Entheogens
Thank you for your interest in Entheogens!
This group will continually be updated as material is assembled and synthesized. Comments are always welcome, especially with recommending new content.
I. ENTHEOGENS (GENERAL)
II. AYAHUASCA
III. CANNABIS
IV. DIMETHYLTRYPTAMINE (DMT)
V. LYSERGIC ACID DIETHYLAMIDE (LSD)
VI. PEYOTE
VII. PSILOCYBIN MUSHROOMS
VIII. TOBACOO
(This page was last updated on February 22nd, 2013)
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I.
ENTHEOGENS
"Erowid supports freedom of religion and spiritual practices. There are currently many religions and groups that use visionary substances as a primary part of their spiritual practices. Only one practice, the Native American Church's use of peyote, is exempted from current laws against "drug use". The Constitution guarantees every citizen's right to practice their beliefs without interference from the government.
Erowid strongly believes in only the responsible and ethical use of entheogens. Though many visionary substances have been outlawed by the U.S. government, and legislative attempts have even been made to make discussion of entheogens a crime, it is important that information about these substances be available to everyone.
Entheogens can be a meaningful part of the mindful search for a healthier and more spiritual existence."
- Erowid
“An entheogen ("generating the divine within") is a psychoactive substance used in a religious, shamanic, or spiritual context. Entheogens can supplement many diverse practices for healing, transcendence, and revelation, including: meditation, psychonautics, art projects, and psychedelic therapy.
Entheogens have been used in a ritualized context for thousands of years; their religious significance is well established in anthropological and modern evidences. Examples of traditional entheogens include: peyote, psilocybin mushrooms, uncured tobacco, cannabis, ayahuasca, Salvia divinorum, Tabernanthe iboga, Ipomoea tricolor, and Amanita muscaria. With the advent of organic chemistry, there now exist many synthetic substances with similar psychoactive properties, many derived from these plants. Many pure active compounds with psychoactive properties have been isolated from these organisms and chemically synthesized, including mescaline, psilocybin, DMT, salvinorin A, ibogaine, ergine, and muscimol, respectively. Semi-synthetic (e.g. LSD derived from ergine) and synthetic substances (e.g. DPT used by the Temple of the True Inner Light and 2C-B used by the Sangoma) have also been developed. Entheogens may be compounded through the work of a shaman or apothecary in a tea, admixture, or potion like ayahuasca or bhang.
More broadly, the term entheogen is used to refer to any psychoactive substances when used for their religious or spiritual effects, whether or not in a formal religious or traditional structure. This terminology is often chosen to contrast with recreational use of the same substances. Studies such as the Marsh Chapel Experiment have documented reports of spiritual experiences from participants who were administered psychoactive substances in controlled trials. Ongoing research is limited due to widespread drug prohibition, however some countries have legislation that allows for traditional entheogen use.”
- Wikipedia
Importance of Psychedelic Research - Albert Hofmann
Re-establishing the link with nature through psychedelic drugs and shamanism
Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993
For More Information:
[Cross-Reference – Shamanism Group]
BOOKS
Abbott, F.S., McKenna, Dennis, and Towers, G. H. N., Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors in South American Hallucinogenic Plants, Part I: Tryptamine and Beta-carboline Constituents of Ayahuasca, JOURNAL OF ETHNOPHARMACOLOGY, 10:195-223, 1984a.
Abbott, F.S., McKenna, Dennis, and Towers, G. H. N., Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors in South American Hallucinogenic Plants, Part II: Constituents of Orally-Active Myristicaceous Hallucinogens, JOURNAL OF ETHNOPHARMACOLOGY, 12:179-211, 1984b.
Badiner, Allan Hunt and Grey, Alex, eds., ZIG ZAG ZEN: BUDDHISM AND PSYCHEDELICS, Chronicle Books, San Francisco, 2002.
Bourguignon, Erika, RELIGION, ALTERED STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS, AND SOCIAL CHANGE, Ohio State University Press, Columbus, 1973.
Budge, E. A. Wallis, THE DIVINE ORIGIN OF THE CRAFT OF THE HERBALIST.
CHINESE MEDICINAL HERBS, compiled by Li Shih-Chen, translated by F. Porter Smith, MD, and G.A. Stuart, MD; Georgetown Press, San Francisco, 1973.
Cunningham, Scot, CUNNINGHAM’S ENCYCLOPEDIA OF MAGICAL HERBS, 1990.
