A request from The Conversation:
I’m the Environment and Energy Editor for The Conversation, and I’m looking for someone who would be interested in writing an article on the harvesting of sassafras in Cambodia to make ecstasy, and the impact it is having on habitat and wildlife in the area. The writer would need to be affiliated with a university or research institution. Our articles are generally about 800 words long and written for a general audience – there is no need for references. There’s some information about who we are here. You can contact me at jane.rawson@theconversation.edu.au
When i look about sassafras on internet, many people are talking about the great help of this root for stop smoking. But other source are saying that sassafras is highly cancerigen. Do u know about the other effect of sassafras if we exclude the MDMA production.
I read that is a plant coming from north america, do you know how this tree can be found in the middle of the (quite) preserved Cardamone forest ?
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There are several species of sassafras, one of which, Sassafras tzumu, is native to Asia. However, it seems that what is being called “sassafras” here in the context of precursors for the manufacture of the drug Ecstasy is in fact another tree, Selasian wood (Cinnamomum parthenoxylon) or “mreah prew phnom” in Cambodian. This plant seems to be widely distributed in mainland and peninsula Southeast Asia, and apart from Cambodia is also found in Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam.
Various parts of the plant seem to have been used for medicinal purposes in the region. However, as it is a different species, it can’t be assumed that C. parthenoxylon has the same carcinogenic properties as sassafras, or that it can be used to help give up cigarette smoking.
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