What’s in the Pumpkin Spice?
A Georgia woman sparked a fragrant frenzy on social media this week after alerting parents in a now-viral video that their teenagers have discovered an unusual new way to get high: sniffing nutmeg.
The woman, known on TikTok as Lakeview Living, sparked the stir after conversing with a teacher about the problems that schools in their area are having with the common baking ingredient, according to The Daily Dot.
“Today, I was talking with one of my teacher friends, and she was like, ‘Girl, trying to stay one step ahead of these kids is exhausting,'” the mom said in a post that has received over 500,000 views in just a few days.
“I understand. It sucks,” the woman, a youth leader, admitted.
However, she claimed her pal told her something “flipping wild.”
She stated that a local school recently performed a “backpack check,” during which teachers discovered bottles of nutmeg in a few of pupils’ bags.
When asked why they had eggnog in their bags, the pupils said it was for “culinary class,” she added.
She claimed that when a colleague asked the cooking instructor what they were preparing with the warming, seasonal spice, the teacher responded, “What are you talking about? We aren’t making anything with nutmeg.”
Apparently, the school’s “resource officer” overheard the talk and inquired about which students had the nutmeg in their backpacks. He later discovered the children in their classes and confiscated the nutmeg, resulting in the student’s suspension.
“Do you know why they were all suspended? “Because these flippin’ teenagers figured out you can use nutmeg to get high,” she said.
“Y’all couldn’t finish your homework, but you can figure out how to get high off nutmeg? “Make it make sense,” she chided the kids.
The Post has contacted the whisk-leblowing mother for comment.
Some comments underneath her video indicated they’d heard of nutmeg poisoning before and that the warning was far from good news.
“I treated a child in the hospital years ago for nutmeg intoxication. It was the first I’d heard about it. Begin in jails. But they have the internet, so I’m sure that’s where they learnt it,” one person explained.
“This has been going on for several years. There is a component in it that is psychotropic but not in a pleasant way. “You get the worst hangover of your life for a 10-minute high,” said another.
Others were startled that the students were suspended.
“How were they suspended if it wasn’t an illegal substance?” someone asked.
While nutmeg is commonly used as a household spice, it is also “abused for its narcotic and hallucinogenic properties,” according to an article in the Encyclopedia of Toxicology.
It’s also dangerous and potentially deadly.
“One to three seeds or 5-30 grams of the ground nut are used to attain psychogenic effect,” according to the report.
Giddiness, tingling, euphoria, and hallucinations are some of the first signs after taking a high dose. Following delirium and drowsiness, hallucinations may include altered perceptions of time and space, detachment from reality, and a fear of death.
Other adverse effects include “headache, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, dizziness, chest pain, flushing, tremor, and tachycardia,” according to the report.
For the past 400 years, people have mistakenly overdosed on the beloved pie spice.
According to reports, students have recently attempted to huff nutmeg as part of a social media craze.
According to a report from the American College of Emergency Physicians, a 14-year-old was transported to the hospital with acute agitation after consuming three tablespoons of nutmeg for a TikTok “Nutmeg Challenge,” in which she attempted to get high off the substance.
According to the Encyclopedia of Toxicology, an 8-year-old died after eating two seeds, while a 55-year-old died as a result of severe nutmeg poisoning.