Mushrooms The Mind Altering Drug

1. MushroomsThe Mind Altering Drug • By Leigh Morgan

3. How Mushrooms Work on the Brain • The poisoning toxics in the mushrooms called psilocybin which is converted as psilocin in our bodies, this imitates the action of the neurotransmitter serotonin to produce the mushroom effect by acting on our central nervous system very much like the drug LDS does

4. Short Term Effect • The high can start with in 20 minutes after ingesting the drug • Euphoria • The peak high is between 30-45 minutes and last for two hours • Nausea • Slight increase in blood pressure • Slight increase in heart rate • Strong increase in the knee reflex

5. Short Term Effect Cont.. • Dilated Pupils • Strange gait and changes in posture • Increase in motor activity such as fidgeting • Immediate perspiring • For the first four hours lowered body temp then high body temp • Rapid breathing • Rapid rise in blood sugar • Dizziness

6. Short Term Effect Cont.. • Decrease in blood potassium • Increase in need to urinate and defecate • Flushing of skin often accompanied by shivering and chills • Increase salivation • Sensations of hot and cold • A sense of calmness for OCD patients

7. After Effects • Stomach problems • Cramping • Nausea • Vomiting • Diarrhea • Effects are normal because mushrooms are a fungi • Flashbacks • Tolerance • Addicition

8. Long term Effects • There are no reported long term effects because there have not been enough studies done on the drug • A user could have flash backs every once in a while and for small amounts of time

9. People on Mushrooms

10. Good Effects • A study done by John Hopkins, that had 18 healthy adults, at an average age of 46 that participated in five eight-hour drug sessions reported these effects • The psilocybin in the mushrooms triggers transformative spiritual state

11. Good effect Cont.. • Helps people find peace in their lives without the negative effects • It optimize the positive persistent effects and avoid some of the fear and anxiety that can occur, as long as the dose is right

12. Good Trip Vs Bad Trip • A good trip will give a hallucinations with colors that are more vibrant • That you can notice the tiny details that you don’t usually see • Hear music sounds richer and louder • Feel blissful with flashes of insight into you and or the world • See objects merging into each other and or fell yourself dissolving • A bad trip will make you feel like you are in your worst nightmare but you can not get out • This will give you terrifying hallucinations that can result in several hours with disturbing images that can make you feel anxious and afraid • Your emotional state can intensified the trip

13. History of Mushrooms • The drug was used back in prehistoric times for religious ceremonies to try to contact the gods and or spirit world • The drug is traced back to bronze age which is about 3000 BC maybe even to the Mesolithic period which is about 9000 BC • Also used by ancient people to numb the senses to the pain of illness and or injury

14. History Con... • In the 1960’s and the counterculture movement of the early 70’s picked up research on the drug and flocked to Mexico and Latin America in search of the “divine high” • This area nearly destroyed the isolated native cultures • This drug has uprooted our culture in the past few years along with variations of the drug

15. Facts • There is over 50,00 known species of mushrooms only about two percent of them are hallucinogenic • This two percent breaks down into two kinds the Amanita Muscaria also know as the Fly Agaric and Psilocybe Mexican • The street name is Shrooms

16. Facts Cont.. • The drug does not get digested through our bodies like food so some users will drink there own urine over and over again to get the full effect • The average dose of the drug is 100 to 200 micrograms per kilogram of body weight • The scientific name for the poison mushrooms is Mycetism

17. Facts Cont... • These types of mushrooms usually popup after natural disastrous like a hurricane. Moisture, humidity, the wind, and temperature is perfect climate for the mushrooms • Both full moons and lunar elements are associated with mushroom growths

18. Fly Agaric • Red capped mushrooms that attract flies and yet poisonous to the flies • Use to put around house to kill flies • The alkaloids from the drug do not break down in our system • A high can last a week • The most famous ones still found in United Kingdom, North Europe and North America

19. Psilocybe Mexican • This contains the psilocybin or psilocin that give it the hallucinogenic • It grows in hot and humid areas like animal feces • Aztecs used it in sacrificing humans

20. Work Cited • Bora, Chandramita. "Effects of Shrooms on the Brain." Buzzle.com. Buzzle.com, 16 Sept. 2010. Web. 13 Mar. 2012. • Interlandi, Jeneen. "A Really Long Strange Trip." The Daily Beast. Newsweek/Daily Beast, 01 July 2008. Web. 13 Mar. 2012. • Iyer, Sujata. "Mushrooms Drug Test." Buzzle.com. Buzzle.com, 27 Dec. 2010. Web. 13. • Moye, David. "Hurricane Irene Could Sprout Bumper Crop Of Magic Mushrooms." The Huffington Post. Ed. HuffPost Weird News. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 27 Aug. 2011. Web. 13 Mar. 2012. • Smith, Sandra Lee. Peyote and Magic Mushrooms. New York: Rosen Pub. Group, 1995. Print. • Szalavitz, Maia. "Study: Psilocybin, the Drug in 'Magic Mushrooms,' Lifts Mood and Increases Compassion Over the Long Term | Healthland | TIME.com." Time. Time, 16 June 2011. Web. 13 Mar. 2012. • TheGoodDrugGuide.com “What Are Magic Mushrooms?" Mushrooms Index.Mushrooms Rehab Center, 22 Oct. 2000. Web. 18 Mar. 2012.