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Psychedelic mushrooms are fungi that contain psychedelic substances, such as Psilocybin or Muscimol. The most common colloquial terms for psychedelic mushrooms are magic mushrooms, shrooms, boomers, caps, and cubies.

Categorization

Psychedelic mushrooms can be divided into two groups: the Psilocybin-bearing mushrooms, found primarily in the Psilocybe genus, and the muscimol-containing mushroom Amanita muscaria.

Psilocybe mushrooms contain psilocybin and/or psilocin, psychedelic tryptamines that are structurally similar to serotonin, a strong regulator of mood, state of mind, and consciousness. Several species of Psilocybe also contain the alkaloid baeocystin, which is a demethylated derivative of psilocybin. Other genera that contain psilocybin include Conocybe, Copelandia, Gymnopilus, Inocybe and Panaeolus.

Amanita muscaria, or Fly Agaric, contains many entheogenic elements, most notably muscimol, but also including muscazone, ibotenic acid and muscarine. It produces a much different experience compared to a Psilocybe mushroom. This mushroom is toxic in large doses, as ibotenic acid and muscazone can cause unpleasant side-effects such as nausea or even permanent damage, although there are very few fatalities caused by Amanita muscaria. Recreational users who wish to consume the Amanita muscaria often heat dry or cook the mushrooms, as the high temperature is believed to reduce negative effects by converting ibotenic acid into muscimol.

History

Various cultures throughout the ages have used psychedelic fungi for shamanistic and other purposes; rock paintings in the Sahara of mushroom effigies date back to 7000 BCE.

Mesoamerican mushroom stones of the pre-classic Mayans representing deified mushrooms date back to approximately 500 BCE, Psilocybin mushrooms were a revered tradition in native Central American cultures at the time of the European invasion, and have been in continuous use up to the present. Named teonanácatl ("flesh of the gods") in Nahuatl, they may have been employed for healing, divination and for intercession with spirits. Since the beginning of the Latin American colonial era, their use has been hidden due to persecution by the Christian church, which branded all native religious practices, especially those employing entheogenic sacraments, as "pagan".

Some scholars believe that Soma, the drink mentioned in Vedic literature, was derived from psychedelic mushrooms; R. Gordon Wasson suggests that this was amanita muscaria, which is known to have been used in Siberian shamanism. That Nordic Vikings may have used fly-agaric to produce their berserker rages was first suggested by the Swedish professor Samual Ödman in 1784. Ödman based his theory on reports about the use of fly-agaric among Siberian shamans. The notion has become widespread since the 19th century, but no contemporary sources mention this use or anything similar in their description of berserkers. Today, it is generally considered an unproven speculation.

According to the BBC, the first documented use of psychedelic mushrooms was in the Medical and Physical Journal: In 1799, a man who had been picking mushrooms for breakfast in London's Green Park included them in his harvest, accidentally sending his entire family on a trip. The doctor who treated them later described how the youngest child "was attacked with fits of immoderate laughter, nor could the threats of his father or mother refrain him."

In 1957, amateur mycologist R. Gordon Wasson published an article for Life describing his experiences with psilocybin mushrooms while a guest in the rituals of the Mazatec shaman Maria Sabina in a mountain village in the Mexican state of Oaxaca. His account triggered a wave of experimentation with these mushrooms which resulted in their eventual classification in the United States as a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act.

The introduction of westerners into the previously secret rites was later rued by Maria Sabina: "From the moment the foreigners arrived, the 'holy children' (a Mazatec euphemism for the mushrooms, which are otherwise not named directly) lost their purity. They lost their force, they ruined them. Henceforth they will no longer work. There is no remedy for it."

Effects

Psychedelic mushrooms can elicit a wide range of bodily and mental effects including:

Physical

  • Lightheadedness
  • Numbness of the mouth
  • Torpor
  • Chills
  • Increased body temperature
  • Nausea
  • Stomach pain
  • Excessive production of tears/mucus
  • Drowsiness
  • Swollen features
  • Pupil dilation
  • Excessive yawning
  • Increased heart rate

Sensory

  • Relaxation
  • Sense of heaviness or lightness
  • Closed eye visuals
  • Open eye visuals
  • Blurred vision
  • Auditory effects
  • Vapor Trails
  • Apparent curving or morphing of environment
  • Increased visual acuity

Emotional

  • Anxiety
  • Euphoric states
  • Hilarity or extensive laughter
  • High rage
  • Beatific states (perception of God, the universe, or some "higher power")
  • Paranoia and/or anxiety, possibly even culminating into a bad trip
  • Sexual arousal
  • Dissolution of the ego

