Psilocybe Cubensis

as sampled by Matthew Gorman

ANYONE who is a regular reader of this column is undoubtedly aware of my unabashed fondness for the class of drugs known as opiates. In fact, as a stalwart proponent for a comprehensive review of drug usage I have an admittedly huge and rather unapologetic opiate bias. That being said, however, there is one other particular chemical catalyst for which I hold a special, near spiritual reverence. That substance is psilocybin. And my favorite lil' ol' fungus containing said substance is none other than the "common cowshit mushroom" (so called for its propensity to grow in bovine excrement) also known as the "magic mushroom" or by the truncation of its Latin name, Cubensis.

Although used for shamanic purposes by the Indians of Mexico for centuries if not longer, it was not until 1953 when ethnomycologist R. Gordon Wasson and his wife discovered the ritualized ingestion of the psychotropic fungus in Oaxaca, Mexico that the psilocybin mushroom found its way onto the radar of western science. Five years later in 1958 famed scientist Albert Hoffman isolated and named the hallucinogenic alkaloids in the mushroom, psilocybin and psilocin.

But to glibly define Psilocybe Cubensis or any other fungi containing psilocybin merely as hallucinogens, something that allows the mind to play tricks upon its self and nothing more, is to do them grave injustice. The term enthenogen is far more appropriate when discussing these substances, in that it would appear they are entities in and of themselves, imparting a special sort of information to their users.

Prophetic visions and communication with strange beings have been reported by users of Cubensis, as well as vivid travels within the realm of "inner space". Visions of fantastical cities are often reported by users on high doses of psilocybin (acclaimed psychonaut, the late, great Terrance McKenna recommended around five grams of dried material for those who wanted to truly experience the mushroom's wisdom and power) wherein there is a sense that these are places of great learning for those brave enough to venture there.

Of course, mushrooms in lower doses (I recommend eating around 2 grams which is typically about half of a bag when the dried Cubensis are sold in their usual 1/8th of an ounce denominations) can be a whole lot of wacky fun, too. Last time I did them I lay on a couch and closed my eyes as I begin to peak on the drug. For the next half hour I was beset by a multitude of Technicolor visions, epiphanies about the nature of the universe and a deep empathy for all living things. Upon opening my eyes I stood up sharply and declared quite emphatically "I am the Mayor of Mushroomtown with a Popeye hat!" At the time I really meant it, too.