Psycho-Mycological Studies Of Amanita - From Ancient Sacrament To Modern Phobia

From the introduction:The fly-agaric, Amanita muscaria (Fr. ex L.) Hooker is certainly one of the most poorly understood of the known psychoactive plants. Despite the fact that there exists a record of more than a century of chemical and toxicological studies of this mushroom, its chemistry has not been fully delineated. Moreover. the chemical literature concerning A. muscaria is fraught with errors and misleading data.Much recent work has been devoted to the history of the use of this mushroom. Because of this work, and the attention it has drawn to the psychotropic properties of A. muscaria, this mushroom has come, during recent years, to be widely used as a recreational drug in the United States. However, persons who routinely use psilocybin-containing mushrooms (Psilocybe. Panaeolus, Conocybe, Stropharia spp.) as recreational drugs often display a curious fear of A. muscaria. This fear can tell us a peat deal about the ancient and modem roles of mushrooms in our culture.In this paper, I will review the history, chemistry and pharmacology of A. muscaria and its chemotaxonomic relatives, and discuss various theories regarding a sacramental role of the fly agaric in ancient religious cults. Further, I will contrast modern intentional and accidental use of the psychotropic Amanita specks inthe United States, and describe the subjective effects of Amanita intoxication. Finally. I will discuss the phobia, so frequently manifested by members of the psychedelic subculture, which surrounds modern recreational use of Amanita species.