Magic Mushroom
Basic information
Teonanácatl was the name in Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs that received the psilocybin mushrooms. This term has been translated as "meat of the gods." More than 180 varieties of mushrooms contain psilocybin and psilocin, the alkaloids responsible for the psychoactive effects. They are popularly called "magic mushrooms," They are perhaps the best known and most influential fungal psychoactive variety in the collective cultural imaginary.
 |
| Psilocybin mushroom |
The different varieties of psychoactive mushrooms, also known as magic mushrooms, contain psychoactive alkaloids such as psilocin, psilocybin, and baeocystin, which belong to the Strophariaceae and Hymenogastraceae families of basidiomycetes, of the order Agaricales. The most common and well-known genera that produce species containing these alkaloids are Psilocybe and Panaeolus.
Some of the best-known species are Psilocybe semilanceata, Psilocybe cyanescens, Psilocybe azurescens, and, above all, Psilocybe cubensis, of which there are dozens of varieties such as B+, Ecuador, Mazatapec, and a long etcetera.
Psilocybin mushrooms have been used by different cultures for their intoxicating effects, particularly in the Mesoamerican Aztec peoples of pre-Columbian times and later among the Mazatecs and Zapotecs.
Origin/History
More than 180 species of mushrooms contain tryptamine alkaloids such as psilocybin and psilocin. They include the genera Psilocybe (117 species), Gymnopilus (13 species), Panaeolus (7 species), Copelandia (12 species), Hypholoma (6 species), Pluteus (6 species), Inocybe (6 species), Conocybe (4 species) and Agrocybe, Galerina and Mycena.
The Psilocybe genus is the most common, and most of its species are found in humid subtropical forests. Mexico is the country where more varieties of psychoactive mushrooms are found.
Although psychoactive mushrooms are found from Alaska to southern Chile, Australia and New Zealand, Hawaii, Europe, Siberia, Japan, and Southeast Asia, precise knowledge about their geographic distribution is not well developed.
 |
| Psilocybin mushroom |
Different peoples have used different varieties of magic mushrooms since ancient times. Indigenous groups have revered the visions induced by the mushrooms. They have used them in their magical-religious rituals to communicate with the spirit world the deceased's spirits and obtain knowledge and healing.
The oldest signs of probable use of mushrooms, although not conclusive, can be found in a mural in Tassili, in the Sahara desert, in southeastern Algeria. In that mural, which dates to between 7,000 and 9,000 B.C., mushrooms are represented, and anthropomorphic figures carry mushrooms. It is speculated what type of fungus is represented, and some authors have identified it as Psilocybe mairei, a species known from Algeria and Morocco. Some authors, however, doubt the authenticity of these paintings.
Also, in a mural from Selva Pascuala, in Cuenca (Spain), dating from the Upper Paleolithic (6000 BC) to the Middle Neolithic (4000 BC), representations of fungi can be found, which have been identified as Psilocybe hispanica and also as Psilocybe semilanceata. Some authors establish the relationship between the growth of fungi and the habitat since these species grow in bovine feces.
We also find the use of psychoactive mushrooms in Asia. For example, in Japan grows the Gymnopilus spectabilis, known as maitake ("dancing mushroom"), whose use was compiled by Minamoto Takakuni in a book of stories, the Konjaku Monogatari, dating from the late ninth century AD. C. The name has also known this fungus of owaraitake ("the fungus of laughter"). Parietal pictorial representations have also been found in caves and shelters in South Africa and Australia, among other places.
In the New World, different groups have used and used psilocybin mushrooms. In particular, different Mexican ethnic groups, such as the Mazatecs, the Mixtecs, and the Zapotecs, among others. Mushroom-shaped vessels associated with the Preclassic and Classic Maya periods have been found in Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, dating to between 500 B.C. C. and 900 d. C. and that suggest the ancestral knowledge of the use of psilocybin mushrooms. However, the first documented reports about the use of mushrooms are from an indigenous named Tezozómoc, who wrote in Spanish in 1598 about the use of intoxicating mushrooms in the coronation celebration of Moctezuma II in 1502, in the Aztec civilization.
 |
| Psilocybin mushroom |
There are representations of mushrooms in Mexican art that survived the conquest. Good examples of this are the Codex Vindobonensis Mixteca, the Codex Magliabechiano, and the famous frescoes of Tepantitla in Teotihuacan.
