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Well I said I would add some photos of my little albino, I have been a bit slack but here is a grow log & photos. I hope you all like this little gem T.Lumberjack X T.Juuls Giant Sown: 26/1/13 Germinated: 5/2/13 Grafted: 18/2/13 (13 days old) First photo: 22/2/13 (4 days after graft) 1 month after graft: 22/3/13 1 month & 2 weeks after graft: 5/4/13 2 months &15 days after graft: 7/5/13 3 months & 11 days after graft: 2/6/13 5 months & 5 days after graft: 4/8/13 (taken today) If anyone else has had luck with true albino cacti (pure white) I would love to hear about it, as this is the first one I have had & can't find any info on growing them. Cheers Jox

Hi all, welcome to 2018! Acacia Courtii Seedlings for sale in bulk only this time A.C Bulk Pack - $120 inc postage 8 x Acacia courtii 40mm tubes - $100 P & H $20 Express Min. order of 8. If you are looking for smaller numbers or individual plants I suggest you contact the larger ethno retailers as I believe they will have some ready soon. Unfortunately no post to WA, NT or TAZ. Australia Only As you may know this is a very specially tree that has a limited population so hopefully these go to people with some land that can plant them out to ensure species survival long into the future! I would recommend re-potting them into something slightly larger and then planting into the ground after summer or if you can tend to them daily you could plant them out now in a semi shaded area watering daily. These trees are inoculated with their homebase rhizobia and are a picture of health. Kept under light shade cloth. PM for enquiry, Communacacian

A bit of vine never hurt anyone. You have chosen the right medicine to have at the center of a plan to bring about some positive changes in your life. Yes its chemistry may improve the symptoms of depression, I hope they will. But its a vibrational medicine, allow it to change your vibration to align with the new pathways you desire. Look for signways to the path, generally hiding in plain sight, in everyday life, allow the vine to illuminate them. You will be rewarded by "paying attention",not only to how you are physically feeling, but to opportunities to "join the dots". You have commenced an "act of will" and stated publicly your intention. You need to see this thru now to show the vine you seriously require its help. Stopping will turn the process into a procrastination, and have the opposite effect, making plans impotent. giving the energy working against your interests power. Magic 101 basically, but worth a mention, when working with a magic potion. You have good friends, and are part of a great community. You have wisely chosen the best hobby in gardening, and have great skills. Life can be anything you want, leave the old story, and step into a new one. There are plenty of great chapters to write. Best regards brother.

Latest Update 03 September 2013 Knowledge of the Mental Landscape Links to ethnobotanical topics General Information Resources (and external links) Preparations and Traditional Use Australian Native Ethnobotanicals Exotic Ethnobotanicals Psychoactive Animals Ayahuasca Cacti Cannabis Coca Fungi Khat Kratom Opium Salvia, Coleus, and Psychoactive Mints Tropanes

heya, been a while so I thought I'd share some garden pics. this is a combined effort between me and my partner over the past 2 nearly 3 years.. he is 'Padonkluft' on this forum we grow from seed, graft, make lots of cuttings.. prioritise plants over most other things we sell the plants we are less attached to and use the funds to provide for the other plants where to start... um, well i've been growing ariocarpus from seed and grafting them to pere, got a pretty decent set up now thanks to my partner's building skills this room is kept between 19 and 22 degrees, lights are on 18hrs a day here's last years ones all grown up plants are everywhere, indoors and out.. we're facing a pretty shitty cold winter but everything is holding up ok ...on the deck, nitrogen mutants.. variegated bridgesii and pach crest.. cordo crest, tbmv and variegated pach crest.. standard tbm greenhouse first seedlings we sowed in late 2016 out the back wash house full of mostly Zelly seedlings, some from Interbeing and Sacred Succulents too.. and more on the deck too sunroom.. tbmv getting some good colour.. tbmc.. kitchen window.. Bonny x TPM variegate, bridgesii variegate and Sharxx Blue x TPM crest.. Juuls Giant x SS02 variegate.. arios

some grafts some are from last summer and some are recent

These plants need full sun after about 3 years old to do their best - most people baby them way too much! My "pure" Terscheckii start to take off vertically at about 3 years - they grow all year long here, just slow down in winter. Hybrids - grow them and find out! Adding nitrogen tends to cause excessive (abnormal) growth and pupping

