Magic mushrooms

INTRODUCTION
“There are experiences about which most of us do not want to speak because they disagree with daily reality. They are out of our minds. They do not have origins in our internal events, but in our internal lives. They appear as ideas of our imagination, and they are fixed up deep in our memory. Suddenly our well-known and natural view of things starts to change to an unknown, not only pleasant, but also unpleasant form: we start to see problems in a new light, and we get a new opinion. This experience can come down as lightning from a clear sky, and immediatly disappear, or it could impress deep in our memory.”(Hofmann,1997,p.5). These words were writen bei Alfred Hofmann who invented LSD, and spent his live bie studing hallcinogen mushrooms.
After the revolutio in 1989 came into our country not only new ideas and opinions, but also drugs. Drugs soo became very popular among young adults. However these were not only drugs which cause strong addiction, but also hallucinogenic drugs. Drugs which opened minds, doors of perception, and influenced thinking. One of those hallucinogens are magic mushrooms. “Psychadelic mushrooms have been a spiritual tool used by countless cultures for thousands of years. They provide a trip which is commonly described as smoother and more natural than that of LSD or other syntetic hallucinogens. Mushrooms trips can be very visual, and users have reported encounters with both gods and devils.” (drugs a lycaeum. org.) Hallucinogenic mushrooms cause strong changes in our senses and thinking and can repetitive strong hallucinations. This paper deals with hallucinogen mushrooms. It discusses the history of their use, their chemical structure, and their influences on the human psyche.

HISTORY OF USE
Scienntists have discovered, that hallucinogenic mushrooms have probably been in existence exactly as long as humanity.“ Ancient pictures of mushroom-headed humanoids have been found in caves in the Sahara.“(Lycaeum-drug archives)“ Siberian shamans use[d] fly agarics to enlighten the path to the spirit world.“(Lycaeum-drug archives) In Central and South America, the use of psilocybin mushrooms (and other hallucinogens) was common until the arrival of Spaniards who spread the Catholic faith with sword and fire and forbade the use. The Catholic should not forbid the use of hallucinogenic mushrooms because in the Bible there is an example of using such mushrooms.

Wtat you will find in the Bible, however, are many curious references to a spiritual food sent down from heaven by God, called“ manna“. The Bible never tells us exactly what manna was and where it came from, but there are many Old Testament passages which describe its physical qualities and conditions associated with its appearance. The Bible's first reference to manna is in the Book of Exodus as the children of Israel are fleeing from Egypt and following Moses into the wilderness. After six weeks of wandering, they began complaining to Moses that they are tired and hungry. What happens next is truly extraordinary:“ Then said the LORD unto Moses, Behold, I will vain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law or no.“ (16:4).“ And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay a small round thing, as small as the hoar frost on the ground“. (16: 14)“ And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another It is manna: for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the Lord hath given you to eat“. The fact is that manna easily fits the description of psilocybe mushrooms. For one thing, magic mushrooms are small and round, and since they sprout so rapidly they would seem to appear overnight, as if out of the sky. Also, anyone harvesting them would immediately notice that they turn blue where torn and have no roots, giving more reason to believe that the mushrooms were of celestial origin. In the story that manna does not just fall from heaven, but instead it is described as coming with the frost and dew, during the wet seasons. These are the precise weather conditions for mushrooms to thrive. And finally, manna is as a bread.“ (Edmond)
In the beginning of twentieth century interest in psychoactive mushrooms stirred.“ The teonanácatl was first identified as Lophophora williamsii or peyote, and it was thought that Sahagun had mistaken the cactus for mushrooms. Finally ethnobotanist Richard Evan Schultes and physician Plasius Paul Reko traveled for the mushrooms to Oaxaca, and collected specimens of Panaeolus sphinctrinus. They found out that mushroom ceremonies -- veladas -- were still being held in the area.“(Lycaeum-drug archives)
Information about the mushrooms soon spread. Psilocybin and psilocin were found and their analogues were synthesized. Experimentation with the mushrooms and the synthesized substances began and magic mushrooms were soon part of the 60's 'psychedelic' movement,“ i.e.

