I tried smoking some hops flower that I just bought today. It definately does something, my pupils were dialated so that at least wasnt placebo, but the other effects could have been. Your eyes feel heavy and its definately a buzz, mild, but simillar to the buzz youd get from small amounts of weed. Unless I made all of this up. But you try and get back to me..
Hops in beer are a bitter principle. The old timers used to think that bitter was good for you, however hops wasn't all that was used in old time beers. Pot was used at times as was mugwort (the name means mug...as in beer mug, weed). Native beers in mexico have had datura seeds in them. There are just a lot of things that have been used in beer. Just thought I would throw that out along with the fact that the old timers were also looking for things to give their beers a little more kick...
Hops were also used as a preservative. Ever wonder why IPA (India Pale Ale) is so hoppy in taste? Check out the history of them, I think it was because of the long trips from England to India.
