TEO׃ The International Journal of Psychoactive Mushrooms, Volume 17 (August, 2006)

#17 TEO August 2006
TEONANACATL(TEO)The Sacred Mushrooms
$15.00
ISSN 1543-1681
Copyright 2006
"TEONANACATL"
The International Journal of Psychoactive Mushrooms
TEO
This Is An Electronic Issue
This is a "RESTRICTED" Issue. It contains all spore prints and photographs. This is a "NON-RESTRICTED" Issue. It contains no mushroom spore prints. This is a "REPRINT"/"Photo Copy" Issue. It may not contain prints or pictures. EDITORS: You, the reader. Manton Hirst, Amathole Museum; Humanities, South Africa, Curator of Anthropology John Allen, Mushroom John Dr. Karl Buchanan Mushrooms and Religion Editor, Rv. Matthew N. Wyman, DD Stephen L. Peele, Chief Editor
Restricted Journal Issues Contain: Actual Color 4X6 Inch Photograph Inserted & Actual Live Mushroom Spore Print Sample (Sealed and Affixed Inside)
CONTENTS
For #17 TEO August 2005 Subscription and Other Journal Information...................................................01 U.S. Supreme Court Has Ruled In Favor of Church Using Marijuana...........03 Can You Use Chicken Manure To Grow Mushrooms?..................................04 Mail Call.........................................................................................................04 Common Names for Mushrooms..............................................................04 Photomicrography of Psilocybe cubensis spores.....................................05 Mushrooms and Religion...............................................................................06 Why Consider Psilocybin God's Sacrament?............................................07 Earthquakes..............................................................................................08 Scientists Study Mystical Effects of Mushrooms.......................................09 Surprising Results from Psilocybin Study.................................................11 More on the Psilocybin Test Story............................................................13 Go Ask Alice Mushroom Drug Is Studied..................................................23 John Allen, Mushroom John...........................................................................23 Mushroom Harvesting...............................................................................23 Frozen Mushroom Tea...................................................................................24 Da Vinci's Painting "The Last Supper"...........................................................25 Growing Amanita Muscaria in Grape Juice....................................................25 Subscription Sale on Both Mushroom Journals.............................................32 Spore Print Sample of Psilocybe cubensis....................................................32 Posts Made by Stephen L. Peele..................................................................32 Mushrooms Turning Back To Mycelium and Bacteria Information...........32 Renowned Chefs & Ibotenic Acid.............................................................33 Chlorophyllum molybdites........................................................................34 Amanita muscaria, Ibotenic Acid & Muscimol..........................................34 The Blue Amanita....................................................................................34 Amanita Muscaria Season Is Coming......................................................35 Getting After the Dreaded Green Mold with Sunlight...............................35 "Cides" and Mushroom Growing..............................................................36 TEO Issues 01 through 13 CD-ROM............................................................36 Color Photograph Psilocybe caerulipes.......................................................37 Submitting Spore Print Samples and Articles to This Journal "TEO"...........38 Classified Ads...............................................................................................39 Culture Flask.................................................................................................40 Cannabinoids (Pot) Curb Brain Tumor Growth.............................................40 PSYCHOACTIVE MUSHROOM QUIZ "PMQ".............................................41 "THE GOSPEL OF MUSHROOMS".............................................................42 a
If you would like to order a subscription to TEONANACATL, you may send request and payment of $30.00 made out to FMRC, POB 18105, Pensacola, FL 32523 for one year. To order a Journal Subscription online, email FloridaMycology@cs.com and make your request. Give the postal address and name you would like the Hard Copy subscription sent to. We will bill you later.
Copyright Information: This Journal is copyrighted under International Law, and all said laws apply. Any material that finds its way into this Journal and has already been copyrighted elsewhere, retains original copyright. Authors and photographers who submit material in this Journal are not restricted from using their work, or the sale thereof. Persons may reprint or transmit this document only in its complete and original form. No parts, articles, photographs, or any other partial pieces may be removed from this document. If you have any questions about reprinting or re-transmitting, call 1.850.327.4378 and ask for Stephen L. Peele. Copies of this document can be given away freely for academic or information purposes. Any sale, placement, or display in any media that involves the transfer of money, of document, or parts of, is a violation of Copyright. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Subscriptions: You must be at least 18 years of age to subscribe to this Journal. Any subscription request with payment confirms that you are at least this age, and meet "TEO's" age requirements! Otherwise, if you are under 18 and collect mushrooms and wish to have the mushroom spore print samples to insure proper ID, and to prevent accidental poisoning, have your parents subscribe for you. TEO is a Quarterly Publication, and is published 4 times a year, Feb., May, Aug., and Nov. Physical Issue (Hard Copy).....Contains actual spore print samples and color photographs inserted. These are to be used as standards to compare with mushrooms found out in the wild or involved with mushroom poisonings at Poison Control Centers and ERs at hospitals. As some mushroom spore print samples in this Journal may be capable of producing Controlled Substances, "RESTRICTED ISSUES" (Issues that contain said type spores) will not be mailed into restricted areas such as CA and GA. These types of subscribers will be sent "NON-RESTRICTED ISSUES" (Issues that do not contain said type spores). It is mailed to you in a thick plain brown envelope. Subscription rates: One years subscription $30.00 (Outside of USA $50.00), Two years subscription $50.00 (Outside of USA $90.00), Three years subscription $70.00 (Outside of USA $130.00). Lifetime subscription is $1,000.00 (Outside of USA $2,000.00). -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Back Issues of "TEONANACATL" (TEO) The Hard Copy Issues are $10.00 each. When all originals are sold, "REPRINT" or Photo Copies are provided (these issues may not contain any color photographs or spore print samples). The only way to insure getting a complete issue is to subscribe and get original Issues. Current Issue $15.00. How Many Issues Do I have Left on my "TEO" Hard Copy Subscription? Check the number right after your first name or above the business address on your mailing label. This is how many issues are left on your current subscription. Also see "Culture Flask": If your culture flask has a RED Contaminant in it......this is your last issue! Please subscribe. There may be no other further notices. Send payment now while it is on your mind. That way you will never miss an issue!
Mushroom Journal Subscriptions:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Know The Mushroom Laws In Your Area: Some readers who receive this Journal live in areas where no mushroom laws exist. Others, like those living in the USA, must be aware of laws that forbid the possession and cultivation of mushrooms that contain controlled substances. Psilocybe cubensis is an example of an illegal mushroom in the USA. As articles are done on an international basis, always keep in mind the laws on these said type mushrooms in your own specific area. Most all areas allow mushroom spore print samples on paper to aid in the identification of mushrooms found out in the wild. Questions? Check with the law from a pay phone.
#17 TEO August 2006 Page 01 Copyrighted Material
Mushroom Identification Over the PhoneA public service provided by FMRC to Poison Control Centers and Emergency Rooms all over the world. Since 1972, the Florida Mycology Research Center has offered this free service 24 hours a day to all Poison Control Centers and Emergency Rooms. Please take the time to contact your local Poison Control Center or local hospital and make sure they are aware of this service. Many times, the identification of a mushroom involved in a mushroom poisoning can mean the correct treatment..the wrong treatment could be bad for the victim. Call them and give our Mushroom ID phone number..1-850-327-4378. The Scheduling Dispatch of This Journal This Journal's "Hard Copy" is postal mailed the first week of the Issue's Publication month/date. This is usually the first Monday of the said month. Because games and prizes offered in this Journal are restricted to postal mail only, the Electronic Issue is not released until 7 days after the postal mailing of the "Hard Copy". This is done to prevent unfair advantage if both were released at the same time. To view the Electronic Issue, go to www.mushroomsfmrc.com then, click on TEO Journals. The FREE Download is made available by donations. To help keep this mycological free service available to all, you may send you donation in any amount to FMRC, POB 18105, Pensacola, FL
-----------------------------------------------As you read through TEO, you may come upon misspelled words and other typos. This is because it is the Publishers decision to paste articles, emails, and other sent-in items, just as we receive themerrors and all.
#17 TEO August 2006 Page 02
Copyrighted Material
I have received the following letter from Dr. Karl D. Buchanan.

Dear Friends & Church Members, We are writing to inform you that the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in favor of the Church regarding the sacred and traditional use of Kaneh Bosm (cannabis, marijuana), therefore, there can be no further cause for contention in the Church or among it's members regarding Kaneh, and each person may choose freely for themselves. While some secular information is available about this at www.temple420.org, you should be advised that your rights are intact and there is no need for you to purchase anything from or join "Temple420" the "Daime church or any other organization outside of your own congregation. Those wishing to have copies of the original Restoration of Religious Rights Act may obtain them freely on the web and all are advised that the Government must be able to show "compelling reason" to deny these rights, which it thus far has not been able to do. Everyone should also be advised that though these rights are in place, they may not be regarded by an individual official or locality, and may have to be defended in court to be upheld should any person of any office choose to harass you or the congregation. The American Congregation of Essenic Scholars, Wilderness Nazarene Church, Rose Chapel College and the Sons of the Eternal Mercies have always maintained this custom and tradition, being well documented in both secular and sacred history. The Church has spoken on behalf of decriminalization and testified in court regarding the sacred and traditional status of Kaneh Bosm (marijuana). Church based "Medical Marijuana" prescriptions are now void and considered unnecessary in light of the Court's decision. The Church upholds these rights and may be consulted in any situation regarding the use of Kaneh for general well being, both spiritual and physical. Praise be to God who has given us these things richly to enjoy! May God bless you abundantly, your families and homes. Bro, Troy G. Luevano Abbot Dr. Karl D. Buchanan Senior Health Office
----------------------------------#17 TEO August 2006 Page 03
Can You Use Chicken Manure To Grow Mushrooms?

I have been around chickens all my life. Like others who have posted here, I agree, it is very "hot" and will burn plants. I currently have 300 to 400 right now and have had this flock going for the last 20 some years. I have never seen a mushroom fruit directly from CM whether it be old or fresh. The chickens out here go up in the tall pine trees at night. Directly on the ground under where they sit is a very good pile...some have not been slept over for a long time. So, I am thinking that if there was something out there that would grow on it, it has never appeared. I have seen ground that has been rained on good around CM produce mushrooms. Also in areas where there had been straw laid out on same type ground. The two I have seen the most were Agaricus campestris and Lepiota humei. I also know that commercial producers of Agaricus bisporus use it mixed with straw and then composted. I would think that this compost would produce a wide range of mushrooms.from a post made at Mycotopia.net slp/fmrc
-----------------------------MAIL CALL Mr. CaptainMax.....yeah....grin.....I thought you would enjoy that (Reference my article Placing A Scientific Name To A Mushroom) . I agree with a lot of your feelings on all this. Maybe we differ a little on "Common Names". I also realize that the vendors need a way to keep track of all the strains. For surely, they differ in their own respects. When they name (or rename) strains with common names, that doesn't bother me much. The PF naming thing - they should just stick to a "trade" name of some type. And like you mentioned, something to do about the mushroom's features. I really don't see how a vendor's name will ever fly.....as part of a Scientific Name.........so calm down. I was thinking about putting your letter in TEO's Mail Call section. If I do, would you care if I used CaptainMax as the sender, or no name at all? The Hybrid you asked about.......After many years of work, I believe that many of these hybrids are somehow created within their own species and not from matching up with another species. That is how normal hybrids are produced. For some reason, there is something else going on here. Amanita have the trait of crossing over and hybrids are produced, another good reason not to eat even ones that look okay. I have collected these many times. They look very Amanita, but they have no basidia or spore production...........slp/fmrc In a message dated 5/13/2006 3:07:20 PM Central Standard Time, getspores@sporelab.com writes: Subj: Re: Scientific Names For Mushrooms Date:5/13/2006 3:07:20 PM Central Standard Time From:getspores@sporelab.com To:FloridaMycology@cs.com #17 TEO August 2006 Page 04 Copyrighted Material
You just need people who agree and accept the use of the name. I say that these people who agree and accept should be other mycologists such as the PNW Key Council who agree and accept because based on the mushrooms features, the name is correct. People can't just name something after themselves and then say it's accepted because a bunch of customers who don't know the difference between an annulus and a pellicle, buy a spore syringe. Especially when it's just another cub strain he is selling and renaming. If and when somebody finds something NEW, then a new name would certainly be up for grabs, one that is agreed upon by experienced mycologists, not just a few of the discoverer's friends who don't know any better. Lets face it, when spore vendors start naming mushrooms after themselves as if they are official names that are recognized by the mycological community as being correct, it really undermines the integrity of all the work done over the years in naming mushrooms correctly by experienced mycologists. Peeles Lepiota is recognized specie listed in the Audubon guide but I bet you'll never see these others listed! By the way, your hybrid, cubensis, what is it hybrided with? They look pretty much alike except one isn't sporulating. Sure, you can use my letter. I don't have any problem with most of the common names vendors use, names like hillbilly for an Arkansas strain, Dixieland for a strain from New Orleans, Gulf Coast, Ecuador. those are all fine. But when pf renames PESA as being Golden Teacher for example, people get sucked in to buying the same thing twice. And then names like starryeyes or twinkletoes, reality benders...these have nothing to do with the strain or origin, it's just marketing names that might all be the same strain renamed! What would you think if I started selling my B+ as Psilocybe captainmaximus var sporelabii? That would be pretty sleazy on my part but it does have a nice ring to it...:) --------------------Hi! I am interested in ordering spore prints off your site for the purposes of photomicrography. I've photographed Psilocybe cubensis spores already, as they are easy to get from any company online, pretty much, but I have an interest in photographing some of the other psychoactive species you have available, in the genus Psilocybe and others. Are these restricted in Maryland? I've attached a picture of Psilocybe cubensis "Palenque" spores at 1000x. Photographed using a digital camera hookup on my microscope, with a 100x oil immersion lens and a 10x objective.
S.BI am not aware of any laws in Maryland that forbid mushroom spore prints on paper. California, Idaho, & Georgia do have laws against them. Ready for this? These type mushrooms grow wild in their states anyway????? slp/fmrc ---------------------------------
Mushrooms and Religion, Rv. Matthew N. Wyman, DD

Dear Friends: This is an email to a minister friend of mine regarding Dear Rene, I hope you and Valerie are psilocybin mushrooms as the original well, I suppose if I dragged myself into Eucharist or Sacrament of Christianity Church tomorrow I'd have a better idea but prior to that, Humanity at large. of that. Hope you find it interesting, comments and input from you are welcome. #17 TEO August 2006 Page 06 Copyrighted Material
However, I am going to do what the Israelites failed to do when entering Canaan - that is I am going to inquire of the LORD on this Sabbath, and so will be quite tired by morning. On that note, I want to address a matter, which I feel has come up. I get the sneaking suspicion that you consider me something of a Yeasty person, and are avoiding that lunch date you reference to before going to Israel. My Cards:
Therefore, rather than holding a grudge or going on to work on acquaintances and friendships elsewhere, I propose a laying-down of my cards. I will show you what is in my hand. Then if you spot a blemish, a splinter or in other words a sin - you can address it from where you are and perhaps there can be greater peace and fulfillment of Scripture in our days...
Why Consider Psilocybin Gods Sacrament?