Intellectual

  • Looped or confused thinking
  • Introspective thinking
  • Extreme mental lucidity
  • Dissolution of imprinted and conditioned thought patterns
  • Stimulation of verbal faculties (speech, singing)
  • Concept of time dissolved
  • Déjà vu
  • Magical thinking

As with many psychoactive substances, the effects of any mushrooms consumed are subjective and unpredictable. Generally speaking, the experience of psilocybin containing mushrooms lasts four to six hours or more. The effect is typically inwardly oriented, with strong visual and auditory components. Visions and revelations may be experienced, and the effect can range from exhilarating to terrifying. There can be also a total absence of effects, even with large doses.

The effects of mushrooms are strongly dependent upon set and setting. The Mazatecs purify themselves before a velada (or "vision quest") by abstaining from meat, eggs, alcohol and sex for four days. The veladas are always done in the dark, in a protected and sealed space which no one may enter or leave until all have regained their composure. Modern psychonauts often speak of "packing for the trip", by which is meant a loading of information into the brain prior to "departure", for example, by reading a philosophical writing or watching natural history or science documentaries in the days immediately prior to a planned experience. Experienced users find that there are ways of adjusting their environment to enhance their trip.

There have been calls for medical investigation of the use of psilocybin-containing mushrooms for the treatment of chronic cluster headaches, following numerous anecdotal reports of benefits.*

Dosage

Dosage of psilocybin mushrooms depends on the total psilocybin and psilocin content of the mushrooms, which varies significantly both between species and within the same species, but is typically around 0.5-2% of the dried weight of the mushroom. A common dose of P. cubensis is approximately 1-3g, corresponding to 10-30mg psilocybin/psilocin, while about 3-5g dried material or 30-50mg of psilocybin/psilocin is considered a heavy dose. Mushrooms are approximately 90% water and dosages for fresh mushrooms are accordingly about 10 times higher, i.e. 10-50g fresh material.

Legal status

In many countries, psilocybin-containing mushrooms are illegal. In the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, and most other EU countries, however, fresh mushrooms can be obtained in "smart shops" which specialise in ethnobotanicals. Dried mushrooms, however, are considered a "preparation" and thus remain illegal in all countries. Nonetheless, there is an active international trade both in mushrooms and in spores, which can be grown in sterile medium (see Drug policy of the Netherlands).

Fly Agaric is not a controlled substance in most countries.

Japan

Before 2002, psilocybin mushrooms were widely available in Japan, often sold in mail-order shop, online vendor and "smart shops" similar to those of the Netherlands. On June 2002, Japan Health, Labour and Welfare Ministry added psilocybin mushrooms to Schedule Narcotics (similar to U.S. Schedule I of Controlled Substances Act) of Narcotic and Psychotropic Drug Control Law (similar to U.S. Controlled Substances Act). Use, production, trafficking, growing, possession, botanizing of psilocybin mushrooms is now illegal in Japan. However, muscimol-containing mushrooms such as Amanita muscaria was not still controlled in Japan.

New Zealand

In New Zealand, psilocybin mushrooms are class A drugs, putting them in the highest class of illicit compounds along with heroin and LSD. They do not have to be prepared in any way for possession to be illegal.

Republic of Ireland

Until 31 January, 2006, unprepared psilocybin mushrooms were legal in the Republic of Ireland. On that date they were made illegal by a ministerial order. This decision was partly based on the death of Colm Hodkinson (33) at a Halloween party on 30th October 2005. Mr. Hodkinson ate 2 or 3 psilocybin mushrooms with alcohol and cannabis. After 15 minutes of ingestion of the mushrooms, Mr Hodkinson became increasingly agitated. Despite the best efforts of his friends to calm him, 3 to 4 minutes later he vaulted over the railings of a 3rd floor roof balcony and fell to his death. The sale of spores is still legal and grow kits are still available in some shops.

United Kingdom

As of 18 July 2005, both dried and "prepared" (that is, made into a tea) psilocybin mushrooms were made illegal in the United Kingdom. Prior to this date, fresh mushrooms were widely available (even in city centre shops), but Clause 21 of the Drugs Bill 2005 made fresh psychedelic mushrooms ("fungi containing psilocin"), a Class A drug. However, mushrooms spores are not illegal, due to the fact they do not carry psilocin until they are cultivated.

