Chamalla From Battlestar Wiki, the free, open content Battlestar Galactica encyclopedia and episode guide Chamalla [kə.ˈmɑ.lə] is probably a Colonial plant, root or vegetable, origins unknown.
Extracts from chamalla are used by oracles, and as an alternative therapy for certain illnesses, including cancer. Chamalla withdrawal is highly acute, and resembles the symptoms of heroin addiction (Fragged). President Laura Roslin begins taking chamalla extract medication (distributed as pills) due to her terminal cancer (Act of Contrition). Roslin's visions in "Flesh and Bone" appear to be induced by Chamalla withdrawal. The benefits of the extract are viewed as questionable by those in the medical profession, as evidenced by Doctor Cottle's reaction to Roslin's request to use it when he confirms her cancer is inoperable. Chamalla has hallucinogenic effects, desirable in its role as an entheogen, but not in its medicinal applications. In Roslin's case, these have been remarkably prescient ("Flesh and Bone", "The Hand of God", "Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I"). The chamalla treatments, as expected by Dr. Cottle, do nothing to stop Roslin's cancer from reaching a life-threatening stage (Epiphanies). Chamalla has a very bitter taste. One oracle, Dodona Selloi, prefers to ingest it with candy to sweeten it (Exodus, Part I). When Roslin resumes to take chamalla after her cancer returns, she dissolves it in tea to mask its taste (Crossroads, Part I).