The Psilocybin mushrooms should be considered Gods Sacrament because there is no other "fountain" on the face of the earth which consistently causes the conscience of a person to grow and to confront the individual on matters of right and wrong, good
and evil.
During the Psilocybin experience the heart and mind of the person is searched and the misconducts are revealed, only to be relieved by confession of the sin.
To put things in perspective, this planet is old Dinosaurs roamed its surface. It is the third planet from the sun, which is itself a G2 star. Meanwhile, the mass of our solar system is hurtling through space at an uncharted pace.
than our own. He is the Most High.
The Creator is all powerful, His ways are not our ways and His thoughts are higher
If He so desired to place here on this planet a means by which we could contact Him, #17 TEO August 2006 Page 07 Copyrighted Material
who could stop Him? This means would be a sort of a telephone for God if you like. In His love He would place it where everyone could reach it - on every livable educate us in its use, using people and nations as examples to all of creation. That telephone is the Sacred Mushroom, bread that rises without yeast, whose primary colors are Purple, Gold, Scarlet and Blue. A bell in shape, it is ringing off the hook. It is Holiness to the LORD. Sincerely, Rv. Matthew N. Wyman, DD. Look at the number of earthquakes!!! The Old Testament says that when wickedness fills the land the Earth itself groans under their weight!!! Matt Wyman "Yes....Brother Matt, it is among many of the other things that are now happening, as Jesus said it would be, in the End Days. Stephen L. Peele http://www.standeyo.com/C2C/EQs.1810_2006.lg.jpg continent and not so lofty that only the rich could access it. In his mercy he would
ABC News: Johns Hopkins University & Psilocybin
Tripping Out: Scientists Study Mystical Effects of Mushrooms Popular Drug of the 60s Eyed for Its Powerful Emotional Changes By JOY VICTORY, BHARATHI RADHAKRISHNAN and ANDREA CARTER
July 11, 2006 This may come as no surprise to the flower children of the 1960s, but in one of the few controlled human studies of a known illegal hallucinogen, the active ingredient in "sacred mushrooms" created what researchers are describing as deep mystical experiences that left many of the study participants with a long lasting sense of well-being. Check back later today to watch an expanded ABC News Now Healthy Live video about this intriguing study. The controversial study, conducted by Johns Hopkins University of Medicine, looked at whether a pill containing psilocybin, derived from the psilocybe mushroom, would induce mystical experiences among 36 healthy adult study participants. All had religious backgrounds, and all were also given the active drug ingredient in the attention-deficit disorder drug, Ritalin, at a separate time as a comparison. The results were clear: Sixty percent of the psilocybin group elicited behaviors consistent with a "full mystical experience" as measured by psychological scales. Two months later, about 79 percent of the group reported "moderately to greatly increased" well-being or life satisfaction. During the experiment, the participants were informed they could be receiving a hallucinogen, and they were closely watched in a comfortable room to make sure they didn't experience what is commonly known as a "bad trip," researchers said. However, researchers were not releasing much information about what exactly the participants did experience, other than this statement from the study author that was released in a press statement: "Many of the volunteers in our study reported, in one way or another, a direct, personal experience of the 'Beyond,' " said study leader Roland Griffiths, a professor with Hopkins' departments of Neuroscience and Psychiatry and Behavioral Biology. According to Johns Hopkins, psilocybin is one of a class of serotonin receptors compounds (similar to the chemical used in many antidepressants) whose effects include changes in perception and cognition. Some call them "hallucinogenic," while other researchers are more inclined to call them "spirit-facilitating," the hospital's press release said. Because it is illegal to possess psilocybin in all states but Florida and New Mexico, the study is attracting the attention of many ethicists and doctors and even the scientists at the federal National Institute on Drug Abuse, one of the funding entities for the study. Yesterday, NIDA Director Dr. Nora Volkow released this statement critical of the study. "Although there is no evidence that psilocybin is addictive, its adverse effects are well known. Similar to the more commonly known hallucinogen LSD (acid), psilocybin acts on serotonin receptors in the brain to profoundly distort a person's perceptions of reality," the statement said. "Psilocybin can trigger psychosis in susceptible individuals and cause other deleterious psychological effects, such as paranoia and extreme anxiety. However, Griffiths, the study author, said extremely rigorous ethical standards were maintained throughout the research process, and that the value of learning the potential medical and psychological benefits of hallucinogens should not be ignored. "[The study] shows that, under carefully controlled conditions, psilocybin can be administered safely and that it can occasion a mystical-type experience, which scientific measures say are very similar to spontaneously occurring mystical experiences" Griffiths said in an e-mail to ABC News. "The results suggest that such events may have lastingly beneficial consequences." Other scientists familiar with hallucinogens and pharmaceuticals also praised the possible benefits of studying such chemicals.
"I was most impressed by the large percentage of individuals reported a much more positive effect afterwards. That to me is very significant. They are thinking of taking this to cancer patients and difficult substance abusers," said James A. Smith, chairman of the Physiology and Pharmacology Department at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. The work is similar to the "Good Friday" experiment conducted in1962 by a minister and doctor said Rick Doblin, president of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies. In that study, psilocybin also produced mystical experiences in most of the participants. "This kind of work should be a top priority of our society. People have some of the most profound experiences of their lives after taking psilocybin. This mystical experience they talk about from the Good Friday experiment is something that tends to have people become more tolerant and compassionate," Doblin said. "We're talking about how psilocybin is a tool that helps people have these remarkable experiences." Just because the active ingredient is illegal doesn't mean it should not be studied, noted Dr. Jeffrey Kahn, the director of the Center for Bioethics at University of Minnesota. "If you step back and ask: Have we ever used illegal drugs in other medical research? There is probably a long list of drugs that started off illegal but had very useful purposes in medicine, such as marijuana," Kahn said. "This study seems less unusual now than in the 1960s since many more people take medications or drugs now compared to the 60s." However, the study raises important safety questions, said Laurie Zoloth, a professor of Medical Ethics and Humanities at Northwestern University in Chicago. "There is no known antagonist for this drug, unlike others -- if someone's peak moment turns out to be... being eaten by a terrifying sea creature, there is no way to rescue them from the thing we used to call 'a bad trip,'" Zoloth said. "The long-term side effects are not known." She also wasn't that impressed by the drug's effects on mood. "If such an experience meant that you suddenly became aware of injustice, poverty and inequality in the world, and became devoted to caring for the vulnerable in a selfless manner, I might be more impressed," she said. Dr. Rosamond Rhodes, a professor of Medical Education at Mount Sinai School of Medicine and director of Bioethics Education, questioned some elements of the study's design. Not only was the study limited to people with religious backgrounds, but religious experiences could have been subtly or unduly promoted by the research administrators. "After each administration of the drug, they gave people the same set of questionnaires. As you ask people these questions each time, you are also directing them to focus that way... so it is suggesting," Rhodes said. "You are encouraging people to close their eyes, to concentrate, and you are not just doing this to regular people but to people who are religiously inclined. They are suggesting that this is what you are going to get from the drug, so they find a great deal of that sort of response, particularly to the drug psilocybin." However, these things shouldn't necessarily limit the further study of previously shunned illegal drugs, said Dr. Scott Basinger, a drug researcher, and associate dean of the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. "I am in a city where Andrea Yates is being retried. ... All of the [psychiatric] testimony says that she has been in a profound depression for many years that she could not get out of," he said. "I am not saying that psilocybin would have helped Andrea Yates and she would not have killed her kids... I am saying that it is sad that in an age where we have so much pharmacological advancement we still have people that we cannot help." ABC News Internet Ventures
From: Matthew Wyman Sent: Tuesday, July 11, 2006 9:27 AM Subject: Interesting Research Coming to Light
Posted on Tue, Jul. 11, 2006 Surprising results from psilocybin study
By MALCOLM RITTER
Associated Press
NEW YORK - People who took an illegal drug made from mushrooms reported profound mystical experiences
that led to behavior changes lasting for weeks -- all part of an experiment that recalls the psychedelic '60s. Many of the 36 volunteers rated their reaction to a single dose of the drug, called psilocybin, as one of the most meaningful or spiritually significant experiences of their lives. Some compared it to the birth of a child or the death of a parent. Such comments ''just seemed unbelievable,'' said Roland Griffiths of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, the study's lead author. But don't try this at home, he warned. ''Absolutely don't.'' Almost a third of the research participants found the drug experience frightening even in the very controlled setting. That suggests people experimenting with the illicit drug on their own could be harmed, Griffiths said. Viewed by some as a landmark, the study is one of the few rigorous looks in the past 40 years at a hallucinogen's effects. The researchers suggest the drug someday may help drug addicts kick their habit or aid terminally ill patients struggling with anxiety and depression. Spiritual experiences| It may also provide a way to study what happens in the brain during intense spiritual experiences, the scientists said. Funded in part by the federal government, the research was published online today by the journal Psychopharmacology. Psilocybin has been used for centuries in religious practices, and its ability to produce a mystical experience is no surprise. But the new work demonstrates it more clearly than before, Griffiths said. Even two months after taking the drug, pronounced SILL-oh-SY-bin, most of the volunteers said the experience had changed them in beneficial ways, such as making them more compassionate, loving, optimistic and patient. Family members and friends said they noticed a difference, too.
Charles Schuster, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral neuroscience at Wayne State University and a former director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, called the work a landmark. ''I believe this is one of the most rigorously well-controlled studies ever done'' to evaluate psilocybin or similar substances for their potential to increase self-awareness and a sense of spirituality, he said. He did not participate in the research. Psilocybin, like LSD or mescaline, is one of a class of drugs called hallucinogens or psychedelics. While they have been studied by scientists in the past, research was largely shut down after widespread recreational abuse of the drugs during the 1960s, Griffiths said. Some work resumed in the 1990s. ''We've lost 40 years of (potential) research experience with this whole class of compounds,'' he said. Now, with modern-day scientific methods, ''I think it's time to pick up this research field.'' 'Pure awareness'| The study volunteers had an average age of 46, had never used hallucinogens, and participated to some degree in religious or spiritual activities like prayer, meditation, discussion groups or religious services. Each tried psilocybin during one visit to the lab and the stimulant methylphenidate (better known as Ritalin) on one or two other visits. Only six of the volunteers knew when they were getting psilocybin. Each visit lasted eight hours. The volunteers lay on a couch in a living-room-like setting, wearing an eye mask and listening to classical music. They were encouraged to focus their attention inward. Psilocybin's effects lasted for up to six hours, Griffiths said. Twenty-two of the 36 volunteers reported having a ''complete'' mystical experience, compared to four of those getting methylphenidate. That experience included such things as a sense of pure awareness and a merging with ultimate reality, a transcendence of time and space, a feeling of sacredness or awe, and deeply felt positive mood like joy, peace and love. People say ''they can't possibly put it into words,'' Griffiths said. Two months later, 24 of the participants filled out a questionnaire. Two-thirds called their reaction to psilocybin one of the five top most meaningful experiences of their lives. On another measure, one-third called it the most spiritually significant experience of their lives, with another 40 percent ranking it in the top five. About 80 percent said that because of the psilocybin experience, they still had a sense of well-being or life satisfaction that was raised either ''moderately'' or ''very much.''
Slp says: Wonder why the DEA isn't acting like its old self. One thing for sure......We have been put back 40 years. "That suggests people experimenting with the illicit drug on their own could be harmed, Griffiths said." I disagree with this. If this is true, where are all these hospitals treating these "harmed" people??? And, if it just happened one time, you know the Law would be making the biggest deal out of it. They sure would not miss that chance. We all know how they like to exaggerate every mushroom story they tell about. What would they do with just one real harmful ordeal? Same thing about looking for Antivirals and Antibiotics. Mushrooms are going to raise a lot of Eyebrows......slp/fmrc
As far as why the DEA is allowing this, I think its God who is allowing it while the DEA is not being forced to persecute these drugs, they are working hard on the Methamphetamine and Crack drugs. I've even had conversations with these guys and they, along with my uncle, say that the jails are being filled with CRACK addicts. #17 TEO August 2006 Page
12
Meanwhile the taskmaster CIA (one of the 7 heads of the dragon) is busy producing and harvesting Opium and producing HORSE from it to further number of Addicts in the Middle Class of America - i.e. they are too busy to force the DEA to attack those drugs which the DEA has of its own understanding seen as none threatening. So Me Thinks Anyway, Matthew
"That suggests people experimenting with the illicit drug on their own could be harmed, Griffiths said." I disagree with this. If this is true, where are all these hospitals treating these "harmed" people??? Good question. And why then would psilocybin containing mushrooms in the Netherlands *legally* be treated as no different from food mushrooms (including the control measurements of the Dutch FDA which rule for all fruits/vegetables/mushrooms so customers are guaranteed that they do not buy moldy or rotten products!). And so far no health problems, overdoses etc. are reported. See post at: http://groups.google.com/group/alt.drugs.mushrooms/msg/a40c41969ee1c2ad?&hl=en More on the Psilocybin Test Story
Psilocybin can occasion mystical-type experiences having substantial and sustained personal meaning and spiritual significance.Note: The tables and Figures that are referred to here are not included in this article. R. R. Griffiths &W. A. Richards & U. McCann &R. Jesse Received: 20 January 2006 / Accepted: 27 May 2006 # Springer-Verlag 2006 Abstract Rationale Although psilocybin has been used for centuries for religious purposes, little is known scientifically about its acute and persisting effects. Objectives This double-blind study evaluated the acute and longer-term psychological effects of a high dose of psilocybin relative to a comparison compound administered under comfortable, supportive conditions. Materials and methods The participants were hallucinogen- nave adults reporting regular participation in religious or spiritual activities. Two or three sessions were conducted at 2-month intervals. Thirty volunteers received orally administered psilocybin (30 mg/70 kg) and methylphenidate hydrochloride (40 mg/70 kg) in counterbalanced order. To obscure the study design, six additional volunteers received methylphenidate in the first two sessions and unblinded psilocybin in a third session. The 8-h sessions were conducted individually. Volunteers were encouraged to close their eyes and direct their attention inward. Study monitors rated volunteers behavior during sessions. Volunteers completed questionnaires assessing drug effects and mystical experience immediately after and 2 months after sessions. Community observers rated changes in the volunteers attitudes and behavior. Results Psilocybin produced a range of acute perceptual changes, subjective experiences, and labile moods including anxiety. Psilocybin also increased measures of mystical experience. At 2 months, the volunteers rated the psilocybin experience as having substantial personal meaning and spiritual significance and attributed to the experience sustained positive changes in attitudes and behavior consistent with changes rated by community observers. Conclusions When administered under supportive conditions, psilocybin occasioned experiences similar to spontaneously occurring mystical experiences. The ability to occasion such experiences prospectively will allow rigorous scientific investigations of their causes and consequences. Keywords Anxiety. Psilocybin. Methylphenidate. Hallucinogen. Entheogen. Mystical experience. Spiritual. Religion. Humans Introduction Psilocybin, a naturally occurring tryptamine alkaloid with actions mediated primarily at serotonin 5-HT2A/C receptor
#17 TEO August 2006
Page 13
sites, is the principal psychoactive component of a genus of mushrooms (Psilocybe) (Presti and Nichols2004). Psilocybin, in the form of these mushrooms, has been used for centuries, possibly millennia, within some cultures in structured manners for divinatory or religious purposes (Wasson1980; Stamets1996; Metzner2004). The psychological effects of psilocybin, which are similar to other classical serotonergically mediated hallucinogens [lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), mescaline, and N,N-dimethyl-tryptamine (DMT)], include significant alterations in perceptual, cognitive, affective, volitional, and somatesthetic functions, including visual and auditory sensory changes, difficulty in thinking, mood fluctuations, and dissociative phenomena (Isbell1959; Wolbach et al.1962; Rosenberg et al.1964). Early clinical research with psilocybin in the 1950s and early 1960s attempted to study the effects of psilocybin without recognition of the powerful influences of set and setting (e.g., Isbell1959; Hollister (1961;Malitzetal. 1960; Rinkel et al. 1960). Subsequent research, which included more preparation and interpersonal support during the period of drug action, found fewer adverse psychological effects, such as panic reactions and paranoid episodes, and increased reports of positively valued experiences (Leary et al.1963; Metzner et al. 1965;Pahnke 1969). In response to the epidemic of hallucinogen abuse that occurred in the 1960s, clinical research with psilocybin and other hallucinogens largely ceased and has resumed only recently. Notably, Vollenweider and colleagues from Switzerland and Gouzoulis Mayfrank from Germany have reported a series of studies that have characterized the acute subjective, physiological, and perceptual effects of psilocybin (e.g., Vollenweider et al. 1998; Gouzoulis-Mayfrank et al. 1999; Hasler et al. 2004; Carter et al.2005). In the present study, we sought to use rigorous double blind clinical pharmacology methods to evaluate both the acute (7 h) and longer-term (2 months) mood-altering and psychological effects of psilocybin (30 mg/70 kg) relative to an active comparison compound (40 mg/70 kg methylphenidate). The study was conducted with 36 well-educated, hallucinogen-nave volunteers. Materials and methods Participants The participants were recruited from the local community through flyers announcing a study of states of consciousness brought about by a naturally occurring psychoactive substance used sacramentally in some cultures. 135 individuals screened over the telephone and 54 were further screened in person. The 36 study participants (14 males) were medically and psychiatrically healthy, without histories of hallucinogen use, and without family histories of schizophrenia or other psychotic disorders or bipolar I or II disorder. The participants had an average age of 46 years (range 24 to 64) and were well educated; 97% (35 volunteers) were college graduates and 56% (20 volunteers) had post-graduate degrees. Eighty-three percent (30 volunteers) were employed full time, with the remainder employed part time. Fifty-three percent (19 volunteers) indicated affiliation with a religious or spiritual community, such as a church, synagogue, or meditation group. All 36 volunteers indicated at least intermittent participation in religious or spiritual activities such as religious services, prayer, meditation, church choir, or educational or discussion groups, with 56% (20 volunteers) reporting daily activities and an additional 39% (14 volunteers) reporting at least monthly activities. The volunteers did not receive monetary compensation for participation. Although most volunteers had very busy personal and professional schedules, they were interested in the study and made participation a priority. Based on interviews, their motivation for participation was curiosity about the effects of psilocybin and the opportunity for drug sessions and the meetings with the monitors that occurred between sessions. The Institutional Review Board of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine approved the study, and all volunteers gave their informed consent before participation. Study design The study compared psilocybin (30 mg/70 kg) and methylphenidate hydrochloride (40 mg/70 kg) using a double-blind between-group, crossover design that involved two or three 8-h drug sessions conducted at 2- month intervals. Thirtysix volunteers were randomly assigned to receive either two sessions (N=30) or three sessions (N=6). The group of 30 volunteers were then randomly assigned to receive psilocybin or methylphenidate on the first session (15 per group), with the alternative drug administered on the second session. The other six volunteers received methylphenidate on the first two sessions and un-blinded psilocybin on the third session. The purpose of this condition was primarily to obscure the study design to the participants and monitors (see Expectancy section), and data from the six participants were not used in the statistical analyses; however, those data were generally consistent with the results described in this report. Outcome measures obtained throughout the drug sessions included blood pressure and monitor ratings of participant mood and behavior. At about 7 h after drug ingestion (when the primary drug effects had subsided), the participants completed several questionnaires designed to assess various aspects of hallucinogen experience (described below). The longitudinal measures assessed before and 2 months after each drug session included measures of psychiatric symptoms, personality measures, quality of life, and lifetime mystical experiences. A 1-year follow-up assessment is still underway.
Drug conditions Psilocybin and methylphenidate were administered in identically appearing opaque, size 0 gelatin capsules with approximately 180 ml water. The dose of psilocybin (30 mg/70 kg) was selected as a high safe dose based on non-blind (Malitz et al. 1960; Metzner et al. 1965; Leuner 1981) and blind (Pahnke1963,1969) studies conducted with hallucinogen nave individuals in the 1950s1960s. The methylphenidate dose (40 mg/70 kg) was selected for the comparison condition because it is a high, discriminable but safe dose, it has an onset and duration of subjective effects similar to psilocybin, and it produces some subjective effects (e.g., excitability, nervousness, and/or increased positive mood) overlapping with those of psilocybin (Chait 1994; Rush et al.1998; Kollins et al. 1998). Meetings with monitor before and after sessions The primary monitor met with each participant on four occasions before his or her first session (for 8 h total) and on four occasions (for 4 h total) after each session. A major purpose of the participant-monitor meetings was to develop and maintain rapport and trust, which is believed to minimize the risk of adverse reactions to psilocybin (Metzner et al. 1965). During these meetings, the participants life history and current life circumstances were reviewed. The preparation of participants by the monitors explicitly included the monitors expectation that the drug session experiences could increase personal awareness and insight, however, avoided even mention of the criteria used to assess mystical experiences. A male clinical psychologist (W.R.) with extensive prior experience monitoring hallucinogen sessions and a female clinically trained social worker (M.C.) served as primary and assistant monitors, respectively for all study participants. Drug sessions For most of the time during the session, the participant was encouraged to lie down on the couch, use an eye mask to block external visual distraction, and use headphones through which a classical music program was played. The same music program was played for all participants in all sessions. The participants were encouraged to focus their attention on their inner experiences throughout the session. If a participant reported significant fear or anxiety, the monitors provided reassurance verbally or physically (e.g., with a supportive touch to the hand or shoulder). The sessions were videotaped and about 25% were reviewed by the first author to verify session procedures. Expectancy It is widely believed that expectancy plays a large role in the qualitative effects of hallucinogens (Metzner et al. 1965). Some expectancy effects are unavoidable because it would be unethical not to inform both the participants and the session monitors about the range of possible effects with hallucinogens. In addition, it is believed by many that ethical hallucinogen administration requires that sessions be monitored by individuals who are familiar with such altered states of consciousness (Masters and Houston 1966; Roberts 2001; Stolaroff 2001). Thus, the beliefs of the session monitors introduce another source of expectancy. While it was not possible to completely eliminate such expectancy effects, it was possible to significantly reduce such effects by studying participants without personal histories of hallucinogen use, by studying only a single participant at a time, and by using an experimental design and instructional sets that provided the expectation that sessions could involve not only the administration of a wide range of psilocybin doses but also a range of novel drugs, some of which could produce effects that overlap with those produced by psilocybin. Expectancy effects were also reduced because the experimental design was further obscured from both participants and monitors, who were not aware of which or how many participants would have a final un-blinded psilocybin session (see Instructions to participants and monitors). Instructions to participants and monitors The participants and monitors were informed that the participants would have either two or three sessions and that, in at least one session, they would receive a moderate or high dose of psilocybin. They were informed that an inactive placebo, a low dose of psilocybin or various doses of 11 other drugs that could produce various effects (dextromethorphan, nicotine, diphenhydramine, caffeine, methylphenidate, amphetamine, codeine, alprazolam, diazepam, triazolam, or secobarbital), could be administered in sessions in which a moderate or high dose of psilocybin was not administered. After data collection 2 months after the second session, the six participants who received methylphenidate on the first and second session were informed that they would have a third session that would involve administration of a moderate or high dose of psilocybin. These six sessions were the only unblinded sessions. To help focus the participants on their experiences during the sessions, they were not asked to guess whether or not they received psilocybin. However, the monitors completed a rating form which recorded their guesses about the contents of capsules approximately 7 h after capsule administration but before the participant completed detailed questionnaires describing his or her experiences. The participants were given no information about these or any other monitor ratings. Measures assessed throughout the session Ten minutes before and 30, 60, 90, 120, 180, 240, 300, and 360 min after capsule administration, monitor ratings, blood pressure, and heart rate were obtained. Blood pressure and heart rate Blood pressure (systolic, diastolic, and mean arterial pressure using oscillometric method with the blood pressure cuff placed on the arm) and heart rate were monitored using a Non-Invasive Patient Monitor Model 507E (Criticare Systems, Waukesha, WI, USA).
#17 TEO August 2006
Page 15
Monitor rating questionnaire At the same time-points at which the physiological measures were taken, the two session monitors completed the Monitor Rating Questionnaire, which involved rating or scoring 20 dimensions of the participant s behavior or mood (Table 1). The dimensions expressed as peak scores in Table 1 were rated on a five-point scale from 0 to 4. The dimensions expressed as total duration in Table 1 were rated as the estimated number of minutes since the last rating. The data were the mean of the two monitor ratings at each time-point. Measures assessed 7 h after drug administration At about 7 h after capsule administration, when the major drug effects had subsided, the participants completed three empirically derived (i.e., via factor analysis) questionnaires assessing subjective drug effects and two questionnaires assessing mystical experience, as described below. The participants typically completed these questionnaires in about 40 min. Hallucinogen rating scale This 99-item questionnaire, which was designed to show sensitivity to the hallucinogen N, N-dimethyltryptamine (Strassman et al. 1994; Riba et al. 2001), consists of six subscales assessing various aspects of hallucinogen effects (intensity, somaesthesia, affect, perception, cognition, and volition). APZ The APZ is a 72-item yes/no questionnaire designed to assess altered states of consciousness induced by drug (e.g., DMT or psilocybin) or non-drug (e.g., perceptual deprivation, hypnosis, and sensory overload) manipulations (Dittrich 1998). The three major scales on the APZ are the OSE (oceanic boundlessness, a state common to classic mystical experiences including feelings of unity and transcendence of time and space), the AIA (dread of ego dissolution, dysphoric feelings similar to those of some bad trip described by hallucinogen users), and the VUS (visionary restructuralization, which includes items on visual pseudo-hallucinations, illusions, and synesthesias). The data on each scale were expressed as a proportion of the maximum possible score. Addiction research center inventory (ARCI) The ARCI was developed to differentiate subjective effects among several classes of psychoactive drugs including hallucinogens (Haertzen 1966). The short form of the ARCI consists of 49 true/false questions and contains five major scales: lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD, a hallucinogen-sensitive scale that is often interpreted as providing a measure of dysphoric changes); pentobarbital, chlorpromazine, and alcohol group (PCAG, a sedative sensitive scale); benzedrine group (BG); amphetamine (A) scales (amphetamine- sensitive scales); and morphine-benzedrine group (MBG, often interpreted as a measure of euphoria) (Martin et al. 1971; Jasinski 1977). The participants were instructed to answer the questions on the ARCI with reference to the effects they experienced after they received the capsules that morning. States of consciousness questionnaire This 100-item questionnaire is rated on a six-point scale [0=none, not at all; 1=so slight, cannot decide; 2=slight; 3=moderate; 4=strong (equivalent in degree to any previous strong experience or expectation of this description); and 5=extreme (more than ever before in my life and stronger than 4)]. Forty-three items on this questionnaire comprised the current version of the Pahnke Richards Mystical Experience Questionnaire (Pahnke 1969;Richards 1975), which was designed to assess mystical experiences, used as a primary outcome measure in the Good Friday Experiment (Pahnke 1963; Doblin 1991), and has been shown to be sensitive to other hallucinogens (Turek et al.1974; Richardsetal. 1977). This questionnaire is based on the classic descriptive work on mystical experiences and the psychology of religion by Stace (1960), and it provides scale scores for each of seven domains of mystical experiences: internal unity (pure awareness; a merging with ultimate reality); external unity (unity of all things; all things are alive; all is one); transcendence of time and space; ineffability and paradoxicality (claim of difficulty in describing the experience in words); sense of sacredness (awe); noetic quality (claim of intuitive knowledge of ultimate reality); and deeply felt positive mood (joy, peace, and love). The specific items in each of the scales of the Pahnke Richards Mystical Experience Questionnaire are available online as Electronic Supplementary Material, Table 1. The data on each scale were expressed as a proportion of the maximum possible score. Based on prior research (Pahnke 1969), the criteria for designating a volunteer as having had a complete mystical experience were that the scores on each of the following scales had to be at least 0.6: unity (either internal or external, whichever was greater), transcendence of time and space, ineffability, sense of sacredness, noetic quality, and positive mood. The remaining 57 items in the questionnaire served as distracter items. Mysticism scale This 32-item questionnaire was developed to assess primary mystical experiences (Hood et al. 2001; Spilka et al. 2005). The Mysticism Scale has been extensively studied, demonstrates cross-cultural generalizability, and is well regarded in the field of the psychology of religion (Hood et al. 2001; Spilka et al. 2005) but has not previously been used to assess changes after a drug experience. A total score and three empirically derived factors are measured: interpretation (corresponding to three mystical dimensions described by Stace ( 1960): noetic quality, deeply felt positive mood, and sacredness); introvertive mysticism (corresponding to the Stace
