Psilocybin and Mescaline

The Magic Mushroom Molecule (Along with Mescaline EROM Cacti) 

That s because psilocybin, the main active ingredient in the so-called magic mushrooms , has hallucinogenic properties. 

This molecule, and the related molecule, mescaline, have been known for centuries by the Aztecs in Mexico, who used them in tribal rites, believing the vivid, colorful hallucinations had religious significance. Indeed, the mushroom was so important to the Aztecs that they named it teonandcatl, meaning God s flesh or God s meat . 

This mushroom was said to have been distributed to the guests at the coronation of the emperor Montezuma in 1502 to make the ceremony seem even more spectacular. The Aztecs even had professional mystics and prophets who achieved their inspiration by eating other hallucinogenic plants, such as the mescaline-containing peyote cactus Lophophora wilUamsU). During the nineteenth century, the use of peyote cacti in tribal rituals spread north to 

How Long Have We Known of These Drugs IN THE West  

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The claim has been made that the experience facilitated by psychedelic drugs, such as LSD, psilocybin, and mescaline,... 

In humans, LSD has been thoroughly Investigated (24) no other hallucinogen has been as extensively studied as this agent. Its actions In humans can be divided Into three major categories perceptual (altered shapes and colors, heightened sense of hearing), psychic (alterations In mood, depersonalization, visual hallucinations, altered sense of time), and somatic (nausea, blurred vision, dizziness). In terms of principal effects, there seems to be little difference between LSD, psilocybin, and mescaline. 

Although it produces some the same hallucinogen effects as LSD-type substances, it is a far less potent drug, lacking the powerful mind-altering qualities of LSD, psilocybin, and mescaline. Probably the most significant... 

Psilocybin and mescaline are psycho-active because they closely resemble the structures of neurotransmitters, such as serotonin (see p455) and norepinephrine (see p9), that convey impulses from one nerve to another, especially in the brain. The hallucinogenic molecules fit into the same receptors as the neurotransmitter leading to false signals being created. 

Mg/kg LSD is given at 3 hourly intervals with the animals being tested only after the last injection (32). Cross tolerance has been observed to other indole and phenylalkylamine hallucinogens (11). Similar effects were also reported for other hallucinogens (10) with an order of potency that paralleled that seen in humans (2) that is, the (hallucinogenic) -isomer of LSD was about 10 times as potent as psilocybin and 100 times as potent as mescaline (10). 

If a psychedelic is taken several days in succession, some degree of tolerance (failure to produce a trip) develops. If a different psychedelic is then taken and this also fails to produce a trip, the two compounds are said to produce cross tolerance, which strongly indicates that they act in the same way and create roughly the same kind of trip. LSD, mescaline, and psilocybin (and probably the... 

Schedule I—The drug or other substance has (1) a high potential for abuse, (2) no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States, and (3) a lack of accepted safety for use of the drug or other substance under medical supervision. Examples Ecstasy, heroin, marijuana, and the hallucinogens peyote, mescaline, psilocybin, and LSD. 

Mescaline-containing buttons on top of the peyote cactus can be chewed or used to make a tea, or ground into a powder. Mescaline is absorbed rapidly, and effects begin between one-half and two hours after ingestion. Its half-life is six hours. Much of mescaline is excreted unchanged in urine as soon as one hour after use and for up to four days. In animal studies, there is evidence that mescaline passes into the fetus and can induce malformations. Mescaline, LSD, psilocybin, and DMT all activate the same serotonin receptor subtype in the brain. 

Cross tolerance has been demonstrated between LSD and mescaline, psilocybin, and psilocin. There seems to be no cross tolerance between LSD and marijuana or amphetamine. These observations are indicative of the structural similarites of the compounds. 

A concise list of which studies are underway, are being planned, or have recently been completed with MDMA, MDE, LSD, ibogaine, ketamine, psilocybin, DMT, mescaline, and Salvia divinorum. 

