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(Redirected from Psychedelic mushroom)
'Psilocybin mushrooms' (also called 'psilocybian mushrooms') are fungi that contain the psychedelic substances psilocybin and psilocin, and occasionally other psychoactive tryptamines. There are multiple colloquial terms for psilocybin mushrooms, the most common being 'magic mushrooms'[1] or ''shrooms'.[2]
See List of Psilocybe species for a list of species containing psilocybin.
Psilocybin mushrooms contain psilocybin and/or psilocin and 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''.
Agrocybe
★ ''Agrocybe farinacea'' Hongo
Conocybe
★ ''Conocybe cyanopus'' (G.F. Atk.) Kühner
★ ''Conocybe kuehneriana'' Singer
★ ''Conocybe siligineoides'' R. Heim
★ ''Conocybe smithii Watling (= Galera cyanopes Kauffman)
Copelandia
★ ''Copelandia affinis'' Horak [3]
★ ''Copelandia anomala'' (Murrill) Singer 3
★ ''Copelandia bispora'' (Malençon & Bertault) Singer & R.A. Weeks3
★ ''Copelandia cambodginiensis'' (Ola'h & R. Heim) Singer & R.A. Weeks3
★ ''Copelandia chlorocystis'' Singer & R.A. Weeks3
★ ''Copelandia cyanescens'' (Berk. & Broome) Singer3
★ ''Copelandia lentisporus'' (Ew. Gerhardt) Guzmán3
★ ''Copelandia tirunelveliensis'' Natarajan & Raman3
★ ''Copelandia tropica'' Natarajan & Raman3
★ ''Copelandia tropicalis'' (Ola'h) Singer & R.A. Weeks3
★ ''Copelandia westii'' (Murrill) Singer 3
Galerina
★ ''Galerina steglichii'' Besl 3[4] [5]
Gerronema
★ ''Rickenella fibula'' (Bull.) Raithelh. (= ''Gerronema fibula'' (Bull.) Singer) 3
★ ''Gerronema solidipes'' (Fr.) Singer 3
Gymnopilus
★ ''Gymnopilus aeruginosus'' (Peck) Singer 3
★ ''Gymnopilus braendlei'' (Peck) Hesler 3
★ ''Gymnopilus intermedius'' (Singer) Singer 3
★ ''Gymnopilus junonius'' (Fr.) P.D. Orton (= ''Gymnopilus spectabilis'' (Fr.) A.H. Sm.) 3
★ ''Gymnopilus lateritius'' (Pat.) Murrill 3
★ ''Gymnopilus liquiritiae'' (Fr.) P. Karst. 3
★ ''Gymnopilus luteofolius'' (Peck) Singer 3
★ ''Gymnopilus luteoviridis'' Thiers 3
★ ''Gymnopilus luteus'' (Peck) Hesler 3
★ ''Gymnopilus purpuratus'' (Cooke & Massee) Singer 3
★ ''Gymnopilus sapineus'' (Fr.) Maire 3
★ ''Gymnopilus subpurpuratus'' Guzmán-Davalos & Guzmán 3
★ ''Gymnopilus validipes'' (Peck) Hesler 3
★ ''Gymnopilus viridans'' Murrill 3
Hypholoma
★ ''Hypholoma gigasporum'' (Natarajan & Raman) Guzmán 3
★ ''Hypholoma guzmanii'' (Natarajan & Raman) Guzmán 3
★ ''Hypholoma naematoliforme'' (Guzmán) Guzmán 3
★ ''Hypholoma neocaledonicum'' (Guzmán & Horak) Guzmán 3
★ ''Hypholoma popperianum'' (Singer) Guzmán 3
★ ''Hypholoma rhombispora'' (Guzmán) Guzmán 3
Inocybe
★ ''Inocybe aeruginascens'' Babos
★ ''Inocybe coelestium'' Kuyper
★ ''Inocybe corydalina var. corydalina'' Quél.
★ ''Inocybe corydalina var. erinaceomorpha'' (Stangl & J. Veselsky´) Kuyper
★ ''Inocybe haemacta'' (Berk. & Cooke) Sacc.
★ ''Inocybe tricolor'' Kühner
Mycena
★ ''Mycena cyanorhiza'' Quél.
.
Panaeolus
★ ''Panaeolus africanus'' Ola'h
★ ''Panaeolus fimicola'' (Fr.) Gillet (= P. ater)
★ ''Panaeolus microsporus'' Ola'h & Cailleux
★ ''Panaeolus moellerianus'' Singer
★ ''Panaeolus olivaceus'' F.H. Møller (= Panaeolus castaneifolius)
★ ''Panaeolus papilionaceus var. papilionaceus'' ''sensu auct. non s.'' Ew. Gerhardt
★ ''Panaeolus retirugis'' (Fr.) Quél.
★ ''Panaeolus rubricaulis'' Petch
★ ''Panaeolus semiovatus var. phalaenarum'' (syn. ''Panaeolus antillarum'')
★ ''Panaeolus sphinctrinus'' (Fr.) Quél.
★ ''Panaeolus subbalteatus'' (Berk. & Broome) Sacc.
★ ''Panaeolus venezolanus'' Guzmán
Pluteus
★ ''Pluteus cyanopus'' Quél.
★ ''Pluteus glaucus'' Singer
★ ''Pluteus nigriviridis'' Babos
★ ''Pluteus salicinus'' (Pers. : Fr.) P. Kumm.
★ ''Pluteus villosus'' (Bull.) Quél.
Psilocybe
★ ''Psilocybe acutipilea'' (Speg.) Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe angustipleurocystidiata'' Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe antioquensis'' Guzmán, Saldarriaga, Pineda, García & Velázquez
★ ''Psilocybe aquamarina'' (Pegler) Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe argentipes'' K. Yokoy.
★ ''Psilocybe armandii'' Guzmán & S.H. Pollock
★ ''Psilocybe aucklandii'' Guzmán, C.C. King & Bandala
★ ''Psilocybe australiana'' Guzmán & Watling
★ ''Psilocybe aztecorum'' R. Heim emend. Guzmán var. aztecorum
★ ''Psilocybe aztecorum'' var. bonetii (Guzmán) Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe azurescens'' Stamets & Gartz
★ ''Psilocybe baeocystis'' Singer & A.H. Sm. emend. Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe banderiliensis'' Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe barrerae'' Cifuentes & Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe bohemica'' Sebek
★ ''Psilocybe brasiliensis'' Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe brunneocystidiata'' Guzmán & Horak
★ ''Psilocybe caeruleoannulata'' Singer ex Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe caerulescens var. caerulescens''
★ ''Psilocybe caerulescens var. ombrophila'' (R. Heim) Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe caerulipes'' (Peck) Sacc.
★ ''Psilocybe carbonaria'' Singer
★ ''Psilocybe chiapanensis'' Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe collybioides'' Singer & A.H. Sm.
★ ''Psilocybe columbiana'' Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe coprinifacies'' (Rolland) Pouzar s. auct., non s. Herink, non s. Krieglsteiner)
★ ''Psilocybe cordispora'' R. Heim
★ ''Psilocybe cubensis'' (Earle) Singer
★ ''Psilocybe cyanescens'' Wakef. (non sensu Krieglsteiner)
★ ''Psilocybe cyanofibrillosa'' Guzmán & Stamets
★ ''Psilocybe dumontii'' Singer ex Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe eucalypta'' Guzmán & Watling
★ ''Psilocybe fagicola var. fagicola''
★ ''Psilocybe fagicola var. mesocystidiata'' Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe farinacea'' Rick ex Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe fimetaria'' (P.D. Orton) Watling
★ ''Psilocybe fuliginosa'' (Murrill) A.H. Sm.
★ ''Psilocybe furtadoana'' Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe galindoi'' Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe goniospora'' (Berk. & Broome) Singer
★ ''Psilocybe graveolens'' Peck
★ ''Psilocybe guatapensis'' Guzmán, Saldarriaga, Pineda, García & Velázquez
★ ''Psilocybe guilartensis'' Guzmán, Tapia & Nieves-Rivera
★ ''Psilocybe heimii'' Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe heliconiae'' Guzmán, Saldarriaga, Pineda, García & Velázquez
★ ''Psilocybe herrerae'' Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe hispanica'' Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe hoogshagenii var. hoogshagenii''
★ ''Psilocybe hoogshagenii var. convexa'' Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe inconspicua'' Guzmán & Horak
★ ''Psilocybe indica'' Sathe & J.T. Daniel
★ ''Psilocybe isabelae'' Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe jacobsii'' Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe jaliscana'' Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe kumaenorum'' R. Heim
★ ''Psilocybe laurae'' Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe lazoi'' Singer
★ ''Psilocybe liniformans var. liniformans''
★ ''Psilocybe liniformans var. americana'' Guzmán & Stamets
★ ''Psilocybe mairei'' Singer
★ ''Psilocybe makarorae'' Johnst. & Buchanan
★ ''Psilocybe mammillata'' (Murrill) A.H. Sm.
★ ''Psilocybe meridensis'' Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe mexicana'' R. Heim
★ ''Psilocybe moseri'' Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe muliercula'' Singer & A.H. Sm.