#17 TEO August 2006
Page 16
dimensions of internal unity, transcendence of time and space, and ineffability); and extrovertive mysticism (corresponding to the dimension of the unity of all things/all things are alive). The items were rated on a nine-point scale (- 4=this description is extremely not true of my own experience or experiences; 0=I cannot decide; and +4=this description is extremely true of my own experience or experiences). For the version of the questionnaire used 7 h after drug administration, the participants were instructed to complete the questionnaire with reference to their experiences after they received the capsules that morning. Measures assessed 2 months post-session At 7 to 8 weeks after each session and before any additional session, the participants returned to the research facility and completed a series of questionnaires to assess possible persisting changes in attitudes, mood, or behavior as well as possible changes in standardized measures of personality, mood, and spirituality. The participants typically completed these questionnaires in about 75 min. At about this same time, community observer ratings of participants attitudes and behavior were obtained by telephone. The outcome measures at this time-point are described below. Persisting Effects Questionnaire This 89-item questionnaire sought information about changes in attitudes, moods, behavior, and spiritual experience that, on the basis of prior research (Pahnke1963, 1969; Doblin 1991; Richard s et al. 1977), would possibly be sensitive to the effects of psilocybin 2 months after the session. Eighty-six of the items were rated on a six-point scale (0=none, not at all; 1=so slight, cannot decide; 2=slight; 3=moderate; 4=strong; and 5=extreme, more than ever before in your life and stronger than 4). Sixty-six of the items were from Pahnke (1963, 1969) and 20 items were new. For purposes of summarizing the results before data analysis, 61 of the 86 items were judged as likely to be unambiguously divided into six categories: positive attitudes about life and/or self, negative attitudes about life and/or self, positive mood changes, negative mood changes, altruistic/positive social effects, and antisocial/negative social effects. Six raters independently sorted the 61 items into the six categories. Three items were excluded because fewer than five of the six raters agreed on the categories. For the remaining 58 items, at least five of the six raters agreed with the assignment of each item to each category, suggesting the appropriateness of the category descriptors. The category descriptors and the number of items associated with each category were: positive attitudes about life and/or self (17 items), negative attitudes about life and/or self (17 items), positive mood changes (four items), negative mood changes and antisocial/negative social effects (eight items). Two additional categories were comprised of one item each: positive behavior change and negative behavior change. For scoring purposes, the eight category scores based on a total of 60 items were expressed as the percentage of the maximum possible score. The items in each of the categories of the Persisting Effects Questionnaire are available online as electronic supplementary material, Table 2. The remaining 23 items in the questionnaire that did not readily fit into the categories predominately reflected aspects of spirituality and mystical experience; these domains were characterized by other outcome measures. The questionnaire also included these three questions: (1) How personally meaningful was the experience (rated 1= no more than routine, everyday experiences; 2= similar to meaningful experiences that occur on average once or more a week; 3=similar to meaningful experiences that occur on average once a month; 4=similar to meaningful experiences that occur on average once a year; 5=similar to meaningful experiences that occur on average once every 5 years; 6=among the 10 most meaningful experiences of my life; 7=among the 5 most meaningful experiences of my life; and 8=the single most meaningful experience of my life)? (2) Indicate the degree to which the experience was spiritually significant to you (rated 1=not at all, 2=slightly, 3=moderately, 4=very much, 5=among the 5 most spiritually significant experiences of my life, and 6=the single most spiritually significant experience of my life). (3) Do you believe that the experience and your contemplation of that experience have led to change in your current sense of personal well- being or life satisfaction (rated +3=increased very much, +2=increased moderately, +1=increased slightly, 0=no change, - 1=decreased slightly, - 2=decreased moderately, and - 3=decreased very much)? This questionnaire was developed after the initiation of the study and was completed by all 24 of the 30 participants who thereafter received psilocybin and methylphenidate in counterbalanced order in the first two sessions (12 participants in each of the two drug orders). Mysticism Scale-Lifetime The Lifetime version of this previously described questionnaire instructed the participants to answer questions with reference to their total life experiences. This questionnaire was completed at screening and at 2 months after each session. Spiritual Transcendence Scale This 24-item questionnaire assesses a construct that reflects an individuals effort to create a broad sense of personal meaning in his or her life and has been shown to demonstrate cross-cultural generality (Piedmont 1999, 2005, 2006; Piedmont and Leach 2002). A total score and three empirically derived factors are scored: prayer fulfillment, universality, and connected- ness. This questionnaire was completed at screening and at 2 months after each session.
NEO Personality Inventory (NEO PI-R). This 241-item questionnaire, which was completed on a computer, permits the assessment of five major personality factors: neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness (Costa and McCrae 1992). This questionnaire was completed at screening and at 2 months after each session. PANAS-X (Positive and Negative Affect Schedule Expanded Form). This 60-item questionnaire permits the assessment of two broad general factors (positive affect and negative affect) accounting for most of the variance in selfrated affect (Watson and Clark 1994, 1997). The version of the questionnaire used instructed the participants to answer questions based on how they feel on the average. This questionnaire was completed at screening and at 2 months after each session. Community observer ratings of changes in participants behavior and attitudes. After acceptance into the study, each participant designated three adults who were expected to have continuing contact with the participant (e.g., family members, friends, or coworkers/colleagues at work) such that they would be likely to observe changes in the participants behavior and attitudes that might occur during the study. Ratings by the designated individuals were conducted via a structured telephone interview approximately 1 week after the participant had been accepted into the study and 7 to 8 weeks after each of the drug sessions. The interviewer provided no information to the community volunteer about the participant. Furthermore, most of the interviews (60%) were conducted by a research assistant who had never met the participant and had no knowledge about the participants experiences during drug sessions. The structured interview consisted of asking the rater to rate the volunteer s behavior and attitudes using a ten-point scale (from 1=not at all to 10=extremely) on 11 dimensions that were identified from prior research (Pahnke 1963; Richards et al. 1977; Doblin 1991) as possibly sensitive to the effects of psilocybin. The rated dimensions were: inner peace, patience, good- natured humor/playfulness, mental flexibility, optimism, anxiety, interpersonal perceptiveness and caring, negative expression of anger, compassion/social concern , expression of positive emotions (e.g., joy, love, appreciation), and self-confidence. On the first rating occasion, which occurred soon after acceptance into the study, the raters were instructed to base their ratings on observations of and conversations with the participant over the past 3 months. On subsequent ratings, which occurred 7 to 8 weeks after each session, the raters were told their previous ratings and were instructed to rate the participant based on interactions over the last several weeks. The data from each interview with each rater were calculated as a total score, with anxiety and anger scored negatively. The changes in participants behavior and attitudes after drug sessions were expressed as a mean change score from the preceding rating across the raters. A failure to interview all three of the raters after one of the drug sessions resulted in elimination of 4 of the 30 participants who received psilocybin and methylphenidate in counterbalanced order on the first two sessions. Of the 52 rating occasions in the 26 participants, the majority (83%) involved interviews with all three raters on each rating occasion, with all of the remaining interviews conducted with two raters. Data analyses The data were statistically analyzed for the 30 participants who received psilocybin and methylphenidate in counterbalanced order on the first two sessions. Physiological and monitor rating questionnaire assessed throughout the session Two sets of analyses were conducted. For the first, a two-factor analysis of variance was used with drug (psilocybin and methylphenidate) and time (10 min before and 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 h after capsule administration) as within-subject factors. The mean square error term for the drug time interaction was then used to conduct Tukeys honestly significant differences (HSD) post hoc tests comparing psilocybin and methylphenidate at each post-drug-administration time point. For the second set of analyses, the peak scores during the time- course were defined as the maximum value from 0.5 to 6 h after capsule administration, and temporally based measures (i.e., minutes sleeping and minutes speaking) were summed across the eight post-capsule time-points. Paired t tests were used to compare psilocybin and methylphenidate conditions. Measures assessed 7 h after drug administration Paired t tests were used to compare psilocybin and methylphenidate conditions on the three measures of subjective drug effect (Hallucinogen Rating Scale, APZ, and Addiction Research Center Inventory) and the two questionnaires assessing mystical experience (States of Consciousness Questionnaire and Mysticism Scale). Measures assessed 2 months post-session Paired tests were used to compare psilocybin and methylphenidate conditions for the 24 participants who completed the Persisting Effects Questionnaire and the 26 participants for whom complete data were obtained for the community observer ratings of changes in participants attitudes and behavior. The remaining four questionnaires completed 2 months post-session (NEO, PANAS-X, Mysticism Scale-Lifetime, and Spiritual Transcendence Scale) provide general measures of personality, affect, and spirituality that could result in
carry-over effects from post-session 1 to post-session 2. Accordingly, these data were analyzed using the following planned comparisons: (1) comparison (test) of data obtained at screening for the group of participants that received psilocybin in session 1 ( N=15) with that for the group that received methylphenidate in session 1 (N=15), (2) comparison ( t test) of post-session 1 data for the group of participants that received psilocybin in session 1 (N=15) with the group that received methylphenidate in session 1 (N=15), and (3) comparison (paired test) of data post- session 1 with data post-session 2 for the group of participants that received methylphenidate on session 1 and psilocybin on session 2 ( N=15). Results Integrity of blinding procedures The integrity of the blinding procedures was assessed by having the monitors complete a questionnaire after each session on which they guessed the capsule content and a questionnaire at the end of the study on which they provided their guesses about the study design. Overall, 23% of sessions were misclassified (methylphenidate identified as psilocybin or psilocybin identified as something other than psilocybin) by one or both of the monitors. The primary and most experienced monitor had an overall misclassification rate of 17%. Most misclassification errors involved rating a methylphenidate session as psilocybin. It is interesting to note that even the primary monitor, however, sometimes rated the psilocybin condition, which was a high dose, as being something other than psilocybin. On two of the three occasions on which this occurred, the participants subsequently rated their experiences as among the five most meaningful and spiritually significant experiences of their lives. These observations suggest that the experiences reported during psilocybin sessions were not merely artifacts of monitor expectation or suggestion. At the conclusion of the study, the primary monitor and the assistant monitor completed a debriefing questionnaire in which they provided their guesses about the study design. Both monitors believed that a range of psilocybin doses had been administered as well as other active drugs and placebo. Caffeine, dextromethorphan, and diphenhydramine were thought likely to be the other drugs administered, and the primary monitor specifically guessed, based on his previous clinical experience, that methylphenidate had not been administered. Thus, we conclude that the blinding procedures overall were adequately maintained despite the differences in the pharmacological profiles of psilocybin and methylphenidate. Blood pressure, heart rate, and monitor ratings throughout the session Both psilocybin and methylphenidate produced significant and orderly time-related effects. For both drugs, the onset of significant blood pressure and monitor-rated effects occurred either at the 30- or 60-min assessment, with the effects generally peaking from 90 to 180 min and decreasing toward pre-drug-administration levels over the remainder of the session (Fig. 1). Heart rate increased by experiences of their lives. These observations suggest that the experiences reported during psilocybin sessions were not merely artifacts of monitor expectation or suggestion. At the conclusion of the study, the primary monitor and the assistant monitor completed a debriefing questionnaire in which they provided their guesses about the study design. Both monitors believed that a range of psilocybin doses had been administered as well as other active drugs and placebo. Caffeine, dextromethorphan, and diphenhydramine were thought likely to be the other drugs administered, and the primary monitor specifically guessed, based on his previous clinical experience, that methylphenidate had not been administered. Thus, we conclude that the blinding procedures overall were adequately maintained despite the differences in the pharmacological profiles of psilocybin and methylphenidate. Blood pressure, heart rate, and monitor ratings throughout the session Both psilocybin and methylphenidate produced significant and orderly time-related effects. For both drugs, the onset of significant blood pressure and monitor-rated effects occurred either at the 30- or 60-min assessment, with the effects generally peaking from 90 to 180 min and decreasing toward pre-drug-administration levels over the remainder of the session (Fig. 1). Heart rate increased by about 10 bpm for both drugs and remained significantly elevated over the pre-drug value throughout the session. The volunteers were rated as showing very low sleepiness/ sedation and restlessness during sessions, with no differences between the psilocybin and methylphenidate conditions (Table 1). The volunteers had a significantly greater number of minutes talking with the monitors after methylphenidate than psilocybin (72 vs. 51 min, during the 6 h after capsule ingestion), although after psilocybin they had more physical contact (e.g., handholding) with the monitor (24 vs. 58 min) and higher peak ratings of stimulation/ arousal and spontaneous motor activity (Fig. 2; Table 1). It is also noteworthy that, during psilocybin sessions, the participants were rated as being less responsive to questions, further from ordinary reality, and showing greater emotionality as reflected in peak ratings of tearing/crying, anxiety/ fearfulness, joy/intense happiness, and peace/harmony (Fig. 2; Table 1). Drug effect and mysticism measures assessed 7 h after drug administration Hallucinogen-sensitive questionnaires The three questionnaires developed for sensitivity to hallucinogenic drugs showed differences between psilocybin and methylphenidate (Table 2). All six scales of the Hallucinogen Rating Scale, all three scales on the APZ Questionnaire,
and the LSD scale of the ARCI were significantly higher after psilocybin than after methylphenidate. These differences reflect the fact that, after psilocybin, the participants experienced alterations in mood, affect, and cognition typical of hallucinogenic drugs. These included perceptual changes (e.g., visual pseudo-hallucinations, illusions, and synesthesias), labile moods (e.g., feelings of transcendence, grief, joy, and/or anxiety), and cognitive changes (e.g., sense of meaning and/or ideas of reference). A mixed pattern of results occurred on the other scales of the ARCI. The PCAG subscale, which is sensitive to sedative drugs, was higher after psilocybin. It is interesting to note that the two stimulant scales showed opposite effects. The amphetamine scale (A), which was designed to show dose-related sensitivity to amphetamine, was significantly higher after psilocybin than after methylphenidate. However, the benzedrine group scale (BG), which measures amphetamine-induced increases in self-control, efficiency, and concentration, was significantly higher after methylphenidate than after psilocybin. Finally, the morphine-benzedrine group (MBG) scale, which is considered a measure of drug-induced euphoria, did not differ significantly between the drug conditions. Measures of mystical experience At 7 h after capsule administration, the volunteers also completed two questionnaires designed to assess primary mystical experiences based on classic phenomenological descriptions from the psychology of religion (Table 3). The total score and all three empirically derived factors of the Mysticism Scale and all seven scales on States of Consciousness. Questionnaire were significantly higher after psilocybin than after methylphenidate. Based on a priori criteria, 22 of the total group of 36 volunteers had a complete mystical experience after psilocybin (ten, nine, and three participants in the first, second, and third session, respectively) while only 4 of 36 did so after methylphenidate (two participants each in the first and second sessions). Measures assessed 2 months post-sessions Persisting Effects Questionnaire As shown in Table 4, compared to methylphenidate, psilocybin produced significantly greater elevations in ratings of positive attitudes, mood, social effects, and behavior; the negative ratings of these same dimensions were very low and did not differ across the drug conditions. This questionnaire also included ratings of the personal meaningfulness and spiritual significance of the experience and whether the experience changed their sense of well being or life satisfaction. Table 4 shows that these ratings were significantly higher after psilocybin than after methylphenidate. It is remarkable that 67% of the volunteers rated the experience with psilocybin to be either the single most meaningful experience of his or her life or among the top five most meaningful experiences of his or her life (Fig. 3). In written comments, the volunteers judged the meaningfulness of the experience to be similar, for example, to the birth of a first child or death of a parent. Thirty-three percent of the volunteers rated the psilocybin experience as being the single most spiritually significant experience of his or her life, with an additional 38% rating it to be among the top five most spiritually significant experiences. In written comments about their answers, the volunteers often described aspects of the experience related to a sense of unity without content (pure consciousness) and/or unity of all things. After methylphenidate, in contrast, 8% of volunteers rated the experience to be among the top five (but not the single most) spiritually significant experiences. Seventy- nine percent of the volunteers rated that the psilocybin experience increased their current sense of personal well being or life satisfaction moderately (50%) or very much (29%), in contrast to 17 and 4%, respectively, after methylphenidate. No volunteer rated either the psilocybin or methylphenidate experience as having decreased their sense of well being or life satisfaction. Personality and affect None of the factors on the two widely used questionnaires assessing five factors of personality (NEO and PI-R) and measures of general positive and negative affect (PANA S-X) was differentially affected by psilocybin. At screening and at 2 months after session 1, there were no significant differences between the group that received psilocybin on the first session (N=15) and the group that received methylphenidate on the first session (N=15). Furthermore, within the latter group, there were no significant changes from post-session 1 to post-session 2. Lifetime assessment of mystical experience and spirituality Two additional questionnaires completed 2 months after each session provided lifetime measures of mystical experiences (Mysticism Scale) and spirituality (Spiritual Transcendence Scale). As with the measures of personality and affect, there were no significant differences at screening between the group that received psilocybin on the first session (N=15) and the group that received methylphenidate on the first session (N=15). As shown in Fig.4, at 2 months after the first session, lifetime mystical experience and spiritual transcendence scores were significantly higher in the group that received psilocybin on the first session than the group that received methylphenidate on the first session. At 2 months after the second session, the scores in the group that received psilocybin on the second session increased significantly on both measures. As expected, because these scores reflect lifetime measures, these scores did not decrease after the second session in the group that received psilocybin on the first session.
Community observer ratings of changes in participants and behavior and attitudes Table 4 shows that, compared to methylphenidate, psilocybin sessions were associated with small but significant positive changes in the participants behavior and attitudes. Fear, anxiety/dysphoria, and ideas of reference/paranoia According to monitor ratings, post-session ratings and written comments by the monitors and the participants, and postsession interviews with the participants, many participants reported mild or moderate anticipatory anxiety at the beginning of sessions. In post-session ratings, 11 of the 36 total volunteers after psilocybin and none after methylphenidate rated on the States of Consciousness Questionnaire their experience of fear sometime during the session to be strong or extreme. Four volunteers (all of whom had high post-session fear ratings) reported that their entire session was dominated by anxiety or unpleasant psychological struggle (i.e., dysphoria). Four others (again, all of whom had high post-session fear ratings) reported that a significant portion of their session was characterized by anxiety/dysphoria. Although the onset of episodes of notable anxiety/dysphoria was most likely to occur shortly after onset of drug effect, there were occasions on which onset occurred later in the session when drug effects were subsiding. Anxiety/dysphoria occurred when psilocybin was administered on the first (two participants), second (four participants), and third (two participants) sessions, suggesting that longer preparation time and being unblinded to psilocybin administration were not protective. Six of the eight volunteers with a notable anxiety/dysphoria response had mild, transient ideas of reference/paranoid thinking sometime during the 6 h after psilocybin administration. These effects were readily managed with reassurance and did not persist beyond the session. Two of the eight volunteers compared the experience to being in a war and three indicated that they would never wish to repeat an experience like that again. Despite these psychological struggles, most of these participants rated the overall experience as having personal meaning and spiritual significance and no volunteer rated the experience as having decreased their sense of well being or life satisfaction. Discussion The present double-blind study shows that psilocybin, when administered under comfortable, structured, interpersonally supported conditions to volunteers who reported regular participation in religious or spiritual activities, occasioned experiences which had marked similarities to classic mystical experiences and which were rated by volunteers as having substantial personal meaning and spiritual significance. Furthermore, the volunteers attributed to the experience sustained positive changes in attitudes and behavior that were consistent with changes rated by friends and family. The present study advances the empirical analysis of mystical experience. From a scientific perspective, most of what is known about mystical or religious experience is based on descriptive characterization of spontaneously occurring experience (Stace 1960; Spilka et al. 2005). Rigorous attempts to prospectively experimentally manipulate such experiences have generally been associated with only modest effects (e.g., Hood et al. 1990; Spilka et al. 2005). Although there are anecdotal reports from the clinical research in the 1960s of hallucinogens occasioning religious experiences, even when administered in a secular setting (Smith 1964; Masters and Houston 1966; Dobkin de Rios and Janiger 2003), a systematic study of such effects has been almost nonexistent. The most relevant study was one in which theological seminary students received either 30 mg psilocybin (ten participants) or 200 mg nicotinic acid (ten participants) in a group setting during a religious service (the Good Friday Experiment, Pahnke 1963; 1967; Doblin 1991). The participants who received psilocybin showed significant elevations on the Pahnke Mystical Experience Questionnaire and reported positive changes in attitudes and behavior at 6 months and at 25-year follow- up. Those results are consistent with the present study, which also demonstrated sustained increases on two closely related outcome measures (PahnkeRichards Mystical Experience Questionnaire and Persisting Effects Questionnaire). Significant limitations of the Pahnke study were that the participants were explicitly told that some would receive psilocybin and some would be controls, and that it was conducted in a group setting. These features resulted in the double-blind being quickly broken during the session, which presumably contributed to the assessed differences between the groups (Doblin 1991; Wulff 1991; Smith 2000). The present study represents an important extension of the Pahnke study using better blinding and comparison control procedures, assessment of effects in individual participants unconfounded by group interactions, empirically validated measures of mystical experience (the Mysticism Scale and the Spiritual Transcendence Scale), and assessment of effects by community observers. The credibility of the blinding procedure is reflected in the facts that the debriefing interviews with the monitors at the end of the study indicated that they remained unaware of the study design and that some volunteers rated their experience during the methylphenidate session as being among the most personally meaningful experiences of their lives (Fig. 3). The proportion of volunteers who fulfilled Pahnkes criteria for having a complete mystical experience (61%, 22 of 36) is somewhat higher than the 3040% reported by Pahnke in the Good Friday Experiment (cf. Pahnke1967, p 67). It seems likely that the greater preparation time (at least 8 versus 3 h in the Pahnke study) and the differences in context (individual sessions with an eye mask and music in an aesthetic room verses the Pahnke study conducted in a group
setting with 30 individuals, some of whom were acting bizarrely) likely contributed to this difference. The present study provides no evidence that preparation beyond that given before the first session produced an increase in the incidence of a mystical experience (i.e., on the first, second, and third session, respectively, 67, 60, and 50% of participants who received psilocybin met the criteria for a complete mystical experience) or a decrease in the incidence of anxiety/dysphoria. The extent to which the study population limits the generalizability of the results is unknown. The participants in this study were hallucinogen-nave, well educated, psycho- logically stable, and middle-aged adults, who reported regular participation in religious or spiritual activities. In particular, it seems plausible that the religious or spiritual interest of the participants may have increased the likelihood that the psilocybin experience would be interpreted as having substantial spiritual significance and personal meaning. It is also unknown how the hallucinogen-nave status of the participants affected either the intensity or qualitative interpretation of the experience. Recruiting volunteers without histories of use avoided the problem of participant selection bias in which individuals who had previously had positive experiences with hallucinogens would have been most likely to participate. However, it is also possible that the novelty of the experience in hallucinogen-nave individuals enhanced both the intensity and the personal and spiritual significance of the experience. An important finding of the present study is that, with careful volunteer screening and preparation and when sessions are conducted in a comfortable, well-supervised setting, a high dose of 30 mg/70 kg psilocybin can be administered safely. It is also noteworthy that, despite meetings and prior sessions with monitors ranging from 8 h (when psilocybin was administered on the first session) up to 24 h (when psilocybin was administered on the third session) of contact time, 22% (8 of 36) of the volunteers experienced a period of notable anxiety/dysphoria during the session, sometimes including transient ideas of reference/ paranoia. No volunteer required pharmacological intervention and the psychological effects were readily managed with reassurance. The primary monitor remained accessible via beeper/phone to each volunteer for 24 h after each session, but no volunteer called before the scheduled follow-up meeting on the next day. The 1-year follow-up is ongoing but has been completed by most volunteers (30 of 36). In that follow-up, an open-ended clinical interview reflecting on the study experiences and current life situation provides a clinical context conducive to the spontaneous reporting of study-associated adverse events. To date, there have been no reports of persisting perceptional phenomena sometimes attributed to hallucinogen use or of recreational abuse of hallucinogens, and all participants appear to continue to be high-functioning, productive members of society. The results of the present study have implications for understanding the abuse of hallucinogens. Although psilocybin is regulated by the federal government under the most restrictive category (Schedule I) of the Controlled Substances Act, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (2001, 2005) does not consider psilocybin and the other classical hallucinogens to be drugs of addiction because they do not produce compulsive drug-seeking behavior as do classic addicting drugs such as cocaine, amphetamine, heroin, and alcohol. This conclusion is consistent with observations that psilocybin and other classic hallucinogens do not maintain reliable drug self-administration in animal laboratory models of drug abuse (Griffiths et al. 1980; Fantegrossi et al. 2004) and that most recreational users of classical hallucinogens decrease or stop their use over time (National Institute on Drug Abuse 2001). In the present study, psilocybin did not produce a classic euphorigenic profile of effects: measures of anxiety and dysphoria (monitor ratings of anxiety: AIA scale on the APZ Questionnaire, LSD scale on the ARCI) were significantly greater after psilocybin than after methylphenidate. How- ever, the present study also shows that, in some people under some conditions, psilocybin can occasion experiences that are rated as highly valued. This seems a likely mechanism underlying the long-term historical use of psilocybin and other hallucinogens such as DMT within some cultures for divinatory or religious purposes. While there is no indication that carefully monitored clinical exposure of psilocybin to hallucinogen-nave volunteers results in subsequent abuse (present study; Gouzoulis-Mayfrank, personal communication; Yensen and Dryer, (1992) 1;Leuner 1981), the epidemic of hallucinogen abuse in the 1960s raises an important cautionary note. Abuse of hallucinogens can be exacerbated under conditions in which hallucinogens are readily available illicitly and the potential harms to both the individual and society are misrepresented or understated. It is important that the risks of hallucinogen use not be underestimated. Even in the present study in which the conditions of volunteer preparation and psilocybin administration were carefully designed to minimize adverse effects, with a high dose of psilocybin 31% of the group of carefully screened volunteers experienced significant fear and 17% had transient ideas of reference/paranoia. Under unmonitored conditions, it is not difficult to imagine such effects escalating to panic and dangerous behavior. Also, the role of hallucinogens in precipitating or exacerbating enduring psychiatric conditions and long-lasting visual perceptual disturbances should remain a topic of research (Abraham et al. 1996; Halpern and Pope 1999). In conclusion, the present study showed that, when administered to volunteers under supportive conditions, psilocybin occasioned experiences similar to spontaneously occurring mystical experiences and which were evaluated
by volunteers as having substantial and sustained personal meaning and spiritual significance. The ability to prospectively occasion mystical experiences should permit rigorous scientific investigations about their causes and consequences, providing insights into underlying pharmacological and brain mechanisms, non-medical use and abuse of psilocybin and similar compounds, as well as the short-term and persisting effects of such experiences.
The Wall Street Journal even hopped on the train and posted:
Go Ask Alice Mushroom Drug Is Studied Anew, By RON WINSLOW

