Psychedelic Mushrooms

     While American Indians are well known for their use of psychedelic agents other cultures have also been known to use psychedelics, especially psilocybin. So-called “magic'; mushrooms also grow naturally in many parts of Europe and Asia. Norse tribesmen, for example, were believed to use Amanita muscaria or fly agaric mushrooms to bring on feelings of rage before going into battle. The same mushroom may have also been the inspiration to the founders of Hinduism. Preparations of datura, the agent found in jimson weed, are used in magic and witchcraft in many areas of the world, (Aaronson, 1970). More recently many artist, writers, and musicians have been known to use mescaline and psilocybin and other naturally occurring hallucinogens such as those found in morning glory seeds, and nutmeg, as well as synthesized hallucinogens like LSD. Because of their mind-expanding qualities, the high insight into reality that they seem to produce, as well as highly complex sensory experiences, some report receiving inspiration from such drugs.

Thesis: There are many misconceptions about magic mushrooms, but I believe that they could be incredibly important for the future treatment of mental health.

Synthetic marijuana, also called K2, Black Mamba, Fake Weed, Genie, or Spice, is a mixture of herbs and spices with a synthetic compound chemically similar to THC, the ingredient for marijuana. It is usually purchased in head shops, tobacco shops, and over the internet. It is usually sold in small in small, silvery plastic bags of dried leaves and marketed as incense that can be smoked. It looks similar to potpourri. The most likely user is between the ages of 14 to 27, prisoners or probationers, or people in the military Spice is smoked in either joints or pipes, but some users make it into a tea. The effect to the mind is similar to the effects of marijuana and includes, paranoia, panic attacks, and giddiness. ("Drug Fact Sheet: Khat." PsycEXTRA

Since the 20th century, many medical professionals and researchers have been attempting to utilize psychedelic drugs in psychological illnesses treatments. In many testing cases, these psychedelic drugs were having hallucination effects on the patients. For examples, psychedelic drugs such as LSD and methoxamine are capable of changing a person’s moods, feelings, or even behaviors in either positive or negative ways. However, after decades of restriction on psychedelic drugs in 1960s, hallucinogens have been researched constantly in order to find a proper ways to utilize them in medicine. In other words, medical experts have been testing these drugs occasionally on patients, raising questions about medical ethics as a result. For instance, various patients reported to experience drug addiction, violent or suicidal thoughts, and physical syndromes such as coma, seizures, or loss of muscular coordination. Therefore, not only the testing of psychedelic drugs causes ethical debates, but the use of these drugs in general also questions whether they should be used in medicine at all.

Not soon after the first Europeans set foot on American soil at the end of the fifteenth century, they began take note with varying degrees of fascination and revulsion of a strange indigenous custom psychedelic plant ritual. They were later to recognize this occurrence as an indispensable aspect of aboriginal religion and ritual in many parts of the New World. Intoxication by certain plants were ascribed supernatural powers by indigenous people.

However, “at their best, magic mushrooms reduce you to a blubbering mess of giggles and bellyache laughter. At their worst, they make you feel like you just walked out of a harrowing rollercoaster ride: nauseous, dizzy, and bilious” (Yu). Yes it is true that this substance is illegal in the United States. However, it is a hallucinogen not a drug that leads to violence. In fact, “eighty three percent of people said that shrooms gave them a Top 5 lifetime spiritual experience, ninety four percent of those who have taken shrooms said that the experience altered their life in a positive way, and eighty nine percent rated moderate or higher changes in positive behavior and these rates were consistent after a 14 month follow-up period” (17 Amazing

I chose psilocybin or hallucinogenic drugs because their strange effects are interesting. Plus I would like to know what I might be doing to my body, if I try it one day. Hallucinogenic drugs have been around since the beginning of time. It’s used in an attempt seek spiritual enlightenment. During modern time hallucinogenic drugs are a scheduled one drug. However, they may improve mental health in several different ways, from people with mental illness to helping people overcome addiction. Also the drug can improve lives of people who suffer from depression. The use of psilocybin can be beneficial to society in a sense. Psilocybin has spiritual, mental, and medical benefits.

Psychedelic mushrooms are rumored to have a long and holy background, which dates back to 9000 B.C in North African indigenous cultures. Rock paintings, statues and manuscripts depict what some historians believe to be magic mushrooms. This idea is highly controversial, as other historians claim that none of the evidence found is definitive, and that people are seeing what they want to see. Westerners began to eat magic mushrooms during the 1950s; throughout the 1960s and 1970s, hallucinogenic drugs became widely popular and psychedelic mushroom use became inextricably tied to the “hippie” movement.