Reports from the Spanish colonizers, such as that of Fray Bernardino de Sahagún, called General History of Things in New Spain, described the use of mushrooms in celebrations and religious, medical, and divinatory ceremonies. In the writings of Sahagún, the use of the name teunamacatlh (teonanácatl) to designate psilocybin mushrooms is described. Teonanácatl has been translated as "the meat of the gods," although other authors suggest that "sacred mushrooms" or "wonderful mushrooms" would be more literal translations.
The Spanish considered that the use of the fungus was contrary to Christian morality, and in 1620 the court of the Inquisition declared its use heretical and any other intoxicating plant and harshly repressed healers and those who ingested the fungus. Therefore, the traditional use of psilocybin mushrooms went underground and secret.
The rediscovery of the traditional use of psilocybin mushrooms in the New World occurred thanks to the work of Reko and Schultes, who obtained and identified three different varieties of visionary mushrooms in Huautla de Jiménez, Oaxaca, in 1938. That same year, Irmgard Weitlaner and Jean Bassett Johnson attended a mushroom ceremony, although they did not participate in the ingestion and thus could not experience its effects.
In 1952, Gordon Wasson and his wife Valentina Pavlovna became interested in the cult of psilocybin mushrooms. After reviewing the available documents and contacting Schultes, Reko, Johnson, and Weitlaner, they began their trips to Huautla de Jiménez. During the summer of 1955, Gordon Wasson and his photographer Allan Richardson attended a psilocybin mushroom evening with MarÃa Sabina, a Mazatec shaman. They were the first Westerners to experience and report the effects of the mushrooms and traditional uses among the Mazatecs.
Chemical composition and dosage
The active principles present in psilocybin mushrooms are psilocybin (4-PO-DMT), psilocin (4-HO-DMT), and baeocystin (4-HO-NMT). Psilocybin is the main component of most varieties and the most stable alkaloid of the three.
Psilocybin was isolated by the Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann in 1957 from Psilocybe Mexicana mushrooms, cultivated in Paris by the mycologist Roger Heim from mushrooms collected in Mexico during the Heim and Wasson expedition. Hofmann is known for having synthesized LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide) and was also the first to synthesize psilocybin in 1958.
Studies on the pharmacology of psilocybin indicate that it is converted to psilocin once absorbed and that equivalent amounts of psilocin produce the same subjective effects as psilocybin. For this reason, psilocybin is sometimes considered a stable precursor (a prodrug), but the psychoactive alkaloid responsible for the consequences of mushrooms is psilocin.
There are no specific studies, and there is very little information about the effects and pharmacology of baeocystin
The potency of psilocybin mushrooms varies greatly depending on the species and variety, the conditions in which they were grown, and the age of the mushrooms.
Common varieties such as Psilocybe cubensis and Psilocybe semilanceata contain around 6-10 mg of psilocybin per gram of dried mushrooms. Other types, such as Psilocybe azurescens and Psilocybe bohemica, contain higher amounts of psilocybin, around 1.78%, and 1.74%, respectively. Finally, there are varieties of intermediate potencies, such as Panaeolus cyanescens, also known as Copelandia cyanescens, containing 0.85% psilocybin.
The doses of pure psilocybin are as follows:
Microdosis: <4 mg
Dosis Baja: 4-8 mg
Dosi's media: 6-20 mg
Dosis Alta: 20-35 mg
Very high dose: >35 mg
The doses of mushrooms vary depending on the species, their state of conservation, whether they are fresh or dried, and other factors, so adjusting the doses of mushrooms is always imprecise. Usually, the doses for common varieties ( P. cubensis and similar) of dried mushrooms are as follows:
- Microdosis: <0,25 g
- Low dose: 0.25-1g
- Average dose: 1-2.5 g
- High dose: 2.5-5g
- Very high dose: >5 g
Effects
Psilocybin mushrooms produce psychoactive effects in humans that are very similar to other classic psychedelics such as LSD and mescaline. Most users describe the experience as an internal journey, going through different phases with different effects. The first effects usually begin to be perceived earlier than with LSD or mescaline, and around 30 minutes after ingestion, they can be seen. Peak effects typically set in 60 to 90 minutes after ingestion and last for around two hours before beginning to taper off. The total duration of the experience is about 4 to 6 hours, depending on the dose.
Physical effects
On the physical plane, the main effects of psilocybin include dilation of the pupil's slight increases in blood pressure and heart rate (especially at high doses). The variation in blood pressure seems more related to subjective experience than to the physiological effects of psilocybin, mainly if anxiety occurs. Nausea may occasionally occur (especially when mushrooms are ingested, rather than with pure psilocybin), and more rarely vomiting or diarrhea. Tremors, muscular discomfort, and also dizziness may appear.
Physical effects are generally mild and insignificant.