July 11, 2006; Page B1
http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB115258280486902994okIo62E597AxzQTYEo9_1lquu8E_20070710.html?mod Like all the other stories, the research that FMRC and the National Cancer Institute did was not even mentioned. Maybe like a lot of other government documents that always seem to turn up missing, so has that research. The National Cancer Institute or NCI is itself a Federal Institute. And then, maybe they didnt even check! Slp/fmrc
Mushroom harvesting East Bay Regional Parks District News Category: Business
------------------------------John Allen, Mushroom John
They're out there carrying field guides and baskets, lurking in the parks and open land of the East Bay hills and flinching every time they hear a car roll by. They're poaching wild mushrooms from public land, and a crew of armed officers is hunting for them. The officers and their prey are locked in a thorny battle over the uses of public land and the environmental impacts of mushroom harvesting. The Chanterelle pickers call their hobby a right; the officers who bust them call it a crime. Biologists tend to side with the thieves, but they're not making the rules. Meanwhile, rumors fly that the rangers hunt fungi themselves or eat the confiscated mushrooms back at the station, and law-abiding citizens wonder where they can gather wild food without risking a hefty fine. Where's a hungry, modern-day hunter-gatherer to turn for sustenance?
Not the East Bay Hills, apparently. The East Bay Regional Parks District and East Bay Municipal Utility District each employ a phalanx of rangers whose duties include educating the public and protecting their respective agencies' lands, which together cover an area about one-fifth the size of Rhode Island. The rangers can call in mushroom offenses to the 72 guntoting Park District officers, who are authorized to issue citations. "We know all the best spots from busting people," said utility district Ranger Naturalist Joe Scornaienchi. "It's just standard practice, you can't take any plants, animals or anything." The park cops take their responsibility seriously. "Looking for mushroom hunters is part of the routine patrol," said watch commander Lt. Wayne Morimoto. "We prioritize issues that relate to public safety or theft or vandalism."
Mushroom hunters don't see their hobby like that. "All that land, East Bay MUD, East Bay Regional Parks, even UC Berkeley land, that's our land," said Charlie Hallowell, chef and owner of Oakland's Pizzaiolo restaurant. "That's public land, right? That's what I'm paying taxes for, right? Part of the natural bounty that exists here is these wonderful mushrooms. There's a reason they're so delicious. They want us to eat them!" Chanterelles are a standard topping on Hallowell's gourmet organic pizzas and he is an avid mushroom hunter. "It's horrible," agrees Mark Lockaby, two-time vice president and president of the Mycological Society of San Francisco, the country's largest collection of mushroom maniacs. "We're the laughing joke of the world. People have always foraged for food. Everywhere in the world people do this, most places in the country too. California is the only place in the country with such strict regulations. Some Scandinavian countries allow you to hunt for mushrooms and berries on all lands, public and private. It's actually a constitutional right." The Alaska state constitution guarantees subsistence rights on all public land state residents can catch fish, hunt game, pick berries, and look for wild mushrooms but there are no such rights here. Although enforcement is executed by just one agency, East Bay Regional Parks
District land ranges over twelve different court jurisdictions, and the amount of the fine is at the discretion of individual judges. The most lenient have been known to drop all charges, while the strictest have upheld fines as stiff as $675. Mike Boom, another former president of the Mycological Society, thinks there's additional danger in these regulations. "If there are laws people think are ridiculous, then they start disrespecting other laws as well," he notes. In the early 1990s, the Mycological Society staged a rebellion, appealing to state parks officials to allow some mushroom hunting, or to open up other land to the activity. The society achieved a small victory with the decision to allow mushroom hunting up to five pounds per person per day in three California State Parks. Two are in Marin County Samuel P. Taylor and Tomales Bay State Parks and the third is Salt Point State Park in Mendocino County. National Forests, where permits are free, are the state's best bets for mushroom gathering. However, desperate urban foragers have been known to turn to city parks, median strips, and other city land where there are no official regulations yet. East bay Express, Saturday March 23, 2006
http://www.eastbayexpress.com/Issues.../cit yside.html
---------------------------------
Frozen Mushroom Tea