First, Peter J., HALLUCINOGENS AND CULTURE, Chandler and Sharp Publishers, Inc., 1976.
Forte, Robert, ENTHEOGENS AND THE FUTURE OF RELIGION, Park Street Press, Rochester, VT, 2012.
Gimbel, Steven, ed., THE GRATEFUL DEAD AND PHILOSOPHY: GETTING HIGH MINDED ABOUT LOVE AND HAIGHT, Open Court Press, Chicago, 2007.
Glowa, John R., THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PSYCHOACTIVE DRUGS, Chelsea House Pub., NY., New Haven, Philadelphia, 1986.
HIGH TIMES ENCYCLOPEDIA OF RECREATIONAL DRUGS; Stonehill Publishing Co., Trans High Corp., New York, 1978.
Hobhouse, Henry, SEEDS OF CHANGE: FIVE PLANTS THAT TRANSFORMED MANKIND, Harper & Row, New York, 1985.
Holland, J., ed., ECSTASY: THE COMPLETE GUIDE: A COMPREHENSIVE LOOK AT THE RISKS AND BENEFITS OF MDMA, Park Street Press, Rochester, VT, 2001.
Hruby, P. and Roberts, Thomas, Toward an entheogen research agenda, JOUNRAL OF HUMANISTIC PSYCHOLOGY, 42(1), p. 71-89, 2002.
Jacobs, Barry L., HALLUCINOGENS: NEUROCHEMICAL, BEHAVORIAL, AND CLINICAL PERSPECTIVES, Raven Press, New York, 1984.
Judd, Elizabeth, Hallucinogens and the Origin of Language, SOCIO-LINGUISTIC NEWSLETTER, Vol. II, pp. 7-12, 1980.
Krüger, Henrik, THE GREAT HEROIN COUP: DRUGS, INTELLIGENCE, AND INTERNATIONAL FASCIM, South End Press, Boston, 1980.
La Wall, Charles H., THE CURIOUS LORE OF DRUGS AND MEDICINES THROUGH THE AGES, J. B. Lippincott, 1927.
Lewin, Roger, Stone Age Psychedelia, NEW SCIENTIST, 8 June, pp. 30-34, 1991.
Matheson, Richard R., THE ETERNAL SEARCH: THE STORY OF MAN AND HIS DRUGS, G. P. Putnam’s Sons, New York, 1958.
Mortimer, W. Golden, THE HISTORY OF COCA: THE DIVINE PLANT OF THE INCAS, Fitz Hugh Ludlow Library Edition, San Francisco, 1974.
Ratsch, Christian, THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PSYCHOACTIVE PLANTS: ENTHNOPHARMACOLOGY AND ITS APPLICATIONS, Park Street Press, Rochester, VT, 2005.
Roberts, Thomas, PSYCHOACTIVE SACRAMENTALS: ESSAYS ON ENTHEOGENS AND RELIGION, Council on Spiritual Practices, San Francisco, 2001.
Spess, David, SOMA: THE DIVINE HALLUCINOGEN, Park Street Press, Rochester, VT, 2000.
Walsh, Roger, Psychedelics and psychological well-being, JOURNAL OF HUMANISTIC PSYCHOLOGY, 22, p. 22-32, 1982.
VIDEOS
Entheogen: Awakening the Divine Within (2006)
WEBSITES
COSM - Chapel of Sacred Mirrors
Erowid – Documenting the Complex Relationship between Humans & Psychoactives
Students for Sensible Drug Policy
Wikipedia – Entheogens
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entheogens
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II.
AYAHUASCA
"Ayahuasca is a powerfully psychedelic South American brew traditionally made from the B. caapi vine and admixtures such as P. viridis (and/or other DMT-containing plants). One of its primary effects is considered to be the vomiting (the purge) that accompanies the experience. The term ayahuasca is sometimes loosely used to mean any combination of an MAOI with DMT."
- Erowid
"Ayahuasca (ayawaska pronounced [ajaˈwaska] in the Quechua language) is a brew of various psychoactive infusions or decoctions prepared with the Banisteriopsis caapi vine. It is usually mixed with the leaves of dimethyltryptamine (DMT)-containing species of shrubs from the genus Psychotria. The brew, first described academically in the early 1950s by Harvard ethnobotanist Richard Evans Schultes, who found it employed for divinatory and healing purposes by the native peoples of Amazonian Colombia, is known by a number of different names. It has been reported that some effects can be had from consuming the caapi vine alone, but that DMT-containing plants (such as Psychotria) remain inactive when drunk as a brew without a source of monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI) such as B. caapi. How indigenous peoples discovered the synergistic properties of the plants used in the ayahuasca brew remains unclear. While many indigenous Amazonian people say they received the instructions directly from plants and plant spirits, researchers have devised a number of alternative theories to explain its discovery."
