I’ve seen cowboy movies from the 1950s where the actor said he had to shoot his horse because it ate locoweed. What exactly is locoweed? Were they talking about marijuana? If so, why would anyone shoot a valuable horse for eating a weed whose effects are only temporary?
David Duggan
Shelton, Connecticut
No, locoweed isn’t cannabis. It’s any number of plants found throughout the West, especially the genera Astragalus and Oxytropis. They are commonly found on mountains, foothills, plains
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