Posted by pinksharkmark (196.3.74.234) on September 30, 2000 at 13:03:41:
In Reply to: Progress Report -- 12 Days since initial dosing posted by Q on September 29, 2000 at 02:22:42:
What Q refers to as "psi-tx" is psilocybe cubensis, a species of psilocybin mushroom with a very wide distribution in North America.
Home cultivation would cost CONSIDERABLY less than $300. A spore supply is $10. All that is needed besides spores is a bag of vermiculite, a few pounds of brown rice flower, a styrofoam cooler, a half-dozen mason jars, and a spray bottle for misting the mushrooms.
Total cost -- less than the price of a single Imitrex injection.
If dried and stored properly, they can last for many years. There are reports of dried mushrooms as old as 115 years still retaining potency, although it is generally agreed that fresh mushrooms or those preserved in honey are stronger.
While it is true that it is illegal to possess these mushrooms in forty-nine of the fifty states, it is legal in Florida. It is also legal in most other countries, including England, Germany, and the Netherlands.
It is certainly true that some mushrooms are poisonous. Fortunately, psilocybe cubensis is an extremely easy mushroom to identify, and does not resemble any poisonous mushroom that will grow in the same habitat (cow pastures, typically).
The two easiest ways to determine whether a specimen resembling p. cubensis is the real thing or not is to check to see if the stem is hollow (p. cubensis have hollow stems) and to slice the skin of the cap with a pen knife and wait twenty minutes or so to see if the cut turns a dark bluish-black or purplish color. If it doesn't change color, it is NOT what you're looking for. DON'T eat it.
My personal preference would be home cultivation. For those interested in this approach, go to www.fanaticus.com to order guaranteed spore syringes and to get an idea of what is involved in producing your own.
I grew my own p. cubensis over twenty years ago, and take my word for it, it is dead simple. Nothing to it at all, as long as you follow the directions. I do not exaggerate when I say that any ten year-old child could do this as a science project.
The biggest potential problem is contamination of your growing medium by other fungus or molds, and as long as you keep everything clean, the chances of contamination are almost zero.
Thanks for the detailed reports, Q. I am pleased beyond words that even a chronic clusterhead was able to get such spectacular, immediate relief from a single sub-hallucinogenic "borderline" dose.
Here in the Dominican Republic the temperatures are finally starting to drop, and it is starting to rain again, so I expect to be able to get my hands on the local mushroom (psilocybe hispanica) any day now.
pinky