You cant freeze fresh mushrooms, but I can tell you that you can freeze the mushroom tea in a plastic jug. Set it out and only thaw out what you are going to drink. This allows the remaining tea to never thaw and stay frozen. This way the tea can be kept for very long periods of time. This method may very well be the best method of all for holding the magic for the longest periods of time. The longest time I know of was 3 years. Then, there just was no more to save.... grin. I have discussed this years ago with Sasha (Shulgin) and he agrees this should work. I, on the other hand, know for sure that it works........I'll invoice you guys later for that bit of information.......grin. This method was given in one of the TEO Back Issues. Copyrighted Material slp/fmrc #17 TEO August 2006 Page 24
Da Vinci's Painting The Last Supper Look at the left hand of Jesus; it will be on the right in your view. He is pointing to dried Amanita muscaria. The caps seem to be lined up in front of the people at the table. Notice the other food placed upon the table. You also see actual bread. ================
A Post On The Web: "I created this tribe after having the unique opportunity of working with ethnobotanist/mycologist/author Donald E. Teeter. He's been studying the Amanita for many years. Through extensive research and experiments, Mr. Teeter has uncovered the lost knowledge and ancient alchemy of Amanita Muscaria, also known as "Soma" and 107 other Sanskrit names. It has been a myth for about a hundred years or so (since the beginning of mycology), that one cannot grow or cultivate Amanita Muscaria. We now know that this is inaccurate. Mushrooms are the fruit of the fungus, whereas it's mycelium would be considered it's root system and actual "plant" one might say. Mr. Teeter has found it possible; in fact, anyone can do it, to regrow the mycelium. With this mycelium, you can grow it in grape juice, or on barley grains, which will end up being chock-full of ibotenic acid. Ibotenic acid is found in fresh AM specimens. When dried, the Ibotenic Acid decarboxylizes into Muscimol, the psychoactive constituent of AM. Ibotenic Acid that you grow in grape juice, or whichever medium you choose, can be heated to convert it into Muscimol. You are now left with Muscimol Juice, that tastes great, and gives some of the most curious and fascinating experiences. The
Growing Amanita Muscaria on Grape Juice As Claimed By Donald E. Teeter
experience can be as mild as cannabis, or could become psychedelic, depending upon the potency and how much you drink. I forgot to mention, that when grown on barley grains, you can then make bread out of it. Since the mycelium grows larger in the grape juice and barley grains, you then can take that mycelium to inoculate more juice or grains, and can continue to do this over and over. This is why the ancients called it the Immortal God.
Now, this has raised a great debate and question about Jesus and Christ. It is obvious to me, that this is how Jesus made The Living Bread, capable of making thousands of loaves of bread. It also makes sense how one could turn water into wine. In Donald E. Teeter's book: "Amanita Muscaria; Herb of Immortality", the author explores these matters. Giving many examples, references, and almost undeniable theories about every major religion. If we are all sparks of The Divine, how can one be separated as "The Annointed One"? Why did Jesus speak of The Christ in third person? In my opinion, if we are all emanations of God, the only true "prophets" (God on Earth) are sacraments. These are subjects that I am ecstatic about exploring with all of you. This ancient knowledge goes much deeper than I can post on one thread. I hope to help everyone create their own Holy Grail, Amanita Wine, Soma, and gain input from everyone in an open discussion. Like I said, this is a basic intro. I would love to hear what everyone else knows about amanitas. Namaste. -T Doe : http://tribes.tribe.net/ambrosia-soc...5-b00b6d356a37
Hate to be the one to tell you.....this is all a bunch of crap. Amanita muscaria has been maintained for many years on PDA. It is the preferred method of the ATCC Culture bank for some 50 years. Never grape juice. The fungus he grows on grape juice produces black spores...........What color are Amanita spores? White! Also, I did articles many, many, years ago about how to clone Amanita. Only the cap tissue that is connected to the gill of any Amanita, will transfer to agar...Now that you have heard the truth from someone who really knows, please do go on with yourself...for the Teeter thingy is no more than gibberish and I am shocked at how you put it here...being a global mod that is. slp/fmrc The Teeter culture has been examined. It's growth makes black spores. It produces no mushroom but is a lower class fungus. Go over to ADM and look it up. Species....all et. is there. Amanita mycelium can be grown on grain, and can produce compounds. I have done articles on doing this many years ago. And you know nothing about my last 15 years of research on these mushrooms and how many different types of Amanita I have fruited. I plan to release some astonishing findings in the future in a special Monograph on all this. I'm telling you NO AMANITA GENUS MUSHROOM MYCELIUM WILL GROW ON GRAPE JUICE...and that's the end of that story...slp/fmrc
Here...read this: I think that the fungus that is grown is not an Amanita but a Mucor (black pin mold), a species that may be toxic. Here are some citations which hopefully raise the necessary alarm flags: First two quotes from Teeters booklet entitled "Amanita Muscaria; Herb of Immortality": page 38, in a section entitled Observations on the Resurrection of Amanita Muscaria: "In the dark, the mycelium is actually a pure snowy white; this quickly changes on exposure to light, to a silvery, bluish gray color. Occasionally there is a brownish tint. After the mycelium has been observed a few times it is easy to recognize, it is very distinctive in appearance, and the color change from light is another identifying mark." Page 51, in a section entitled Making Living Bread: "If everything goes right by the 36-48 hour, small areas of white hairy growth should be plainly visible to the naked eye scattered through the grain. Under ideal conditions the Fungus will completely colonize the grain between 60 to 72 hours after being placed into the jars. When the grain is completely colonized the Amanita Muscaria fungus will have grown out of the grain 1-2 inches, and be pure white to a light gray white in color. It is very important to harvest the living bread at the right time, if the culture is allowed to grow past this point the top will quickly turn black with a massive amount of spores." Yeah. Read that again: TURN BLACK!!! A. muscaria spores are WHITE! And 36-48 hours is much, much to fast for a mycorrhizal mushroom mycelium in sterile liquid culture. Not convinced? Then here is another interesting quote. This time from page 290 of Chilton & Stamets THE MUSHROOM CULTIVATOR (Agarikon Press Wa. 1983), from the chapter which describes the most common contaminants in mushroom culture: Mucor (Black pin mold; the black bread mold): a fast growing fungus forming an interwoven dense mycelial mat, whitish at first...soon becoming grayish and then blackish overall with spore production. When Mucor sporulates, it appears like a "forest of black headed pins". On malt agar the sporangiophores [i.e. the spores R] often do not form, making the identification difficult. [snip] Some species are toxic. Mucor pusillus and other mucoraceous fungi are the cause of a rare but deadly disease known as mucormycosis or phycomycosis. Although Mucor attacks open wounds, the outer ear and the lungs, it is not a primary parasite but one that takes advantage of poor health caused from other diseases." So far, The MUSHROOM CULTIVATOR. Here is Poster again. Indeed the problem of Mucor is that it appears white for a long time. It is difficult to see the difference with healthy mushroom mycelium. Under a microscope, the mold gives its identity away by not forming 'clamp connections' (connections between the mycelium threads or hyphae which are unique for mushroom forming fungi), as well as an enormous speed of growth. #17 TEO August 2006 Page
27 Copyrighted
A simple but somewhat time-consuming technique to recognize a Mucor mold is to place a piece of the mycelium on a slice of bread, put the slice in a thin plastic bag and wait a week. If it is Mucor then it will form its black spores.
"Duuuh.....it even grows on bread! I have never seen Amanita mycelium grow on bread.........slp/fmrc" Growing Amanita muscaria on PDA or PD Liquid is just plain common knowledge among professional mycologists.. Posters response: Possible, but I have been unsuccessful in finding pictures of Amanita muscaria mycelium growing on agar anywhere on the net. If it were that easy I would expect that Mycotopia, Shroomery and others hosted a lot of those pictures. Many vendors would be selling the cultures. And since all my attempts to clone that mushroom resulted in perfectly sterile agar media (not growing tissue) I wonder if that mushroom really can be grown on agar.http://groups.google.com/group/alt.drugs.mushrooms/browse_thread/threa d/daa3209b6f4a52cf/9ce8bcfde6b39e66?q=Teeter&rnum=4#9ce8bcfde6b39e66 Samples of that mycelium were analyzed by Dr. Ivors http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/fletcher/staff/ivors/. She wrote: I did a few things to his sample. I looked at it under a compound microscope at 40X. It appeared I could find a few clamp connections, but it was hard to tell because of the age and condition of the tissue submitted. There were tons of other nasty looking spores and structures that were not from Basidiomycetes fungi, i.e. the sample was quite contaminated with other fungi. I also tried to find Amanita muscaria DNA in the tissue from doing a quick DNA extraction, then sequencing some of the reactions, and I could not find it- but if it was there it would probably take a while to find among all the other junk. A. muscaria does not produce black spores, so if his grain is producing such, he definitely has contamination. It is hard to work with grain because usually it must be sterilized twice, on consecutive days because of all the saprophytic fungi hanging out on grain after harvest and during storage. I do not believe a word he says about his technique based on what I found. He was not cultivating A. muscaria in vegetative state. Some Input from Brother Matt: #17 TEO August 2006 Page 28 Copyrighted Material
Now this has raised a great debate and question about Jesus and Christ. It is obvious to me, that this is how Jesus made the Living Bread, capable of making thousands of loaves of bread. It also makes sense how one could turn water into wine. The first thing I have to say about the miracle of the fishes and loaves and feeding of five thousand is this: It is our rational mind that wants a logical answer to the mystery of the miracle. But Gods word proclaims that He will turn the thinking of the wise into foolishness. That is to say, when Jesus walked on water, our rational minds shut down. We either accept the Scriptures interpretation or we reject it, proclaiming the Bible to be false. Now, if we can accept that he walked on water, why then is it too much to accept that he made regular bread out of this air via God the Father and the Holy Spirit? Therefore it isnt beyond Gods or Jesus Christs ability to do such a thing. However, if it seems reasonable to bring a logical explanation to the table of miracles, then be sure that it is truly logical. It isnt logical that Jesus would have carried jars full of grape juice and barley for 5000 into the wilderness. Instead, if we are serious students of the Word, we must look to what was said for clues. The bible mentions that the place where the masses were fed was on the far shore of Galilee and was lonely (a solitary place). The chances are good that these areas around the sea were pasture lands. Now the disciples were quoted as saying we have only five loaves of bread and two fish. Two pages back in the book of Matthew, chapter 13:11, Jesus has just said The knowledge of the secrets of the Kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. Therefore, I deem it highly unlikely that the Body of Christ was given to 5000 people not but days later. However, like Moses and the Manna from Heaven, fishes and loaves could be a metaphor for two varieties of edible but non-mind changing mushrooms. The pastures and wilderness are full of mushrooms and down through history they have indeed been called loaves. For example, the Penny Loaf is the folk name for the Kind Boletus. Mushrooms after all, were not called mushrooms until roughly 100 years ago. Before that, people most likely called them by the closest associations they could find. Thus, loaves for the big fat ones that looked like bread and fishes for the long skinny ones. Fishes work as a metaphoric association because they (mushrooms) have gills, scales, and heads and are vitally linked to water. So, if it wasnt purely a miracle, then it is logically possible that Jesus who had the people sit down in the grass, passed these edible mushrooms out and people literally picked up on it. Remember, even though many people currently believe Manna was a psychedelic, it is very unlikely that anyone would eat psychedelics for breakfast, lunch and dinner for 40 years. On If we are all sparks of The Divine, how can one be separated as "The Anointed One"? Why did Jesus speak of The Christ in third person? In my opinion, if we are all emanations of God, the only true "prophets" (God on Earth) are sacraments. #17 TEO August 2006 Page 29 Copyrighted Material
If we are all sparks of The Divine, how can one be separated as the Anointed One. This question is answered by knowing the difference between created by God and begotten or born of God. All of us including Adam and Eve were created by God, except for Christ. Much like a cup or a pot is created by a potter. The cup or the pot is not considered a Son or a Daughter of God, but are creations of God. We may be adopted by God and become Sons and Daughters of the Most High, but we dont start that way. We are created with the full capacity to become children of God, but we must reach out our hands accepting his grace, and then do our part. Things like Psilocybin simply allow us to become Elect of God. Simply put, Jesus was the Christ his whole life. Born of God and of Virgin, he was unified with God. However, he was not always empowered by God through the Holy Spirit and the Eucharist which he ate. Two examples were that Jesus mentions this food at the well in Samaria (John 4:11) where he says I have food to eat that you know nothing about to his disciples. Again, he mentions this living water which is what mushroom would best be described as (Psilocybin is 92% water, Peele. S.) at the Last Supper when he shares the sacred bluing bread and crushed juice of Psilocybin with them. Why Psilocybin and not Amanita? Because A. muscaria deadens the heart and conscience (which is the search light of God) and Psilocybin enlivens both of these while also increasing reasoning skills. First was because Jews would stone him if he proclaimed to be Christ too openly. The second reason Jesus used the third person to refer to himself is as follows; and this is drawn from Experiential Spirituality with Psilocybin. When you are fully caught up in the Spirit of Christ, you are not yourself. As the famous Jamaican Prophet Bob Marley said, I not ones self, God and man get together and in love I manage it, whats wrong with you, my brother. That saying really summarizes the answer to why Jesus referred to Christ as separate than himself. God overshadows the ego consciousness and the self is temporarily sent to the background. Jesus, because he was the only son born of God allowed God to come through him perfectly. We, as adopted sons and daughters, can do this as he did, inviting God to live in us through the Heavenly Manna. Finally, where Bob Marley says, Whats wrong with you, my brother, we see evidence for why Christ didnt parade the fact that he was the Anointed One. People get jealous and fearful at such a statement. Some will think that they are doing God a service to kill such a person.
These are subjects that I am ecstatic about exploring with all of you. This ancient knowledge goes much deeper than I can post on one thread. I hope to help everyone create their own Holy Grail, Amanita Wine, Soma, and gain input from everyone in an open discussion." Brother Matt
Please go to Tribe.net and check out the pictures I posted of AM mycelium growing on grape juice. http://tribes.tribe.net/ambrosia-society/photos #17 TEO August 2006 Page 30 Copyrighted Material
You are right about the fruit, Stephen. We are unable to re-grow the fruit (the mushroom), but the mycelium is immortal, and will grow and grow and grow as long as you keep providing it with nutrients. The mycelium itself sweats Ibotenic Acid, which then is heated to be decarboxylized, and you're left with Muscimol. Ibotenic Acid is just Muscimol with an extra CO2 molecule attached. Stephen, I respect your 15 years of research. As I'm sure you respect Don's 30 years. Please, though, try it. You obviously have access to his book, which BTW is incomplete since Don has discovered new techniques including pure culture methods, so give it a shot. Pasteurize some grape juice, let it cool, drop a small piece of AM mycelium, plug the bottle with PolyFill so that no contaminates get in, let it grow for six weeks, then see what happens with the drink. Before you drink it, though, remember to heat it to the temperature he recommends in his book so that you'll only be drinking Muscimol instead of Ibotenic Acid which, yes, can be toxic (not fatal, though, just un-enjoyable). Good luck. And I hope the rest of you remain skeptical like Stephen, but try it for yourself, and come to your own conclusion. Order the book or join Tribe.net Namaste. -T Doe I have been studying and living out in the middle of 57,000 acres for the last 15 years with Amanita muscaria. I have been picking and studying them since 1957. I got one better. Why don't you deposit the culture with CBS (CBS, Centraalbureau voor Schimmelcultures, Attention Dr G. Verkley, Fungus, PO Box 85167, 3508 AD Utrecht, The Netherlands, or with the ATCC, the USA's National Culture Bank. Send them a slant or dish of the culture. Identify it as Amanita muscaria. Also tell them that you hold the live culture on "Grape Juice". That should learn them a thing or two. When they check on the species, they will be able to ID it from DNA Banks they hold, just from the mycelium. You will get a letter back saying what it was and how they deposited it. And, send a sample to an analytical testing lab. Check in your phone book for a local one. When you receive the letters back stating that your Amanita muscaria culture has been accepted, I'd like to see that. And, when you get the analytical data back stating positive for Ibotenic Acid, and Muscimol, I would like to see this. All on the company's letterhead, of course. You make many bold statements, but show no documentive scientific proof. This goes against everything I have learned. And, as Ibotenic Acid is worth close to $70,000.00 a gram (Ibotenic Acid #I2765, 1 mg, isolated from Amanita sp., $73.45, Sigma Chemical Company, 1-800-325-8070)...there are 1,000 mg's in 1 gram (1996 price)...seems to me the price would come down...grin. I would suggest to others not to drink this until you know exactly what it is. Lord knows what mind-bending compounds, or possible slow acting toxins may be produced in the culture you hold, whatever the species is. I stand by my posts. And, until you show the proof I have respectfully asked for, I will stay firm that this "Living Culture", a possible Mucor that produces its own black spores showing it is a lower class fungi, is not Amanita muscaria, a culture that would not produce any spores. At least not until it produced a mushroom, and then the spores would be white...slp/fmrc #17 TEO August 2006 Page Copyrighted Material 31
Subscription Sale on Both Mushroom Journals

