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PSILOCYBIN
For thousands of years before Europeans set foot in the New World the
sacred mushroom was in use in native rituals. In the 1950s R. Gordon
Wasson, a Wall Street banker, participated in a Mexico mushroom ceremony
and eloquently described the 'Divine Inebriant' in a piece of writing
which
could go some way to explaining the fascination with which many people
regard psychedelic drugs. These words, of course, could really equally
apply to any of these substances:
'There are no apt words ... to characterize
your state when you
are, shall we say, 'bemushroomed.' ... How
do you tell a man born
blind what seeing is like? In the present
case, this is
especially true because superficially the
bemushroomed man shows
few of the objective symptoms of one intoxicated,
drunk ... [the
mushroom] permits you to see, more clearly
than our pershing
mortal eye can see, vistas beyond the horizons
of this life, to
travel backwards and forwards in time, even
(as the Indians say)
to know God. It is hardly surprising that
your emotions are
profoundly affected, and you feel that an
indissoluble bond
unites you with the others who have shared
with you in the sacred
agape ... All that you see during this night
has a pristine
quality: the landscape, the edifices, the
carvings, the animals -
they look as though they had come straight
from the Maker's
workshop. This newness of everything - it
is as though the world
had just dawned - overwhelms you and melts
you with its beauty.
Not unnaturally, what is happening to you
seems to you freighted
with significance, beside which the humdrum
events of everyday
are trivial ... What you are seeing and what
you are hearing
appear as one: the music assumes harmonious
shape, giving visual
form to its harmonies, and what you are seeing
takes on the
modalities of music - the music of the spheres
... All your
senses are similarly affected: the cigarette
with which you
occasionally break the tension of the night
smells as no
cigarette before had ever smelled ; the glass
of simple water is
infinitely better than champagne.'
From 'The Hallucinogenic Fungi of Mexico',
R. Gordon Wasson in
The Psychedelic Reader, Ed. Gunther M. Weil
et al, Citadel Press
Inc., 1973.
Fortunately one does not have to visit Mexico to experience the mushrooms,
probably the most effective and safest of natural psychedelics. Psilocybian
mushrooms should not be confused with the Fly Agaric (amanita muscaria)
a
toxic deleriant. The most common species of 'Magic Mushroom' found
wild in
the UK is the increasingly popular 'Liberty Cap' (psilocybe senilanceata).
Indeed this particular species, despite its relative weakness, is prized
by
the South American Indians as one of the best. The Liberty Cap contains
psilocybin, which is converted to psilocin in the body. Psilocin is
a close
chemical relative of LSD. However, the effects, according to many users,
are milder, more pleasant and there is said to be less risk of bad
trips.
The greatest danger comes from eating other mushrooms -- different
poisonous mushrooms picked by mistake. Therefore any potential mushroom
picker should be quite sure they know what to look for (many reference
books about mushrooms describe the Liberty Cap). The season for the
mushroom is between September and December. During this time many people,
not known for a previous interest in fungi, can be seen scanning the
grass
in fields with bent heads. The mushrooms are usually found after heavy
rain
and a long search. After picking they are dried on paper. Although
the
dried mushrooms are less potent than the fresh, if not dried the mushrooms
might contain flies harmful to the liver.
Some people say mushrooms make them sick, but then I have never had
any
toxic effects from the mushrooms. A test for psilocybin-containing
mushrooms is to look for a blue colour at the end of the stem after
they
have been picked. Those who want to make quite sure can buy a chemical
called methaminophenol sulphate from photographic positive identification.
Add it to twenty times its volume in distiled water. Apply to stem
of
mushroom and wait half an hour for a deep purple colour.
The American mushrooms include Psilocybe cubensis and caerulescens
and are
far more potent on a weight basis than the English ones. Whereas typical
doses of the Liberty Cap are 25-50 dried little mushrooms, only a few
grams
of the American mushrooms ('shrooms) are needed. The effects, as with
any
drug, depend on the individual's body weight as well as the size and
strength of the mushrooms. The mushrooms have a greater effect if a
soup is
made from them and also if taken on an empty stomach. To prepare a
soup it
is necessary to boil up the 'shrooms for ten minutes, add packet soup
powder or instant coffee to hid the (disgusting) taste then drink the
soup
and repeat the process using the same mushrooms.
The effects start after about twenty minutes for soup and forty-five
minutes when eaten. At low doses effects last about four hours and
at
higher doses up to six hours. Once the effects start to end they do
so
rapidly, unlike acid which seems to linger on a bit.
Possession of fresh mushrooms, in the UK is not illegal at the present.
This may well change in the future. Even now possession of a preparation
or
product of the mushrooms is an offence. This includes drying mushrooms
to a
powder, crushing or boiling them. Mushrooms which are dried but are
still
intact are legal (excuse: 'I picked them like that, Officer. The sun
must
have dried them out, honest guv'.').
Kits to grow the mushrooms at home in jam jars are available from the
USA
by mail order. 'FS' has a 'Resource Guide' containing information about
43
companies selling every thing from mushroom videos to edible cultures
and
spore prints (more than 50!). The address is given in the bibliography.
Judge Clive Callman ruled in 1983 test case that the cultivation of
'magic
mushrooms' is legal in the UK, unfortunately it's also quite difficult.
A
friend once tried it and failed due to lack of sterile conditions.
Fly Agaric [Fliegenpilz]
This drug is only included to warn of its considerable dangers.
The Fly Agaric ('amanita muscaria') is the well-known red toadstool
with
white spots which appears in illustrations in fairy tales. It is not
a true
psychedelic drug and at best has unpleasant side effects. At worst
it could
kill you.
Effects are said to be dizziness, muscle twitching and possible vomiting
after a half hour. This is followed by a drunken feeling and perhaps
a
light sleep lasting about two hours. Numbness may be present in the
extremities. On waking feelings of great strength and hallucinations
(especially of size) lasting about six hours have been reported. Overdoses
can lead to convulsions, derangement, coma and amnesia. There are reports
that this drug can cause ergotism, constriction of blood in the extremities
of the bodies (e.g. nose, fingers etc) leading to gangrene. Death or
permanent brain damage is possible from overdose (caused by respiratory
paralysis). Kidney damage is also possible.
Neither the toadstool nor any preparation of it are controlled substances.
They are not likely to be ever classified as such, since hopefully
few will
be foolish enough to try it.