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Substance Abuse during Pregnancy
Published in “Bert” Bertis Britt Little, Drugs and Pregnancy, 2022
Psilocybin is a naturally occurring hallucinogenic alkaloid present in several species of psychedelic mushrooms belonging to the genus Psilocybe. P. mexicana is the classic source of the drug and is known as the magic mushroom. It is most commonly found in Mexico, particularly in the Valley of Oaxaca, and southern Texas. However, other species occur north of Mexico in the southern United States and elsewhere, particularly in dairy pastures in the spring. Psilocybin typically grows in highly organic media, such as cow feces (cow patties) and usually in the springtime. Psilocybin mushrooms are eaten, used as a food additive, a tea, or a drink additive for hallucinogenic effects. The hallucinogenic effects usually last six to eight hours, although some sources quote times as short as an hour. Ingestion of these hallucinogenic mushrooms has become a popular form of substance abuse among some adolescents and young adults (Schwartz and Smith, 1988). The effects of psilocybin ingestion include hallucinogenic visions, altered states of consciousness, and a pronounced pyrogenic effect. Several surveys have indicated that mushroom use is more prevalent among high school and college students than is the LSD use.
Hallucinogenic Agents
Published in Frank A. Barile, Barile’s Clinical Toxicology, 2019
As with LSD, benzodiazepines and cholinergic agents are useful in managing the undesirable effects of psilocybin mushroom poisoning. However, there are some special considerations surrounding the treatment of mushroom poisoning. For instance, depending on bioavailability, amount ingested, and individual susceptibility, not all persons ingesting the same meal will be symptomatic. Also, it is important to recognize that the anticholinergic effects are likely to mimic those from exposure to insecticides and may be delayed for up to 6 h.
Historical overview
Published in G. Hussein Rassool, Alcohol and Drug Misuse, 2017
Hallucinogenic drugs are part of the categories of psychoactive substances which had in the past and still cause intense controversy in their use. Originally called “phantastica” (Lewin 1964), and during the 1960’s the drugs were referred to as “psychedelics” (Stevens 1987). The Indian peoples of Central and South America used naturally occurring psychoactive plants as part of religious rituals and practices and predicting the future. The medicine man or shaman also used psychoactive substances in the healing of the sick. It has been reported that psilocybin mushroom, regarded as sacred mushroom, was used by the Mayan civilisation dating back to more than 1000 BC (Schultes 1976). Mexico has been the main source of hallucinogenic mushrooms and the cactus plant (peyote), and both have played an important role in the cultural and religious traditions. The use of sacred mushrooms and morning glory seeds (ergine and isoergine) still persists in parts of Mexico with rituals for healing and divination (Schultes 1976).
The therapeutic potential of psilocybin: a systematic review
Published in Expert Opinion on Drug Safety, 2022
Jan van Amsterdam, Wim van den Brink
Psilocybin mushroom – a fungus that had been known and used by indigenous peoples in medicinal or spiritual contexts for perhaps thousands of years – was considered as a relatively harmless substance. An article written by R. Gordon Wasson was published in June 1957 in Life magazine in which he described in detail his experiences with what he called ‘magic mushrooms’ (i.e. psilocybin) in Mexico. This was the first time in modern times, which this substance first came to the attention of Western society. Meanwhile, scientists and physicians started using a chemically very similar (synthetic) compound, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), to study psychosis and to treat patients with mental disorders, reporting very promising results [50]. However, some years later, in 1963, the popular media had ‘framed’ psilocybin as a threat to the nation’s young people, which was probably decisive in the criminalization of psilocybin in the United States by scheduling it as a Schedule I substance on 24 October 1968 [51].
Management of overdoses of salvia, kratom, and psilocybin mushrooms: a literature review
Published in Expert Review of Clinical Pharmacology, 2020
Justin P. Reinert, Kayla Colunga, Alexandria Etuk, Victoria Richardson, Rebecca L. Dunn
Many of these ‘newer’ or rediscovered drugs of abuse boast a wide variety of unsubstantiated medical claims, which may encourage use. A simple internet search reveals that kratom can be used for relief from opioid withdrawals, cough, depression, anxiety, and many other conditions [60]. Information on psilocybin mushrooms boasts effectiveness in the treatment of depression, eating disorders, and spiritual benefits with complete guides on where to find and how to take them [61]. Some information is even endorsed by trained medical professionals. With this trend, comes the ease of access to many substances that were once difficult to obtain. Many of these substances, including a wide variety of salvia and kratom, can be readily purchased online, and psilocybin mushrooms can be found wild or cultivated.
Beyond LSD: A Broader Psychedelic Zeitgeist during the Early to Mid-20th Century
Published in Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 2019
Jacob S. Aday, Emily K. Bloesch, Christopher C. Davoli
Psilocybin mushrooms induce subjective effects comparable to mescaline and LSD (Gouzoulis-Mayfrank et al. 1998), and have been shown to have therapeutic potential (Carhart-Harris et al. 2016a). Psilocybin has been used in native rituals in Mexico for centuries, but was largely forgotten by most Western researchers until 1936–1938 when Robert J. Weitlaner, an anthropologist, and Dr. Richard Evans Schultes, a Harvard botanist, came across the mushrooms in Mexico. In 1938, a group of American anthropologists, led by Jean Bassett Johnson, was permitted to attend, but not partake in, a sacred mushroom ceremony for the first time and reported their experience in a Swedish journal (Hofmann 1979; Johnson 1939). In the early 1950s, a married couple, Gordon Wasson and Dr. Valentina Pavlovna Wasson, were the first non-natives to partake in the mushroom ceremony. Gordon wrote a detailed report of his initial and follow-up experiences with psilocybin mushrooms in a 1957 issue of Life, one of the most ubiquitous and influential magazines in the world at the time (Wasson 1957). Thus, magic mushrooms finally reached the greater American public in 1957. In short order, the chemical structure of psilocybin was determined and researchers were able to synthesize it in the laboratory by 1958, quickly thrusting the substance into psychedelic research ongoing at the time. Although empirical research into psilocybin’s psychological effects did not begin until the surge in psychedelic research was under way, its study had already begun in other scientific disciplines like chemistry, botany, and anthropology before LSD’s arrival.