Pituri was a drug used by aboriginal Australians, made by mixing ground leaves of plants containing nicotine with wood ash, whose alkaline nature aids absorbtion and potentiates the drug. Elders who knew the lore of pituri use are long dead, and in keeping with indigenous values, took their cultural secrets to the grave rather than share them with the uninitiated. However, reports yield various account of the effects of pituri, ranging from depressive laxity to strength and endurance, hyperactivity, and verbosity. Pituri was said to be the substance that allowed aboriginals to walk hundreds of miles over days without food or water, and was taken before meetings and warfare.

It is variously made with Duboisia hopwoodii or other similar plants such as those abovementioned of the genus Nicotiana. Hopwoodii is high in nicotine, but unlike many nicotiana it is low in nornicotine, a minor tobacco alkaloid and metabolite. This gives Hopwoodii slightly different effects, possibly leading to a more hyperactive perceived state. This squares with the descriptions of pituri’s effects as inducing hyperactivity and energy.

NB: the closest modern consumer goods to pituri are probably nicotine gum and oral nicotine pouches. When used discerningly, these can powerfully assist learning and habit acquisition by bootstrapping the neural association between an action and the release of dopamine, aiding in reward-induced neuroplasticity.

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