大約有605公頃的仙人掌生長地。
另一種叫San Pedro的仙人掌，比較常見些，但是裏麵的麥司卡林的含量要低一些，作者曾經被邀參加過其收割、品嚐典禮。
除了咖啡因，作者書中提到的兩種植物都有致幻作用 （psychedelic)，它們的種植和品嚐是犯法的（除了印第安人擁有合法種植和開采Peyote的權利外）。然而大自然是無罪的，植物本身是無罪的， 它們隻是存在著。如果說有罪，那罪在人，人的貪欲，人的濫用，人的無節製，使一個原本是上蒼的blessing之物變成了人類的危害。當然，法律是人製定的，法律的製定無非是想懲惡揚善，以保護大眾利益，提升人，保證社會的安定和運行，它的製定也非一成不變，也在不斷地變化和完善中。
通篇而言，作者對這三類能改變人類心情心智，鎮定、激發或給人帶來幻覺的“靈藥”基本是持肯定態度的，他在描述體驗mescaline帶給人的感受時，用了這樣一個詞語來表達，“a sufficiency of reality“，即，在品嚐含有mescaline後，他對現實有種滿足感。這些“靈藥”，隻要適量，它們可以像減閥門（reducing valve), 幫助減輕人的負擔和痛苦。
讀完此書，我聯想到的是中國傳說中的神農、名醫李時珍上山采藥遍嚐百草的故事，想起的是近年那位因發明提取青蒿素獲得諾貝爾獎的屠呦呦，更想起了普通江南人逢春踏青采艾青的一幕幕。。。大自然的植物是神奇，它帶給人類的不僅是滋養、是美、是花香、是美味、是藥材、是纖維，更是能刺激大腦，改變心智的靈藥。而我們所做的隻需走近它、敬拜它、享用它、珍惜它！
書中摘句：
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Of all the things humans rely on plants for – sustenance, beauty, medicine, fragrance, flavor, fiber – surely the most curious is our use of them to change consciousness: to stimulate or calm, fiddle with or completely alter, the qualities of our mental experience. Take coffee and tea: People around the world rely on caffeine to sharpen their minds. But we do not usually think of caffeine as a drug, or our daily use as an addiction, because it is legal and socially acceptable. So, then, what is a “drug”? And why, for example, is making tea from the leaves of a tea plant acceptable, but making tea from a seed head of an opium poppy a federal crime? (from book cover and Introduction)
Liken the effort to having one so rubbed down with a silk.
A seed of doubt had been planted in my mind.
Korean
caught in the grip of a near nightma. Like a man who had been brought to the end of his tatter edgy and distrustful
adrift on uncharted legal waters.
Swat team，outfitted in a black ninja suits
I had already crossed the line I thought I could safely toe.
Bemused reactiom: “ don't you think that the government has better things to do?“
Laughing off my worries.
He offered to send me seeds of a stunning jet black of opium popcy.
It was the first week of July when I notice at the end of one slender downward nodding stem a bud, the size of a cherry, covered in the soft heavy down packed as tightly as a parachute
until my poppy patch was a terrific, traffic- stopping blur of color
of red so red as to be platonic.
He spoke of “the poppy‘s red effrontery“: this hue was a shout.“
the lavender blooms of another variety follow a few days later, a color but no less pure jolt of color. When the sun stood behind them, towards evening, the paddles were as luminous as stained glass.
shed their silken petalsvand display their crowned seed pods
The poppy‘s seed parts are scarcely less arresting than its flowers.
drooping sleepy buds, the brilliant flags of color
all set agaist the same color backdrop of dusty green foliaoe.
As I admired my poppies in their full mid summer glory, this unexpectedly lavish gift of nature.
Ignorance of the law is never a defense
indescribably bitter
His face was handsome but careworn.
He was dressed all in white, a slender 38 year old with long brown hair gathered in a neat ponytail.
That's why poppy tea is served at the funerals in the Middle East. It can make sadness, go away.
puncture a set of miss slit.
In the nineteenth century, the poppy played as crucial a role in the course of events as petroleum has played in our own century: opium was the basis of national economies, a staple of medicine, an essential item of trade, a spur to the Romantic revolution in poetry, even a casus belli.
What had been a particularly dreary stretch of Manhattan suddenly erupts into greenery and bloom
I wondered what it would be like to slip underground—not to be able to go home, not to have your stuff around, not even to know exactly where you would be spending the next night, week, month.
Ever-thickening mist of mis- and disinformation swirling around the subject of poppies
A bonfire of self-incrimination
I could see all that effort and income swirling down the drain of my stupidity
An affront
Divulging the recipe
Forming crinkled brown seedpods the size of walnuts
After the novelty of the flavor wore off
Dropped beneath the threshold of my attention
Nothing I would describe an euphoric, but I was suffused body and mind with a distinct feeling of well-being
Poppy tea is a pain killer in every sense
The tea seemed to subtract things: anxiety, melancholy, worry, grief
How the gardener can cause nature to yield up something so specifically attractive to the human eye or nose or taste bud. So it was with these astonishing poppies: how can it be that such an inconsequential speck of seed could yield a fruit in my garden with the power to lift pain, alter consciousness, “make sadness go away”?