★ ''Psilocybe natalensis'' Gartz, Reid, Smith & Eicker
★ ''Psilocybe natarajanii'' Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe ochreata'' (Berk. & Broome) Horak ex Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe papuana'' Guzmán & Horak
★ ''Psilocybe paulensis'' (Guzmán & Bononi) Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe pelliculosa'' (A.H. Sm.) Singer & A.H. Sm.
★ ''Psilocybe pericystis'' Singer
★ ''Psilocybe pintonii'' Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe pleurocystidiosa'' Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe plutonia'' (Berk. & M.A. Curtis) Sacc.
★ ''Psilocybe portoricensis'' Guzmán, Tapia & Nieves-Rivera
★ ''Psilocybe pseudoaztecorum'' Natarajan & Raman
★ ''Psilocybe puberula'' Bas & Noordel.
★ ''Psilocybe quebecensis'' Ola'h & R. Heim
★ ''Psilocybe ramulosa'' (Guzmán & Bononi) Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe rostrata'' (Petch) Pegler
★ ''Psilocybe rzedowskii'' Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe samuiensis'' Guzmán, Bandala & Allen
★ ''Psilocybe sanctorum'' Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe schultesii'' Guzmán & S.H. Pollock
★ ''Psilocybe semilanceata'' (Fr. : Secr.) P. Kumm.
★ ''Psilocybe septentrionalis'' (Guzmán) Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe serbica Moser & Horak (non ss. Krieglsteiner)
★ ''Psilocybe sierrae Singer
★ ''Psilocybe silvatica (Peck) Singer & A.H. Sm.
★ ''Psilocybe singerii Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe strictipes Singer & A.H. Sm.
★ ''Psilocybe stuntzii Guzman & Ott
★ ''Psilocybe subacutipilea Guzmán, Saldarriaga, Pineda, García & Velázquez
★ ''Psilocybe subaeruginascens var. subaeruginascens''
★ ''Psilocybe subaeruginosa'' Cleland
★ ''Psilocybe subcaerulipes'' Hongo
★ ''Psilocybe subcubensis'' Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe subtropicalis'' Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe subyungensis'' Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe subzapotecorum'' Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe tampanensis'' Guzmán & S.H. Pollock
★ ''Psilocybe tasmaniana'' Guzmán & Watling
★ ''Psilocybe uruguayensis'' Singer ex Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe uxpanapensis'' Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe venenata'' (S. Imai) Imaz. & Hongo
★ ''Psilocybe veraecrucis'' Guzmán & Pérez-Ortiz
★ ''Psilocybe villarrealii'' Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe wassoniorum'' Guzmán & S.H. Pollock
★ ''Psilocybe weilii'' Guzmán, Tapia & Stamets
★ ''Psilocybe weldenii'' Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe wrightii'' Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe xalapensis'' Guzmán & A. López
★ ''Psilocybe yungensis'' Singer & A.H. Sm.
★ ''Psilocybe zapotecorum'' R. Heim emend. Guzmán
Several mesolithic rock paintings from Tassili n'Ajjer (a prehistoric North African site identified with the Capsian culture) have been identified by author Giorgio Samorini as depicting the shamanic use of mushrooms, possibly ''Psilocybe''.[6]
Hallucinogenic species of ''Psilocybe'' have a long history of use among the native peoples of Mesoamerica for religious communion, divination, and healing, from pre-Columbian times up to the present day. Mushroom-shaped statuettes found at archaeological sites seem to indicate that ritual use of hallucinogenic mushrooms is quite ancient. Mushroom stones and motifs have been found in Mayan temple ruins in South America, Psilocybin Mushrooms of the World, , Paul, Stamets, , , though there is considerable controversy as to whether these objects indicate the use of hallucinogenic mushrooms or whether they had some other significance with the mushroom shape being simply a coincidence. More concretely, a statuette dating from ca. 200 CE and depicting a mushroom strongly resembling ''Psilocybe mexicana'' was found in a west Mexican shaft and chamber tomb in Colima state.
Hallucinogenic ''Psilocybe'' were known to the Aztecs as ''teonanácatl'' (literally "god's mushroom" or, more properly, "mushroom of the gods" - agglutinative form of teó (god) and nanácatl (mushroom) in Náhuatl) and were reportedly served at the coronation of the Aztec ruler Moctezuma II in 1502. Aztecs and Mazatecs referred to psilocybin mushrooms as genius mushrooms, divinatory mushrooms, and wondrous mushrooms, when translated into English.[7] Bernardino de Sahagún reported ritualistic use of teonanácatl by the Aztecs, when he traveled to South America after the expedition of Herando Cortés.
After the Spanish conquest, Catholic missionaries campaigned against the "pagan idolatry," and as a result, the use of hallucinogenic plants and mushrooms, like other pre-Christian traditions, were forcibly suppressed. , , , , , , The Spanish believed the mushroom allowed the Aztecs and others to communicate with "devils". In order to gain control over the people they had to convert them to Christianity, and in doing so the Spanish pushed for a switch from ''teonanácatl'' to the Christian sacrament of the Eucharist. Despite this history, in some remote areas the use of ''teonanácatl'' has remained.
By the 20th century, hallucinogenic mushroom use was thought by non-Indians to have disappeared entirely. Some authors even held that Mesoamerican cultures did not use mushrooms as hallucinogens at all and that the Spanish had simply mistaken peyote for a mushroom. Later investigations by Blas Pablo Reko, Richard Evans Schultes, and R. Gordon Wasson demonstrated that hallucinogenic mushrooms were still widely used by several indigenous Mesoamerican peoples, particularly the Mazatecs of Oaxaca.
At present, hallucinogenic mushroom use has been reported among a number of groups spanning from central Mexico to Oaxaca, including groups of Nahua, Mixtecs, Mixe, Mazatecs, Zapotecs, and others. There has not, however, been any confirmed observations of hallucinogenic mushroom use among the Maya peoples, either in the pre-Columbian or post-Contact eras.
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 1955, Valentina and R. Gordon Wasson became the first Westerners to actively participate in an indigenous mushroom ceremony. The Wassons did much to publicize their discovery, even publishing an article on their experiences in ''Life'' in 1957.[8] In 1956, Roger Heim identified the hallucinogenic mushroom that the Wassons had brought back from Mexico as ''Psilocybe'' and in 1958, Albert Hofmann first identified psilocin and psilocybin as the active compound in these mushrooms.
Inspired by the Wassons' ''Life'' article, Timothy Leary traveled to Mexico to experience hallucinogenic mushrooms firsthand. Upon returning to Harvard in 1960, he and Richard Alpert started the Harvard Psilocybin Project, promoting psychological and religious study of psilocybin and other hallucinogenic drugs. After Leary and Alpert were dismissed by Harvard in 1963, they turned their attention toward evangelizing the psychedelic experience to the nascent hippie counterculture.
The popularization of entheogens by Wasson, Leary, and others has led to an explosion in the use of hallucinogenic ''Psilocybe'' throughout the world. By the early 1970s, a number of psychoactive ''Psilocybe'' species were described from temperate North America, Europe, and Asia and were widely collected. Books describing methods of cultivating ''Psilocybe cubensis'' in large quantities were also published. The relatively easy availability of hallucinogenic ''Psilocybe'' from wild and cultivated sources has made it among the most widely used of the hallucinogenic drugs.
When psilocybin is ingested, it is broken down to produce psilocin, which is responsible for the hallucinogenic effects.[9]
As with many psychoactive substances, the effects of psychedelic mushrooms are subjective and unpredictable. A common misconception, even seen in the professional environment, is that the effects experienced from psilocybin are due to a poisonous nature of the compound, yet the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, a branch of the Center for Disease Control, rated psilocybin less toxic than Aspirin.[10] The intoxicating effects of 'psilocybin-containing' mushrooms typically last anywhere from 4 to 7 hours.[11][12]
The experience is typically inwardly oriented, with strong visual and auditory components. Visions and revelations may be experienced, and the effect can range from exhilarating to distressing. There can be also a total absence of effects, even with large doses. This depends on the species (and to a much lesser degree the strain) of mushroom, substrate they grew from, the quality of the yield and conditions of growth.
As with other psychedelics such as LSD, the experience, or "trip," is strongly dependent upon set and setting. A negative environment could likely induce a bad trip, whereas a comfortable and familiar environment would allow for a pleasant experience. In a shamanic 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 indulging in a thought provoking document or film in the days prior to a planned experience.
Typical doses may cause a number of small effects, such as loss of appetite. Higher doses (typically 2½ grams and above) cause numerous effects such as feelings of coldness, numbness of the mouth and adjacent features, nausea, weakness in the limbs (making locomotion difficult), excessive yawning which usually occurs during the come-up, swollen features, pupil dilation, and stiffness in points of the body, often the result of the users staying in awkward positions because of their inability to accurately judge the flow of time and their level of fatigue. Muscular tiredness and exhaustion may not be felt as much and may be easier to "push through" (transcend), possibly resulting in a workout and feelings of soreness the next day.
As with many hallucinogens, the sensory effects are often the most dramatic of the experience.
Common doses cause effects such as a noticeable feeling of heaviness, relaxation, enhancement and contrasting of worldly colors, strange light phenomena (such as auras around lights sources), surfaces that seem to ripple, shimmer, or breathe, and other such visual hallucinations.
