Catnip is an opioid analgesic just like morphine, heroin, & fentanyl. Here kitty, kitty....

[JacksinPA]

Nepetalactone: a new opioid analgesic from Nepeta caesarea Boiss - PubMed

The essential oils of Nepeta species including Nepeta phyllochlamys P. H. Davis, N. nuda L. ssp. nuda, and N. caesarea Boiss. have been screened by use of the tail-flick and tail immersion (52.5 degrees C) methods. Of the species studied, only N. caesarea showed significant analgesic activity...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

I've been amused at cat's reaction to the herb catnip. This study finds that it produces its effects by acting at opioid receptors & produces analgesia as well as sedation & that its effects are blocked by the opioid overdose rescue drug naloxone.

I once smoked catnip & got nothing remarkable out of it.

I've been cruising around the literature on psychoactive plants to identify those known to contain active molecules with similar chemical structures, such as the lactone ring found in catnip's active substance nepetalactone. Kava, for example, is consumed in the S Pacific for the sedating effects of kavalactones.

 

[Monica33]

Chewing it can help toothache -- it is said .

Some say it helps clear headaches .

Others say you suffer from diarrhoea.

I have no idea .Or a cat .