[Ads-l] Antedating of "Loco Weed"

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

Bill Mullins wrote:
> Is this a reference to marijuana, or some other weed, one that possibly
> affects cattle that eat it?

The OED "locoweed" (noun) sense 1 refers to "loco" (noun) sense 3
which is about a group of plants. OED "locoweed" (noun) sense 2 is
about marijuana. Fred's citation appears to be about the poisonous
plant family and not specifically about marijuana.

[Begin OED excerpt from loco]
loco noun 3
North American.
1. Any of several leguminous plants of either of the closely related
genera Astragalus and Oxytropis (both of the subfamily Faboideae)
found in the western and south-western United States (see sense 2).
Also with distinguishing word.

1844 He was girt about he neck with a leather bridle, and his meat was
locos and wild onions.
St. Louis Reveille 8 December 2/4
[End OED excerpt]

[Begin OED excerpt from locoweed]
locoweed noun
1. North American. = loco n.3 1.
1879 The losses among cattle, caused by eating the poisonous loco
weed, will perhaps not exceed 1 per cent.
Special Rep. U.S. Department of Agriculture No. 12. 211
[End OED excerpt from locoweed]

[Begin OED excerpt from locoweed]
locoweed noun
2. Originally and chiefly North American slang.= marijuana n.
1898 The plant is known also in Southern Mexico together with another
‘loco-weed’—mariguana—our cannabis sativa.
Proceedings Amer. Medico-Psychol. Assoc. 54th Ann. Meeting 170
[End OED excerpt from locoweed]

Garson

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