Hallucinogenic drugs were not very common at the time, and were fairly hard to study. There were a few brave scientist that were trying to study different plants

In Adam Barton’s film, The Stoned Ages (2011), researches the historical use of drugs and the institutional response upon the use of drugs by the masses. The Stoned Ages (2011) exposes an overwhelming discovery of drug use by people of ancient times and a connection of persistent patterns world-wide. Human beings have been in pursuit of expanding psychological capabilities from the beginning of human evolution (Barton, 2011). Social advancements depicted in The Stone Ages (2011), have derived from the use substances such as psychedelic mushrooms, during ancient rituals; permitting individuals to communicate with sacred Gods. Barton (2011) also discovers the use of drugs among Ancient Greek politicians as well, illustrating the wide use of drugs among people around the world and therefore theorizing the concept of drug use as an element of human behavior (Barton, 2011). According to Marc-Antoine Crocq’s (2007) research article summarizing the existence of drug use throughout the history of human-kind; “Schematically, psychoactive substances have been used (1) in religious ceremonies by priests; (ii) for medicinal purposes; or (iii) massively, as staple commodities, by large segments of the population in a socially approved way” (Crocq, 2007). Explained in Barton’s (2011) documentary however, the use of drugs had dire consequences caused by elitists’ hunger for power; Christians forbade the use of drugs with severe tactics of enforcement and lethally persecuting those who

For thousands of years people have spoke of all types of visions. Whether the visions were from religious groups, Indian tribes, or self proclaimed prophets; all types of people have seen things. This was more than likely occurring with the help of different types of hallucinogens. Hallucinogens have been around since the beginning of time. Some mushrooms, cactus flowers, and even different types of mold are all able to produce hallucinogenic effects. However, it was only within the last century that man actually started to produce his own. LSD, or lysergic acid diethylamide-25, is a relatively new substance in society. All known effects show LSD, or acid, as the harmful drug most people know it as. There are people who believe

Actual C99 Cinderella Cannabis strain is very psychedelic. This strain can be grown both indoors and outdoors. The weed is very strong and long lasting.

Many psychiatric and psychoactive drugs that are available on the market, pharmaceutically or illegally, closely resemble neurotransmitters and are actually able to mimic it to the extent that it fools the receptors. Basically, these drugs hijack the neurotransmitters. Once these drugs are ingested, it enters into the brain, gets into the synapse and binds itself to the receptor. This then causes the inappropriate release of neurotransmitters and alter the breakdown and recycling of neurotransmitters or can be used to destroy particular neurotransmitters completely (Sapolsky, 2005, p. 14).

Probably one of the most common forms of psychoactive drugs is stimulants. Stimulants are a class of psychoactive drugs that elevate mood, increase feelings of well-being, and increase energy and alertness. Nearly everybody has tried a stimulant and many people rely on them every single day. The best example of this is the drug caffeine, which is in many of the sodas or coffee we drink. Other forms of stimulants include: cocaine, methamphetamine, amphetamines, methylphenidate, nicotine, and MDMA. An additional common stimulant is nicotine, which is found in various types of tobacco. Stimulants change the way the brain functions by inhibiting neurons, which are nerve cells. These nerve cells communicate using neurotransmitters . One of the neurotransmitters they affect is dopamine, which makes people feel good. Dopamine can be released naturally by simply doing something you enjoy such as riding a bike or eating your favorite food. While these drugs may give the user pleasure, continual use may render their dopamine system useless. This will give the user little to no pleasure, which is often followed by an increased amount used in order to chase that high (NIDA).

Marijuana is grown everywhere across the United States and is one of the most widely used drugs. People in every state grow marijuana for their own use, for use by their friends, and for sale to make a little profit. I know personally of people who do this; it is not uncommon. Also most of the marijuana purchased in the U.S. comes from Mexico, other Latin American countries, and Canada, all of which are not a major concern for terrorist activities, if a concern at all. In the same way marijuana is produced in the United States, hallucinogenic mushrooms are also produced. The major source of hallucinogenic mushrooms in the U.S. is grown right here at home, and most of the other sources are also provided by Mexico, Latin American countries, and Canada. The illicit drug that is seen as the most problematic and widespread drug throughout the U.S. today is crystal