Posted by pinksharkmark (196.3.74.236) on October 16, 2000 at 11:03:49:
In Reply to: It seem's to me that if the shroom's are at all affective posted by sailpappy on October 16, 2000 at 08:41:50:
Several points to address here:
Mushrooms are not illegal in most countries, including mine (Dominican Republic), Flash's (Scotland), Annemarie's (Holland), and most other countries in Europe, the Caribbean, Central and South America, Asia, and, interestingly enough, in Florida. This was an INTERNATIONAL message board the last time I checked.
Ergotamine does not work for everyone, and is an abortive, not a preventative, anyway. It's like Imitrex but cheaper and not as effective. You say it didn't work for you. It didn't work for me, either. According to the 5,109 people who have taken the cluster survey, it doesn't seem to work very well for a whole lot of us.
Psilocybin is the ultimate preventative, stopping a cycle dead in its tracks and keeping it away for months at a time. There is NOTHING else available that we know about that will halt a cycle a single dose... NOTHING.
Psilocin (the psilocybin is converted to psilocin almost instantly upon being consumed) is chemically virtually identical to serotonin, so it is not surprising that it works. Ergotamine does have SOME similarities to psilocin, but is obviously not similar enough to deliver the same results. Ergotamine also has some nasty side-effects for many people. Psilocin has none.
As for the comment on justifying vices...
Flash has repeatedly stated that he has no interest whatsoever in taking mushrooms recreationally. On the contrary, he restricts his intake to two times a year, at SUB-HALLUCINOGENIC doses. He was so careful, in fact, that he UNDERDOSED the last time and suffered mightily because of that mistake.
I have posted repeatedly that the last time I took mushrooms was in the late seventies. If it weren't for these damn headaches I would never have had a reason to even THINK of psilocybin again. When I finally get my hands on some mushrooms, I will make sure I take a big enough dose to be effective, but NOT because I am looking to indulge in a "vice". If my cycle doesn't return for a year, I won't take mushrooms for a year. If they never return at all, I will never take them again in my life. To me it is a MEDICINE. Simple as that.
It may surprise you to hear of the large number of e-mails I am getting asking for my help in finding spores, tips on cultivation and dosage and identification, etc. I have also received several e-mails from people who have tried the mushrooms with success. These people are embarassingly grateful for the help I have provided. They have their own reasons for not posting to the message board, and I respect their wishes, even though it is frustrating not to be able to include their experiences in a databank.
An interesting point about these e-mails... women far outnumber men, so far. It seems women are more practical than men in this matter.
I am not "promoting illegal activity, justified by your own assumptions"
Flash and I are providing, as a courtesy, information. It is up to the readers to decide to do with this information. We don't HAVE to spend hours posting clarifications, providing explanations, answering e-mails, trying to interest neurologists, researchers and pharmaceutical companies in formal studies, searching the web for legal points, etc. We do it to help our fellow clusterheads, not because we are psychedelic evangelists.
I can name a dozen people who are delighted that Flash took the time to inform us of this treatment. That's AT LEAST a dozen people already who will never have to "do the dance" again. In a month or so, depending on growing time, I will be able to name AT LEAST a dozen more.
If you don't feel comfortable taking them yourself, then by all means don't take them. I realize that some people would rather endure the most excruciating pain known to man than disobey a law created by politicians who probably never heard of cluster headaches, let alone could predict that one day a guy in Scotland would discover that psilocybin is the "magic bullet" in treating cluster headaches.
But just because you don't want to take them yourself, and apparently don't like the thought of others taking them, doesn't justify your accusations of promoting illegal activity or indulging vices. You are way out of line, sir.
Just my humble opinion.
pinky