United States of America

In the United States, possession of psilocybin-containing mushrooms is illegal because they contain the Schedule I drugs psilocin and psilocybin. Spores, however, which do not contain psychoactive chemicals, are only explicitly illegal in California, Idaho, and Georgia. In the state of Florida, fresh or unprepared psilocybin mushrooms that grow wild are legal to possess.

In all states, except possibly New Mexico, growing psilocybin-containing mushrooms from spores is considered manufacture of a controlled substance. In New Mexico, on June 15, 2005, the New Mexico appeals court ruled that growing psilocybin mushrooms for personal use is not manufacture of a controlled substance*.

Drug trade

Production

It is not difficult to cultivate Psilocybe mushrooms (esp. Psilocybe cubensis). The legal availability of spores and mycelium varies by country and state. Most of the other supplies needed for mushroom cultivation (mason jars, potting supplements, rye, brown rice flour) are easily obtained. One can also purchase kits through the mail or Internet that include everything one needs for personal growing. These grow kits are often used by amateur growers, with varying rates of success and yields; contamination of the supplies is a common problem.

Trafficking

Because mushrooms can be grown indoors (namely Psilocybe cubensis and Panaeolus cyanescens), they are generally grown within the same national borders as they are sold. There have been few high-profile cases of mushroom producers and traffickers being caught or prosecuted.

While mushrooms may be distributed by organized crime, more often they are moved by informal affiliations of acquaintances and fellow users, and do not often travel long distances. They are sold in plastic bags containing either whole dried or powdered, sometimes crushed, fungi, and are generally sold by weight. They are sometimes incorporated into chocolate or baked into brownies, cakes, or muffins.

The potency of mushrooms can vary greatly depending on the growing conditions, and users run the risk of ingesting a poisonous, mis-identified species, or being cheated by substitutions or cutting of the mushrooms with other, non-psychedelic varieties, or by non-psychedelic varieties laced with other psychedelics, most often LSD.

Identification

Caution: There exist many highly toxic mushrooms which can be easily confused with similar-looking edible species. Do not rely on Wikipedia alone when identifying mushrooms for consumption.

While growing psychedelic mushrooms in a controlled environment is generally considered easier and safer than searching for them in the wild, such mushrooms can be found in places like farms, parks, and stables.

Psilocybe genus

Many Psilocybe mushrooms are often called little brown mushroom or LBM, and are difficult for the inexperienced to distinguish from other LBM's.

The most common way to identify a Psilocybe mushroom is from the blue bruising color of injured tissue (usually from the whitish stem) when exposed to air by being cut or split open. The bluing reaction, while not fully understood, appears to correspond to the psilocin in the mushroom degrading.

Psilocybe cubensis is a commonly and frequently cultivated Psilocybe mushroom.

  • Spores - Dark purple (the best indicator in the field after bruising)

  • Stem- White to golden in hue, widely ranging in size and density

  • Cap- Brown in early stages often turning golden with maturity. With maturity caps are often flat and occasionally convexed

  • Veil- Thin, white, formed under the cap, often hangs onto the mid-upper stem when cap convexes

  • Gills- Adnate (horizontally attached to the stem)

  • Habitat/Substrate- Cow/horse dung or manure, grains (straw, rye, rice, birdseed/millet)

  • Climate- 72-86°F (22-30°C), high humidity

Amanita muscaria

Amanita muscaria can be easily confused by the layperson with amanita pantherina as well other toxic amanitas. Amanitas are the cause of 95% of fatal mushroom poisonings. For this reason, extreme caution should be used when attempting to identify an Amanita muscaria for ingestion.

See also

  • Ergot, another form of psychoactive fungus

Further reading

References

  • http://www.erowid.org/plants/mushrooms/
  • R. Gordon Wasson, The Wondrous Mushroom: Mycolatry in Mesoamerica
  • Alvaro Estrada, Maria Sabina: Her Life and Chants
  • Terence McKenna, Food of the Gods
  • Ole Högberg, Flugsvampen och människan. Section concerning the berserker myth is published online * (In Swedish and PDF format) ISBN 9172035552

External links

Drugs | Entheogens | Herbal and fungal hallucinogens | Mushrooms | Psychedelics, dissociatives and deliriants

Zauberpilz | Hongos psilocibios | Champignon hallucinogène | Ofskynjunarsveppir | Paddo | マジックマッシュルーム | Cogumelo psicadélico | Taikasieni | Psykedeliska svampar | Halüsinojen mantarlar

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Psychedelic mushroom".

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