There is a famous story from 1676 regarding British Soldiers and Datura.
I'll paste it here for you........
In 1676, British soldiers were sent to stop the Rebellion of Bacon. Jamestown weed (Jimsonweed) was boiled for inclusion in a salad, which the soldiers readily ate. The hallucinogenic properties of jimsonweed took affect.
As told by Robert Beverly in The History and Present State of Virginia (1705): The soldiers presented "a very pleasant comedy, for they turned natural fools upon it for several days: one would blow up a feather in the air; another would dart straws at it with much fury; and another, stark naked, was sitting up in a corner like a monkey, grinning and making mows at them; a fourth would fondly kiss and paw his companions, and sneer in their faces with a countenance more antic than any in a Dutch droll.
"In this frantic condition they were confined, lest they should, in their folly, destroy themselves - though it was observed that all their actions were full of innocence and good nature. Indeed they were not very cleanly; for they would have wallowed in their own excrements, if they had not been prevented. A thousand such simple tricks they played, and after 11 days returned themselves again, not remembering anything that had passed." Had the British not cooked the leaves,few would have survived,for the potent hallucinogens produced by "Datura" are extremely toxic
I have also read that there is a "Sacred Datura" with flowers up to 10 inches across that was/is used by the Indians of the southwest for a variety of rituals.
It's a beautiful plant that really enhances a garden. It's a shame that people have to "mistreat" it.