Thursday 9 October 2008

Magic of the Mushroom

I went out on one of my increasingly desperate searches for puffballs and field mushrooms today and found an impressively large crop of these.

psilocybe semilanceata
Psilocybe semilanceata - the magic mushroom

Before I go any further I would just like to share the legal position on these. The law states that these are a form of controlled drug and even picking them for personal consumption is illegal. If you break the law and get caught don't plead ignorance. For one, it's no defence and two, you know it's not true because you read it here.

I was going to write a piece on them, based on experience because I think that education is a far better way of helping people than making them into criminals but actually most of what you need to know can be found in detail at The vaults of Erowid so I'm going to keep it short.

If you are an adult in good health and safe surroundings then experimenting with these hallucinogenic fungi will do you no harm. The key points are to be absolutely certain of the identification of your mushrooms and to start very slowly, noting the effects on your body and listening to it. You may be sick, so make provision for that. You will feel different. Go with it and relax, it will pass after about six hours.

Don't give mushrooms to children or animals. If you are asthmatic or having breathing issues they're best avoided as you may precipitate an attack. If you are breastfeeding or pregnant don't take them, the baby won't thank you. If you have been left in a position of responsibility, that is not the time to take the mushroom. You need a quiet calm environment with friends around you to really enjoy the experience.

And finally, as a result of my experiments I'm now quite ambivalent about things mushroomy. If you love to eat and enjoy mushrooms in your food, take a moment to consider before risking your lifelong gastronomic experience for the sake of a whacky high.

Be sure and read that legal warning won't you. I can't condone law breaking.

psilocybe semilanceata

***UPDATED*** 19 August 2013 as MagicMushrooms.net seems to have become defunct. ***

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