For over 20 years now FMRC has published the World's Only Color Mushroom Journals that come with actual "Spore Print Samples" affixed inside. And now, subscribing to these great Mushroom Journals is better than ever before. Order a TWO Year Subscription to "THE MUSHROOM CULTURE, The Journal of Mushroom Cultivation (TMC) for the low price of just $50.00 ($90.00 Outside of USA) and receive the 2 Disk Set of "THE GOSPEL OF MUSHROOMS," a $60.00 value! All the TMC Issues from #01 to #69 are on "THE GOSPEL. You will see all the mycological achievements made over the last 2 decades...all in COLOR! All the stories, all the events, its all here. A major Mycological Publishing Event! And, all you have to do is just place the disks into your computer, and you will be there to see it all! Or, you can order a TWO Year Subscription to "TEONANACATL" The International Journal of Psychoactive Mushrooms (TEO) for the same low price of just $50.00 ($90.00 for Outside of USA) and receive the TEO Issues #01-#13 on CD-ROM - a $40.00 value! When placing your order please state that you want to receive the free CD-ROMs. If you are already a subscriber, the 2 years will just be added to your current subscription. Here is one even better: Order BOTH Journals, and just send $75.00, and get both the CD-ROMs. This will save you Big Time....... Mail your request and payment made out to FMRC, POB 18105 Pensacola, FL 32523. Sorry, no online or credit card orders. The Florida Mycology Research Center (FMRC), Publisher. ------------------------------------
Spore Print Sample SO38