every second middle class kid was opening the doors of perception and [ab]using hallucinogenic drugs.“(Lycaeum-drug archives)
The hallucinogenic mushrooms have been used for thousands of years, and the use of them is just continuing. CHEMICAL STRUCTURE
The primary active ingredients of Psilocybe mushrooms are (surprise!) psilocybin and psilocin, and to a lesser extent baeocystin and norbaeocystin. The ratio of psilocybin to psilocin varies from species to species. The primary difference is that psilocin is unstable and it breaks down when the mushroom is dried, while psilocybin lasts much longer (a 115-year old mushroom sample was found to contain some). The two are equally psychoactive, since one molecule of psilocybin breaks down into one molecule of psilocin. But in terms of weight, we find that:
molecular weight of psilocybin

molecular weight of psilocin = 284.3

204.3 = 1.391

So by weight psilcibin is aboat1.4 times potent.
The effects of psilocybin can be potentiated (made stronger) by taking them with a monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI). The potency is roughly doubled, according to most reports. The best known MAOIs are harmine and harmaline from the plant Peganum harmala (Syrian rue). (Lycaeum-drug archives)

INFLUENCES ON THE HUMAN PSYCHE
"...a psychedelic drug is one which, without causing physical addiction, craving, major physiological disturbances, delirium, disorientation, or amnesia, more or less reliably produces thought, mood, and perceptual changes otherwise rarely experienced exept in dreams, contemplarive and religious exaltation, flashes of vivid involuntary memory, and acute psychoses."( Lester Grinspoon)
Psilocybin is fine. By comparing three psychoactive drug hash, LSD-25 and psilocybin yuo will find out, that Hash usually does not do much. It sends into a half sleep with silly thoughts .. LSD does not do it either. It's probably OK after low dose recreation -- partying and such.. High doses --is too blunt, like a mental power tool. Trip on LSD is too long and makes the user very tired - physically and mentally. But psilocybin, is fine. It is direct from the mother earth, forgiving, gentle substance. It is a product of the nature, untied to the actions of men and women roaming this planet. Six hours -- not too short, not too long. Perfect.(Timothy Leary, Ph.D.)
It should be noted that like all 'major' hallucinogens, psilocybin can precipitate psychotic episodes and uncover or aggravate previous mental illness. If you are stressed out or depressed, do not take mushrooms; if you have schizophrenia or something, DO NOT take mushrooms. „ACID IS NOT FOR EVERY BRAIN ...

ONLY THE HEALTHY, HAPPY, WHOLESOME, HANDSOME, HOPEFUL, HUMOROUS, HIGH-VELOCITY SHOULD SEEK THESE EXPERIENCES. THIS ELITISM IS TOTALLY SELF- DETERMINED. UNLESS YOU ARE SELF-CONFIDENT, SELF-DIRECTED, SELF-SELECTED, PLEASE ABSTAIN.“
Timothy Leary, Ph.D. CONCLUSION
Humans have used and will use magic mushrooms always because they are very curious. They want to experience more not only common, daily live.
Resaearch has shown that psychedelic mushrooms have been used in many cultures for thousands of years, and that they are also very populra nowdays. The primary active ingredients are psilocybin and psilocin. These ingredients are strong hallucinogens with strong effects on human psyche. Mushrooms will open your doors of perception, and once open you can never truly close them again. They are more than a purely recreational drug. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Farley, J. E. (1987). American Social Problems. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall.
Miovský, M. (1996). LSD a jiné halucinogény Brno: Nakladatelstvý Albert Sdružení Podáme ruce.
Hofmann, A. (1997). LSD- mé nezvedené dítě. Praha: Profess.
Edmond, A. „Mushrooms from Haven.“ Lycaeum- drug archives.
Lycaeum- drug archives, online edition (The Psilocybe mushrooms FAQ).