Psychological
Effects Psychological effects are characterized by marked alterations in sensory perceptions and profound changes in consciousness and cognition.
In the sensory field, visual disturbances may occur in colorful kaleidoscopic visions with closed eyes, intensification of colors, distortion in the shapes of objects (surfaces that undulate or move). Auditory disturbances may also appear, such as an increased appreciation of music and sounds. In addition, synesthetic experiences can occur, in which stimuli corresponding to a particular sensory field are perceived and processed by another sense (for example, sounds that are perceived as visions). The sense of touch can also be altered. For example, you experience increased tactile sensitivity, sensations of cold or heat, tingling, or a sensation of energy running through the body and paresthesia.
From the cognitive and consciousness point of view, the alterations can be very intense, and both very positive and terrifying experiences appear.
Recent studies have looked at psilocybin's ability to induce mystical experiences in controlled settings and high doses. Such mystical experiences include feelings of numinosity, a deeply positive emotional state, inner oneness, transcendence of time and space, ineffability, and a sense of oneness and interconnectedness with all things.
Frightening experiences can include feelings of excruciating fear, paranoia, feeling like you are dying or going crazy, depression or anger, heightened anxiety, agitation, confusion, and disorientation both in space and time and internally. This phenomenon has sometimes been called a "bad trip." Rarely do reactions with psychotic symptoms occur, which usually disappear when the effects diminish.
In most cases, however, mushroom-induced experiences contain both positive and pleasant elements and less pleasant details that can be experienced as psychologically challenging. For example, experiences in which personal biographical content appears and about relationships with significant people are common. In addition, there may be a dissolution of personal limits, or dissolution of the ego, with described sensations of an "oceanic" type, which can be lived as a transcendent experience but can also be experienced with anxiety.
Some studies show that psilocybin produces an increase in a positive mood and a positive bias in the perception of stimuli, related to a possible decrease in the activity of the amygdala (a brain structure responsible for processing potentially threatening emotions).
Effects in Controlled Contexts
In addition to psilocybin's ability to induce mystical experiences, other potentially therapeutic effects have been found in clinical trials.
The use of psilocybin in the treatment of anxiety and the increase in quality of life in cases of people with an advanced cancer diagnosis has been investigated. Psilocybin has also been used in research to treat cluster headaches and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Studies have also been conducted on psilocybin in tobacco and alcohol addiction. Research is currently being carried out on the therapeutic potential of psilocybin for depressive disorders resistant to conventional treatment, with promising results.
Legal status
The active principles of psilocybin mushrooms, psilocybin, and psilocin are controlled substances in the list I of the United Nations Convention of 1971. Therefore, the sale of these substances is illegal.
However, the mushrooms that contain these substances are controlled in different ways in different countries, according to the interpretation that each country makes of List I. In list I of the 1971 Convention, only active ingredients appear, not natural materials that contain them (such as fungi or plants), which leaves the interpretation of the prohibition of botanical material open to the particular laws of each country. Also, in many countries, these mushrooms grow wild.
In most European countries, psilocybin mushrooms are illegal and cannot be bought or sold. Furthermore, the format in which the mushrooms had been sold in recent decades was considered a "product" or "preparation" of psilocybin, so any presentation of such mushrooms was considered illegal.
For several years mushrooms were available for purchase and sale in the Netherlands in smart shops. Fresh mushrooms and dried could be legally purchased, as they were legal until 2002. Dried mushrooms were made illegal from that year, although fresh mushrooms could still be sold. That situation changed, and the sale of fresh mushrooms has been banned since 2008. An exception is the Sclerotia variety, also known as "truffles" or "philosopher's stones," which can still be purchased, as it is not a mushroom but mycelium.
The spores and the grow kits that do not contain fungi and, therefore, their active ingredients are sold in smart shops in some countries.
Prevalence of use
The prevalence of mushroom use in the E.U. is considerably lower than that of cannabis. It appears to equal the prevalence of ecstasy (MDMA) use in some countries among 15-16-year-old students. Surveys in twelve countries of the European Union indicate that between 15 and 24 years, the use of psilocybin mushrooms at some point in life is between 1% and 8%. According to the published results of the 2017 Global Drug Survey, psilocybin mushrooms are the eighth substance with the highest consumption ever in life among the surveyed population, behind alcohol, cannabis, tobacco, beverages with a high content of caffeine, pipe tobacco (shisha), MDMA, and cocaine. According to this survey, 24.4% of those surveyed had consumed mushrooms at some time.
