Authorities destroy 73 Datura plants in Diyala

Shafaq News- Diyala

Diyala’s Agriculture Directorate seized and destroyed 73 Datura plants in a village of Kalwaz, in the province’s Al-Wajihiya district on Wednesday, in cooperation with local police.

The operation was carried out with the assistance of the district’s narcotics and intelligence units, as well as the Al-Wajihiya police station, according to a statement by the Directorate. The discovery came two days after authorities found and destroyed 250 Datura plants in Qazaniya, in eastern Diyala.

Datura is an invasive species first recorded in Al-Anbar after 2003, likely spreading through the dispersal of its seeds, although the directorate has no precise information on how it first reached the province.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has documented Datura stramonium as a source of atropine, noting its potent anticholinergic effects. It also linked acute atropine poisoning to symptoms including tachycardia, fever, delirium, and hallucinations.