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Geeky Stats About Magic Mushrooms

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Re: Geeky Stats About Magic Mushrooms

#21

Post by kristofferR »

guard-of-terra wrote: post #14
cies wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

you mean they should copy the holland model :) (technically the netherlands only decriminalized marihuana; practically use and possession of user quantities go nearly always unpunished)

Yeah, except that they should allow psychoactive drugs too and allow selling (while disallowing taking those out of the country).

Magic mushrooms were actually allowed and sold openly until just a couple of years ago.

http://www.dutchamsterdam.nl/542-hallucinogenic-magic-mushro...

Re: Geeky Stats About Magic Mushrooms

#22

Post by axolotl »

Wingman4l7 wrote: post #17
zyb09 wrote: post #9

Hope not to sound like a extreme liberal, but a lot of the highly illegal hard drugs, aren't nearly as hazardous or addicting as they made out to be and can have positive effects - IF used right. That includes psilocybin, MDMA, THC, DMT, LSD and whatnot. Others are clearly toxic and very unhealthy, like crack or meth. It's all matter of being well informed about the effect and right use of the drug, as well as a havi…

I might remove MDMA from that list -- the head researcher at Johns Hopkins for this study was interviewed about a similar 2006 study he did; it mentions that studies at John Hopkins have shown the potential for brain damage from MDMA ("certain nerve cells", anyway). http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2006/Griffiths...

It should be noted that there was a scandal involving MDMA research at Johns Hopkins. A study claimed to prove that MDMA caused brain damage, but in fact Methamphetamine had accidentally been administered instead of MDMA. http://www.wired.com/techbiz/media/news/2003/09/60328

Of course, this doesn't disprove other legitimate studies. The interview you link took place well after that scandal.

Re: Geeky Stats About Magic Mushrooms

#23

Post by maqr »

mcdowall wrote: post #15
guard-of-terra wrote: post #2

I wonder why won't some starving poor tiny pacific island legalize [some] drugs. They could probably make good money from drug tourism.

They have, I went to the Gili Islands 2 years ago, no cars and they advertise legal mushroom shakes, also amazing island for diving (not in conjunction however!) Example http://www.flickr.com/photos/sgoralnick/2625980738/

That picture looked really appealing until I found some context: http://wikitravel.org/en/Gili_Islands#Stay_safe

Re: Geeky Stats About Magic Mushrooms

#24

Post by hyperbovine »

kristofferR wrote: post #18
Wingman4l7 wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I might remove MDMA from that list -- the head researcher at Johns Hopkins for this study was interviewed about a similar 2006 study he did; it mentions that studies at John Hopkins have shown the potential for brain damage from MDMA ("certain nerve cells", anyway). http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2006/Griffiths...

Heh, it's a shame that that myth is still around. The study was actually retracted by the "scientist" himself after he discovered that his lab had administered methamphetamine instead of MDMA. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retracted_article_on_toxicity_o... However, MDMA should certainly not be taken more than a couple of times a year. It's not something you mess around with, we don't know enough about how it affects…

> However, MDMA should certainly not be taken more than a couple of times a year. It's not something you mess around with, we don't know enough about how it affects brain chemistry yet.

There are those who find those two sentences a bit curious, and those who do not.

Re: Geeky Stats About Magic Mushrooms

#26

Post by gwern »

maqr wrote: post #23
mcdowall wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They have, I went to the Gili Islands 2 years ago, no cars and they advertise legal mushroom shakes, also amazing island for diving (not in conjunction however!) Example http://www.flickr.com/photos/sgoralnick/2625980738/

That picture looked really appealing until I found some context: http://wikitravel.org/en/Gili_Islands#Stay_safe

Well, it does say it's just the locals who get busted; executing tourists would be bad for business.

Re: Geeky Stats About Magic Mushrooms

#27

Post by lyudmil »

The sample seems a bit odd. Reading the comments it seems that a disproportionate percentage of the subjects were into meditation (a number of them report "increasing meditation"). I haven't read the study but it seems to me they'd have a hard time publishing their conclusions as they stand now.

I'm particularly skeptical of medical research. An ex-girlfriend was a student at Harvard Medical School and worked in three different labs on drug development. Two of the three studies all the labs published in a year contained data that was either pruned or simply misreported to exaggerate the effect of the drug. I know that's anecdotal evidence, but there's a lot of grant money floating around in medical research and all the incentives are skewed towards positive results, which often leads to bad science. I fear this may be yet another example (speculating, admittedly).

Re: Geeky Stats About Magic Mushrooms

#28

Post by city41 »

zyb09 wrote: post #9

Hope not to sound like a extreme liberal, but a lot of the highly illegal hard drugs, aren't nearly as hazardous or addicting as they made out to be and can have positive effects - IF used right. That includes psilocybin, MDMA, THC, DMT, LSD and whatnot. Others are clearly toxic and very unhealthy, like crack or meth. It's all matter of being well informed about the effect and right use of the drug, as well as a havi…

After I went to Bonnaroo and saw people doing every drug imaginable, I read "Buzzed" [0], which is written by several Duke professors and covers just about every drug out there. It was really fascinating, and I was surprised to find that many drugs are not that harmful, or at the least not nearly as harmful as I assumed them to be.

[0] http://www.amazon.com/Buzzed-Straight-Abused-Alcohol-Ecstasy... (not an affiliate link)

Re: Geeky Stats About Magic Mushrooms

#29

Post by woodall »

powertower wrote: post #19

You can purchase mushroom spores (in syringes) legally, get some simple grow medium, pack it in glass cans, sterilize that in oven, inject the medium with spores, and grow those mushrooms in a converted fish tank (they needs humidity). Takes about 2 weeks. Spores do not contain psilocybin. Here is one seller: http://www.thehawkseye.com/ that I remember.

Highly illegal once grown! Had a friend's pet dealer get life, but that was for a couple pounds; he sold them at festivals. [US]

*by pet, I mean animals

Re: Geeky Stats About Magic Mushrooms

#30

Post by mannicken »

themgt wrote: post #7

If psilocybin was unknown and a pharmaceutical company discovered it along with the "appropriate" dose and published this study, their stock would be worth approximately the entire western world's GDP tomorrow Except... it wouldn't because these people only required 4 doses, each a month apart, and then had better results 14 months later than every "take daily for life" psych drug on the market today

It's not that easy :) The "take daily for life" pills work always; you can have the crappiest day of life and take a pill and you're happy. That's why they're addictive, even stuff like cigarettes or alcohol -- always work, always calm you down, bad trip impossible.

Psychedelics require preparation, and active cooperation on the patients side. If you think you can be depressed and suicidal and eat a mushroom and have it all gone you are in for a world of bad trip, that will have consequences after the bad trip: insanity, panic attacks, anxiety, and symptoms of PTSD. Basically, psychedelics aren't an immediate fix, they require preparation before and taking actions after the trip.

Psychonautics requires learning; experienced and knowledgeable people can guide their mind to benefit greatly from a bad trip, but most people are not be able to handle it, and delve even deeper into depression or whatever. Some killed themselves afterwards or during. Some have peed their pants while crying and shaking throughout the trip but came out better. Some had absolutely wonderful experiences with psychedelics.

From personal experience, your set and setting will determine whether you discover the wonders of the universe or hallucinate a penis staring at your face, thinking you are being raped for 8 hours. I am not joking.

People like immediate fixes, hence why psychedelic therapy doesn't get much attention.

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