Few ebooks from Humana Press that some people might find interesting... Medicinal Plants of the World Volume: Chemical Constituents, Traditional and Modern Medicinal Uses Humana.Press.Medicinal.Plants.of.the.World.Volume.1.Chemical.Constituents.Traditional.and.Modern.Medicinal.Uses.Second.Edition.pdf Humana.Press.Medicinal.Plants.of.the.World.Volume.2.Chemical.Constituents.Traditional.and.Modern.Medicinal.Uses.2001.pdf Humana.Press.Medicinal.Plants.of.the.World.Volume.3.Chemical.Constituents.Traditional.and.Modern.Medicinal.Uses.pdf

Hi, I'm selling off my psychedelic library. Wanted to offer them here first. Feel free to pick any single books out. Or if you want the lot in one go please make an offer via PM. There's lots of good titles in there and some rarer ones too that I've collected over the years. Titles: Inner paths to outer space. Strassman et al. $20 Entheogens and the future of religion. Hoffman, Wasson, Mckenna etc. $15 Psilocybin Mushrooms of the world. Stamets. $25 Psilocybin Magic Mushroom Growers Guide. Oss & Oeric (McKenna). $10 Shroom. Andy Letcher. $15 Buzzed. Kuhn et al. $15 High Priest. Timothy Leary. $15 TIHKAL. Shulgin & Shulgin. $30 Ketamine. Dreams and Realities. Jansen. $15 The journeybook. $20. Rak Razam et al. $15 Growing Gourmet & Medicinal Mushrooms. Stamets. $30 Plants of the Gods. Schultes, Hoffman, Ratsch. $30 Your brain is God. Timothy Leary. $15 Insight Outlook. Hoffman. $15 The constituents of medicinal plants. Andrew Pengelly. $15 Visionary Plant Consciousness. Mckenna, Weil, Alex Grey, Kat Harrison etc. $15 The brotherhood of the screaming abyss, signed by authour Denis McKenna. $30 The Yage letters. William Burroughs & Allen Ginsberg. $10 The doors of perception. Huxley. $10 Trouts notes on Cactus Cultivation. Keeper Trout. $10 Trips: How Hallucinogens Work in Your Brain. Cheryl Pellerin. $25 Flesh of the Gods: The Ritual Use of Hallucinogens. Wasson et al. $15 The center of the cyclone. Original Hardcover. John C Lilly. $20 The invisible landscape. Terrence & Dennis McKenna. $10 The sacred mushroom. Andrija Puharich. $10 The cacti handbook. John Ellis. $10 The Mystic Mandrake. Original Hardcover, 1968. (Collectable; In excellent condition) Thompson. $50 True Hallucinations. Terrence McKenna. $15 Dopeland - Taking the high road through Australia's marijuana culture. Birmingham. $10 Peyote and other psychoactive cacti. Adam Gottlieb. Soft cover. $10 Psychedelic monographs and essays - vol 6. Lyttle. $20 True Hallucinations & The Archaic Revival. Terrence Mckenna. Hardcover. $15 Entheogenesis Australis 2009/2010 handbook. $5 Victorian Fungi. Very Rare soft cover with beautiful hand drawn sketches. Willis. $75 Readers Digest Nature's Medicines (not pictured). $10 Materia Medica of western Herbs for the Southern Hemisphere. Ringbound. Fisher & Painter. $40 All books are in good or above condition. Will post from Melbourne, prices are exclusive of postage. Thanks, hooroo for now Ayjay

i reckon this thread needs to evolve into home made amateur cactus porno from members, ill go first. Pics to come in the morning