Psilocybe cubensis Edibility the Mushroom itself is poisonous, containing the toxins Psilocybin and Psilocin. For identification purposes only. To be compared with specimens collected from the wild to help make positive identification and prevent accidental poisoning. Hill Billy. Sent in by BuckarooBanzai.
----------------------------Posts Made By Stephen L. Peele

During his travels through the Cyber Cosmos The Black may be the purple/black spores from the mushroom. Mushrooms, including Ps. cubensis, will many times revert back to mycelium growth if they are left moist long enough. A trick I have used many times to get "cloned mycelium" from a mushroom. Especially ones that are very small and delicate making sterile tissue cuts impossible. Many times, to untrained eyes and "newbies", when they first see Ps. cubensis spores, they at first say they are black. Once they see the purple tint, and realize that there is actually a dark purple color in there, they never make the mistake againespecially if they have seen true black spores like from Panaeolus. The reverted mycelium that #17 TEO August 2006 Page 32 Copyrighted Material
comes off of the mushroom does look like mold...to the same said "newbies" & untrained eyes. Key in and take a closer look at the suspected mold that appears to be growing on the mushroom. Does it look like it could be the mushroom's mycelium that is cotton-like at first? Here is one test you will never forget. Does the suspected mold "blue" when you pinch and bruise it? Oh-oh...if it does, we have a new mold...grin. On the other hand, does it look like bread mold or cobweb? Is there any green, yellow, or red color? Are there small dark balls within the mold? If yes to any of these questions, they have gone bad and should not be eaten. And I would like to give another warning here...about boiling a tea and killing the bacteria. Bacteria harm our bodies in two types of ways. 1.) They get into our body and grow causing harm. 2.) They produce and excrete toxins that make you ill, or possibly death! If you are dealing with a type 2 bacterium, you can kill all of them you want. Toxins will still be present. You can still make yourself ill.......or possibly worse. And, [t]oxins which cause gastrointestinal illness are produced by enterotoxin-producing organisms. The most common type of food poisoning in the U.S.A. is that due to the toxin of certain Staphylococcus aureus. When food is contaminated with these organisms and held at or cooked to improper temperatures, toxins are produced. Once these bacterial toxins are ingested, the resulting gastrointestinal illness MedicalSurgical Nursing, page 1214 Etiology. And from page 931 Bacterial Toxins: Some diseases of the nervous system are caused by toxin-producing bacteria. The most common of these diseases are diphtheria, tetanus, and botulism. Botulism. The presynaptic endings at the neuromuscular junction are affected by the toxin produced by Clostridium. This exotoxin interferes in some poorly understood way with the release of acetylcholine quanta. Adams and Victor noted that more than half of the reported cases of botulism occur in the states of CA, WA, CO, NM, and OR. Trivalent antiserum is available for the treatment of botulism. Recovery, however, is most dependent on the effectiveness of supportive care, such as maintenance of respiratory function and fluid and electrolyte balance.. http://www.entheogen.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7941 -------------------Ibotenic Acid is listed in the Merck Index as a Fly Toxin......that is what kills the flies. Fly Agaric is named because one will "Fly" if they eat it. In the #15 TMC Jan 1992 there was an article I did "A Closely Guarded Secret by Renowned Chefs, Ibotenic Acid"......... "It has come to my attention that a certain mushroom many times is used in contests, and for special meal preparations. If a chef is famous for a certain dish, he may also know of this secret. Even when he gives out his famous recipe for meat loaf, your meat loaf for some reason is never as good as his. That is because he left out his secret ingredient. A small pinch of dried Amanita muscaria is sprinkled across the meat loaf. The Ibotenic Acid, even though in very small amounts, will be enough to enhance the flavor so much, it would no doubt win any contest. FMRC on several occasions has received orders for Amanita muscaria from chefs in Italy, France, and Germany." Copyrighted Material.......Placed here by owner for this groups information. slp/fmrc Copyrighted Material #17 TEO August 2006 Page 33
http://groups.google.com/group/alt.nature.mushrooms/post?hl=en&inreplyto=0b4dfce2a1 b47d66&reply_to=group&_done=%2Fgroup%2Falt.nature.mushrooms%2Fbrowse_threa d%2Fthread%2F44e34ecac434b6bd%2Fa00670652e7de3ec%3Fhl%3Den%26& ---------------------Your mushroom found in a cow pie.....looks like Chlorophyllum molybdites. Sometimes listed in field guides under Lepiota morganii. At first it will have white gills. These later change to "Green". The mature green gills produce green spores. The ring on the stalk will be a real nice one. Many times, if you work at it slow, you can make it come from the stalk, and slide it up and down the stalk like a napkin ring. It is usually found growing in grassy areas during good rains. I have never seen it grow from a pie. I am thinking it was growing from the grass, and the pie was just on top. Same problem many times when a mushroom growing from dirt looks like an Oyster or other wood growing mushroom. Dig under the dirt and you find a piece of buried wood! Oh by the way, if that mushroom does have greenish gills, that's almost a direct hit. It is one of the very few mushrooms that produce green spores. It is poisonous. Very severe gastro problem, crap blood, so on. Never heard of anyone dying from it, but many sure thought they were going to. I get more calls on that mushroom than any other from Poison Control Centers. I guess when new mushroom hunters find it and see the green gills, they think they have Psilocybin in them...oh-oh, they won't ever make that mistake again...slp/fmrc http://www.entheogen.com/forum/showthread.php?t=8003 ----------------------Although many claim that heat is what changes Ibotenic Acid to Muscimol, certain bands of UV light in sunlight cause the change very well. Because of this, you want to pick the nice ones out in direct sunlight, and dry them in direct sunlight. If you are after the Ibotenic Acid, very valuable, pushing $70,000 for a gram at Sigma, select ones in the shade, and machine dry these keeping them away from sunlight all the time. Did any of you ever see that movie "Altered States"? As they are climbing up the mountain the guy asks the old Indian "What kind of mushroom are we looking for?...............he answers "Amanita muscaria". The movie is based on a lot of work that Dr. Lilly did, showing that memory is a form of energy that can be passed on through the genes! Pretty amazing claim! But, he also gives some pretty amazing evidence!....slp/fmrc http://www.entheogen.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7979 -------------------------"Miss ID Grin??? A. Muscaria is one of the easiest to identify mushrooms out there :GRIN:" I make reference to the Blue Amanita, not Amanita muscaria. My first thought was it was not even an Amanita....Miss ID. But after looking at the picture, I must say it looks like an Amanita. I also see blue material in the background. I am thinking that maybe blue light, either caused or natural, is present. The mushrooms themselves could be a true white. Thus causing the white material in the background to also appear blue. It also would answer the question on why the "shading" comes out like it does. Copyrighted Material #17 TEO August 2006 Page 34
That's just a guess at what could have been done. One thing is for sure, I have never heard of a blue Amanita, except here, and have never seen one or other references..........slp/fmrc
The Berkshire Blue Amanita

This photograph was taken by the Late Professor McGinty, the only person ever to have found the infamous "Berkshire Blue" Amanita. While many mycologists believe that this is a fraudulent picture, others come to the Berkshires to walk the same woods frequented by the late, great McGinty, with hopes of finding this elusive mushroom for themselves. www.bms.iwarp.com/
http://www.entheogen.com/forum/showthread.php?t=8003&page=2 -----------------------Amanita Muscaria Season Is Coming Just an alert to all you who want to try and find Amanita muscaria. For the most part in the US, they appear once a year. This is in the Fall or Winter. It will be right around the time of the first frost. Here on the Panhandle of Florida, that is right around the end of November or the first part of December. Further north, like in parts of Virginia, the end of October or the first of November. They really like to "Mycorrhizal" up with pine trees. So if you know where there are a lot of pine trees, keep a watch on these areas during the times of said temperatures. Many times when riding down back roads, you can scan large areas by watching off the side of the road where there are a lot of pine trees. They only fruit for about 2 weeks. Then, they are gone until next year. There are certain types of flies that are not affected by the Ibotenic Acid (A Fly Toxin, MERCK Index). They will lay their eggs on these mushrooms. Check for worm holes, and more exact, fly maggots. Slice them for faster drying to help protect the ones you pick to dry, from said fly eggs. They are best sun dried as certain bands in the UV light changes the Ibotenic Acid into Muscimol. http://www.entheogen.com/forum/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=140 ------------------------Getting After the Dreaded Green Mold with Sunlight I have posted this many times before. Certain bands in the Sun's UV light kills the dreaded green. Just sit the project out where it gets some good sunlight. Now because "buttons" are grown in the dark and sunlight kills its mycelium, this trick can't be used. But for most all other species, this works good. I recently had a wheat straw bail #17 TEO August 2006 Page 35 Copyrighted Material
with Shiitake growing in it. Checked it one morning and man, there was a green patch about 8 inches across. I took it out of the large plastic bin it was in, and sat it out under some small shrubs where I felt there would be enough light. After 2 days, didn't look like much was going on. On the ninth day, not even the part that was into the straw could be found. I am not sure where all the Green went. Seems like, even if it were dead, you would still see the green spores. The only thing I can think of is that it was broke down so well, it lost its resistance and was just ate up by other organisms in the straw. Or, I guess the light would just have "bleached" out all the color.grin slp/fmrc http://forums.mycotopia.net/newreply.php?do=newreply&noquote=1&p=279293 --------------------------Cides And Mushroom Growing Glad I stopped by and read this thread. One of the main reasons these "cides" are EPA approved is because they degrade under sunlight (Certain UV Waves). So after a few days, the insecticides, or whatever cides, are no longer harmful. I did an article many years ago about this problem in the Mushroom Industry. When these cides are used in mushroom growing (Agaricus bisporus and the like) guess what? They get no sun. Guess what? You eat the cide! Sometimes the levels are high and this is not good. Haven't got the time right now to go back and look through all the back issues of TMC for the article. Maybe someone here will....Ever since I found out about this, I eat but just a few buttons anymore, never a huge plate full........slp/fmrc http://forums.mycotopia.net/showthread.php?p=279383&posted=1#post279383 -----------------------------------------
Own All the TEONANACATL Journals From The FIRST #01 Issue to The #13 Issue On CD-ROMAll in Color
No, we havent found out how to place spore print samples in our Electronic Issues, and we have not found out how to put them on ROMgrin. But kidding aside, owning this CD will make you most proud. All 13 Issues will be right at your finger tips for reference and documentation. Just send $40.00 (Overseas and Out Of Country $45.00), made out to FMRC, POB 18105, Pensacola, FL 32523. This special CD will also include our famous Pictorial Mushroom Terms! Thats a lot of mushroom reference for only ..$40.00 Postage Paid..........$40.00 is all you send. For complete list of contents and articles in each 13 Issues, go to www.mushroomsfmrc.com, and click Catalogs. Scroll down until you find the BOOK STORE Catalog On-Line, then look for TEO Back Issues. This list of contents is also on the CD so that you can easily navigate through all the Journals and locate the pictures, articles, and other items of your search..........................slp/fmrc #17 TEO August 2006 Page 36 Copyrighted Material
T E O N A N A C A T L
The International Journal Of Psychoactive Mushrooms (TEO)
Color Photograph for #17 TEO August 2006 Copyrighted FMRC
Psilocybe caerulipes
Submitted by llamabox
Submitting Spore Print Samples and Articles to This Journal TEO

