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       H                  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.