- Wikipedia
This Section Is Under Construction
For More Information:
BOOKS
Amaringo, Charing, Cloudsley, THE AYAHUASCA VISIONS OF PABLO AMARINGO, Inner Traditions, Rochester, VT, 2011.
Campos, Don Jose, THE SHAMAN & AYAHUASCA: JOURNEYS TO SACRED REALMS, Divine Arts, 2011.
De Alverga, Alex Polari, THE RELIGION OF AYAHUASCA: THE TEACHINGS OF THE CHURCH OF SANTO DAIME, Park Street Press, Rochester, VT, 2010.
Kounen, Narby, and Ravalec, THE PSYCHOTROPIC MIND: THE WORLD ACCORDING TO AYAHUASCA, IBOGA, AND SHAMANISM, Park Street Press, Rochester, VT, 2009.
Metzner, Ralph, PhD, SACRED VINE OF SPIRITS: AYAHUASCA, Park Street Press, Rochester, VT, 2005.
Wilcox, Joan Parisi, AYAHUASCA: THE VISIONARY AND HEALING POWERS OF THE VINE OF THE SOUL, Park Street Press, Rochester, VT, 2003.
VIDEOS
WEBSITES
Erowid Ayahuasca Vault
http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/ayahuasca/ayahuasca.shtml
Wikipedia - Ayahuasca
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayahuasca
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III.
CANNABIS
"Cannabis, a fast-growing bushy annual with dense sticky flowers, produces the psychoactive THC. It is the most widely used illegal psychoactive and has a long history of medicinal, recreational, and industrial use. The fibrous stalks of the plant are used to produce clothing and rope."
- Erowid
“Cannabis is a genus of flowering plants that includes three putative varieties, Cannabis sativa, Cannabis indica, and Cannabis ruderalis. These three taxa are indigenous to Central Asia, and South Asia. Cannabis has long been used for fiber (hemp), for seed and seed oils, for medicinal purposes, and as a recreational drug. Industrial hemp products are made from Cannabis plants selected to produce an abundance of fiber. To satisfy the UN Narcotics Convention, some Cannabis strains have been bred to produce minimal levels of THC, the principal psychoactive constituent responsible for the "high" associated with marijuana. Marijuana consists of the dried flowers of Cannabis plants selectively bred to produce high levels of THC and other psychoactive cannabinoids. Various extracts including hashish and hash oil are also produced from the plant.”
- Wikipedia
Cannabis: The Philosopher's Stone
Cannabis and True Spirituality - A Forward by Steven Hagar
Carl Sagan's Essay on Cannabis
The Religion of Jesus Church (Kaawaloa, HI) - The Holy Herb [Cannabis]
For More Information:
BOOKS
Abel, Earnest, MARIJUANA, THE FIRST TWELVE THOUSAND YEARS, Phenum Press, New York, 1980.
Aldrich, Dr. Michael, Cannabis and its Derivatives, HIGH TIMES ENCYCLOPEDIA OF RECREATIONAL DRUGS, Trans High Corp., New York, 1978.
Andrew and Vinkenoog, THE BOOK OF GRASS, AN ANTHOLOGY OF INDIAN HEMP, Peter Owen Ltd., London, 1967.
Bennett, Chris, CANNABIS AND THE SOMA SOLUTION, Trine Day, 2010.
Bennett, Chris & Osburn, Judy and Lynn, GREEN GOLD – THE TREE OF LIFE: MARIJUANA IN MAGIC AND RELIGION, Access Unlimited, Frazier Park, CA, 1995.
Benet, Sula, Early Diffusion and Folk Uses of Hemp, CANNABIS AND CULTURE, V. Rubin, ed., The Hague: Moutan, 1975.
Conrad, Chris, HEMP: LIFELINE TO THE FUTURE, Creative Xpressions, Los Angeles, CA, 1992.
Drake, Bill, THE CONNOISSEUR’S HANDBOOK OF MARIJUANA, Straight Arrow Books, 1971.
