24.12.11

Happy Festivus

Getting ready, packing, panicking. Mom is cooking. It's just us 2. Whatever. I'm in my room reading my handy Encyclopedia of Drug Abuse. Let's enjoy shall we?
Psilocybin: The active hallucinogenic ingredient of the mushroom Psilocybe mexicana and some of the other psilocybe and conocybe species. Ritual use of psilocybin among Mexican and Central American cultures is known to date back  to at least 1500 B.C. 
Some tribes of Indians in Mexico have used certain mushrooms with hallucinogenic properties in their religious ceremonies for centuries. These mushrooms, specimens of the genera Conocybe Stropharia, and Psilocybe were considered to be sacred and were named teonanacatl, or flesh of the gods.

In 1958 Albert Hofmann, a Swiss chemist, isolated psilocybin and its congener, psilocin, from Psilocybe mexicana. Psilocybin is the only naturally occurring hallucinogen identified thus far that contains phosphorus. In pure form psilocybin is a white crystalline material, but it may also be distributed in crude mushroom preparations, intact dried mushrooms, or as a capsule containing a powdered material of any color. It is usually taken orally but may also be injected. Doses generally vary from 4 mg to 5 mg, although 20-60 mg is not unusual. The potency of psilocybin lies somewhere between that of mescaline and LSD and the effects are reported to be much like those of LSD. 

Effects: When taken orally psilocybin is one of the most rapid acting hallucinogens: initial effects may be felt 10-15 minutes after ingestion. Reactions often reach maximum intensity after about 90 minutes and do not begin to subside until two to three hours later. The effects of psilocybin usually last five to six hours in all but doses larger than 8 mg probably prolong their duration.

Psychological effects include increased pulse rate, respiratory rate and body temperature, dilated pupils and elevation of systolic blood pressure. Larger doses, 13 mg or more, can produce dizziness, lightheadedness, abdominal discomfort, numbness of tongue, lips or mouth, nausea, anxiety and shivering. Psychological effects with small doses may include mental and physical relaxation, detachment from surroundings and sometimes coexisting feelings of anxiety or elation. With larger doses individuals may experience difficulty in thinking and concentrating, visual distortions and other changes in perception.

(also known as everything I experience on a daily basis sober)