Hallucinogenic Mushrooms
Hallucinogens have been a part of customs and religion as long as there has been recorded history. The consumption of hallucinogens, specifically magic mushrooms, has been dated back to approximately six to nine thousand years. There is historical documentation of the sacred usage of mushrooms from all over the world. They have been used in religious ceremonies, as well as an escape from people’s monotonous, mundane lives. A spike of usage occurred during the 1960’s, in accordance with the counterculture, as a gateway into higher consciousness. Psychologists such as Timothy Leary experimented with mushrooms to see the connection from sacred mushrooms, to understanding a human’s subconscious. The magic mushroom is a psychoactive drug that alters
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Mushrooms are hallucinogens because they contain the chemical Psilocybin. Psilocin, the active metabolite of psilocybin, works with interaction by neurotransmitter receptors on nerve cells in the brain. There, it replicates the affects of serotonin release. This is the same way that hallucinogenic drugs such as LSD, or mescaline affect the brain. Hallucinogens like these forcefully affect the brain, distorting the senses and changing the users perception of time and …show more content…
His work as the Director of Psychological Research at the Kaiser Foundation Hospital in Oakland, California only helped him recognize that standard methodologies were not the only option. Leary was a very focused individual; and in 1960, he was invited to join the faculty of the Social Relations Department at Harvard University. Leary began a study on the affects of mushrooms on individuals; and also partook in the consumption of the shrooms. Leary had a friend named Frank Barron who helped to get him the job at Harvard. It was Barron who first introduced Leary to the possible connection between sacred mushrooms and psychiatry in 1959. Leary began his testing of the mushrooms and soon became an avid member of the drug community, “Clearly, there was a time when very intelligent and accomplished people were excited about the possibilities that sacred mushrooms offered. I can tell you now that the mushrooms haven’t changed at all, and the possibilities are still there.” What Leary was trying to portray was that the mushrooms can still hold their spiritual meaning if used properly. People now abuse them and use them as a recreational
Mushrooms are hallucinogens because they contain the chemical Psilocybin. Psilocin, the active metabolite of psilocybin, works with interaction by neurotransmitter receptors on nerve cells in the brain. There, it replicates the affects of serotonin release. This is the same way that hallucinogenic drugs such as LSD, or mescaline affect the brain. Hallucinogens like these forcefully affect the brain, distorting the senses and changing the users perception of time and …show more content…
His work as the Director of Psychological Research at the Kaiser Foundation Hospital in Oakland, California only helped him recognize that standard methodologies were not the only option. Leary was a very focused individual; and in 1960, he was invited to join the faculty of the Social Relations Department at Harvard University. Leary began a study on the affects of mushrooms on individuals; and also partook in the consumption of the shrooms. Leary had a friend named Frank Barron who helped to get him the job at Harvard. It was Barron who first introduced Leary to the possible connection between sacred mushrooms and psychiatry in 1959. Leary began his testing of the mushrooms and soon became an avid member of the drug community, “Clearly, there was a time when very intelligent and accomplished people were excited about the possibilities that sacred mushrooms offered. I can tell you now that the mushrooms haven’t changed at all, and the possibilities are still there.” What Leary was trying to portray was that the mushrooms can still hold their spiritual meaning if used properly. People now abuse them and use them as a recreational