Hi, For way too long I have been telling people I was going to explain how I grow most of my fungi. I used to have all kinds of contraptions like glove boxes. This really gave me the shits so don’t bother any more – nowadays I just use good sterile technique and don’t get many contaminations. I accept the occasional contaminations in favour of the ease of production. I also H2O2 in my agar too. http://www.umsl.edu/~microbes/pdf/steriletechnique.pdf Making spawn. Using COLES budgie seed bring to the boil the desired amount of grain with an excess of water. Once boiling check the grain every few minutes until the largest grains are good through - you can check this by breaking open some of the largest grains. They should be fully hydrated with no starchy centre. Once cooked rinse the grains until the water runs clear. Any broken grains that can make the mass too sticky will be washed away during this process. Drain the grain overnight. The grain should separate individually and not be sticky. Fill normal jam jars ¾ full with grain and cover the opening with Tyvek. Foil can be used to hold the tyvek on the jars. Load the filled jars into the pressure cooker. Cook at pressure for approximately one hour. Once the pressure cooker is finished and returned to normal pressure take out the hot jars and carefully shake to break up the grains. Place them somewhere clean to cool. At the jars cool they will suck air into the jar - placing them in a clean box will minimise the chance of contamination. Once cool (or at least below 40C) you can add mycelium from agar plates. One, one litre jar I find needs about 4 or 5 little chunks of agar. It doesn’t really matter how big the chunks of agar are. Once you have added the agar the jars should be shaken to mix the agar. With a sort of rolling action you can mix the grain until the agar is mixed throughout the jars. This takes some practice. Once the jars are mixed remove the foil from the lids and tape the edges of the tyvek onto the jar. I use standard sticky tape. And wrap it around the jar mouth a few times. Excess tyvek is trimmed off. The tyvek lid is then sprayed and wiped with 70% metho. A fresh foil lid is placed on the jar. The jars are then placed somewhere clean and warm to colonize. Once the jars are 30% colonized (approximately) they can be shaken again to mix up the grain then placed back into incubation. This speeds up the final time it takes to complete the spawn. Once the grain is fully colonized it is ready to use. Preparing the substrate There are a number of substrates available for growing oysters (wood, straw, paper. Coffee waste) basically any course plant material that can withstand a soak and a pressure cook can be used. The ideal choice of substrate depends on the species grown but to keep this guide generic I provide two examples. Paper - Recycled newspaper finely chopped or paper cat litter : 10 units dry Wheat bran: 1 unit Full fat milk powder 0.1 unit The paper is soaked then squeezed to expel excess water - the substrate should be saturated but not have any excess water pooling. Pour boiling water over the bran, carefully squeeze out the bran and mix with the paper. Add the milk powder and mix well. Stuff the mix into oven bags. Bake at 140 for an hour, turn off the oven and leave to cool over night. When cool in the morning add a good amount of spawn (half large jar, maybe 300mls) while maintaining good sterile technique. Seal up the bags with sticky tape and massage the bags to mix the spawn if you are using oven bags its worth taping down the seams of the bag before you massage, I find they often split at the worst times. Move to a dark warm area to colonize. Wait a week and check how it’s going. If you have areas that don’t want to colonize you can try making some holes in the bag to provide gas exchange. There is some gas exchange through the bag wall but not really enough for healthy growth. (Sterile filter patch bags are a perfect for this) once colonised move to a fruiting area - depending on the species this could be outside under a bush, in a terrarium or hanging in the shed. I have used this paper recipe for a number of different fungi including oysters, shiitake, Ganoderma, Hericium & Agrocybe. It’s a good one. ;) Straw. My favourite because it is easy. This is good for oysters and can be done on a huge scale. Straw :lots Bran : some ? Get a bale of straw, a couple of mates with eskies (or large drums) and a chainsaw. If you are careful you can slice 1 inch sections off the bale until you get to the strings holding them together. It’s a messy job but it is fast. Hedge trimmer also work pretty well. Once you have a huge pile of straw, stuff it into the eskies and pour over hot water aiming to get a final stable temperature of 65 - 75 degrees. Leave it for an hour. After an hour carefully empty out the water and throw the straw onto a table, throwing it in the air helps cool the straw - you need to spread it around to cool. You can do the same on the floor on a tarp depending on how much you have. The soaking also hydrates the straw so it can be heavy. Once its cool to the touch ( I would guess at about <40 degrees you start stuffing it into a fruiting container, I like to use plastic bags but washing baskets & bins are also good. The plastic ones with big holes are good. I find having a bucket to hold the bag helps with the stuffing and stops the bag from tearing. Stuff a layer on the bottom of the container- pack it down, add some bran (soaking in boiling water first) and then some spawn, more straw, bran, spawn etc until the container if full. Once full either tie up the bag or put the rigid container in a bag. You are trying to keep the moisture in the bag but don’t worry if there are some gaps. Leave somewhere to colonize. It should be obvious when it’s colonised by having a look. Once it has colonized remove the bag from the washing basket or poke some holes in the plastic bag to increase gas exchange and stimulate fruiting. Again they should be moved somewhere where the conditions suit the species. With straw, the mass of the block maintains moisture to the fruit so you can keep them almost out in the open. I hang mine in a shed. As long as the temperature is about right for the species they should fruit in under a week. Once the blocks slow production I bury them in the garden where they continue to fruit. If you have a mulcher, make some piles of mulch and add the spent blocks. I have piles of mulch that fruit now and then around the garden and plants. It’s a great way of introducing fungi into the garden for soil improvement and a larger harvest. There are lots of ways of growing fungi - this is just the way I do it. It’s probably not the easiest or cheapest way of doing it butI have found it reliable and it works well for me. if anyone has any comments or suggestions please add them to this thread. cheers

