Posted by Craig (134.32.125.71) on October 01, 1999 at 13:36:47:
Liberty Cap mushrooms contain a strong hallucinogen called psilocybin. This substance is effective against CH and possibly migraine. Liberty Cap mushrooms are currently in season in the UK.
I strongly recomend consulting a pictorial reference book before seeking out these mushrooms. There are only a handful of fataly toxic mushrooms in the UK and none of them resemble Liberty Cap, but it is better to be safe than sorry.
It is illegal in the UK to be in pocession of processed (including dired) Liberty Cap mushrooms. The law can be circumvented by preserving the fresh mushrooms in honey.
The mushrooms can be ingested raw but this may cause stomach pain and flatulance. The preferred method is to boil the muchrooms for 10-15mins then strain them out and drink the water.
The effective dose is around 10-12 mushrooms (around 1/4 the recreational dose). Ingest slowly over a 30 minute period to avoid unwelcome side effects.
A single dose can provide protection against cluster episodes for 6-12 months. I don't know how well it works on chronic sufferers.
The dose may be taken at any time including outside cluster episodes.
Psilocybin is chemically similar to LSD. LSD is an extract of ergot as are ergotamine and methysergide.