Higher doses elicit a variety of intensified and distinct perceptual changes: complex open and closed eye visuals of form constants or images,[13] objects that warp, morph, or change solid colors (juxtaposed with the free-flowing colors of LSD), a sense of melting into the environment, trails behind moving objects, and auditory hallucinations.
Sounds seem to be heard with increased clarity; music, for example, can often take on a profound sense of cadence and depth. Intriguingly, some users speak about the feeling of their senses overlapping or synesthesia, a rather interesting experience wherein the user perceives, for example, a visualization of color upon hearing a particular sound. The surface detail of everyday objects is viewed with increased acuity. Unusual natural designs, such as wood grain, flow like rivers. Interesting textures can be quite stimulating to some users. A simple action such as pouring water into a glass can be extremely visually stimulating. Tactile senses are also heightened, making activities like bicycle-riding or rollerblading very rewarding.
Dr. Frank van der Heijden at the Vincent van Gogh Institute for Psychiatry in the Netherlands claims brief psychotic disturbances, such as transient hallucinations and dysperceptions are more common in psilocybin mushroom users than in nonusers.[14]
Feelings of bliss, relaxation, wonder, anxiety, sadness, or fear have all been reported. Some users may experience intense episodes of hilarity, such as laughing for the duration of the psychedelic experience. Emotions can be experienced with increased sensitivity.
Higher doses carry the increased possibility of a surreal event known as ego death, whereby the user loses the sense of boundaries between their self and the environment, creating a sort of perceived universal unity. Users may experience intense feelings of connectivity with a higher power. Contradictory emotions, such as euphoria and despair, can be experienced simultaneously. A sense of paranoia may be present, and if provoked enough, could culminate into a bad trip. However, the possibility of a bad trip happening can be reduced by a comfortable set and setting.
In 2006, the US government funded a randomized and double-blinded study by Johns Hopkins University,[15] studied the spiritual effects of psilocybin mushrooms. The study involved 36 college-educated adults who had never tried psilocybin nor had a history of drug use, and had religious or spiritual interests; the average age of the participants was 46 years. The participants were closely observed for eight-hour intervals in a laboratory while under the influence of psilocybin mushrooms. One-third of the participants reported the experience was the single most spiritually significant experience of their lifetimes and more than two-thirds reported it was among the top five most spiritually significant experiences. Two months after the study, 79 percent of the participants reported increased wellbeing or satisfaction; friends, relatives, and associates confirmed this. The study also found "about a third of subjects reported significant fear, with some also reporting transient feelings of paranoia."
Although it is rare, if a user does experience a "bad trip", individuals with certain personality types have a chance of developing a type of extreme depression for a period of 1 to 2 months after their experience, usually with an onset delay of several days. Many describe feelings of "pointlessness" and finding themselves disconnected with the rest of the world. These feelings completely fade eventually but the time may vary from person to person (usually no more than 3 months).
Common experiences typically exhibit changes such as an increased ability to concentrate on memories, feelings of time dilation, abstract and distractive thought patterns (can cause indecisiveness), phonetic experimentation with vowels, consonants, or click consonants (known as glossolalia), and epiphanies about life. In a way, mushrooms allow what would typically be bypassed by the brain's own natural filters to be magnified, along with the ideas and emotions that may accompany such thoughts. This can be seen as both good and bad, as it may allow for an ease of the ability to focus on stressful matters, or it could also lead to a bad trip.
As dose increases, so do the alterations in perception and consciousness. Significant amounts of time can be spent in deep philosophical or introspective silence. This introspective mindset, if negative, can often be painful and uncomfortable for the user to experience and can last minutes to hours. Users can lose touch with reality in varying degrees, and their egos may undergo a number of separations. The loss of reality can be quite intense if a large amount has been taken; often users will attempt to describe the experience, but will be frustrated by the lack of proper words.
There have been calls for medical investigation of the use of synthetic and mushroom-derived psilocybin for the development of improved treatments of various mental conditions, including chronic cluster headaches,[16] following numerous anecdotal reports of benefits. There are also several accounts of psylocybin mushrooms sending both obsessive-compulsive disorders ("OCD") and OCD-related clinical depression (both being widespread and debilitating mental health conditions) into complete remission immediately and for months at a time, compared to current medications which often have both limited efficacy[17] and frequent undesirable side-effects.[18] One such study states:
:"Developing drugs that are more effective and faster acting for the treatment of OCD is of utmost importance and until recently, little hope was in hand. A new potential avenue of treatment may exist. There are several reported cases concerning the beneficial effects of hallucinogenic drugs (psilocybin and LSD), potent stimulators of 5-HT2A and 5-HT2C receptors, in patients with OCD (Brandrup and Vanggaard, 1977, Rapoport, 1987, Moreno and Delgado, 1997) and related disorders such as body dysmorphic disorder (Hanes, 1996)" 18
:"[I]f it can be established that this class of drug can indeed lead to rapid and substantial reduction in OCD symptoms, then it opens the way for a variety of future studies with new drugs that might possibly have the anti-OCD but not the psychedelic effects. [...] Psilocybin, LSD, and mescaline are extremely potent agonists at 5-HT2A and 5-HT2C receptors and their binding potency to these receptors is correlated with their human potency as hallucinogens (Glennon et al., 1984). The acute improvement in symptoms described in the published case reports (Brandrup and Vanggaard, 1977, Rapoport, 1987, Moreno and Delgado, 1997) suggests that interactions with 5-HT2A and 5-HT2C receptors may be an essential component of anti-OCD drug action. The observations that administration of the non-selective 5-HT antagonists metergoline or ritanserin exacerbate OCD symptoms further supports this view." 18
Dosage of mushrooms containing psilocybin depends on the potency of the mushroom (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 typical dose of the rather common species, ''Psilocybe cubensis,'' is approximately 1 to 2 grams,[19] corresponding with 10 to 25 milligrams psilocybin and psilocin, while about 2½ to 5 grams dried material or 25 to 50 milligrams of psilocybin/psilocin is considered a heavy dose. Fresh mushrooms are approximately 90% water. Drying the mushrooms breaks down the psilocin much faster, thus shifting the psilocybin/psilocin ratio. Exposure to heat generally breaks down the psychoactive ingredients.
When eaten dry, 1 to 1.5 grams of mushrooms provide a small "trip" that can last up to 3 hours.
The effects then are relatively mild, depending on the tolerance of the subject.
With 3 to 3.5 grams one experiences a strong and solid trip which can last more than 5 hours.
Maximum effect is achieved by eating them alone on an empty stomach, as the intestines will be unoccupied and ready to effectively absorb whatever comes their way. Grinding dried mushrooms and loading them into gel capsules greatly increases speed of onset of effects, as being a powder, more mushroom surface area is exposed to the digestive process.
MAO Inhibitors (which have their own interactions with certain foods) are sometimes used together with psilocybin mushrooms to modify and intensify the subjective effects. For some individuals, the combined effect of alcohol and mushrooms produces a very unpleasant heavy feeling, unlike either mushrooms or alcohol alone. Many users enjoy both together, however, so any experimenting with combinations should be approached cautiously. Some users enjoy cannabis with mushrooms, and some do not. It can take the edge off the body buzz, which may or may not be preferable.
Psilocybin and psilocin are listed as Schedule I drugs under the United Nations 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances.[20] Schedule I drugs are drugs with a high potential for abuse that have no recognized medical uses. The classification of psilocybin mushrooms as a schedule 1 drug has come under criticism because shrooms are considered soft drugs with a low potential for abuse. Parties to the treaty are required to restrict use of the drug to medical and scientific research under strictly controlled conditions. Most national drug laws have been amended to reflect this convention (for example, the US Psychotropic Substances Act, the UK Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, and the Canadian Controlled Drugs and Substances Act), with possession and use of psilocybin and psilocin being prohibited under almost all circumstances, and often carrying severe legal penalties.
Possession and use of psilocybin mushrooms, including the bluing species of ''Psilocybe'', is therefore prohibited by extension. However, in many national, state, and provincial drug laws, there is a great deal of ambiguity about the legal status of psilocybin mushrooms, as well as a strong element of selective enforcement in some places. The legal status of ''Psilocybe'' spores is even more ambiguous, as the spores contain neither psilocybin nor psilocin, and hence are not illegal to sell or possess in many jurisdictions, though many jurisdictions will prosecute under broader laws prohibiting items that are used in drug manufacture. A few jurisdictions (such as the US states of California, Georgia, and Idaho) have specifically prohibited the sale and possession of psilocybin mushroom spores. Cultivation of psilocybin mushrooms is considered drug manufacture in most jurisdictions and is often severely penalized, though some countries and one US state have ruled that growing psilocybin mushrooms does not qualify as "manufacturing" a controlled substance.
In the British Virgin Islands, where the mushrooms grow naturally, it is legal to possess and consume psilocybin mushrooms; however, their sale is illegal.
In Bulgaria, possession and consumption of hallucinogenic mushrooms was legal and psilocybin in its pure form was considered a "Class 1" drug until recently, but it is now illegal to possess Psilocybin Mushrooms as well.