Hi, i have seedlings in excess so i am putting some up for sale, I am doing three packs, there is 10 different hybrids in each pack ( i will add a couple random extras as well ) In each pack there is 1x - Yowie x rosei #2, Juul's giant x bridgesii bertha, werdermannianus ABG OP, Bruce OP, Macro Adelaide OP, scopulicola x super pedro (pic with lighter ), MB Scopulicola x Anakie, psychoO x hausca 'red', MB scopulicola x J2, and some ones without a label (i will add a few of these). I think $75 each pack with postage included is a fair price : ) Post within australia only. Cheers : )

I used to have one of these threads but can't find it. I started ramping up my cactusing again so I'm going to be throwing pictures in here and updating with stuff I'm doing. Right now I am working on growing high quality ariocarpus and astrophytum cultivars and hybrids. Some of the Ariocarpus hybrids I'm growing right now are... # Species/Hybrid Seed # Germ Date Soil Mix Germ # 1 Ariocarpus fromdosus royal C1 x A. mariubo cauliflower 12 6/10 Ario Seedling Mix 1 11 2 Ariocarpus godzilla loydii x A. godzilla loydii variegata 12 6/12 Ario Seedling Mix 1 12 3 Ariocarpus loydii godzilla variegata x A. godzilla coral 13 6/12 Ario Seedling Mix 1 8 4 Ariocarpus mariubo cauliflower S1 x A. godzilla coral 6 6/10 Ario Seedling Mix 1 4 5 Ariocarpus godzilla hybrid A6 x A. super godzilla 12 6/12 Ario Seedling Mix 1 12 6 Ariocarpus gift? 6 6/9 Ario Seedling Mix 1 6 7 Ariocarpus godzilla royal x A. godzilla super 12 6/10 Ario Seedling Mix 1 7 8 Ariocarpus mariubo trefinger x A. loydii latus variegata 6 6/10 Ario Seedling Mix 1 4 9 Ariocarpus fromdosus cauliflower C5 x A. godzilla loydii 7 6/10 Ario Seedling Mix 1 7 10 Ariocarpus mariubo cauliflower x A. mariubo monstrose 6 6/10 Ario Seedling Mix 1 10 11 Trichocereus scopulicola x Cereus peruvianus 12 6/15 Ario Seedling Mix 1 3 12 Echinopsis small red x big pink 20 6/10 Ario Seedling Mix 1 20 13 Adenium obesum "velocity" 7 ----------------- Ario Seedling Mix 1 0 And some more sowing Species/Hybrid Seed # Germ Date Soil Mix Germ Number Trichocereus peruvianus monstrose x "Mystery" 2/22 Seedling 2 26 Trichocereus bridgesii "wowie" x SS02 2/22 Seedling 2 53 Trichocereus huarazensis x Trichocereus "Lumberjack" 2/22 Seedling 2 48 Trichocereus huanacoensis x Trichocereus scopulicola 2/22 Seedling 2 27 Trichocereus scopulicola x T. variegated red gradiflorus 2/22 Seedling 2 42 Trichocereus bridgesii "MM" x Trichocereus bridgesii "KGC" 2/22 Seedling 2 43 Trichocereus validus x Trichocereus bridgesii "KGC" 2/22 Seedling 2 50 (SS02 x SS01) x Trichocereus variegated red grandiflorus 2/22 Seedling 2 49 Trichocereus peruvianus monstrose x Trichocereus scopulicola 13 2/22 Seedling 1 12 Trichocereus scopulicola x Trichocereus peruvianus monstrose 35 2/23 Seedling 1 30 Astrophytum asterias variegata 15 2/21 Seedling 1 8 Astrophytum myriostigma fukuryu 6 2/21 Seedling 1 5 Astrophytum myriostigma quadricostatum variegata 16 2/21 Seedling 1 13 Mystery Astrophytum 2/21 Seedling 1 1 Trichocereus scopulicola x Trichocereus scopulicola 2/22 Seedling 1 17 Lophophora williamsii x Lophophora alberto-vojtechii 47 2/21 Seedling 1 38 Lophophora alberto-vojtechii "Wermland" 50 2/21 Seedling 1 36 Lophophora williamsii var. caespitosa 18 2/24 Seedling 1 2 Cintia Knizeii 10 2/23 Seedling 1 9 3-16 Lophophora williamsii var. texensis 10 3/20 Seedling 1 Lophophora williamsii var. pentagona 10 3/20 Seedling 1 Lophophora williamisii var. Decipiens 10 3/20 Seedling 1 Lophophora williamisi mix 20 3/20 Seedling 1 Lophophora diffusa var. khoeresii San Francisco 15 3/20 Seedling 1 Turbinicarpus lophophorides 10 3/20 Seedling 1 Lots of cool plants on the way. I am waiting for the astrophytum seeds to get here to start those. I have already grafted about half of the ariocarpus seeds. Lots of variegates. Stoked to show them off when they're bigger. hostilis