EXCERPTS FROM THE INDIAN HEMP DRUGS COMMISSION REPORT WITH CENTENNIAL THOUGHTS ON INDIAN HELP AND DOPE FIENDS OF OLD ENGLAND, compiled by Tod H. Mikuriya, M.D., Last Gasp, 1994.
Emboden, William, Ritual Use of Cannabis Sativa L: A Historical-Ethnographic Survey, FLESH OF THE GODS, pp. 214-236.
Gaskin, Stephen, CANNABIS SPIRITUALITY, High Times Books, 1998.
Grinspoon, L., MD; and Bakalar J., MARIHUANA: THE FORBIDDEN MEDICINE, Yale University Press, 1997.
Haining, Peter, THE HASHISH CLUB, VOLUME I, Peter Owen Publishers, London, 1975.
Hayter, Alethea, OPIUM AND THE ROMATIC IMAGINATION, University of California Press, Berkeley, CA, 1968.
Herer, Jack, THE EMPEROR WEARS NO CLOTHES, Hemp Publishing, Van Nuys, Ca, 1990.
Hoye, David, CANNABIS ALCHEMY: THE ART OF MODERN HASHMAKING, High Times/Level Press, 1976.
Ludlow, Fitz Hugh, THE HASHEESH EATER: BEING PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE OF A PYTHAGOREAN, Harper & Brothers, New York, 1857.
Marijuana and the Bible, Ethiopian Zion Coptic Church.
Rosenthal, Franz, THE HERB: HASHISH VS MEDIEVAL SOCIETY, FJB, 1971.
Rubin, Vera, and Moulton, Lambros Comitas, GANJA IN JAMACIA, The Hague, Paris, 1975.
VIDEOS
The Magic Weed - The Truth About Cannabis (1995)
WEBSITES
Erowid Cannabis (Marijuana) Vault
http://www.erowid.org/plants/cannabis/cannabis.shtml
NORML - National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws
Wikipedia – Religious and Spiritual Use of Cannabis
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_and_spiritual_use_of_cannabis
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IV.
DIMETHYLTRYPTAMINE
"DMT"
"DMT is a powerful, visual psychedelic which produces short-acting effects when smoked. It is used orally in combination with an MAOI, as in ayahuasca brews. It is naturally produced in the human body and by many plants."
- Erowid
"N,N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT or N,N-DMT) is a psychedelic compound of the tryptamine family. Its presence is widespread throughout the plant kingdom. DMT occurs in trace amounts in mammals, including humans, where it putatively functions as a trace amine neurotransmitter. It is originally derived from the essential amino acid tryptophan and ultimately produced by the enzyme INMT during normal metabolism. The significance of its widespread natural presence remains undetermined. Structurally, DMT is analogous to the neurotransmitter serotonin (5-HT), the hormone melatonin, and other psychedelic tryptamines, such as 5-MeO-DMT, bufotenin, and psilocin (the active metabolite of psilocybin).
When ingested, DMT acts as a psychedelic drug. Depending on the dose and method of administration, its subjective effects can range from short-lived milder psychedelic states to powerful immersive experiences; these are often described as a total loss of connection to conventional reality with the encounter of ineffable spiritual/alien realms. Indigenous Amazonian Amerindian cultures consume DMT as the primary psychoactive in ayahuasca, a shamanistic brew used for divinatory and healing purposes. Pharmacologically, ayahuasca combines DMT with an MAOI, an enzyme inhibitor that allows DMT to be orally active."
- Wikipedia
This Section Is Under Construction
For More Information:
BOOKS
Ball, Martin, PhD, THE ENTHEOLOGICAL PARADIGM: ESSAYS ON THE DMT AND 5-MEO-DMT EXPERIENCE AND THE MEANING OF IT ALL, Kyandara Publishing, 2011.
Oroc, James, TRYPTAMINE PALACE: 5-MEO-DMT AND THE SONORAN DESERT TOAD, Park Street Press, Rochester, VT, 2009.
Strassman, Rick, MD, DMT: THE SPIRIT MOLECULE, Park Street Press, Rochester, VT, 2001.
VIDEOS
DMT: The Spirit Molecule (2010)
WEBSITES
Erowid DMT (Dimethyltryptamine) Vault
http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/dmt/dmt.shtml
Wikipedia - Dimethyltryptamine
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dimethyltryptamine
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V.
LYSERGIC ACID DIETHYLAMIDE
“LSD”
"LSD is the best known and most researched psychedelic. It is the standard against which all other psychedelics are compared. It is active at extremely low doses and is most commonly available on blotter or in liquid form."
