The jitters. The voices. Freshen your cup?

SciAm launches a new volley in the war on drugs – specifically an exotic plant known to some as “Psychotria.” On the street, it’s likely to be called “java” or “joe” and, according to a study in the journal Personality and Individual Differences, the popular, bitter brew can trigger hallucinations:

…[C]ollege students they studied said they sometimes heard faux voices after chugging at least seven cups of coffee daily.

Some previous research has found that reducing or eliminating caffeinated coffee from the diets of schizophrenics reduces their hallucinations, but other studies haven’t replicated those findings, they note.