Have you had those moments, after a loss or something where life shifts quite dramatically that you want to share? Lately, I've even had to set up my own 'Life Output Plant Box'. Slowly flowing things through it. Some of my Brahmi plants going to a 'Grow Free' box. Acacia's. When I'm struggling for sleep, I've been turning to midnight propagation of Delosperma's, Lobelia's. Salvia elegans etc - Plant's I've known and Loved going to new homes. Milly seed going out. Compiling up my experiences when life was a science experiment in life to try and help others. Through Death, I've had these transcendent, hearty, connecting wholesome pretty 'endogenous' spiritual experiences that have sanctified life for me and given me some momentum and faith and passion and most import, love and empathy, caring more about what's important. It's slow to undo rigidity but it's a positive step. New lenses for how to live my life through expanding Heart. Love. Gratitude. Compassion. Passion, Contribution. Non-judgemental connection. In a step by step way. Love was previously a shallow biological/psychological construct. Now it's the Divine Spiritual essence organising the Universe. I have respect for life that is quite profound. I want to do something with mine, at least keep growing positively. Not waste away without making more beneficial differences. I accept journeys of transformation etc, not so resonant with pathology constructs anymore. I see life as a journey of hard times, good times, growth through positive experiences, profound ones as well as pain, so much of life is about transformation, life is about alchemising the darkness that holds you back so you can be the best you, and learning. I see a natural healing 'emergence' that often unfolds, if we get out of the way. I feel inspired to not be so half-hearted in my efforts, to put aside negativity, to push myself forward into hearty-expansive connecting community growth, take some healthy steps to explore new life experiences, treat myself gently with love and compassion, do the same to others, be gentle and loving and uplifting with words, even considering one day it would be nice to get some more education in mental health etc or something small so that I can guide people through these experiences compassionately. It's compelled me to not isolate myself as ill and unworthy of friends etc, unworthy of people's time etc, I've seen a silver lining to feeling like life was always downward spirals, it's put me back into self-empowerment to make loving choices, stopped me thinking my voice is not worthy of talking to people etc, that I have nothing worth contributing to people's lives, to the community, to put loving presence and attention more into people, amplifying listening to people, connecting with people, finding out more about people, supporting their journey, learning - Life and Nature has taken on this Sacredness to me etc. Playing small in the world... not living a life that bringing any meaning, purpose or satisfaction. I've found passion, adopted more open-hearted receptivity to people whereas before I had walls that blocked me in the flow of ever opening to someone. I was full forward, analysing, rigid etc Yang into life without receiving other's worlds, with ego-concepts of love, little deep gratitude, little humility etc - illness can leave you really fragmented and energetically offline. I've made space to care about a You, as you are. Not to fix people, just compassionately love and encourage and support. Found holiness, divinity in the simplest of things

Let's have a healthy dose of skepticism...

Corb Lund gives the best advice for dealing with highway cops since Fear and Loathing... ..."round these parts that hair alone'd make probable cause..."

