Posted by pinksharkmark (64.32.117.4) on July 26, 2001 at 13:33:24:
In Reply to: Hey Pinky and Flash (long) posted by Katherine on July 25, 2001 at 14:30:45:
The level of detail and "date-stamping" is wonderful, and makes it easy to chart your progress. It is also evident that you did your homework well, in that you stopped your verapamil several days ahead of your experiment. We still don't know whether or not verapamil is one of the medications that exerts a "blocking" action on psilocybin or LSD, and probably won't know for sure for years (if ever), but all indications we have so far is that it is best to take the hallucinogens when completely med-free.
I am such a curious kind of guy that I am going to request even MORE detail, though.
Do you know what kind of mushrooms they were? Psilocybe cubensis? Liberty Cap?
Where they wild-gathered or cultivated indoors?
Were they fresh-picked or dried? Did you eat the mushrooms or brew them into a tea first?
How many grams did you take?
What level "trip" did they produce? Level 1, Level 2... (see below for explanation of trip levels)
As for the relative effectiveness of the LSD vs. psilocybin mushrooms... the problem with obtaining LSD through the black market is the enormous variation in potency and quality of what is out there. According to the DEA's reports, these days what is sold as a "hit" of LSD is far weaker than what was commonly available in the Sixties and Seventies... many of the tabs and blotters they test show only 20 or 30 micrograms per dose, and almost none rate as high as 100 micrograms (standard "recreational dose"). As well, many of them contain LSA rather than LSD, or a mixture of the two, further weakening the results.
The fact that you were able to sleep at all (even fitfully) almost immediately after taking the dose shows that it was a VERY small dose. If you had managed to get even 25 micrograms of real LSD into your body, sleep would have been impossible for six to eight hours.
If you had known in advance how weak the "tab" was, and had taken the whole thing, it may have had a stronger effect. I agree with Flash that most of your anxiety was a product of your mindset going into the experience rather than the effects of the drug itself.
If you live in a country where the cultivation of psilocybin mushrooms is not illegal, Flash's suggestion of growing your own "backup supply" is a good one. No matter how complete or how long a remission you eventually obtain from this experiment, the beast WILL return. Cultivating Psilocybe cubensis is VERY easy, as several posters here can attest.
Thank you so much for your detailed report. Please keep us informed of your progress.
pinky
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TRIP LEVEL SCALE
Level 1
This level produces a mild "stoning" effect, with some visual enhancement (i.e. brighter colours, etcetera). Some short term memory anomalies. Left/right brain communication changes causing music to sound "wider".
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Level 2:
Bright colors, and visuals (i.e. things start to move and breath), some 2 dimensional patterns become apparent upon shutting eyes. Confused or reminiscent thoughts. Change of short term memory leads to continual distractive thought patterns. Vast increase in creativity becomes apparent as the natural brain filter is bypassed.
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Level 3:
Very obvious visuals, everything looking curved and/or warped patterns and kaleidoscopes seen on walls, faces etc. Some mild hallucinations such as rivers flowing in wood grained or "mother of pearl" surfaces. Closed eye hallucinations become 3 dimensional. There is some confusion of the senses (i.e. seeing sounds as colors, etcetera). Time distortions and "moments of eternity".
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Level 4:
Strong hallucinations, i.e. objects morphing into other objects. Destruction or multiple splitting of the ego. (Things start talking to you, or you find that you are feeling contradictory things simultaneously). Some loss of reality. Time becomes meaningless. Out of body experiences and e.s.p. type phenomena. Blending of the senses.
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Level 5:
Total loss of visual connection with reality. The senses cease to function in the normal way. Total loss of ego. Merging with space, other objects, or the universe. The loss of reality becomes so severe that it defies explanation. The earlier levels are relatively easy to explain in terms of measureable changes in perception and thought patterns. This level is different in that the actual universe within which things are normally perceived, ceases to exist! Satori enlightenment (and other such labels).