- Erowid
“Lysergic acid diethylamide, abbreviated LSD or LSD-25, also known as lysergide (INN) and colloquially as acid, is a semisynthetic psychedelic drug of the ergoline family, well known for its psychological effects which can include altered thinking processes, closed and open eye visuals, synesthesia, an altered sense of time and spiritual experiences, as well as for its key role in 1960s counterculture. It is used mainly as an entheogen, recreational drug, and as an agent in psychedelic therapy. LSD is non-addictive, is not known to cause brain damage, and has extremely low toxicity relative to dose, although in rare cases adverse psychiatric reactions such as anxiety or delusions are possible.
LSD was first synthesized by Albert Hofmann in 1938 from ergotamine, a chemical derived by Arthur Stoll from ergot, a grain fungus that typically grows on rye. The short form "LSD" comes from its early code name LSD-25, which is an abbreviation for the German "Lysergsäure-diethylamid" followed by a sequential number. LSD is sensitive to oxygen, ultraviolet light, and chlorine, especially in solution, though its potency may last for years if it is stored away from light and moisture at low temperature. In pure form it is a colorless, odorless, and mildly bitter solid. LSD is typically delivered orally, usually on a substrate such as absorbent blotter paper, a sugar cube, or gelatin. In its liquid form, it can also be administered by intramuscular or intravenous injection. LSD is very potent, with 20–30 µg (micrograms) being the threshold dose. New experiments with LSD have started in 2009 for the first time in 40 years.
Introduced by Sandoz Laboratories, with trade-name Delysid, as a drug with various psychiatric uses in 1947, LSD quickly became a therapeutic agent that appeared to show great promise. In the 1950s, officials at the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) thought the drug might be applicable to mind control and chemical warfare; the agency's MKULTRA research program propagated the drug among young servicemen and students. The subsequent recreational use of the drug by youth culture in the Western world during the 1960s led to a political firestorm that resulted in its prohibition. Currently, a number of organizations—including the Beckley Foundation, MAPS, Heffter Research Institute and the Albert Hofmann Foundation—exist to fund, encourage and coordinate research into the medicinal and spiritual uses of LSD and related psychedelics.”
- Wikipedia
This Section Is Under Construction
For More Information:
BOOKS
Dobkin de Rios, Marlene, PhD, and Janiger, Oscar, MD, LSD, SPIRITUALITY, AND THE CREATIVE PROCESS, Park Street Press, Rochester, VT, 2003.
Fester, Uncle, PRACTICAL LSD MANUFACTURE 3RD EDITION, Festering Publications, 2007.
Gray, Christopher, THE ACID DIARIES - A PSYCHONAUT'S GUIDE TO THE HISTORY AND USE OF LSD, Park Street Press, Rochester, VT, 2010.
Grof, Stanislav, MD, LSD: DOORWAY TO THE NUMINOUS: THE GROUNDBREAKING PSYCHEDELIC RESEARCH INTO REALMS OF THE HUMAN UNCONSCIOUS, Park Street Press, Rochester, VT, 2009.
Grof, Stanislav, MD, LSD PSYCHOTHERAPY, Hunter House, Pomona, CA, 1980.
Hintzen, Annelie, and Passie, Torsten, THE PHARMACOLOGY OF LSD: A CRITICAL REVIEW, Oxford University Press, 2010.
Hoffman, Albert, LSD MY PROBLEM CHILD: REFLECTIONS ON SACRED DRUGS, MYSTICISM, AND SCIENCE, Tarcher, Los Angeles, 1983.
Houston, Jean, PhD, and Masters, Robert, PhD, THE VARIETIES OF PSYCHEDELIC EXPERIENCE: THE CLASSIC GUIDE TO THE EFFECTS OF LSD ON THE HUMAN PSYCHE, Park Street Press, Rochester, VT, 2000.
Leary, Timothy, CHANGE YOUR BRAIN, Ronin Publishing, Berkeley, CA, 2000.
Leary, Timothy, HIGH PRIEST, Ronin Publishing, Berkeley, CA, 1995.
Leary, Timothy, THE POLITICS OF ECSTACY, Ronin Publishing, Berkeley, CA, 1998.
Leary, Timothy, TURN ON, TUNE IN, DROP OUT, Ronin Publishing, Berkeley, CA, 1999.