Wow Horus, thankyou for sharing, its really nice to see the trees i send out looking happy and healthy in their new homes! Also I really appreciated the kudos ive been getting here recently for my work, and its so great to be able to share my passion in a way that benefits others here, it really means alot! Yes pruning the tops will send the growth energy in a more horizontal distribution, however this will temporarily stunt its vertical height. I spend alot of time shaping trees for my occupation so when it comes to these trees I am more inclined to just let let grow how they want to grow and see what happens. In regards to this species, not much research has been done into how pruning will effect them so I am in full support of experimentation which would be great to be documented on this site! As courtii is a vigorous grower they can tend to shoot up rather quickly which creates quite a thin stem. Something to consider is that these trees naturally dont grow in open spaces and are surrounded by other courtii and eucalypts which shield them from the elements, so depending on the environment they are in a fattening up could well be in order!

I put myself on daily probiotic turmeric. Been doing that for a while now. Anyone use it as a brain tonic? I whip up a couple of strong (20g) turmeric, ginger, black pepper and occasionally saffron probiotic sludges a day The more probiotic turmeric combos I get into me, the more I see how much I was probably running on likely extreme neuroinflammation. It's a robust shift, some really positive glimpses at something when I mega dose, some days not always feeling wonderful but on the whole small steps that are generally positive, using pretty much all the polyphenol classes and including the turmeric concoctions at a high dose in a good diet. I'm sticking with this, hoping an antidepressant effect becomes apparent.. So far, the most robust improvement I've had is in self-regulation (which was in tatters) buffering to better levels, along with getting sleep (quite a bit of sleep debt built up), more so than mood. Quite profound is the way these probiotic turmeric combos seem to be modulating aberrant reward related stuff. It's very anti-addictive but at the same time I'm stopping so many locked in behavioural loops that nothing at all left seems rewarding anymore. Push through it, hope I can write some new eudaimonic pathways Inflammation and mental health: Research indicates that mood disturbances and psychiatric disorders are closely related to CNS or whole body inflammation [1]. The prevalence of inflammation, measured by one marker only, in the diagnostic groups of psychotic disorders, mood disorders, neurotic disorders and personality disorders was 32%, 21%, 22% and 42%, respectively [2]. ' Inflammation was consistently found to affect basal ganglia and cortical reward and motor circuits to drive reduced motivation and motor activity, as well as anxiety-related brain regions including amygdala, insula and anterior cingulate cortex, which may result from cytokine effects on monoamines and glutamate [3]. Higher levels of inflammation are associated with longitudinal changes in brain function in regions important for cognition [4]. Increasing evidence points toward an involvement of the immune system in MDD pathogenesis. Inflammation can affect monoaminergic and glutamatergic neurotransmission [5]. Negative symptoms of schizophrenia are associated with increased inflammation [6]. Inflammation may at least partly mediate resting state functional connectivity via effects on mesolimbic and mesocortical dopaminergic systems [7]. Inflammatory measures were positively related to striatolimbic resting-state functional connectivity but negatively related to corticostriatal resting-state functional connectivity Chronically elevated levels of inflammatory markers, for example, are associated with clinical depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and many other psychological and behavioral issues and likewise these conditions often have elevated impulsivity. Inflammatory mediators promote a general trade-off towards focusing on immediate versus delayed outcomes. Inflammation is particularly influential on impulsivity - higher active inflammation – as quantified by plasma levels of IL-6, TNF-α, and white blood cell count – predicted more impulsivity. The relationship remained significant when controlling for factors known to covary with both inflammation and impulsivity [8] "Better understanding of the outcomes associated with impulsivity of inflammatory origins may yield low-cost interventions that can ameliorate behavioral problems notoriously resistant to current treatment strategies. For example, anti-inflammatory medications may be helpful as adjunct treatments for behavioral disorders related to impulsivity, such as substance abuse or certain mental illnesses." [1] http://www.dailymail.co.uk/…/Cambridge-psychiatrist-claims-… [2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29544672 [3] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29173175 [4] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29304217 [5] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29604382 [6] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29499967 [7] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29689344 [8] https://repository.tcu.edu/handle/116099117/20630 More on neuroinflammation Mental illnesses and ASD seem to be strongly related to neuroinflammation, activation of inflammation in animal models leads to behavioural abnormalities. That said, it is suggested to be at best one cause of depression [1]. Schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorders share core