DOSE:

1/2 cap

oral

Mushrooms

(tea)

BODY WEIGHT:

150 lb

We had had a lot of rain this autumn, and few frosts – perfect mushroom weather. Alongside the road, just down the street and around the corner from our house, several Amanitas were growing underneath some pine trees. At the time, Amanitas kept appearing in my life – pictures in children’s books, lawn ornaments, other Amanitas growing on campus – they seemed to be everywhere. I didn’t know much about this mushrooms other than Siberian shamans traditionally used them, and that they could cause severe stomach upset including projectile vomiting. However, my curiosity demanded that I find out more.

After exploring some useful online sites, I figured out how to identity Amanita M. from its other deadline cousins, and decided on the best method of preparation. It seemed that the stomach upsetting toxins could be eliminated from the mushrooms by proper preparation such as drying, cooking, or simmering. I decided to it was time to try some and find out what it was like.

After making a quick trip down the road, I picked two caps, an full-grown one, and an immature one, which had just reached the stage of having a flat cap, but was still bright red and of medium to smallish size. Returning home, I placed them on the grill in the oven on low heat with the door opened to dry them out. After 45 minutes the mushrooms were drying, but still not dry. At that point, I decided to simmer ½ the cap of the smaller mushroom in hot water just below a full boil (approximately 90-95 degrees C). I had read that a low dose was one cap, so I decided to be conservative and only try ½ of that. Also, I discarded the stems (I had read that the caps contain most of the psychoactive chemicals and that the stems could contain little maggots, which they in fact did).

I cut the ½ cap into small pieces and placed them in the simmering water. After cooking for 45 minutes, I drained the broth into a cup and strained out the mushroom bits. I though drinking only the broth would also reduce the chances of an upset tummy. Moreover, I had read that the urine of someone who has eaten the mushrooms is also psychoactive, so I assumed that this method of preparation would contain some active properties.

At 9.50pm, I drank the broth. Its taste was not unpleasant – It was just like mushroom soup. I had a few burps, but no real stomach discomfort after ½ hour. At this point, I felt a bit sleepy and thought that nothing much was going to happen, so I went to bed. I lay awake for about ½ hour to forty-five minutes and then felt an urge to get up. When I got up, I definitely noticed I was off baseline. Objects appeared to take on great intensity. Moreover, I felt energized, powerful even. I had a strong desire to move around. There was no stomach discomfort – it fact, I was hungry. Preparing a light snack of honey, nuts and milk in the kitchen, I found myself moving my feet to the ticking of clock. I also noticed that I had excellent night vision and found normal inside lighting too bright.

Having fixed my snack, I sat on the floor in front of our wood-burner watching the logs burn eating my nuts and honey and drinking my milk. Normal objects appeared to have deeper meaning, such as I felt intimately that the wood burning in the stove had once been part of a proud pine tree, the milk I drank was from a cow, the honey from bees. There was a sense of connection and also gratitude toward the sacrifices of the living things that had given their lives and hard work to made up this experience.
The best way I can describe the experience is as ‘intense’. There was not the warm melting feelings I get on psilocybin mushrooms, and it was not sharp and jaggedy like speed or cocaine. I did feel ‘enpowered’ and energized. I listened to music for a few hours and danced around for a good hour. By 3am, I got sleepy and went to bed. Overall, it was a pleasant, exhilarating experience with no negative effects.

Exp Year: 2010	ExpID: 85956
Gender: Male
Age at time of experience: 42
Published: Jun 28, 2011	Views: 27,164
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Amanitas - A. muscaria (70) : First Times (2), Alone (16)