Psilocybin

Imagery found on prehistoric [|murals] and [|rock paintings] of modern-day Spain and Algeria suggest that human usage of psilocybin mushrooms dates back thousands of years. In [|Mesoamerica], the mushrooms had long been consumed in [|spiritual] and [|divinatory] ceremonies before Spanish chroniclers first documented their use in the 16th century. In a 1957// [|Life] // magazine article, American banker and [|ethnomycologist] [|R. Gordon Wasson]  described his experiences ingesting psilocybin-containing mushrooms during a traditional ceremony in Mexico, introducing the drug to popular culture. Shortly afterward, the Swiss chemist [|Albert Hofmann] isolated the active principle psilocybin from the mushroom// [|Psilocybe mexicana] //. Hofmann's employer [|Sandoz] marketed and sold pure psilocybin to physicians and clinicians worldwide for use in [|psychedelic psychotherapy]. Although increasingly restrictive drug laws of the late 1960s curbed scientific research into the effects of psilocybin and other hallucinogens, its popularity as an [|entheogen] (spirituality-enhancing agent) grew in the next decade, largely owing to the increased availability of information on how to cultivate psilocybin mushrooms. Some users of the drug consider it an entheogen and a tool to supplement practices for [|transcendence], including [|meditation] and [|psychonautics]. The intensity and duration of the effects of psilocybin are variable, depending on species or [|cultivar] of mushrooms, dosage, individual physiology, and [|set and setting], as was shown in experiments led by [|Timothy Leary] at [|Harvard University] in the early 1960s. Once ingested, psilocybin is rapidly metabolized to psilocin, which then acts on [|serotonin receptors] in the brain. The mind-altering effects of psilocybin typically last from two to six hours; however, to individuals under the influence of psilocybin, the effects may seem to last much longer, since the drug can distort the perception of time. Psilocybin has a low [|toxicity] and a relatively low harm potential, and reports of lethal doses of the drug are rare. Several modern [|bioanalytical] methods have been adapted to rapidly and accurately screen the levels of psilocybin in mushroom samples and body fluids. Since the 1990s, there has been a renewal of scientific research into the potential medical and psychological therapeutic benefits of psilocybin for treating conditions including [|obsessive-compulsive disorder], [|cluster headaches] , and anxiety related to [|terminal] cancer. Possession of psilocybin-containing mushrooms has been outlawed in most countries, and it has been classified as a [|scheduled drug] by many national [|drug laws]
 * Psilocybin** [|[nb 1]] ([[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8a/Loudspeaker.svg/11px-Loudspeaker.svg.png width="11" height="11" caption="play"]] [|/][|ˌ][|s][|ɪ][|l][|ə][|ˈ][|s][|aɪ][|b][|ɪ][|n][|/] [|//**sil**-ə-**sy**-bin//]  ) is a naturally occurring [|psychedelic] compound produced by more than [|200 species] of [|mushrooms], collectively known as [|psilocybin mushrooms] . The most potent are members of the genus// [|Psilocybe] //, such as // [|P. azurescens] //, // [|P. semilanceata] //, and // [|P. cyanescens] //, but psilocybin has also been isolated from about a dozen other [|genera] . As a [|prodrug] , psilocybin is quickly converted by the body to [|psilocin] , which has mind-altering effects similar to those of [|LSD] and [|mescaline] . The effects generally include [|euphoria] , visual and mental [|hallucinations] , changes in [|perception] , a distorted [|sense of time] , and spiritual experiences, and can include possible adverse reactions such as [|nausea] and [|panic attacks].





Psilocybin mushrooms were used in ancient times, and were depicted in rock paintings. Many native peoples have used mushrooms for religious purposes, rituals and healing. In modern day society they are often used to evoke a "high", which is sometimes described as spiritual experience and is often euphoric in nature

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