Princess Hohenlohe inhales narcotic flowers

March 30, 1928


Princess Hohenlohe was driving her "closed car on a steep street" with a woman friend in Zurich, when she had an "unusual accident." The Princess "felt dizzy, her hands relaxed the wheel, and the uncontrolled car descended down a slope," colliding with a street car, according to the New York Times. No one was hurt
Both women showed signs of being intoxicated. A local policeman called a doctor, who after examining the two women, stated they "certainly were intoxicated," not from liquor, but "from the perfume of a large bouquet of flowers in the car." The chief culprit was the "spurge-laurel, a plant whose berries provide strong poison used for medical purposes."
The Princess and her friend had been inhaling the drug "unknowingly for several hours" before the accident occurred. The Princess and her friend continued the drive to Lucerne after a "short rest," but the flowers were left behind.
Unfortunately, the newspaper did not identify the name of the princess, but this might because the original report from Switzerland neglected to include the princess' full name.