In this same survey, psilocybin mushrooms were the substance that had generated the fewest requests for emergency medical treatment, with only 0.2% of people who used them requesting medical attention. In this sense, mushrooms have been considered the safest substance of those reported. Regarding the occurrence of difficult experiences, mushrooms are the substance that provoked the fewest difficult episodes of all the psychedelic substances investigated, both of plant origin (ayahuasca and peyote) and synthetic (LSD, NBOMe, 2C-x, and smoked DMT).
In some E.U. countries, it is more common to consume mushrooms collected in their natural habitat, while in other countries, users tend to grow their mushrooms. For example, in Norway, Scotland, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and Denmark, mushroom picking predominates, while in Belgium, Holland, Germany, and Finland, self-cultivation is more common.
Health and risk reduction
Studies carried out in 2011 concluded that the use of psilocybin mushrooms is relatively safe and that there are few reports of adverse effects, classified as "mild adverse effects." However, the same studies indicate the importance of controlling both the quality and the context in which psilocybin mushrooms are used.
Physical health
Due to the possibility of intense experiences that generate anxiety, people with a history of cardiovascular diseases, particularly those taking medication to control these pathologies or who, due to medical indications, have to reduce their physical activity, should refrain from using their mushrooms.
Regarding the quality of the mushrooms, in the case of collecting them in their natural environment, it is essential to know how to identify the mushrooms correctly and not confuse them with any variety that may be toxic or poisonous. In general, only some types of the Galerina and Pholiota genera have harmful or fatal effects and can be confused with psilocybin mushrooms.
Psychological health
Although mushrooms present few risks to physical health since psilocybin is a pharmacologically very safe substance, in addition to not having addictive potential, there are risks to psychological health that must be taken into account. Some of these risks may occur during the experience, and others later, in the medium term.
The main risk of psilocybin mushrooms is that they trigger a difficult experience. There are unpleasant symptoms such as fear, anxiety, paranoid ideas, fear of death or going crazy, signs of a psychotic nature, or the feeling that the trip will never end. This type of experience can occur with any dose, although its manifestations in such cases are different.
Unpleasant psychological content may appear at low and medium doses, and the person may try to resist them. This resistance usually generates more significant anxiety. In such cases, a change in context can help reduce stress. A calm environment and a willingness to surrender to the experience without judgment often help continue the journey and resolve these difficult moments.
At high doses, resistances are lower due to the intensity of the experience, and people are often totally immersed in the trip. In such cases, difficult experiences can occur in high emotional power, cathartic expressions, and unusual psychological manifestations of a psychotic nature, which usually disappear when the pharmacological effect diminishes. In these situations, physical and emotional containment and support during the experience by a caregiver, preferably a sober one, are needed.
After difficult experiences, subsequent psychological difficulties of a different nature may arise, which affect the person's health beyond the experience itself. For example, acute stress symptoms may appear after a traumatic experience with mushrooms, persist over time, and require specialized psychological care. However, the appearance of severe and persistent psychiatric disorders after using psilocybin mushrooms, although it can occur, is very rare. In the case of experiencing psychological difficulties after a psychedelic experience, integration psychotherapy sessions can help reduce symptoms and adequately process the mental contents of the session.
The most difficult situations can be prevented by considering the context in which the experience is carried out, the dose, the company, and the vital moment it decides to use the mushrooms.
About the context, the usual recommendations regarding set & setting are significant when using psilocybin mushrooms. A quiet, safe environment, free from interruptions and unexpected interference, aesthetically well cared for, with previously selected music, and, above all, with trusted people, is suitable for the type of experience that mushrooms induce. On the other hand, less controlled and safe environments can mean a greater possibility of unexpected events generating anxiety. For all these reasons, it is essential to consider in which context the mushrooms are going to be used and decide on the elements that are going to be part of it.
It is also important to have a certain psychological preparation when taking mushrooms. Excellent theoretical knowledge of the potential effects of each dose can help enter the experience with greater confidence.
Like any other psychedelic substance, Mushrooms have the potential to bring out unconscious content. Therefore, it is important to consider the psychological state at the time of taking the mushrooms. Psilocybin mushrooms consumed during times of stress, worry, depression, or life difficulties may increase the intensity of such symptoms during the experience.
Although from a therapeutic perspective, it is considered that this is precisely the mechanism through which psychedelics can be helpful in psychotherapy, it must be taken into account that the experiences induced by mushrooms can be intense and involve difficult emotions more easily if one He is going through a difficult life moment.
Good vital and emotional stability, good preparation, a caring context in the company of trusted people, and a willingness to enter the experience, whatever happens, can contribute to making the experience with mushrooms pleasant and fruitful.
0 Comments