Other formats

    Adobe Portable Document Format file (facsimile images)   TEI XML file   ePub eBook file  

Connect

    mail icontwitter iconBlogspot iconrss icon

Salient. Official Newspaper of the Victoria University Students' Association. Vol 41 No. 26. October 2 1978

Students Take to Leaf Power

Students Take to Leaf Power

A small, but growing number of students are engaged in the unusual practice of chewing begonia leaves.

One of the students stated that "chewing begonia leaves resulted in a feeling of elation and had a definite stimulatory effect."

At cult members' insistence, I also tried chewing begonia leaves and found them unusual but not unpleasant.

To the uninitiated, begonia leaves taste bitter at first but about 15 minutes later a feeling of light-headedness and carefree abandon results.

Tests conducted by a senior biochemistry student revealed that begonia leaves contained "several unidentified substances, possibly stimulants".

Further tests are not being [unclear: ca out] on in an attempt to positively identify the [unclear: substances.]

Opinions differ as to [unclear: wheth he] practice is habit- forming but another senior [unclear: stud dmits] that since being introduced to begonia leaves [unclear: by close] friend, she finds it increasingly difficult to do [unclear: wi t] them.

A problem is posed [unclear: whether ot] begonias will now be classified as narcotics.

According to personal [unclear: reports all] species of begonia have the same properties.

The common garden or [unclear: bed befonia] is the most suitable and leaves of the [unclear: more wy] hiberous type less satisfying.

It is not known yet what [unclear: the al] attitude to chewing begonia leaves will be. Cult [unclear: m ars] appear unlikely to be perturbed by any possible [unclear: out].

In the words of one of [unclear: them: s] cheap, harmless and stimulating—some of us [unclear: have a] doing it for years and we wen't be stopped now."