This story had me chuckling and reminded me of the scene in the 1988 movie The Bear, when the bear eats the magic mushrooms.



https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=99x4i9858RQ


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High on ‘mad honey’: intoxicated brown bear cub rescued in Turkey

Staff and agencies in Istanbul
Thu 11 Aug 2022 12.33 EDT

Bear found passed out after overindulging on rhododendron honey that has hallucinogenic effects

A disoriented brown bear cub, believed to have become intoxicated after eating an excessive amount of “mad honey”, was rescued in northwestern Turkey’s Duzce province on Thursday.

Footage showed the female bear wobbling and whining as she sat belly-up in the back of a pick-up truck, after people rescued the visibly-debilitated animal from the forest.

Mad honey, or “deli bal” in Turkish, is produced in small quantities by beekeepers in the Kaçkar mountains above the Black Sea, the only place in the world other than the foothills of the Himalayas where indigenous species of rhododendrons produce a potent neurotoxin called grayanotoxin.

If bees feed on enough rhododendron nectar, the mud-red honey they produce has a sharp scent and bitter taste – and, for mammal consumers, a potential high.

A small spoonful eaten on its own or taken with hot water or boiled milk is enough to induce a mildly hallucinogenic or euphoric state.

It is normally taken before breakfast as a traditional treatment for hypertension, impotence and a number of other conditions.

Eighteenth-century Europeans called it miel fou, importing it from the Ottomans to add to ale for an extra buzz.

Too much, however, can reduce blood pressure to potentially dangerous levels and induce nausea, fainting, seizures, arrhythmia and, in rare cases, death. Dozens of people a year are admitted to hospital in Turkey for mad honey poisoning.

The afflicted bear was brought to a vet, where she was treated. Officials said the animal was in good condition and would probably be released into the wild in the coming days.

Turkey’s agriculture ministry used Twitter to urge citizens to come up with a name for the bear.



https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8DrZxAHWp8U

[Note: hyperlinks found at linked website article.]

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Creating a buzz: Turkish beekeepers risk life and limb to make mad honey

Bethan McKernan in the Kaçkar mountains, Turkey
Thu 16 Jan 2020 00.00 EST

History is littered with stories of the psychoactive properties of deli bal, still produced today in the Kaçkar mountains

is no surprise that a substance powerful enough to take out 1,000 battle-hardened mercenaries of the Roman republic has fascinated humanity for millennia. Stories cataloguing the delights and the dangers of deli bal, or Turkish “mad honey”, crop up throughout history.

Pompey the Great was admired and feared throughout the ancient world, but an early misadventure with mad honey near the modern-day Black Sea city of Trabzon almost derailed his entire career.

The Roman general was pursuing the army of Mithridates VI in 97BC when in a stroke of military genius the Greco-Persian king ordered his troops to place bowls of the locally produced honey in the path of the advancing Romans. Three detachments of soldiers fell upon it, becoming delirious or fainting as they succumbed to its psychedelic effects. Mithridates’ troops returned to find Pompey’s men incapacitated and proceeded to slaughter the lot of them.

Mad honey is still produced in small quantities by beekeepers in the Kaçkar mountains above the Black Sea, the only place in the world other than the foothills of the Himalayas where indigenous species of rhododendrons produce a potent neurotoxin called grayanotoxin. If bees feed on enough rhododendron nectar, the mud-red honey they produce has a sharp scent, bitter taste – and for human consumers, a potential high.


Kutluata makes traditional hives of lindenwood in his workshop above the village of Yaylacılar. Photograph: Gökçe Saraçoğlu

A small spoonful on its own or with hot water or boiled milk is enough to induce a mildly hallucinogenic or euphoric state. It is normally taken before breakfast as a traditional treatment for hypertension, impotence and a number of other conditions.

Eighteenth-century Europeans called it miel fou, importing it from the Ottomans to add to ale for an extra buzz. More recent versions of mad honey have popped up in western popular culture in Matt Groening’s Futurama and the 2009 film Sherlock Holmes.

Too much, however, can reduce blood pressure to potentially dangerous levels and induce nausea, fainting, seizures, arrhythmia and in rare cases, death. Dozens of people a year are admitted to hospital in Turkey for mad honey poisoning.

Dr Abdullah Paksoy, 27, who moved to the Black Sea village of Fındıklı three months ago, said he had never heard of mad honey or its toxic effects before he was briefed by new colleagues on the symptoms and treatment – usually a saline infusion or a shot of adrenaline and careful monitoring until the patient’s heart rate and blood pressure returns to normal. “It’s very popular stuff here. I was surprised,” he said. “I haven’t tried it yet myself.”


Kutluata puts the finishing touches to one of his hives. Photograph: Gökçe Saraçoğlu

Even harvesting mad honey can be dangerous. Hasan Kutluata, 48, grew up on the humid mountainous slopes around the Black Sea, where conditions are perfect for cultivating the tea the area is famous for as well as the rhododendrons needed to produce mad honey.

His father taught him how to make traditional lindenwood beehives and secure them on the branches of trees, which is hazardous enough work in itself. Kutluata has shimmied up and down more trees than he could possibly count in 30 years and is proud to say he has never fallen. He has, however, been attacked by a bear.

“I survived by shoving my arm down its throat, cutting off its oxygen, while shouting for help,” he said, showing the red scars that still mark his hands and left leg.

Kutluata’s mad honey harvest is worth defending. Only a small fraction of honey produced in the area is pure and potent enough to justify the name and a kilogram of the best stuff can sell for up to 2,000 lira (£260). Many shops in the region now sell jars of mad honey to a growing number of foreign tourists, but the quality is not guaranteed.


Kutluata positions his hives high up in trees in accordance with the local tradition. Photograph: Gökçe Saraçoğlu


Turkey’s Black Sea region was also for a long time a major centre for the production of hemp, which Kutluata says the bees enjoyed and which added depth and complexity to the local honey.

Farming the plant was banned for decades under anti-narcotics legislation, but is set to make a comeback as the government searches for ways to boost Turkey’s beleaguered economy.

Kutluata is looking forward to experimenting. On a bright December day at his new workshop, a bone-shaking 20-minute drive on mountain tracks above the village of Yaylacılar, he and his wife, Emine, are checking on the sleepy winter bees, debating whether to move some of the hives to a north-facing side of the mountain.

“Beekeeping up here is very hard work,” he said. “But there is a lot of satisfaction in getting it right. There is always something new to learn.

“For example, my new workshop has a drawbridge to the top floor rather than stairs, to keep the bears out.

“People in the village call me Hasan the strangler now,” he said. “But I’ll be damned if I’m ever fighting a bear again.”

Would you rather have had money or mad honey?

quote:

Originally posted by darthfuster:
Would you rather have had money or mad honey?

I ran a search but struck out.

At the risk of showing my ignorance, a common occurrence, where does that quote come from?

There is clearly an opportunity somewhere for hallucinogenic honey for human use. I’m sure somebody somewhere has a plan to get some

That poor bear is tripping out.

Note to self...plant some rhododendrons next year.

quote:

Originally posted by Modern Day Savage:

quote:

Originally posted by darthfuster:
Would you rather have had money or mad honey?

I ran a search but struck out.

At the risk of showing my ignorance, a common occurrence, where does that quote come from?

I'm guessing from his divorce lawyer.

Louis L'Amour's book "The Walking Drum" made mention of "mad honey" in reference to an incident in the 4th Century B.C. involving Xenophon's 10,000 soldiers eating mad honey and going mad.