symptoms and overlap in many ways pathologically, mainly by extensive microglial activation and similar behavioural attributes, this microglial activation also extends to brain injuries. The neuroprotective effect of curcumin is mainly mediated by blockade of microglial cell activation [2]. Psychological stress activates inflammation and that this activation would be found to predict the later development of pathology. Social isolation/feeling lonely is associated with systemic inflammation. There is evidence that a range of psychosocial stressors lead to elevated microglial activity [3]. Neuroticism has also been associated with higher levels of inflammatory markers while conscientiousness has been associated with lower inflammatory markers [4]. Chronic neuroinflammation and the loss of neurotrophic factors promotes 'locked in' behavioural inflexibility and promotes the pathogenesis of disorders such as addictions and feeds antisocial personality traits [5]. A multitude of studies support the notion that inflammatory processes form an integral part of the mechanisms precipitating addictions [6]. It appears elevated neuroinflammation is important throughout the cortico-striato-thalamo-cortical circuit of obsessive compulsive disorder, too [7] See Resident evil: Inflammation and depression [1] http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/special-reports/introduction-inflammation-connection [2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18214347 [3] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26847047 [4] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4544833/ [5] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28810156 [6] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29054292 [7] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28636705 Microglial activation - a pathological player? Activated pro-inflammatory microglia trigger anxiety- and depressive-like behaviours, mainly by increasing the expression of pro-inflammatory mediators and neurotoxins in stress-sensitive brain regions. Injury, stress, toxic exposures and social stress can induce microglial over-activation [1] It is proposed M1 and M2 microglia are related to relapse and remission, respectively in psychiatric disorders and diseases [2]. While activated M1 microglia may exacerbate injury by producing neurotoxic substances when overactivated for prolonged times, activated M2 microglia (the anti-inflammatory and tissue-reparative phenotype) protect neighboring cells by removing cell debris and releasing trophic factors for brain repair. Curcumin promoted microglial M2 polarisation and inhibited M1 polarisation. Long-term depression is a progressive disease and elevated microglial activation and inflammation play a role, it is suggested targeting the inflammatory process is needed to prevent neuroprogression [3]. Our gut microbiota is critical for modulation of the HPA axis and thus the stress response and brain processes such as myelination, neurogenesis and microglial activation and can effectively modulate behaviour and influence psychological processes such as mood and cognition. The gut microbiota is essential for the maintenance of microglia in a healthy functional state, which is necessary for the prevention of neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders [4]. Microglia have more recently emerged as key players in regulating neuronal network excitability [5] and reward. Activated microglia within reward circuitry result in disruption of dopaminergic signaling and reward behaviour. Activation of microglia by addictive drugs or other causes results in a proinflammatory dominance of the innate immune system, which is then critically synergise on the neurocircuit of reward and dependence [6]. Repeated drug-induced microglial activation produces progressive increases in microglial reactivity, further potentiating the neurobiological consequences of chronic drug use [7] Even acute inflammation impairs 'theory of mind' (ToM) explaining social-cognitive deficits in people that exhibit low-grade inflammation [8]. Inflammation, Self-Regulation, and Health: An Immunologic Model of Self-Regulatory Failure Exposure to stress, infection, and disease in early life increases proinflammatory cytokine activity, which decreases an individual’s self-regulatory ability. Poor self-regulation and poor health behaviours, which lead to greater exposure to stress and disease. As these dynamics continue over childhood and adolescence, compounded by social stressors, more stable differences in brain structure and function can develop that ultimately produce persistent impairments in self-regulation in adulthood. Dysregulated or enhanced neuroinflammation is argued to facilitate the etiology of mental disorders. Immune system activity — especially components of the immune system involved in inflammation — appear to impair numerous facets of self-regulation: inflammatory activity can impair both cognitive and emotional self-regulation. Markers of systemic inflammation have been associated with brain alterations that negatively impact executive function in humans: higher levels of proinflammatory cytokines at baseline predict lower executive function. Acute inflammatory challenges alter DLPFC response when individuals engage in tasks that require self-control, reduces resting glucose metabolism in the ACC in humans, which is a brain region critically important in self-regulation and reduces functional connectivity between the medial PFC (mPFC) and brain regions involved in mood and emotion. Inflammatory activity impairs sensitivity to reward. Inflammatory activity may impair self-regulation by reducing motivation and may either help