Mushroom spore kits are legal and are sold openly in stores as the spores themselves are not illegal. Psilocybin and psilocin are illegal to produce, sell, or possess because it is a schedule III controlled substance.[21]
In the Czech Republic, possession and consumption of psilocybin mushrooms is legal but it is illegal to sell them.[22]
The sale, possession, and consumption of psilocybin have long been illegal; however the sale, possession, and consumption of psilocybin mushrooms was legal until July 1, 2001, when the Danish Ministry of Health prohibited them.[23]
Prior to 2002, psilocybin mushrooms were widely available in Japan and were often sold in mail-order shops, online vendors and in head shops throughout Japan; according to Hideo Eno of Japan's Health Ministry narcotics division, prior to 2002, "You can find them [psilocybin mushrooms] anywhere."[24] In June 2002, Japan Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry added psilocybin mushrooms to Schedule Narcotics of Narcotic and Psychotropic Drug Control Law, possibly in preparation for the World Cup, and in response to a widely reported case of mushroom poisoning.[25] Use, production, trafficking, growing or possession of psilocybin mushrooms is now illegal in Japan.
Psilocin and psilocybin are prohibited under the Ley General de Salud of 1984, which also specifically mentions psilocybin-containing fungi as being covered by the law, and mentions ''Psilocybe mexicana'' and ''Psilocybe cubensis'' in particular.[26] However, these laws are rarely, if ever, enforced against indigenous users of psychoactive fungi. The Mexican government has also specifically taken the position that wild occurrence of ''Psilocybe'' does not constitute drug production.[27]
In the Netherlands, unprocessed psychoactive mushrooms are legal to possess, are treated as soft drugs under the Netherlands' drug policy, and can be obtained in "smart shops" which specialize in ethnobotanicals.
Psychoactive mushrooms, whether dried or fresh were legal until 2001, when the Supreme Court of The Netherlands ruled dry mushrooms to be an illegal preparation of psilocybin and psilocin. The limitation to fresh mushrooms (which go bad quite fast) is severely reducing the export of psychoactive mushrooms. In a series of court cases during 2003-2005 this was challenged by a Dutch mushroom wholesaler.[28] The vice president of the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) of the UN testified to the court that the UN does not see dried or prepared psilocybin mushrooms as a controlled substance. Explanation: Psilocybin mushrooms are not listed as controlled substances, therefore preparations are also not controlled. Preparations of the controlled substances psilocybin and psilocin (i.e. tablets, etc) are controlled. Various mushroom experts have testified that there is no way to see the difference between passively and actively dried mushrooms. The court decided to agree to other viewpoints of De Sjamaan in order not to touch the subject of the UN's stance. The court also decided not to publish the testimony of the vice president of the INCB. The high court ruled that:
★ There is no definition in regards to water content, which differentiates between a dry mushroom and a fresh mushroom.
★ Passively dried mushrooms (natural desiccation) are legal.
★ A police officer is not skilled to differentiate between a fresh and dry mushroom.
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.
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 Dubliner Colm Hodkinson, age 33, at a Halloween party on 30th October 2005, after consuming legally purchased magic mushrooms and jumping off a balcony .[29] This was given as the spur for the sudden ban (introduced without prior notice being given to retailers). It was debated (particularly in student newspapers) whether or not this may have been simply an excuse for the ban, as Colm Hodkinson had been consuming cannabis as well as alcohol during the day, which could have combined towards his death. Afterwards, at the inquest into Hodkinson's death, the results of the toxicology report revealed that the level of alcohol in his system was below the legal driving limit. The report also concluded that minimal traces of cannabis had been consumed and that psilocybin was the only substance that had been consumed in any significant volume. Soon after consuming the psilocybin mushrooms, Colm Hodkinson's mood deteriorated and he became frantic. Colm ate 2-3 mushrooms and was dead 30 minutes after consuming them.
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.[30] Prior to these laws being passed, possession and use of psilocybin and psilocin was prohibited, but courts had ruled the law did not apply to naturally-occurring substances containing these compounds, and for a brief period ''Psilocybe cubensis'' and other psilocybin mushrooms were sold in farmers markets. Mushrooms spores are not illegal, due to the fact they do not carry psilocin until they are cultivated.
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; however, in California, mushroom spores are legal to possess if they are not intended for use in cultivation and if they are not imported from outside California.[31] The Florida Supreme Court in 1978 ruled that possession of wild psilocybin mushrooms is not illegal;[32] however, whether knowingly gathering wild psilocybin mushrooms for later use is illegal or not was not addressed in the decision.[33]
In all states, except 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.[34][35]
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.
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 typical price for an ounce of dried mushrooms can range from as little as $70 to $400 depending on the quality of the product, as well as their availability in the area. The quality of the product is generally about the same, varying only as can be expected with a non-synthetic psychedelic. The major factor in the quality of this drug is how well they have been stored, with well dried whole mushrooms kept in cool dark places being ideal. Contaminated grows yield poor quality, possibly toxic mushrooms. One should be extremely cautious of any mushrooms which have unusual growths or mold, as well as any mushrooms which may have been harvested from the same grow as mushrooms with these growths. If there is any sign of mold, do not ingest these as you can get very sick.
The potency of mushrooms can vary greatly depending on the growing conditions, and buyers of mushrooms 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.
★ List of Entheogens
★ Mushroom hunting
★ Psychedelic plants
★ List of notable people who have taken psychedelic drugs
1. Buzzed: The Straight Facts about the Most Used and Abused Drugs from Alcohol to Ecstasy, , Cynthia, Kuhn, W.W. Norton & Company Inc, , ISBN 0-393-32493-1
2. Taking care of ourselves
3. A Worldwide Geographic Distribution of the Neurotropic Fungi
4. Cultivation and analysis of ''Psilocybe'' species and an investigation of ''Galerina steglichi'', Gartz J., , , Annali Museo Civico di Rovereto, 1995
5. ''Galerina steglichii'' spec. nov, ein halluzinogener Haeubling, Besl H., , , Zeitschrift für Mykologie, 1993
6. The oldest Representations of Hallucinogenic Mushrooms in the World.
7. Psilocybin Mushrooms of the World, , Paul, Stamets, , ,
8. Seeking the magic mushroom, Wasson RG, , , Life, 1957 article reproduced online
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14. Trip down the high street Clint Witchalls
15. Hopkinds scientists show hallucinogen in mushroom creates universal "mystical" experience.
16.
17. : "In spite of the established efficacy of potent 5-HT reuptake inhibitors in the treatment of OCD ... the length of time required for improvement of patients undergoing treatment with 5-HT reuptake inhibitors appears to be quite long ... and the percentage of patients having satisfactory responses may only approach 50%, and most patients that do improve only have a 30 to 50% decrease in symptoms (Goodman et al., 1990)"
18.
19.
20. List of psychotropic substances under international control
21. Chapter 19 (Bill C-8)
22. [1]
23. Danish Ministry of Health Makes Psilocybin Mushrooms Illegal
24. Japan culls magic from mushrooms
25.
26. [2]
27. [3]
28. De Sjamaan
29.
30. [4]
31. Legality of Psilocybin Mushroom Spores
32.
33. [5]
34.
35. [6]
★ 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 [7] (In Swedish and PDF format) ISBN 91-7203-555-2
★ Magic Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest, , John W., Allen, Raver Books and John W. Allen, 1997, ISBN 1-58214-026-X
★ Shroom: A Cultural History of the Magic Mushroom, , Andy, Letcher, Faber and Faber Limited, 2006, ISBN 0-060-82828-5
★ Psilocybin Mushroom Handbook: Easy Indoor and Outdoor Cultivation, , L. G, Nicholas, Quick American Archives, 2006, ISBN 0-932551-71-8
★ Growing Gourmet and Medicinal Mushrooms, , Paul, Stamets, Ten Speed Press, 1993, ISBN 1-58008-175-4
★ Mushroom Cultivator, The, , Paul, Stamets, Agarikon Press, 1983, ISBN 0-9610798-0-0
★ Psilocybin Mushrooms of the World, , Paul, Stamets, Ten Speed Press, 1996, ISBN 0-9610798-0-0
★ Buzzed: The Straight Facts about the Most Used and Abused Drugs from Alcohol to Ecstasy, , Cynthia, Kuhn, W.W. Norton & Company Inc, 1998 & 2003, ISBN 0-393-32493-1
★ Report by the Dutch Government Stating Psilocybin's Harmlessness
★ The Shroomery Detailed information about psychedelic mushrooms including identification, cultivation and spores, psychedelic images, trip reports, a dosage calculator, and an active community.
★ Magic Mushrooms Magic Mushrooms.net
★ The Vaults of Erowid - Psilocybin Mushrooms
★ Mycotopia Information on Ayahuasca, Psilocybe Mushrooms, Cactis and Cannabis, including research, legislation, media coverage, bibliography and lots of links
★ Jeremy Bigwood: Scientific Publications (archived at Wayback Machine)
'Psilocybin mushrooms' (also called 'psilocybian mushrooms') are fungi that contain the psychedelic substances psilocybin and psilocin, and occasionally other psychoactive tryptamines. There are multiple colloquial terms for psilocybin mushrooms, the most common being 'magic mushrooms'[1] or ''shrooms'.[2]
See List of Psilocybe species for a list of species containing psilocybin.
Categorization
Psilocybin mushrooms contain psilocybin and/or psilocin and 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''.