Leary, Timothy, YOUR BRAIN IS GOD, Ronin Publishing, Berkeley, CA, 2001.
Lee, Martin A., and Shlain, Bruce, ACID DREAMS: THE CIA, LSD, AND THE SIXTIES REBELLION, Grove Press, New York, 1994.
Stevens, Jay, STORMING HEAVEN: LSD AND THE AMERICAN DREAM, Grove Press, New York, 1998.
Wolfe, Tom, THE ELECTRIC KOOL-AID ACID TEST, Picador, 2008.
VIDEOS
Timothy Leary - How to Operate Your Brain
WEBSITES
Albert Hoffman Foundation
Erowid LSD (Acid) Vault
http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/lsd/lsd.shtml
Wikipedia – Lysergic Acid Diethylamide
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LSD
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VI.
PEYOTE
"Peyote is a small, spineless cactus that contains mescaline as its primary active chemical. It has a long history of use among the natives of northern Mexico and SW United States."
- Erowid
"Lophophora williamsii is a small, spineless cactus with psychoactive alkaloids, particularly mescaline.The Spanish common name is peyote. Native North Americans are likely to have used peyote for at least 5,500 years.
It is native to southwestern Texas and Mexico. It is found primarily in the Chihuahuan desert and in the states of Coahuila, Nuevo León, Tamaulipas and San Luis Potosi among scrub, especially where there is limestone.
Known for its psychoactive properties when ingested, peyote is used world wide as an entheogen and supplement to various transcendence practices, including meditation, psychonautics, and psychedelic psychotherapy. Peyote has a long history of ritualistic and medicinal use by indigenous Americans. It flowers from March through May, and sometimes as late as September. The flowers are pink, with thigmotactic anthers (like Opuntia)."
- Wikipedia
This Section Is Under Construction
For More Information:
BOOKS
Aberle, David F., THE PEYOTE RELIGION AMONG THE NAVAHO, University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, OK, 1991.
Anderson, Edward, PEYOTE: THE DIVINE CACTUS, University of Arizona Press, Tucson, AZ, 1996.
Epps, Garrett, PEYOTE VS. THE STATE: RELIGIOUS FREEDOM ON TRIAL, University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, OK, 2009.
Furst, Peter T. and Schaefer, Stacy B., PEOPLE OF THE PEYOTE: HUICHOL INDIAN HISTORY, RELIGION, AND SURVIVAL, University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque, NM, 1997.
Gottlieb, Adam, PEYOTE AND OTHER PSYCHOACTIVE CACTI, Ronin Publishing, Berkeley, CA, 1997.
Maroukis, Thomas C., THE PEYOTE ROAD: RELIGIOUS FREEDOM AND THE NATIVE AMERICAN CHURCH (CIVILIZATION OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN SERIES), University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, OK, 2012.
Myerhoff, Barbara G., PEYOTE HUNT: THE SACRED JOURNEY OF THE HUICHOL INDIANS (SYMBOL, MYTH, AND RITUAL), Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY, 1976.
Stewart, Omer C., PEYOTE RELIGION: A HISTORY (CIVILIZATION OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN SERIES), University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, OK, 1993.
VIDEOS
Coming Soon!
WEBSITES
Erowid Peyote (Lophophora williamsii) Vault
http://www.erowid.org/plants/peyote/peyote.shtml
Wikipedia - Peyote
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peyote
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VII.
PSILOCYBIN MUSHROOMS
"MAGIC MUSHROOMS"
"There are more than 180 species of mushrooms which contain the psychedelics psilocybin or psilocin. They have a long history of use in Mexico and are currently one of the most popular and commonly available natural psychedelics."
- Erowid
“Psilocybin mushrooms are fungi that contain psychoactive indole alkaloids. There are multiple colloquial terms for psilocybin mushrooms, the most common being shrooms and magic mushrooms. Biological genera containing psilocybin mushrooms include Agrocybe, Conocybe, Copelandia, Galerina, Gerronema, Gymnopilus, Hypholoma, Inocybe, Mycena, Panaeolus, Pluteus, and Psilocybe. There are approximately 190 species of psilocybin mushrooms and most of them fall in the genus Psilocybe.
Psilocybin mushrooms have likely been used since prehistoric times and may have been depicted in rock art. Many native peoples have used these mushrooms in religious rites. In modern Western society they are used recreationally for their psychedelic effects. Recent studies done at Imperial College London and also at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine conclude that when used properly, psilocybin acts as an anti-depressant as suggested by fMRI brain scans.”
