Reasonable Rascal
07-12-03, 00:08
Man Driven Temporarily Insane By Jasmine Tea
POSTED: 12:18 p.m. EDT July 11, 2003
http://www.wftv.com/news/2326587/detail.html
PANAMA CITY, Fla. -- Criminal charges were dropped against a man who claimed drinking jasmine tea caused him to go temporarily insane before he smashed his way into a neighbor's house and chased the woman with a large dagger.
Police said they found a wild-eyed Gilbert D. Walker, 43, outside the house in nearby Callaway yelling "I'm crazy" on Dec. 3 after he had broken a glass door with a brass duck.
Circuit Judge Michael Overstreet dismissed aggravated assault and burglary charges Wednesday after
receiving reports from three court-appointed psychologists. They agreed that Walker suffered from
psychosis but offered no opinion on what caused it, Chief Assistant State Attorney Alton Paulk said Friday. He said the defense offered the tea theory.
Jasmine is an herb commonly taken to calm the stomach but also used as a love potion in satanic and cult rituals, defense lawyer Mike Hunter said.
Assistant State Attorney Mark Graham said that because of the psychologists' findings he did not object to dismissing the charges. One doctor wrote in his report that the psychotic episode was isolated and Walker should have no lasting problems.
Walker, a software designer and engineer for a government contractor, declined comment.
"It's bizarre," Hunter said. "At first I didn't think it was true, but the more research I did and the more experts I talked to I found this is absolutely true."
Dr. Susan Rice, a forensic toxicologist, told him that certain jasmines can be hallucinogenic.
"It depends on what you use and what you mix it with," Hunter said. "Some chemicals act as a catalyst."
Walker's former girlfriend gave him the tea, purchased from a specialty shop in Dothan, Ala., to settle his stomach and help him sleep. She never warned him against drinking more than a cup or two a day and he consumed up to 10 cups daily, Hunter said.
Walker started dreaming of biblical struggles between good and evil and posted notes on the walls, ceilings and doors of his town house, the lawyer said.
"Most of the notes were things like, 'God is good,' 'God is love' and 'Heaven protect me,"' Hunter said.
On the night Walker burst into his neighbor's home, he had hallucinated that a set of ceramic Chinese dogs were barking or talking to him.
"He says he's trying to keep these ceramic dogs from barking when he hears this crash," Hunter said. "He figures he's broken one of the dogs."
Instead, Walker had just thrown the brass duck through his neighbor's door. He then chased Loresa Davis from her house. She ran screaming down the street until a motorist stopped and gave her a ride to a convenience store where she called police.
Prosecutors likened the tea theory to the "twinkie defense" used by former San Francisco Supervisor Dan White, who was charged with killing the city's mayor and another supervisor in 1978. He avoided a first-degree murder charge and was convicted of involuntary manslaughter after his lawyers convinced jurors that eating junk food had diminished White's mental capacity.
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RR adds: Some people tout any "natural" product as safe by mere virtue of the fact that it "natural." As this case *might* illustrate such is not always the case. Any substance you put into your body can have potentially adverse effects. Perhaps the gentleman in question OD'ed on the tea as seems to be indicated, or perhaps he was hypersensative to the effects. The story does not say. But it is interesting that jasmine has a known history of potential toxicity vis a vis hallucinogenic properties. As always, caveat emptor.
POSTED: 12:18 p.m. EDT July 11, 2003
http://www.wftv.com/news/2326587/detail.html
PANAMA CITY, Fla. -- Criminal charges were dropped against a man who claimed drinking jasmine tea caused him to go temporarily insane before he smashed his way into a neighbor's house and chased the woman with a large dagger.
Police said they found a wild-eyed Gilbert D. Walker, 43, outside the house in nearby Callaway yelling "I'm crazy" on Dec. 3 after he had broken a glass door with a brass duck.
Circuit Judge Michael Overstreet dismissed aggravated assault and burglary charges Wednesday after
receiving reports from three court-appointed psychologists. They agreed that Walker suffered from
psychosis but offered no opinion on what caused it, Chief Assistant State Attorney Alton Paulk said Friday. He said the defense offered the tea theory.
Jasmine is an herb commonly taken to calm the stomach but also used as a love potion in satanic and cult rituals, defense lawyer Mike Hunter said.
Assistant State Attorney Mark Graham said that because of the psychologists' findings he did not object to dismissing the charges. One doctor wrote in his report that the psychotic episode was isolated and Walker should have no lasting problems.
Walker, a software designer and engineer for a government contractor, declined comment.
"It's bizarre," Hunter said. "At first I didn't think it was true, but the more research I did and the more experts I talked to I found this is absolutely true."
Dr. Susan Rice, a forensic toxicologist, told him that certain jasmines can be hallucinogenic.
"It depends on what you use and what you mix it with," Hunter said. "Some chemicals act as a catalyst."
Walker's former girlfriend gave him the tea, purchased from a specialty shop in Dothan, Ala., to settle his stomach and help him sleep. She never warned him against drinking more than a cup or two a day and he consumed up to 10 cups daily, Hunter said.
Walker started dreaming of biblical struggles between good and evil and posted notes on the walls, ceilings and doors of his town house, the lawyer said.
"Most of the notes were things like, 'God is good,' 'God is love' and 'Heaven protect me,"' Hunter said.
On the night Walker burst into his neighbor's home, he had hallucinated that a set of ceramic Chinese dogs were barking or talking to him.
"He says he's trying to keep these ceramic dogs from barking when he hears this crash," Hunter said. "He figures he's broken one of the dogs."
Instead, Walker had just thrown the brass duck through his neighbor's door. He then chased Loresa Davis from her house. She ran screaming down the street until a motorist stopped and gave her a ride to a convenience store where she called police.
Prosecutors likened the tea theory to the "twinkie defense" used by former San Francisco Supervisor Dan White, who was charged with killing the city's mayor and another supervisor in 1978. He avoided a first-degree murder charge and was convicted of involuntary manslaughter after his lawyers convinced jurors that eating junk food had diminished White's mental capacity.
-----------------------------------
RR adds: Some people tout any "natural" product as safe by mere virtue of the fact that it "natural." As this case *might* illustrate such is not always the case. Any substance you put into your body can have potentially adverse effects. Perhaps the gentleman in question OD'ed on the tea as seems to be indicated, or perhaps he was hypersensative to the effects. The story does not say. But it is interesting that jasmine has a known history of potential toxicity vis a vis hallucinogenic properties. As always, caveat emptor.