Species
Agrocybe
★ ''Agrocybe farinacea'' Hongo
Conocybe
★ ''Conocybe cyanopus'' (G.F. Atk.) Kühner
★ ''Conocybe kuehneriana'' Singer
★ ''Conocybe siligineoides'' R. Heim
★ ''Conocybe smithii Watling (= Galera cyanopes Kauffman)
Copelandia
★ ''Copelandia affinis'' Horak [3]
★ ''Copelandia anomala'' (Murrill) Singer 3
★ ''Copelandia bispora'' (Malençon & Bertault) Singer & R.A. Weeks3
★ ''Copelandia cambodginiensis'' (Ola'h & R. Heim) Singer & R.A. Weeks3
★ ''Copelandia chlorocystis'' Singer & R.A. Weeks3
★ ''Copelandia cyanescens'' (Berk. & Broome) Singer3
★ ''Copelandia lentisporus'' (Ew. Gerhardt) Guzmán3
★ ''Copelandia tirunelveliensis'' Natarajan & Raman3
★ ''Copelandia tropica'' Natarajan & Raman3
★ ''Copelandia tropicalis'' (Ola'h) Singer & R.A. Weeks3
★ ''Copelandia westii'' (Murrill) Singer 3
Galerina
★ ''Galerina steglichii'' Besl 3[4] [5]
Gerronema
★ ''Rickenella fibula'' (Bull.) Raithelh. (= ''Gerronema fibula'' (Bull.) Singer) 3
★ ''Gerronema solidipes'' (Fr.) Singer 3
Gymnopilus
''Gymnopilus luteofolius''
''Gymnopilus junonius''
★ ''Gymnopilus aeruginosus'' (Peck) Singer 3
★ ''Gymnopilus braendlei'' (Peck) Hesler 3
★ ''Gymnopilus intermedius'' (Singer) Singer 3
★ ''Gymnopilus junonius'' (Fr.) P.D. Orton (= ''Gymnopilus spectabilis'' (Fr.) A.H. Sm.) 3
★ ''Gymnopilus lateritius'' (Pat.) Murrill 3
★ ''Gymnopilus liquiritiae'' (Fr.) P. Karst. 3
★ ''Gymnopilus luteofolius'' (Peck) Singer 3
★ ''Gymnopilus luteoviridis'' Thiers 3
★ ''Gymnopilus luteus'' (Peck) Hesler 3
★ ''Gymnopilus purpuratus'' (Cooke & Massee) Singer 3
★ ''Gymnopilus sapineus'' (Fr.) Maire 3
★ ''Gymnopilus subpurpuratus'' Guzmán-Davalos & Guzmán 3
★ ''Gymnopilus validipes'' (Peck) Hesler 3
★ ''Gymnopilus viridans'' Murrill 3
Hypholoma
★ ''Hypholoma gigasporum'' (Natarajan & Raman) Guzmán 3
★ ''Hypholoma guzmanii'' (Natarajan & Raman) Guzmán 3
★ ''Hypholoma naematoliforme'' (Guzmán) Guzmán 3
★ ''Hypholoma neocaledonicum'' (Guzmán & Horak) Guzmán 3
★ ''Hypholoma popperianum'' (Singer) Guzmán 3
★ ''Hypholoma rhombispora'' (Guzmán) Guzmán 3
Inocybe
''Inocybe aeruginascens''
★ ''Inocybe aeruginascens'' Babos
★ ''Inocybe coelestium'' Kuyper
★ ''Inocybe corydalina var. corydalina'' Quél.
★ ''Inocybe corydalina var. erinaceomorpha'' (Stangl & J. Veselsky´) Kuyper
★ ''Inocybe haemacta'' (Berk. & Cooke) Sacc.
★ ''Inocybe tricolor'' Kühner
Mycena
★ ''Mycena cyanorhiza'' Quél.
.
Panaeolus
''Panaeolus papilionaceus'' var. ''papilionaceus''
★ ''Panaeolus africanus'' Ola'h
★ ''Panaeolus fimicola'' (Fr.) Gillet (= P. ater)
★ ''Panaeolus microsporus'' Ola'h & Cailleux
★ ''Panaeolus moellerianus'' Singer
★ ''Panaeolus olivaceus'' F.H. Møller (= Panaeolus castaneifolius)
★ ''Panaeolus papilionaceus var. papilionaceus'' ''sensu auct. non s.'' Ew. Gerhardt
★ ''Panaeolus retirugis'' (Fr.) Quél.
★ ''Panaeolus rubricaulis'' Petch
★ ''Panaeolus semiovatus var. phalaenarum'' (syn. ''Panaeolus antillarum'')
★ ''Panaeolus sphinctrinus'' (Fr.) Quél.
★ ''Panaeolus subbalteatus'' (Berk. & Broome) Sacc.
★ ''Panaeolus venezolanus'' Guzmán
Pluteus
★ ''Pluteus cyanopus'' Quél.
★ ''Pluteus glaucus'' Singer
★ ''Pluteus nigriviridis'' Babos
★ ''Pluteus salicinus'' (Pers. : Fr.) P. Kumm.
★ ''Pluteus villosus'' (Bull.) Quél.
Psilocybe
★ ''Psilocybe acutipilea'' (Speg.) Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe angustipleurocystidiata'' Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe antioquensis'' Guzmán, Saldarriaga, Pineda, García & Velázquez
★ ''Psilocybe aquamarina'' (Pegler) Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe argentipes'' K. Yokoy.
★ ''Psilocybe armandii'' Guzmán & S.H. Pollock
★ ''Psilocybe aucklandii'' Guzmán, C.C. King & Bandala
★ ''Psilocybe australiana'' Guzmán & Watling
★ ''Psilocybe aztecorum'' R. Heim emend. Guzmán var. aztecorum
★ ''Psilocybe aztecorum'' var. bonetii (Guzmán) Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe azurescens'' Stamets & Gartz
★ ''Psilocybe baeocystis'' Singer & A.H. Sm. emend. Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe banderiliensis'' Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe barrerae'' Cifuentes & Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe bohemica'' Sebek
★ ''Psilocybe brasiliensis'' Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe brunneocystidiata'' Guzmán & Horak
★ ''Psilocybe caeruleoannulata'' Singer ex Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe caerulescens var. caerulescens''
★ ''Psilocybe caerulescens var. ombrophila'' (R. Heim) Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe caerulipes'' (Peck) Sacc.
★ ''Psilocybe carbonaria'' Singer
★ ''Psilocybe chiapanensis'' Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe collybioides'' Singer & A.H. Sm.
★ ''Psilocybe columbiana'' Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe coprinifacies'' (Rolland) Pouzar s. auct., non s. Herink, non s. Krieglsteiner)
★ ''Psilocybe cordispora'' R. Heim
★ ''Psilocybe cubensis'' (Earle) Singer
★ ''Psilocybe cyanescens'' Wakef. (non sensu Krieglsteiner)
★ ''Psilocybe cyanofibrillosa'' Guzmán & Stamets
★ ''Psilocybe dumontii'' Singer ex Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe eucalypta'' Guzmán & Watling
★ ''Psilocybe fagicola var. fagicola''
★ ''Psilocybe fagicola var. mesocystidiata'' Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe farinacea'' Rick ex Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe fimetaria'' (P.D. Orton) Watling
★ ''Psilocybe fuliginosa'' (Murrill) A.H. Sm.
★ ''Psilocybe furtadoana'' Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe galindoi'' Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe goniospora'' (Berk. & Broome) Singer
★ ''Psilocybe graveolens'' Peck
★ ''Psilocybe guatapensis'' Guzmán, Saldarriaga, Pineda, García & Velázquez
★ ''Psilocybe guilartensis'' Guzmán, Tapia & Nieves-Rivera
★ ''Psilocybe heimii'' Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe heliconiae'' Guzmán, Saldarriaga, Pineda, García & Velázquez
★ ''Psilocybe herrerae'' Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe hispanica'' Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe hoogshagenii var. hoogshagenii''
★ ''Psilocybe hoogshagenii var. convexa'' Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe inconspicua'' Guzmán & Horak
★ ''Psilocybe indica'' Sathe & J.T. Daniel
★ ''Psilocybe isabelae'' Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe jacobsii'' Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe jaliscana'' Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe kumaenorum'' R. Heim
★ ''Psilocybe laurae'' Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe lazoi'' Singer
★ ''Psilocybe liniformans var. liniformans''
★ ''Psilocybe liniformans var. americana'' Guzmán & Stamets
★ ''Psilocybe mairei'' Singer
★ ''Psilocybe makarorae'' Johnst. & Buchanan
★ ''Psilocybe mammillata'' (Murrill) A.H. Sm.
★ ''Psilocybe meridensis'' Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe mexicana'' R. Heim
★ ''Psilocybe moseri'' Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe muliercula'' Singer & A.H. Sm.
★ ''Psilocybe natalensis'' Gartz, Reid, Smith & Eicker
★ ''Psilocybe natarajanii'' Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe ochreata'' (Berk. & Broome) Horak ex Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe papuana'' Guzmán & Horak
★ ''Psilocybe paulensis'' (Guzmán & Bononi) Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe pelliculosa'' (A.H. Sm.) Singer & A.H. Sm.