- Wikipedia
This Section Is Under Construction
For More Information:
BOOKS
Allegro, John M., THE SACRED MUSHROOM AND THE CROSS, Gnostic Media Research & Publishing, 2009.
Ball, Martin, PhD, MUSHROOM WISDOM: HOW SHAMANS CULTIVATE SPIRITUAL CONSCIOUSNESS, Ronin Publishing, Berkeley, CA, 2006.
Bigwood, Jeremy and OTT, Jonathan, eds., TEONANACATL HALLUCINOGENIC MUSHROOMS OF NORTH AMERICA, Madrona Publishers, Seattle, 1978
Heinrich, Clark, MAGIC MUSHROOMS IN RELIGION AND ALCHEMY, Park Street Press, Rochester, VT, 2002.
Oeric, O. N. and OSS, O. T., PSILOCYBIN: THE MAGIC MUSHROOM GROWER’S GUIDE, Lux Natura Press, Berkeley, 1976.
Powell, Simon, THE PSILOCYBIN SOLUTION: THE ROLE OF SACRED MUSHROOMS IN THE QUEST FOR MEANING, Park Street Press, Rochester, VT, 2011.
VIDEOS
Coming Soon!
WEBSITES
Erowid Psilocybin Mushroom (Magic Mushrooms) Vault
http://www.erowid.org/plants/mushrooms/mushrooms.shtml
Wikipedia – Psilocybin Mushroom
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psilocybin_mushroom
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VIII.
TOBACCO
"Tobacco is an annual or bi-annual growing 1-3 meters tall with large sticky leaves that contain nicotine. Native to the Americas, tobacco has a long history of use as a shamanic inebriant and stimulant. It is extremely popular and well-known for its addictive potential."
- Erowid
"Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines. It is most commonly used as a drug, and is a valuable cash crop for countries such as Cuba, India, China, and the United States. Tobacco is a name for any plant of the genus Nicotiana of the Solanaceae family (nightshade family) and for the product manufactured from the leaf and used in cigars and cigarettes, snuff, and pipe and chewing tobacco. Tobacco plants are also used in plant bioengineering, and some of the 60 species are grown as ornamentals. The chief commercial species, N. tabacum, is believed native to tropical America, like most nicotiana plants, but has been so long cultivated that it is no longer known in the wild. N. rustica, a mild-flavored, fast-burning species, was the tobacco originally raised in Virginia, but it is now grown chiefly in Turkey, India, and Russia. The alkaloid nicotine is the most characteristic constituent of tobacco and is responsible for its addictive nature. The harmful effects of tobacco derive from the thousands of different compounds generated in the smoke, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (such as benzpyrene), formaldehyde, cadmium, nickel, arsenic, radioactive polonium-210, tobacco-specific nitrosamines (TSNAs), phenols, and many others."
- Wikipedia
This Section Is Under Construction
For More Information:
BOOKS
Drake, Bill, THE CULTIVATORS HANDBOOK OF NATURAL TOBACCO: SECOND EDITION, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2010.
Robicsek, Francis, THE SMOKING GODS: TOBACCO IN MAYAN ART, HISTORY, AND RELIGION, University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, OK, 1978.
Wilbert, Johannes, TOBACCO AND SHAMANISM IN SOUTH AMERICA (PSYCHOACTIVE PLANTS OF THE WORLD SERIES), Yale University Press, New Haven, CT, 1993.
Winter, Joseph, TOBACCO USE BY NATIVE NORTH AMERICANS: SACRED SMOKE AND SILENT KILLER (CIVILIZATION OF THE NATIVE INDIAN SERIES), University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, OK, 2001.
VIDEOS
Coming Soon!
WEBSITES
Erowid Tobacco Vault
http://www.erowid.org/plants/tobacco/tobacco.shtml
Wikipedia - Tobacco
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tobacco
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The main purpose of this group is to provide information concerning the religious, sacramental, and spiritual use of psychoactive drugs (hallucinogens).
Much of this information is actively suppressed because it shatters the accepted world-view that so many people hold dear to themselves. It is the goal here to promote scholarship and research in these fields so that sensible social policy can be initiated.
There is nothing worse than constantly being told your spirituality is invalid while, additionally, denying you the ability to peacefully practice it. This group aims to change that paradigm by providing a broader base of knowledge from which concerted action can manifest.
Thank you for your interest in these sacred substances.