Hippiekinkster -> RE: Psylocybin is good for you? (7/3/2008 8:34:44 PM)
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ORIGINAL: Emperor1956 FR: 1. The vomiting reaction is to peyote. We can all thank Don Juan for that bit of knowledge (I suspect HK and RS know exactly what I'm talkin' about). 2. The statement that psilocybin is "natural" and therefore good is a common but foolish assertion. Its all just chemicals, folks. Psilocybin (the "natural chemical") is converted by your liver into psilocin. There are about 100 other chemical compounds, related to but by no means identical to, psilocybin, that also become psilocin in the human body. And it is the psilocin that gets you high, regardless of the source. 3. Seeing as so many folks are interested in "psychoactive" substances, I'll post again the link to the Nirvana website of all things mind altering -- Erowid. You'll spend days on this site. Months, actually, if you consume the items discussed. 4. There is no doubt that the use of and research into many possibly healing drugs has been suppressed because of the anti-drug culture. However, I'm not sure psilocybin fits into that category. The problem is that the effect of the drug is wildly variable based upon dozens of factors, including source, age of drug, age of user, and notably environmental factors. It is a drug that lends itself to "guided" experiences -- both good and bad. Unlike marijuana, for example, or cocaine, both of which have pretty predictable pharmacological effects, Psi. just is a wild card. So use in cancer patients, while anecdetotally valuable, has never been reliably studied, and the effects have not been replicated. Use in depressed persons has had wildly variable and sometimes seriously bad outcomes. 5. Because users of Psi are susceptible to guided hallucinations and effects, it has been posited that the drug (like peyote and ergot) may be responsible for religious and spiritual hallucinations. Cool word of the day: a substance ingested for religious or shamanic purposes is an Entheogen. Your job is to use this word 3 times next week in conversation. E. Good post. 1. San Pedro cactus also contains 3,4,5-trimethoxyphenethylamine, and also causes nausea/emesis. True, there are other phenethylamines in both Trichocereus and Lophophora which contribute, but I think (Shulgin's work confirms) that it's the psychedelic itself which causes the nausea/vomiting. 2. "Natural" is indeed a foolish assertion. Psilocybin is dephosphorylated to psilocin in vivo. Both are very closely related structurally to serotonin. http://newtrier.k12.il.us/academics/science/~goralb/drugs/psilocybin.html So is DMT (ayahuasca), which is produced by the body. Every single American is walking around with a Schedule I drug, DMT, in their body. How stupid is the illegality of that. It's possible some related compounds are metabolized to psilocin; I am not aware of any, though. 3. Erowid is outstanding. So is MAPS, Lycaeum, and Shroomerydotorg. 4. So-called "negative outcomes" are fairly rare with the psychedelics/entheogens. That's a subject in and of itself, though. Some people benefit more from "guided' experiences and group experiences; some benefit more from solo introspection. That's one of the variables. I refer you to Sacred Mushroom of Visions: Teonanacatl, Ralph Metzner, ed. and Higher Wisdom: eminent elders explore the continuing impact of psychedelics, ed. Roger Walsh and Charles Grob. You are correct; research has been completely suppressed because of the hysteria of the 60s. Again, I refer the interested reader to the Multidisciplinary Assoc. for Psychedelic Studies. 5. I would word it differently. The entheogens ARE responsible for spiritual/religious experiences in many people. Peace, Scott
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