★ ''Psilocybe pericystis'' Singer
★ ''Psilocybe pintonii'' Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe pleurocystidiosa'' Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe plutonia'' (Berk. & M.A. Curtis) Sacc.
★ ''Psilocybe portoricensis'' Guzmán, Tapia & Nieves-Rivera
★ ''Psilocybe pseudoaztecorum'' Natarajan & Raman
★ ''Psilocybe puberula'' Bas & Noordel.
★ ''Psilocybe quebecensis'' Ola'h & R. Heim
★ ''Psilocybe ramulosa'' (Guzmán & Bononi) Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe rostrata'' (Petch) Pegler
★ ''Psilocybe rzedowskii'' Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe samuiensis'' Guzmán, Bandala & Allen
★ ''Psilocybe sanctorum'' Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe schultesii'' Guzmán & S.H. Pollock
★ ''Psilocybe semilanceata'' (Fr. : Secr.) P. Kumm.
A handful of freshly picked ''Psilocybe semilanceata'', sometimes referred to as ''Liberty Caps''.
★ ''Psilocybe septentrionalis'' (Guzmán) Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe serbica Moser & Horak (non ss. Krieglsteiner)
★ ''Psilocybe sierrae Singer
★ ''Psilocybe silvatica (Peck) Singer & A.H. Sm.
★ ''Psilocybe singerii Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe strictipes Singer & A.H. Sm.
★ ''Psilocybe stuntzii Guzman & Ott
★ ''Psilocybe subacutipilea Guzmán, Saldarriaga, Pineda, García & Velázquez
★ ''Psilocybe subaeruginascens var. subaeruginascens''
★ ''Psilocybe subaeruginosa'' Cleland
★ ''Psilocybe subcaerulipes'' Hongo
★ ''Psilocybe subcubensis'' Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe subtropicalis'' Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe subyungensis'' Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe subzapotecorum'' Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe tampanensis'' Guzmán & S.H. Pollock
★ ''Psilocybe tasmaniana'' Guzmán & Watling
★ ''Psilocybe uruguayensis'' Singer ex Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe uxpanapensis'' Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe venenata'' (S. Imai) Imaz. & Hongo
★ ''Psilocybe veraecrucis'' Guzmán & Pérez-Ortiz
★ ''Psilocybe villarrealii'' Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe wassoniorum'' Guzmán & S.H. Pollock
★ ''Psilocybe weilii'' Guzmán, Tapia & Stamets
''Psilocybe weilii''
★ ''Psilocybe weldenii'' Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe wrightii'' Guzmán
★ ''Psilocybe xalapensis'' Guzmán & A. López
★ ''Psilocybe yungensis'' Singer & A.H. Sm.
★ ''Psilocybe zapotecorum'' R. Heim emend. Guzmán
History
Several mesolithic rock paintings from Tassili n'Ajjer (a prehistoric North African site identified with the Capsian culture) have been identified by author Giorgio Samorini as depicting the shamanic use of mushrooms, possibly ''Psilocybe''.[6]
Hallucinogenic species of ''Psilocybe'' have a long history of use among the native peoples of Mesoamerica for religious communion, divination, and healing, from pre-Columbian times up to the present day. Mushroom-shaped statuettes found at archaeological sites seem to indicate that ritual use of hallucinogenic mushrooms is quite ancient. Mushroom stones and motifs have been found in Mayan temple ruins in South America, Psilocybin Mushrooms of the World, , Paul, Stamets, , , though there is considerable controversy as to whether these objects indicate the use of hallucinogenic mushrooms or whether they had some other significance with the mushroom shape being simply a coincidence. More concretely, a statuette dating from ca. 200 CE and depicting a mushroom strongly resembling ''Psilocybe mexicana'' was found in a west Mexican shaft and chamber tomb in Colima state.
Hallucinogenic ''Psilocybe'' were known to the Aztecs as ''teonanácatl'' (literally "god's mushroom" or, more properly, "mushroom of the gods" - agglutinative form of teó (god) and nanácatl (mushroom) in Náhuatl) and were reportedly served at the coronation of the Aztec ruler Moctezuma II in 1502. Aztecs and Mazatecs referred to psilocybin mushrooms as genius mushrooms, divinatory mushrooms, and wondrous mushrooms, when translated into English.[7] Bernardino de Sahagún reported ritualistic use of teonanácatl by the Aztecs, when he traveled to South America after the expedition of Herando Cortés.
After the Spanish conquest, Catholic missionaries campaigned against the "pagan idolatry," and as a result, the use of hallucinogenic plants and mushrooms, like other pre-Christian traditions, were forcibly suppressed. , , , , , , The Spanish believed the mushroom allowed the Aztecs and others to communicate with "devils". In order to gain control over the people they had to convert them to Christianity, and in doing so the Spanish pushed for a switch from ''teonanácatl'' to the Christian sacrament of the Eucharist. Despite this history, in some remote areas the use of ''teonanácatl'' has remained.
By the 20th century, hallucinogenic mushroom use was thought by non-Indians to have disappeared entirely. Some authors even held that Mesoamerican cultures did not use mushrooms as hallucinogens at all and that the Spanish had simply mistaken peyote for a mushroom. Later investigations by Blas Pablo Reko, Richard Evans Schultes, and R. Gordon Wasson demonstrated that hallucinogenic mushrooms were still widely used by several indigenous Mesoamerican peoples, particularly the Mazatecs of Oaxaca.
At present, hallucinogenic mushroom use has been reported among a number of groups spanning from central Mexico to Oaxaca, including groups of Nahua, Mixtecs, Mixe, Mazatecs, Zapotecs, and others. There has not, however, been any confirmed observations of hallucinogenic mushroom use among the Maya peoples, either in the pre-Columbian or post-Contact eras.
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 1955, Valentina and R. Gordon Wasson became the first Westerners to actively participate in an indigenous mushroom ceremony. The Wassons did much to publicize their discovery, even publishing an article on their experiences in ''Life'' in 1957.[8] In 1956, Roger Heim identified the hallucinogenic mushroom that the Wassons had brought back from Mexico as ''Psilocybe'' and in 1958, Albert Hofmann first identified psilocin and psilocybin as the active compound in these mushrooms.
Inspired by the Wassons' ''Life'' article, Timothy Leary traveled to Mexico to experience hallucinogenic mushrooms firsthand. Upon returning to Harvard in 1960, he and Richard Alpert started the Harvard Psilocybin Project, promoting psychological and religious study of psilocybin and other hallucinogenic drugs. After Leary and Alpert were dismissed by Harvard in 1963, they turned their attention toward evangelizing the psychedelic experience to the nascent hippie counterculture.
The popularization of entheogens by Wasson, Leary, and others has led to an explosion in the use of hallucinogenic ''Psilocybe'' throughout the world. By the early 1970s, a number of psychoactive ''Psilocybe'' species were described from temperate North America, Europe, and Asia and were widely collected. Books describing methods of cultivating ''Psilocybe cubensis'' in large quantities were also published. The relatively easy availability of hallucinogenic ''Psilocybe'' from wild and cultivated sources has made it among the most widely used of the hallucinogenic drugs.
Effects
When psilocybin is ingested, it is broken down to produce psilocin, which is responsible for the hallucinogenic effects.[9]
As with many psychoactive substances, the effects of psychedelic mushrooms are subjective and unpredictable. A common misconception, even seen in the professional environment, is that the effects experienced from psilocybin are due to a poisonous nature of the compound, yet the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, a branch of the Center for Disease Control, rated psilocybin less toxic than Aspirin.[10] The intoxicating effects of 'psilocybin-containing' mushrooms typically last anywhere from 4 to 7 hours.[11][12]
The experience is typically inwardly oriented, with strong visual and auditory components. Visions and revelations may be experienced, and the effect can range from exhilarating to distressing. There can be also a total absence of effects, even with large doses. This depends on the species (and to a much lesser degree the strain) of mushroom, substrate they grew from, the quality of the yield and conditions of growth.
A single dried mushroom of one of the common ''Psilocybe cubensis'' variety. When bruised, it will often turn a bluish or purplish color; however, this is not a suitable indicator of the presence of psilocybin, seeing as a number of poisonous mushrooms also have cyanic reactions to bruising.
As with other psychedelics such as LSD, the experience, or "trip," is strongly dependent upon set and setting. A negative environment could likely induce a bad trip, whereas a comfortable and familiar environment would allow for a pleasant experience. In a shamanic 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 indulging in a thought provoking document or film in the days prior to a planned experience.
Physical
Typical doses may cause a number of small effects, such as loss of appetite. Higher doses (typically 2½ grams and above) cause numerous effects such as feelings of coldness, numbness of the mouth and adjacent features, nausea, weakness in the limbs (making locomotion difficult), excessive yawning which usually occurs during the come-up, swollen features, pupil dilation, and stiffness in points of the body, often the result of the users staying in awkward positions because of their inability to accurately judge the flow of time and their level of fatigue. Muscular tiredness and exhaustion may not be felt as much and may be easier to "push through" (transcend), possibly resulting in a workout and feelings of soreness the next day.
Sensory
As with many hallucinogens, the sensory effects are often the most dramatic of the experience.
Common doses cause effects such as a noticeable feeling of heaviness, relaxation, enhancement and contrasting of worldly colors, strange light phenomena (such as auras around lights sources), surfaces that seem to ripple, shimmer, or breathe, and other such visual hallucinations.
