Psilocybin = magic awesomeness

In case you were curious, magic mushrooms are teh awesomez:

Scientists at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine claim to have determined the proper dose levels needed to create positive changes in attitudes, mood, life satisfaction, and behavior that persist for more than a year with the psychoactive substance in so-called "magic mushrooms."
The findings are the latest in a series of experiments done at Johns Hopkins to investigate psilocybin, a psychedelic substance contained in certain mushrooms. The findings were published online this week in the peer-reviewed journal Psychopharmacology.

Questions?

"The Hopkins psilocybin studies clearly demonstrate that this route to the mystical is not to be walked alone," Jerome Jaffe, M.D., who served as the first White House "Drug Czar," commented. "But they have also demonstrated significant and lasting benefits."
"That raises two questions: Could psilocybin-occasioned experiences prove therapeutically useful, for example in dealing with the psychological distress experienced by some terminal patients? And should properly-informed citizens, not in distress, be allowed to receive psilocybin for its possible spiritual benefits, as we now allow them to pursue other possibly risky activities such as cosmetic surgery and mountain-climbing?"

[Thanks, Soma Junkie!]

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Posted By Scotto at 2011-06-15 22:48:21 permalink | comments

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Sam. : 2011-07-12 06:13:17

It's not so much the "proper" dose that's important. You're best trying a light dose first, with a couple of friends who are safe and fairly level-headed. Take a small dose for the first go, so you can know what to expect the next time, without things getting beyond your control. The second time, you'll know more what you're doing, which is very important.

I've had a really nice time on mushrooms. On the other hand, an idiot "friend" of mine once took far too much LSD, smashed up a petrol station, and spent the next few hours barely able to speak in a police cell. It pays to take these things gradually. You can do the really wierd stuff when you've some experience.

loosenut : 2011-06-22 13:38:11

I haven't read the results in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, but based on the graph in this article:
[link] , we can assume that a "proper" dose is 20 mg of pure psilocybin.

According to Erowid, Psilocybe cubensis contain 4-12 mg per gram of mushroom (dried?) , so depending on safe you want to play it, you'd eat between 5 grams of mushrooms (risking a 60 mg dose) or ~2 grams (risking a weak 8 mg dose). Assuming an average strength of 8 mg per gram, you'd take 2.5 grams of mushrooms to hit a "proper" dose.

Then again, some psychonauts prefer the high-level dose, blasting them to other dimensions. This study seems to indicate that that is unnecessary for positive effects (and in some case, detrimental?). Not to judge anybody. :)

I'm not sure how serious you are about taking shrooms, shyguy, or what your experience is, but I'd encourage anyone taking them for the first time to play it safe by doing it with someone truly trustworthy and experienced, or, at least, by understanding what we mean by "set and setting". The study protocols that help limit anxiety might be a place to start, or check out entheoguide.net. Maybe there are better resources, I'm not sure.

soma_junkie. : 2011-06-18 16:03:16

I'm no doctor, but I recommend five dried grams. ;-)

shyguy. : 2011-06-17 12:48:02

so what are the "proper" dose levels for good effects??

Gwyllm. : 2011-06-15 23:16:28

Nice to see the word is getting a bit more sane around this issue.

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