Both indoleamine (e.g., lysergic acid diethylamide, LSD psilocybin) and phenethylamine hallucinogens (e.g., mescaline) increased pupil diameter.26 There have been no systematic studies of the effects of these drugs on dynamic measures of the light reflex. Phencyclidine (PCP) does not cause marked changes in pupil size or light reflex. However, subjects intoxicated with PCP often show horizontal and vertical nystagmus.26... 

The results of our experiment would indicate that psilocybin (and LSD and mescaline, by analogy) are important tools for the study of the mystical state of consciousness. Experiences previously possible for only a small minority of people, and difficult to study because of their unpredictability and rarity, are now reproducible under suitable conditions. The mystical experience has been called by many names suggestive of areas that are paranormal and not usually considered easily available for investigation (e.g., an experience of transcendence, ecstasy, conversion, or cosmic consciousness) but this is a realm of human experience that should not be rejected as outside the realm of serious scientific study, especially if it can be shown that a practical benefit can result. Our data would suggest that such an overwhelming experience, in which a person existentially encounters basic values such as the... 

Usual doses of LSD in humans are approximately 1-2 vg/kg, making it one of the most potent pharmacologic agents known. The drug is equally effective parenterally or orally and consequently is almost always taken by mouth. Psilocybin is usually taken in doses of 250 g/kg and mescaline in doses of 5-6 mg/kg. Despite these differences in potency, the effects are virtually indistinguishable. 

The time of onset, when the drugs are taken orally on an empty stomach, is approximately 20-30 minutes for LSD and psilocybin, and one to two hours for mescaline. The duration of the session is usually eight to ten hours for LSD and mescaline, and five to six hours for psilocybin. DMT (dimethyltryptamine), when injected intramuscularly in dosages of 50-60 mg, gives an experience approximately equivalent to 500 micrograms of LSD, but which lasts only 30 minutes. 

Psilocybian mushrooms, psilocybin and psilocin can produce profound, awesome effects upon the mind. In research reported over the first two decades of study, subjects given psilocybin and other drugs in blind experiments were generally unable to distinguish this substance from LSD or mescaline of comparable dosage until several hours had passed. Recognizing psilocybin at that point was possible because of the shorter duration of its psychedelic effects. 

LSD and mescaline have a reputation for being spectacular hallucinatory drugs. In moderate to high doses, psilocybin and psilocybian mushrooms produce striking visual effects in most users who close their eyes even among people who are ordinarily not much as "visualizers. In contrast to most other psychedelics, psilocybian mushrooms have also impressed many users with auditory effects. Oss and Oeric describe the response when the experience is upbeat ... 

Alan Watts said the DMT experience was like "being fired out of the muzzle of an atomic cannon. He later re-evaluated DMT, calling it "amusing but relatively uninteresting compared to LSD, mescaline, psilocybin and Cannabis. Most who have tried DMT find it to be immensely pleasurable but without enduring effects. 

The Application of hallucinogens in modem psychotherapeutic methods can be traced back to the 1950s. At first, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) was the most commonly used of the psycholytics, as LSD and mescaline were then categorized (Abramson 1960, 1967 Passie 1997). In the early 1960s, psilocybin (4-phosphoryloxy-N, N-dimethyl-trypta-min) was discovered in Mexican mushrooms (Hofmann et al. 1958 1959). Shortly thereafter it was synthesized and applied in psychotherapy under the name Indocybin by Sandoz. 

Various substances can produce transient psychotic states, often accompanied by visual, auditory, or olfactory hallucinations. These include LSD (lysergic add diethylamide), mescaline, psilocybin, and PCP. These drugs are not associated with dependence or withdrawal, but they can produce a florid psychosis during acute intoxication. This effect can usually be allowed to run its course (usually twelve to twenty-four hours), but sometimes medications (such as antianxiety or antipsychotic) need to be used to decrease agitation and stabilize blood pressure. 

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