Higher doses elicit a variety of intensified and distinct perceptual changes: complex open and closed eye visuals of form constants or images,[13] objects that warp, morph, or change solid colors (juxtaposed with the free-flowing colors of LSD), a sense of melting into the environment, trails behind moving objects, and auditory hallucinations.
Sounds seem to be heard with increased clarity; music, for example, can often take on a profound sense of cadence and depth. Intriguingly, some users speak about the feeling of their senses overlapping or synesthesia, a rather interesting experience wherein the user perceives, for example, a visualization of color upon hearing a particular sound. The surface detail of everyday objects is viewed with increased acuity. Unusual natural designs, such as wood grain, flow like rivers. Interesting textures can be quite stimulating to some users. A simple action such as pouring water into a glass can be extremely visually stimulating. Tactile senses are also heightened, making activities like bicycle-riding or rollerblading very rewarding.
Dr. Frank van der Heijden at the Vincent van Gogh Institute for Psychiatry in the Netherlands claims brief psychotic disturbances, such as transient hallucinations and dysperceptions are more common in psilocybin mushroom users than in nonusers.[14]
Emotional
Feelings of bliss, relaxation, wonder, anxiety, sadness, or fear have all been reported. Some users may experience intense episodes of hilarity, such as laughing for the duration of the psychedelic experience. Emotions can be experienced with increased sensitivity.
Higher doses carry the increased possibility of a surreal event known as ego death, whereby the user loses the sense of boundaries between their self and the environment, creating a sort of perceived universal unity. Users may experience intense feelings of connectivity with a higher power. Contradictory emotions, such as euphoria and despair, can be experienced simultaneously. A sense of paranoia may be present, and if provoked enough, could culminate into a bad trip. However, the possibility of a bad trip happening can be reduced by a comfortable set and setting.
In 2006, the US government funded a randomized and double-blinded study by Johns Hopkins University,[15] studied the spiritual effects of psilocybin mushrooms. The study involved 36 college-educated adults who had never tried psilocybin nor had a history of drug use, and had religious or spiritual interests; the average age of the participants was 46 years. The participants were closely observed for eight-hour intervals in a laboratory while under the influence of psilocybin mushrooms. One-third of the participants reported the experience was the single most spiritually significant experience of their lifetimes and more than two-thirds reported it was among the top five most spiritually significant experiences. Two months after the study, 79 percent of the participants reported increased wellbeing or satisfaction; friends, relatives, and associates confirmed this. The study also found "about a third of subjects reported significant fear, with some also reporting transient feelings of paranoia."
Although it is rare, if a user does experience a "bad trip", individuals with certain personality types have a chance of developing a type of extreme depression for a period of 1 to 2 months after their experience, usually with an onset delay of several days. Many describe feelings of "pointlessness" and finding themselves disconnected with the rest of the world. These feelings completely fade eventually but the time may vary from person to person (usually no more than 3 months).
Psychological
Common experiences typically exhibit changes such as an increased ability to concentrate on memories, feelings of time dilation, abstract and distractive thought patterns (can cause indecisiveness), phonetic experimentation with vowels, consonants, or click consonants (known as glossolalia), and epiphanies about life. In a way, mushrooms allow what would typically be bypassed by the brain's own natural filters to be magnified, along with the ideas and emotions that may accompany such thoughts. This can be seen as both good and bad, as it may allow for an ease of the ability to focus on stressful matters, or it could also lead to a bad trip.
As dose increases, so do the alterations in perception and consciousness. Significant amounts of time can be spent in deep philosophical or introspective silence. This introspective mindset, if negative, can often be painful and uncomfortable for the user to experience and can last minutes to hours. Users can lose touch with reality in varying degrees, and their egos may undergo a number of separations. The loss of reality can be quite intense if a large amount has been taken; often users will attempt to describe the experience, but will be frustrated by the lack of proper words.
Medical usage investigations
There have been calls for medical investigation of the use of synthetic and mushroom-derived psilocybin for the development of improved treatments of various mental conditions, including chronic cluster headaches,[16] following numerous anecdotal reports of benefits. There are also several accounts of psylocybin mushrooms sending both obsessive-compulsive disorders ("OCD") and OCD-related clinical depression (both being widespread and debilitating mental health conditions) into complete remission immediately and for months at a time, compared to current medications which often have both limited efficacy[17] and frequent undesirable side-effects.[18] One such study states:
:"Developing drugs that are more effective and faster acting for the treatment of OCD is of utmost importance and until recently, little hope was in hand. A new potential avenue of treatment may exist. There are several reported cases concerning the beneficial effects of hallucinogenic drugs (psilocybin and LSD), potent stimulators of 5-HT2A and 5-HT2C receptors, in patients with OCD (Brandrup and Vanggaard, 1977, Rapoport, 1987, Moreno and Delgado, 1997) and related disorders such as body dysmorphic disorder (Hanes, 1996)" 18
:"[I]f it can be established that this class of drug can indeed lead to rapid and substantial reduction in OCD symptoms, then it opens the way for a variety of future studies with new drugs that might possibly have the anti-OCD but not the psychedelic effects. [...] Psilocybin, LSD, and mescaline are extremely potent agonists at 5-HT2A and 5-HT2C receptors and their binding potency to these receptors is correlated with their human potency as hallucinogens (Glennon et al., 1984). The acute improvement in symptoms described in the published case reports (Brandrup and Vanggaard, 1977, Rapoport, 1987, Moreno and Delgado, 1997) suggests that interactions with 5-HT2A and 5-HT2C receptors may be an essential component of anti-OCD drug action. The observations that administration of the non-selective 5-HT antagonists metergoline or ritanserin exacerbate OCD symptoms further supports this view." 18
Dosage
Dosage of mushrooms containing psilocybin depends on the potency of the mushroom (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 typical dose of the rather common species, ''Psilocybe cubensis,'' is approximately 1 to 2 grams,[19] corresponding with 10 to 25 milligrams psilocybin and psilocin, while about 2½ to 5 grams dried material or 25 to 50 milligrams of psilocybin/psilocin is considered a heavy dose. Fresh mushrooms are approximately 90% water. Drying the mushrooms breaks down the psilocin much faster, thus shifting the psilocybin/psilocin ratio. Exposure to heat generally breaks down the psychoactive ingredients.
When eaten dry, 1 to 1.5 grams of mushrooms provide a small "trip" that can last up to 3 hours.
The effects then are relatively mild, depending on the tolerance of the subject.
With 3 to 3.5 grams one experiences a strong and solid trip which can last more than 5 hours.
Maximum effect is achieved by eating them alone on an empty stomach, as the intestines will be unoccupied and ready to effectively absorb whatever comes their way. Grinding dried mushrooms and loading them into gel capsules greatly increases speed of onset of effects, as being a powder, more mushroom surface area is exposed to the digestive process.
Drug Interaction
MAO Inhibitors (which have their own interactions with certain foods) are sometimes used together with psilocybin mushrooms to modify and intensify the subjective effects. For some individuals, the combined effect of alcohol and mushrooms produces a very unpleasant heavy feeling, unlike either mushrooms or alcohol alone. Many users enjoy both together, however, so any experimenting with combinations should be approached cautiously. Some users enjoy cannabis with mushrooms, and some do not. It can take the edge off the body buzz, which may or may not be preferable.
Legal status
Psilocybin and psilocin are listed as Schedule I drugs under the United Nations 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances.[20] Schedule I drugs are drugs with a high potential for abuse that have no recognized medical uses. The classification of psilocybin mushrooms as a schedule 1 drug has come under criticism because shrooms are considered soft drugs with a low potential for abuse. Parties to the treaty are required to restrict use of the drug to medical and scientific research under strictly controlled conditions. Most national drug laws have been amended to reflect this convention (for example, the US Psychotropic Substances Act, the UK Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, and the Canadian Controlled Drugs and Substances Act), with possession and use of psilocybin and psilocin being prohibited under almost all circumstances, and often carrying severe legal penalties.
Possession and use of psilocybin mushrooms, including the bluing species of ''Psilocybe'', is therefore prohibited by extension. However, in many national, state, and provincial drug laws, there is a great deal of ambiguity about the legal status of psilocybin mushrooms, as well as a strong element of selective enforcement in some places. The legal status of ''Psilocybe'' spores is even more ambiguous, as the spores contain neither psilocybin nor psilocin, and hence are not illegal to sell or possess in many jurisdictions, though many jurisdictions will prosecute under broader laws prohibiting items that are used in drug manufacture. A few jurisdictions (such as the US states of California, Georgia, and Idaho) have specifically prohibited the sale and possession of psilocybin mushroom spores. Cultivation of psilocybin mushrooms is considered drug manufacture in most jurisdictions and is often severely penalized, though some countries and one US state have ruled that growing psilocybin mushrooms does not qualify as "manufacturing" a controlled substance.
British Virgin Islands
In the British Virgin Islands, where the mushrooms grow naturally, it is legal to possess and consume psilocybin mushrooms; however, their sale is illegal.
