From the outside, Dominic Milton Trott appears to be the picture of health. The 67-year-old former IT professional maintains a strict vegetarian diet, swims daily, and rarely touches alcohol. He enjoys a quiet retirement in North West England with his wife, his children long since grown. Yet, for the past 17 years, this seemingly ordinary pensioner has pursued a project far from the typical rounds of golf or gardening: he has been systematically trying hundreds of drugs.
The Unconventional Mission for Safer Use
Dominic's reason is not recreational thrill-seeking but a dedicated attempt at harm reduction. Motivated by the alarming number of fatal overdoses, he set out in 2008 to create an informed guide, his 'Drug Users Bible'. His goal was to provide others with the knowledge to use substances, should they choose to, as safely as possible. Over nearly two decades, he has meticulously recorded data on 182 different substances, from onset times to threshold doses, travelling to over 50 countries including Colombia, Jamaica, and the Netherlands to conduct his research legally where possible.
His list includes some of the world's most notorious and deadly drugs: crack cocaine, heroin, and crystal meth. The financial cost of this lifelong expedition has been staggering, estimated at between £200,000 and £300,000, largely fuelled by extensive travel. Despite the nature of his hobby, Dominic credits his healthy lifestyle for his robust physical condition, insisting he has never been hospitalised.
The Surprising Peril in the Kitchen Cupboard
However, among this vast and dangerous pharmacopoeia, one substance stands out as the most terrifying experience of his life. Remarkably, it is a common spice found in most British supermarkets. 'It's nutmeg,' Dominic revealed to the Daily Mail. 'Yes, the spice we use to put at the top of our custard tarts.'
In large quantities, nutmeg can act as a powerful psychoactive, and Dominic learned this the hard way in his younger years, before he had developed his safety protocols. Out of curiosity, he brewed and drank a nutmeg tea. After initially feeling nothing, he awoke at 2am plunged into a state of sheer delirium. 'The room was spinning, everything was brightly coloured. Everything was sort of warping all over the place,' he recounted.
The experience was physically debilitating and psychologically harrowing. He was unable to stand, crawling across a floor that seemed to swallow his hands. He suffered from intense hallucinations, headaches, and stomach pain, and was unable to urinate. 'I thought I was dying,' he stated. The ordeal left him incapacitated for a week. He describes the sensation as the worst alcohol hangover imaginable, 'multiplied by 10', and warns it was not a 'high' but a 'state close to death'.
Warnings and a Lifelong Legacy
Dominic's caution is emphatic. He brands nutmeg a 'poison' and dispels any myths of it being a route to a good time, urging young people in particular to stay away. His research has also led him to a stark conclusion about a legally available substance: alcohol. From reviewing medical papers, he now ranks the harm and addictiveness of alcohol alongside heroin and crystal meth.
Unsurprisingly, his wife of 46 years, Christine, has not been supportive of his dangerous avocation, once demanding, 'What is wrong with you?' Dominic understands the reaction, joking that he defies every stereotype of a drug user. Now, with his project spanning 17 years and encompassing a vast body of research, the retired author hopes his work will ultimately prevent harm by promoting truly informed choice, a legacy forged from one of the most unconventional retirement projects imaginable.