If anyone has an article or something they would like to submit to be in "TEO", please submit to FloridaMycology@cs.com or postal mail to FMRC, POB 18105, Pensacola, FL 32523. If what you sent in is used, you win a years free subscription to TEO Hard Copy Issue. Other articles found in newspapers and
other print, should be sent postal mail. Any article used earns the sender a years free subscription to TEO. TEO is the physical issue of this Journal; TEO Electronica is the electronic version of issue. So be sure to include your postal address when submitting any article. Mail Call entries earn no free subscription. You may also elect and state not to have your name published or listed with article. Ideas about regular columns by you are welcomed, as is all other ideas which you feel will be helpful to this Journal.
Because this Journal also comes with spore print samples affixed inside, you may submit mushroom spore prints on paper to be placed in this Journal. Several full sheets are needed so that everyone receives a sample. Examples of mushroom spore print samples affixed in past "TEO" Issues: Amanita muscaria, Psilocybe cubensis, Amanita pantherina, Psilocybe azurescens, and Panaeolus foeniscecii/cyancescens. Spores should be sent to FMRC, POB 18105, Pensacola, FL 32523. Actual live mushroom spore print samples are affixed into journals for identifying purposes only. They can be compared to suspected found mushroom's spores to help in making a positive identification. No growing claims are made or implied. Any articles, spores, or other submissions that are used earn you a year's free Hard Copy Subscription. Submitting spore samples for Journal entries, entitles you to one years free subscription to the "Physical" issues published by FMRC. Only select prints that you are sure of identification. Do not submit samples you cannot identify. "TMC" and "TEO" ("THE MUSHROOM CULTURE", The Journal Of Mushroom Cultivation (TMC) and "TEONANACATL", The International Journal Of Psychoactive Mushrooms TEO), both published by FMRC, still remain the only "Color" mushroom journals that come with mushroom spore print samples. This is mainly due to reader collection and the fact it is quite troublesome to place the said samples in this Journal. To this date, I know of no one else who has tried taking on this task. Mushroom prints should be taken on paper. Any dark colored spores can be taken on white paper. Light colored or white spores should be taken on a dark colored paper. This will ensure contrast and make the spores easy to see. Seven to nine complete sheets should be submitted. Place and affix (with staple or tape) cover sheet over each sheet of prints. Send date and place collected. Because these issues have this unique feature of mushroom spore print samples to aid in the correct identification of mushrooms collected out in the wild, they have a cut off of 3,000 subscribers. This makes original Hard Copy back issues of "TMC" and "TEO" rare and the most valuable to collect.
-------------------------------------
FMRCS BOOK STORE" Catalog and the "RED" Catalog are now on line for free down loading!
The new 2006 FMRC "BOOK STORE" Catalog and the famous FMRC "RED" Catalog are now posted at www.mushroomsfmrc.com then click Catalogs, scroll on down until they come up. You will find many books and Journals published and offered no where else in the World. Mushroom Books you never knew existed! Even Mushroom Video! All work and research done on Mushrooms that produce controlled substances was done under a Researcher's Permit, Scheduled ONE, granted by the Federal Drug Enforcement Administration, issued to S.L. Peele. The "RED" Catalog lists the World's Largest Mushroom Spore Print Collection....since 1972. Go ahead and copy/paste it off for easy reference. Have fun....Stephen L. Peele, Curator FMRC #17 TEO August 2006 Page 38 Copyrighted Material
C LA S S I F I E D
How To Place An Ad In "TEO"
ADS
For 1 full year (4 issues)..Full page $500.00, page $250.00, page $125.00. For one time (1 issue)Full page $200.00, page $100.00, page $50.00, 40 word ad $20.00.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Back Issues of "TEO" are $10.00 each. When all originals have been sold, Reprint or Photo Copies are made available (no spore samples or Color Photograph may be affixed). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Landmark production of Psychoactive Mushrooms, now available on DVD
FRUIT OF THE GODS DVD....$86.00

Read the Contents of this Video which follows. How to Order Items from FMRC Write out your order listing the items and prices you wish to order. Total up the order. Enclose total payment made out to FMRC. Postal Money Orders bought at your local Post Office is the best method of payment. --------------------------------------------------------
MUSHROOM VIDEO
"FRUIT OF THE GODS" ..............................................................................$86.00
One of the greatest videos on Psychoactive Mushrooms ever produced. Contains: How mushrooms grow. The spore print. How to clone mushrooms. How to pronounce mushroom names. Shiitake cultivation. General mushroom cultivation. Outdoor cultivation. Physical characteristics of mushrooms. Collecting mushrooms in the wild. Bruising reactions of mushrooms. Psilocybin and Psilocin. Psychoactive effects from mushrooms. Psilocybin and the related compounds LSD and Mescaline. Field identification of psychoactive mushrooms. Observing Psilocybe cubensis in the wild. Mushroom poisonings. Mushroom toxins. A unique visual and audio special effects experience of what a psychoactive mushroom voyage may be like...."GUITAR BESHROOMED". A directory for mushroom supplies and materials. Running time...1 hour and 20 minutes. Overseas Airmail $99.00. Now available in DVD for the same
price. Make sure you state Video or DVD. #17 TEO August 2006 Page 39
POLY BAGS With Microporous Filters for growing mushrooms. Breathable Bags Contact UNICORN Imp & Mfg. Corp. -- Tele. 903-886-8282
When passing on information you have gained from reading TEO, remember to give credit where credit is due. This not only gives your points, or subjects of discussion credibility, it shows you know what you are talking about. Always make reference and give the issue number of the TEO you are using. This helps spread the word about TEO and can help to increase subscriptions. All this keeps this Journal alive. slp
----------------------------------------------------------------------Alexander Shulgin has a web site you might enjoy visiting.
http://www.alchemind.org/shulgin/ Cannabinoids (Pot) Curb Brain Tumor Growth, First-Ever Patient Trial Shows
Manton Hirst
July 13, 2006 - Madrid, Spain Madrid, Spain: THC administration decreases recurrent glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) tumor growth in humans, according to the findings of the first-ever clinical trial assessing cannabinoids' anti-tumor action. Investigators at Complutense University in Spain administered THC intratumorally in nine patients diagnosed with recurrent GBM, an extremely rapid and lethal form of brain tumor. Patients in the study had previously failed standard therapy (surgery and radiotherapy) and had clear evidence of tumor progression. THC treatment was associated with reduced tumor cell proliferation in two subjects, authors reported. Investigators did not determine whether THC positively impacted patients' survival, though they did conclude that cannabinoid therapy does not facilitate cancer growth or decrease patients' life expectancy. Median survival of the cohort from the beginning of cannabinoid administration was 24 weeks, and two patients survived for approximately one year. Survival for GBM patients following diagnosis is typically six to twelve months. #17 TEO August 2006 Page
40
Researchers speculated that newly diagnosed glioma patients may respond more favorably to cannabinoid-based therapies. Investigators also reported that THC demonstrated significant anti-proliferative activity on human GBM cells in culture. "The fair safety profile of THC, together with its possible anti-proliferative action on tumor cells reported here and in other studies, may set the basis for future trials aimed at evaluating the potential antitumoral activity of cannabinoids", investigators concluded. In 2005, investigators at the California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute in San Francisco reported that THC selectively decreases the proliferation of malignant cells and induces cell death in human GBM cell lines. Healthy cells in the study were unaffected by THC administration. Separate preclinical studies indicate that cannabinoids and endocannabinoids can stave off tumor progression and trigger cell death in other cancer cell lines, including breast carcinoma, prostate carcinoma, colectoral carcinoma, skin carcinoma, and pancreatic adenocarcinoma. For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, NORML Senior Policy Analyst, at (202) 483-5500. Full text of the study, "A pilot clinical study of delta-9tetrahydrocannabinol in patients with recurrent glioblastoma multiforme," appears in the July issue of the British Journal of Cancer. Abstracts of the study are available online at: http://www.nature.com/bjc/journal/v95/n2/abs/6603236a.html . Additional information on cannabinoids' anti-cancer properties is available in NORML's report, "Cannabinoids as Cancer Hope," online at:
http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6814
PSYCHOACTIVE MUSHROOM QUIZ PMQ

Psychoactive Mushroom Quiz (PMQ) is featured in each edition of this Journal. If you know the answer, write it down and mail it in. No phone calls. No E-mail. No FAX. Your entry must be mailed by 1st Class U.S. Mail only (Overseas and Out Of Country can use Airmail). The first letter that is opened and has the correct answer WINS. What do you win? An entire years subscription to this Journal "Hard CopyFREE! Your name will be posted with the correct answer in the following edition (unless you state Not to publish your name). So come on and impress your mushroom friends with your knowledge. Send your entry to FMRC, PMQ, POB 18105, Pensacola, FL 32523. Last Issues PMQ: What Psychoactive Mushroom is most widely
distributed throughout the world?

Last Issues PMQ correct answer: Amanita muscaria Winner Richard Price
PMQ For this #17 TEO Issue: What is the mycological term for mushrooms like Amanita muscaria that grow with trees?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
How to Win a Years Free Subscription to TEO

If you see any article about psychoactive mushrooms, past or present, and you think others may like to read about it, send it in. If it is used in TEO, you get the free subscription. If you find a large stand of a particular species of psychoactive mushroom, and are able to collect 4 to 5 good full sheets of spore prints (enough to place samples in TEO), send them in. If they are accepted, they will be placed in TEO, and you get the free subscription. If you send anything in that has to do with psychoactive mushrooms, and it is used (Mail Call letters do not apply), you get the free subscription. If you do not want your name mentioned, please state so and we will honor your wishes. Free subscriptions are physical issues with spore print samples and 4 X 6 color photograph. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------CONGRATULATIONS TO THE FOLLOWING PEOPLE: Because of your input to this issue of TEO, you are awarded a years free subscription. We all thank you for your very helpful input. BuckarooBanzai for Spore Print Sample SO38 (Hill Billy), llamabox for Color Photograph of Psilocybe caerulipes, and Richard Price for Correct "PMQ" answer.
--------------------------Please be advised that any postal or electronic mail sent to FMRC and TEO becomes their property, and said mail may be used in articles published by FMRC and TEO. However, if you ever send something in and you dont want your name given, state so and we will follow your wish. If you wish not to be in our records, state so and you will not be. Any subscriber will be at least on our subscription list in order to receive said subscription.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"THE GOSPEL OF MUSHROOMS"
$60.00
A CD-ROM of all the past Issues of "THE MUSHROOM CULTURE", The Journal of Mushroom Cultivation (TMC). The entire compilation of all the past Issues of "TMC", that's going to be 69 Issues, are the contents of this new and fabulous publication, "THE GOSPEL OF MUSHROOMS. That's going to be over 20 years of Mushroom Documentation. That's going to be over 20 years of research into the cultivation of many different species of mushrooms! You will see all the mycological achievements made over the last 2 decades.....all in COLOR! All the stories, all the events, its all here. I see this as a major Mycological Publishing Event! And, all you have to do is just place the Disk into your computer, and you will be there to see it all! Want to inspect just what is on this CD? All you have to do is go to www.mushroomsfmrc.com then click "Catalogs". As you scroll on down, you will come to the "BOOK STORE" Catalog...Online Edition. Here you will find all the Back Issues of TMC with a brief description of their contents. The Gospel of Mushrooms is a TWO CD set. Too much here for just one disk, thats for sure. This set also has a Gallery like no other Gallery you have ever seen. And, to make it complete, a Classified Section to help you find the needed items you have been looking for. If you would like to order your special copy of "The Gospel of Mushrooms", just send your request and payment of $60.00 ($65.00 "Out of Country" and Overseas Airmail) made out to FMRC, POB 18105, Pensacola, FL 32523 today. Your CDs will be sent right off to you. All Highest Regards, Stephen L. Peele, Curator FMRC ----------------------------------------
Pastor David Is Arrested In Switzerland

On 8th June 2006 the chairman of a religious group, calling himself Pastor David, has been imprisoned on remand in Switzerland. This association calls itself SMCS (Sacred Mushroom Church of Switzerland) . Pastor David, whose full name is David Jan Schlesinger and who has German citizenship, is active in the application of psilocybincontaining mushrooms since many years. The followers of the SMCS regard these mushrooms as holy, because they allow spiritual experience and make lasting improvements of the whole psychical and physical health condition possible. Go to these to get more information on this: http://www.freedavid.org/ http://www.sacred-mushroom-church.ch/forum/index.php?
TEONANACATL
The International Journal of Psychoactive Mushrooms Florida Mycology Research Center (FMRC) POB 18105, Pensacola, FL 32523 USA
This copy belongs to: _____________________________
Please follow the indicated routing and return: Mycology Department Botany Department Biology Department Science & Mathematics Department Research & Development Purchasing Library Other_________________________________________ To the desk of: __________________________________
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------"They that give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - Benjamin Franklin, 1759 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
#17
TEO August 2006

TEO׃ The International Journal of Psychoactive Mushrooms, Volume 17 (August, 2006)

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

TEO׃ The International Journal of Psychoactive Mushrooms, Volume 17 (August, 2006)

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

#17 TEO August 2006

TEONANACATL(TEO)The Sacred Mushrooms

Mushroom Journal Subscriptions:

#17 TEO August 2006 Page 01 Copyrighted Material

#17 TEO August 2006 Page 02

I have received the following letter from Dr. Karl D. Buchanan.

----------------------------------#17 TEO August 2006 Page 03

Can You Use Chicken Manure To Grow Mushrooms?

#17 TEO August 2006 Page 05

Mushrooms and Religion, Rv. Matthew N. Wyman, DD

Why Consider Psilocybin Gods Sacrament?

than our own. He is the Most High.

#17 TEO August 2006 Page 08

ABC News: Johns Hopkins University & Psilocybin

#17 TEO August 2006 Page 09

#17 TEO August 2006 Page 10

#17 TEO August 2006 Page 11

#17 TEO August 2006

#17 TEO August 2006 Page 14

#17 TEO August 2006

#17 TEO August 2006

#17 TEO August 2006 Page 17

#17 TEO August 2006 Page 18

#17 TEO August 2006 Page 19

#17 TEO August 2006 Page 20

#17 TEO August 2006 Page 21

#17 TEO August 2006 Page 22

Go Ask Alice Mushroom Drug Is Studied Anew, By RON WINSLOW

------------------------------John Allen, Mushroom John

#17 TEO August 2006 Page 23

Frozen Mushroom Tea

Growing Amanita Muscaria on Grape Juice As Claimed By Donald E. Teeter

#17 TEO August 2006 Page 25

#17 TEO August 2006 Page 26

Subscription Sale on Both Mushroom Journals

Spore Print Sample SO38

----------------------------Posts Made By Stephen L. Peele

The Berkshire Blue Amanita

#17 TEO August 2006 Page 37

Submitting Spore Print Samples and Articles to This Journal TEO

The Landmark production of Psychoactive Mushrooms, now available on DVD

FRUIT OF THE GODS DVD....$86.00

PSYCHOACTIVE MUSHROOM QUIZ PMQ

distributed throughout the world?

How to Win a Years Free Subscription to TEO

"THE GOSPEL OF MUSHROOMS"

Pastor David Is Arrested In Switzerland

#17 TEO August 2006 Page 43

This copy belongs to: _____________________________

TEO August 2006

You might also like