''Grow Your Own Drugs'' is a British television documentary series, first broadcast on

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

, exploring the many remedies which can be provided by plants. James Wong, an

ethnobotanist Ethnobotany is the study of a region's plants and their practical uses through the traditional knowledge of a local culture and people. An ethnobotanist thus strives to document the local customs involving the practical uses of local flora for m ...

, presents the series and takes the view that people should start making their own remedies in order to save money and feel healthier plus providing simple remedies to everyday

ailments A disease is a particular abnormal condition that negatively affects the structure or function (biology), function of all or part of an organism, and that is not immediately due to any external injury. Diseases are often known to be medica ...

. Wong tries out his remedies on members of the public in order to demonstrate the beneficial effects of natural remedies, adding appropriate safety warnings. He is careful to stress that viewers should always seek medical advice before trying natural medicines, and in discussing the outcomes of treatment always states "It's not a clinical trial..." and acknowledges that results might be attributed to a

placebo effect A placebo ( ) is a substance or treatment which is designed to have no therapeutic value. Common placebos include inert tablets (like sugar pills), inert injections (like Saline (medicine), saline), sham surgery, and other procedures. In general ...

. Proving a huge ratings success for the BBC, the programme quickly became the highest rated gardening programme in the UK, producing an internationally best-selling book, by the same title, as a spin-off. In 2009, the series also won "Best Television Programme" at the UK Garden Media Guild Awards. Wong's says: and: A special edition, ''Grow Your Own Drugs for Christmas'', focusing mostly on the applications of plants associated with the season such as

holly ''Ilex'' (), or holly, is a genus of over 570 species of flowering plants in the family Aquifoliaceae, and the only living genus in that family. ''Ilex'' has the most species of any woody dioecious angiosperm genus. The species are evergreen o ...

ivy ''Hedera'', commonly called ivy (plural ivies), is a genus of 12–15 species of evergreen climbing or ground-creeping woody plants in the family Araliaceae, native to western, central and southern Europe, Macaronesia, northwestern Africa and ...

mistletoe Mistletoe is the common name for obligate hemiparasitic plants in the order Santalales. They are attached to their host tree or shrub by a structure called the haustorium, through which they extract water and nutrients from the host plant. ...

and

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accep ...

, aired on 16 December 2009. A second series began airing on 23 March 2010.

Episodes

Season 1 Special Season 2

References

External links

* {{BBC programme
BBC Press Office
Programme Information
James Wong : Official Site
More information on "Grow Your Own Drugs", including recipes, video clips and more. BBC television documentaries 2010s British television series 2009 British television series debuts 2010 British television series endings Television series by Sony Pictures Television