When to harvest wild lettuce, Lactuca virosa for pain tincture?

I planted mine last early Summer. I harvested the leaves & stems to make tincture. The tincture was bitter but it worked. I covered my plants in 4-5” of mulch through the Winter months & it came back this Spring. Its tall with little buds on top. The lower leaves don't have as much of the white sap in them like they did last year when I cut them small before the stalks got big. This year I will try to collect the sap & dry it. I blended up the leaves & stems in a good grade of vodka in the blender and let it sit in a dark bottle, in a cool dry place for several weeks before using.

Hi there, I just read your post about Prickly Lettuce, & I have a question.  We've got quite a bit of Prickly Lettuce growing on our back lot, behind our house.  I've never tried it for pain, but I wanted to see if I could harvest it now, since it's all dried out from the winter months?  Everything I've read so far has said to harvest it while it's still green, so I was wondering if it's still got the same pain relieving qualities after it's dried out??  I can't seem to find anything on anyone using it once it's died off from the winter.  Do you have any idea?  I have several chronic pain issues (Rheumatoid Arthritis, Sciatica, Fibro, Herniated discs....), & have been taking opiates for a few years now, but I wanted to look into using Prickly Lettuce, since it's a more natural pain reliever.  Any info you could share would be so helpful, and much appreciated!  Thanks!

Debra, welcome to the forum.

I have seen dried prickly lettuce for sale so it is possible that dried might work.

What seems to me is that the dried for sale is green so is your dried still green?

Could it be since it has been out in the elements, its potential is too used up?

A good experiment would be to take some, put in a bottle and fill the bottle with a good-grade vodka.

As the previous poster suggested:

Debbie said, I blended up the leaves & stems in a good grade of vodka in the blender and let it sit in a dark bottle, in a cool dry place for several weeks before using.

If I were doing this I would take cutting in the spring.

To harvest wild lettuce (Lactuca virosa) for pain tincture, the best time is when the plant is in the flowering stage, typically late spring to early summer, just before or as the buds start to open. At this stage, the sap, which contains the active compounds, is at its highest concentration. While the lower leaves may have less sap compared to last year, you can still gather the sap from the stems and any fresh young leaves. It’s essential to harvest on a dry day to ensure optimal sap production. After harvesting, you can continue your method of blending the leaves and stems with high-proof vodka, allowing it to steep in a dark, cool place for several weeks to extract the beneficial compounds effectively.

Dry the leaves in a dehydrated.

Leaves can be smoked in roll-your-own paper and smoked without a filter. Half of one should be enough to extinguish pain almost instantly but do this before bed and an early night because you'll likely sleep a heavy 11hrs straight.

Leaves can be blended and infused in a bitter tea.
Ive no idea if adding honey changes the effect.
I drink it bitter.