Waiting for some shoe to drop
Words I hadn’t laid eyes on in 24 years
Cold turkey: I had quit caffeine, cold turkey
The fog settled over me and would not budge.
I feel like an unsharpened pencil.
Has the discovery of caffeine by humans been a boon or a bane to our civilization?
Cui Bono: to whom is it a benefit
NoDoz as an aid to concentration and used by Sufis in Yemen to keep them from dozing off during their religious observances. (Tea, too, started out as a kind of spiritual NoDoz for Buddhist monks striving to stay awake through long stretch of meditation.)
These new public spaces were hotbeds of news and gossip, as well as places to gather for performances and games
Voltaire was a fervent advocate for coffee, and supposedly drank as many as seventy-two cups a day. (p. 112)
The paper is spread with ink.
To find yourself so sped up mentally that other people appear to you like motionless figures on a train platform, as you blur by them in caffeinated clouds of impatience.
Organize the day into a rhythm of energetic peaks and valleys as the mental tide of caffeine ebbs and flows. The morning surge is a blessing, obviously, but there is also something comforting in the ebb tide of afternoon.
I miss the enveloping aroma and the sounds of coffee, imbibe some hint of mental stimulant
I no longer swim in the same caffeine sea as everyone else. Beached, I can still see the water – but it’s way over there.
Something worthy of admiration
In the throe of caffeine withdrawal
It may depend on the loss of a certain kind of focus, and the freedom to let the mind off the leash of linear thought
Spotlight consciousness/lantern consciousness (mind wandering, free association)
Break the Arab stranglehold
Now the West had taken control of coffee-- and coffee took control of the West
“Always sip tea as if tea were life itself.” – Chajin (18th century)
Exalted role
“The taste of tea and the taste of Zen are the same.” – Sen Sotan (Japanese tea master)
From society matron to the factory worker
It’s difficult to imagine an Industrial Revolution without it.
Whether caffeine represented a boon or bane to civilization and/or our species
Natural biological rhythm
Trailing off, trade-offs, tractable
The work was exacting and exhausting
The women had the necessary dexterity but lacked endurance to work a full shift
One of the primary factors, if not the prime factor
The decision enshrined the paid coffee break in American life
To fit snugly into
Karmic payback
“The shorter you sleep, the shorter your lifespan. “—Matt Walker
“After all, life is to be lived.” (to a degree)
The principal reason that caffeine is used around the world is to promote wakefulness. But the principal reason that people need that crutch is inadequate sleep. Think about that: we use caffeine to make up for a sleep deficit that is largely the result of using caffeine.
The dam holding back all that pent-up, still mounting adenosine will break.
There is no free lunch.
But it was minuscule by comparison
That their sober and civilized habit rested on the back of such brutality?
The Soda makers have figured out what plants learned to do a long time ago
So here was another moral cost of caffeine: in order for the English mind to be sharpened with tea, the Chinese mind had to be clouded with opium.
As the market does what markets do: scours the world for
Take in the scene
Pocket park
Harness the surge of energy coursing through me
A rutted dirt road
Verdant , sun-drenched hillside, rendering lands no longer viable
My notes are n anarchy of disputations taxonomy I see no need to inflict on the reader. But these were a few intelligible nuggets that shed some light, faint thought it may be, on the mysteries of San Pedro
Peyote—15 years from seed into a harvest button
Whose marriage is on the rocks (difficult, likely to fail)
Rite of passage
Revered as plants with extraordinary powers
Woven deep into the fabric of the participants’ lives
Live itinerant lives
Donning extravagant costumes
Far flung tribes
A road man
This goes on “until daylight begins to glimmer through the canvas”
Her young daughter occasionally darting into frame, angling for her attention
Sometimes the best way to show your respect for something is to leave it alone.
The plant has a gaze. Peyote is an omniscient spirit.
To dull the senses
You always want to know everything. We just experience it.
The pelican lumbering over the water before slowly climbing into the sky
The diamond reflections of sunlight glancing off the ripples in the bay
Devour with my eyes all that there was to see
Zen-like quality of bare presence, immanence
Haiku consciousness –留白 Buddhist cosmology, realized with a jolt
Consciousness as a “reducing valve”, filters of consciousness
The inner floodgates of emotion opened wide
Admitting only the “measly trickle” of information needed for us
To get by rather than the full spectrum of what there is to perceive and think.
Emotions inundates our awareness/a tidal waves of awe
It’s like we’re in an endless car ride with a drunk at the wheel
The work occupied the hands but didn’t demand one’s full attention
Woody core, spine, beguiling set
Festooned with,
a lanky thirtyish apprentice with curly black hair and the palest blue eyes
it has a penetrating gaze
take hold of my mind
it sent a shudder up and down my body
a lethal/additive habit
your mind feels freshly scrubbed
and when the storm subdued, Judith seemed becalmed
the medicine attenuates the bonds of the past, making it easier to let go of regrets.
Handed Judith the Wachuma blossom, faded now but still gorgeous
It is a privilege and a pleasure to work with all of you
I always get something out of our conversions about the work
Whether on the trail or the phone, you make the word we do so much less lonely
Glanced up from my book
A sufficiency of reality