Bulgaria
In Bulgaria, possession and consumption of hallucinogenic mushrooms was legal and psilocybin in its pure form was considered a "Class 1" drug until recently, but it is now illegal to possess Psilocybin Mushrooms as well.
Canada
Mushroom spore kits are legal and are sold openly in stores as the spores themselves are not illegal. Psilocybin and psilocin are illegal to produce, sell, or possess because it is a schedule III controlled substance.[21]
A large batch of the ''Psilocybe semilanceata'' (''Liberty Cap'') variety.
Czech Republic
In the Czech Republic, possession and consumption of psilocybin mushrooms is legal but it is illegal to sell them.[22]
Denmark
The sale, possession, and consumption of psilocybin have long been illegal; however the sale, possession, and consumption of psilocybin mushrooms was legal until July 1, 2001, when the Danish Ministry of Health prohibited them.[23]
Japan
Prior to 2002, psilocybin mushrooms were widely available in Japan and were often sold in mail-order shops, online vendors and in head shops throughout Japan; according to Hideo Eno of Japan's Health Ministry narcotics division, prior to 2002, "You can find them [psilocybin mushrooms] anywhere."[24] In June 2002, Japan Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry added psilocybin mushrooms to Schedule Narcotics of Narcotic and Psychotropic Drug Control Law, possibly in preparation for the World Cup, and in response to a widely reported case of mushroom poisoning.[25] Use, production, trafficking, growing or possession of psilocybin mushrooms is now illegal in Japan.
Mexico
Psilocin and psilocybin are prohibited under the Ley General de Salud of 1984, which also specifically mentions psilocybin-containing fungi as being covered by the law, and mentions ''Psilocybe mexicana'' and ''Psilocybe cubensis'' in particular.[26] However, these laws are rarely, if ever, enforced against indigenous users of psychoactive fungi. The Mexican government has also specifically taken the position that wild occurrence of ''Psilocybe'' does not constitute drug production.[27]
The Netherlands
In the Netherlands, unprocessed psychoactive mushrooms are legal to possess, are treated as soft drugs under the Netherlands' drug policy, and can be obtained in "smart shops" which specialize in ethnobotanicals.
Psychoactive mushrooms, whether dried or fresh were legal until 2001, when the Supreme Court of The Netherlands ruled dry mushrooms to be an illegal preparation of psilocybin and psilocin. The limitation to fresh mushrooms (which go bad quite fast) is severely reducing the export of psychoactive mushrooms. In a series of court cases during 2003-2005 this was challenged by a Dutch mushroom wholesaler.[28] The vice president of the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) of the UN testified to the court that the UN does not see dried or prepared psilocybin mushrooms as a controlled substance. Explanation: Psilocybin mushrooms are not listed as controlled substances, therefore preparations are also not controlled. Preparations of the controlled substances psilocybin and psilocin (i.e. tablets, etc) are controlled. Various mushroom experts have testified that there is no way to see the difference between passively and actively dried mushrooms. The court decided to agree to other viewpoints of De Sjamaan in order not to touch the subject of the UN's stance. The court also decided not to publish the testimony of the vice president of the INCB. The high court ruled that:
★ There is no definition in regards to water content, which differentiates between a dry mushroom and a fresh mushroom.
★ Passively dried mushrooms (natural desiccation) are legal.
★ A police officer is not skilled to differentiate between a fresh and dry mushroom.
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 Dubliner Colm Hodkinson, age 33, at a Halloween party on 30th October 2005, after consuming legally purchased magic mushrooms and jumping off a balcony .[29] This was given as the spur for the sudden ban (introduced without prior notice being given to retailers). It was debated (particularly in student newspapers) whether or not this may have been simply an excuse for the ban, as Colm Hodkinson had been consuming cannabis as well as alcohol during the day, which could have combined towards his death. Afterwards, at the inquest into Hodkinson's death, the results of the toxicology report revealed that the level of alcohol in his system was below the legal driving limit. The report also concluded that minimal traces of cannabis had been consumed and that psilocybin was the only substance that had been consumed in any significant volume. Soon after consuming the psilocybin mushrooms, Colm Hodkinson's mood deteriorated and he became frantic. Colm ate 2-3 mushrooms and was dead 30 minutes after consuming them.
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.[30] Prior to these laws being passed, possession and use of psilocybin and psilocin was prohibited, but courts had ruled the law did not apply to naturally-occurring substances containing these compounds, and for a brief period ''Psilocybe cubensis'' and other psilocybin mushrooms were sold in farmers markets. 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; however, in California, mushroom spores are legal to possess if they are not intended for use in cultivation and if they are not imported from outside California.[31] The Florida Supreme Court in 1978 ruled that possession of wild psilocybin mushrooms is not illegal;[32] however, whether knowingly gathering wild psilocybin mushrooms for later use is illegal or not was not addressed in the decision.[33]
In all states, except 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.[34][35]
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 typical price for an ounce of dried mushrooms can range from as little as $70 to $400 depending on the quality of the product, as well as their availability in the area. The quality of the product is generally about the same, varying only as can be expected with a non-synthetic psychedelic. The major factor in the quality of this drug is how well they have been stored, with well dried whole mushrooms kept in cool dark places being ideal. Contaminated grows yield poor quality, possibly toxic mushrooms. One should be extremely cautious of any mushrooms which have unusual growths or mold, as well as any mushrooms which may have been harvested from the same grow as mushrooms with these growths. If there is any sign of mold, do not ingest these as you can get very sick.
The potency of mushrooms can vary greatly depending on the growing conditions, and buyers of mushrooms 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.
See also
★ List of Entheogens
★ Mushroom hunting
★ Psychedelic plants
★ List of notable people who have taken psychedelic drugs
Notes
1. Buzzed: The Straight Facts about the Most Used and Abused Drugs from Alcohol to Ecstasy, , Cynthia, Kuhn, W.W. Norton & Company Inc, , ISBN 0-393-32493-1
2. Taking care of ourselves
3. A Worldwide Geographic Distribution of the Neurotropic Fungi
4. Cultivation and analysis of ''Psilocybe'' species and an investigation of ''Galerina steglichi'', Gartz J., , , Annali Museo Civico di Rovereto, 1995
5. ''Galerina steglichii'' spec. nov, ein halluzinogener Haeubling, Besl H., , , Zeitschrift für Mykologie, 1993
6. The oldest Representations of Hallucinogenic Mushrooms in the World.
7. Psilocybin Mushrooms of the World, , Paul, Stamets, , ,
8. Seeking the magic mushroom, Wasson RG, , , Life, 1957 article reproduced online
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14. Trip down the high street Clint Witchalls
15. Hopkinds scientists show hallucinogen in mushroom creates universal "mystical" experience.
16.
17. : "In spite of the established efficacy of potent 5-HT reuptake inhibitors in the treatment of OCD ... the length of time required for improvement of patients undergoing treatment with 5-HT reuptake inhibitors appears to be quite long ... and the percentage of patients having satisfactory responses may only approach 50%, and most patients that do improve only have a 30 to 50% decrease in symptoms (Goodman et al., 1990)"
18.
19.
20. List of psychotropic substances under international control
21. Chapter 19 (Bill C-8)
22. [1]
23. Danish Ministry of Health Makes Psilocybin Mushrooms Illegal
24. Japan culls magic from mushrooms
25.
26. [2]
27. [3]
28. De Sjamaan
29.
30. [4]
31. Legality of Psilocybin Mushroom Spores
32.
33. [5]
34.
35. [6]
References
★ 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 [7] (In Swedish and PDF format) ISBN 91-7203-555-2
Further reading
★ Magic Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest, , John W., Allen, Raver Books and John W. Allen, 1997, ISBN 1-58214-026-X
★ Shroom: A Cultural History of the Magic Mushroom, , Andy, Letcher, Faber and Faber Limited, 2006, ISBN 0-060-82828-5
★ Psilocybin Mushroom Handbook: Easy Indoor and Outdoor Cultivation, , L. G, Nicholas, Quick American Archives, 2006, ISBN 0-932551-71-8
★ Growing Gourmet and Medicinal Mushrooms, , Paul, Stamets, Ten Speed Press, 1993, ISBN 1-58008-175-4
★ Mushroom Cultivator, The, , Paul, Stamets, Agarikon Press, 1983, ISBN 0-9610798-0-0
★ Psilocybin Mushrooms of the World, , Paul, Stamets, Ten Speed Press, 1996, ISBN 0-9610798-0-0
★ Buzzed: The Straight Facts about the Most Used and Abused Drugs from Alcohol to Ecstasy, , Cynthia, Kuhn, W.W. Norton & Company Inc, 1998 & 2003, ISBN 0-393-32493-1
External links
★ Report by the Dutch Government Stating Psilocybin's Harmlessness
★ The Shroomery Detailed information about psychedelic mushrooms including identification, cultivation and spores, psychedelic images, trip reports, a dosage calculator, and an active community.
★ Magic Mushrooms Magic Mushrooms.net
★ The Vaults of Erowid - Psilocybin Mushrooms
★ Mycotopia Information on Ayahuasca, Psilocybe Mushrooms, Cactis and Cannabis, including research, legislation, media coverage, bibliography and lots of links
★ Jeremy Bigwood: Scientific Publications (archived at Wayback Machine)
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