Prickly Lettuce, Milk Weed, Milk Thistle, Lactica Seriola there are many names for this common plant and most of us are all too familiar with it. We pull it up, mow it down and spray it with poison and still it comes back year after year, but do we really know it?

Wild lettuce comes in many forms with Prickly Lettuce being one of the most common in my area. I waged war on it year after year and it proved to be a real headache, little did I know it was also the cure for that headache and many other aches and pains.

Using wild lettuce for a pain killer couldn’t be easier and it works astonishingly well.

I use it as a tincture mostly, because it has a great shelf life and is super easy to make.
Sure there are other ways to use it and even to make it more powerful, but I will start with the easiest way first.

1. Collect the leaves from the plant and wash them.
2. Lightly chop then into small pieces and allow air dry.
3. Place then in a canning jar filling 1/3 to 1/2 way to the top.
4. Fill the jar with 100 proof vodka leaving a small amount of air at the top.
5. Seal the jar and place in a cool place to steep for approx 4 weeks. Shake every few days. (Don’t forget to date the jar so you know when it’s done)
6. Strain the resulting Tincture and bottle for later use.

Dosage: up to 1ml for adults. as needed for pain.

This is great for treating headache, toothache, muscle aches arthritis pain, etc…

So now you know, Leave a small patch of weeds in the garden for medicinal purposes.