or hinder self-regulation by decreasing sensitivity to reward. Inflammation may modulate mesolimbic and mesocortical dopaminergic systems. "Prolonged or severe stress exposure disrupts homeostatic or ‘healthy’ communication between the CNS and peripheral immune system, shifting immune signaling toward a proinflammatory state. Part of this response includes elevated and prolonged proinflammatory signaling in the CNS that is argued to be linked with stress-related psychiatric disorders." There is mounting evidence that social stress activates microglial cells in the central nervous system. Microglial activation is positively correlated with psychiatric disorders. Pro-inflammatory cytokines including IL-1β and TNF-α, can reduce the availability of serotonin, dopamine and noradrenaline by increasing the expression and function of reuptake transporters, reducing synthesis or decreasing monoamine precursors and also act on the glutamate pathway and together with astrocytes stimulate the increased release of this neurotransmitter and decreased brain-derived neurotrophic factor, which ultimately leads to excitotoxicity [9] Elevated pro-inflammatory cytokine levels caused by microglia activation, often induced by social stress, contributes to the development and persistent anxiety-like behaviour [10] [1] https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnbeh.2017.00207/full [2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4276905/ [3] https://www.karger.com/Article/Abstract/470805. [4] https://www.wjgnet.com/1007-9327/full/v23/i30/5486.htm [5] https://www.hindawi.com/journals/np/2013/429815/ [6] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22707932 [7] https://www.colorado.edu/lab/bachtell/research/neuroinflammation-and-addiction [8] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29742460 [9] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5660717/ [10] https://www.nature.com/articles/npp2016102 Why turmeric? Turmeric, a source of curcuminoids, including the essential oil containing ar-turmerone [1] is a neuroprotective and neuropharmacological drug. It may be used in neurodegenerative disorders [2] including MS [3], depression etc. Curcumin may be used as an effective and safe modality for treatment in patients with depression, with a better tolerability profile and safety than SSRIs [4]. Patients receiving curcumin showed increased levels of BDNF relative to baseline, whereas patients receiving placebo showed declines relative to baseline but results did not show more distal effects on cognition or clinical symptoms for patients with schizophrenia [5] Curcumin may increase the concentration of monoamines available to interact with receptors, alleviating depression Curcumin strongly inhibits inflammatory cytokines like nuclear factor-kappa B, NLRP3 inflammasome, and interleukin-1B. this may help explain its antidepressant activity. There's suggestion that curcumin may be useful for treating human motivational symptoms The study findings that epigenetically, cooking with/using whole turmeric is superior to using turmeric extract preparations seem to match my experiences - those 'bioavailability enhanced commercial products' or curcumin extracts (even with piperine) just don't personally compare to solid dose of whole turmeric etc IMO. Something about it fermenting in the gut, activity of the volatiles, or high volume of dispersion/absorption of the curcuminoids through using the actual powder, I'm not sure? Particularly fermented with quality probiotics. Even a curcumin free water turmeric extract has effects on mood . At least 235 compounds, primarily phenolic compounds and terpenoids, have been identified from C. longa. What's interesting about using whole turmeric is curcumin-free turmeric components such as those in a possess numerous biological activities, including neuroprotective, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, and antidiabetic activities. Volatiles like aromatic-turmerone exerts beneficial effects on the brain - inhibiting microglial activation, preventing brain damage caused by neuroinflammation and increasing neural stem cell proliferation . Bisacurone has been identified as another of these components, also with anti-inflammatory effects. [1] a) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28849618 b ) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25928248 [2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22742420 [3] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29079885 [4] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23832433 [5] https://doi.org/10.1016/j.schres.2017.09.046 The effect of curcumin on serotonin appeared to be dose-dependent, at high doses curcumin also increased dopamine and to a lesser extent noradrenaline. Additionally, the effect of curcumin on the serotonergic system was possibly related to its interaction with 5-HT1A/1B and 5-HT2C receptors. In studies, regarding behavioural changes; the effect of curcumin was more pronounced than fluoxetine. Curcumin raised brain GSH and reduced brain MDA, TNF-α and IL-6 contents Importantly, curcumin normalises the levels of dopamine in the frontal cortex of rats and exerts biochemical and morphological effects of the on the PFC and hippocampus. Curcumin enhances the level of neurotrophic factors such as brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) There have been signs of antidepressant properties through an interaction of curcumin with dopamine receptors and an increase in brain dopamine levels. Supplementation of curcuminoids to standard antidepressants showed a significant reduction of anxiety and depression in patients with major depressive disorder Moreover, curcumin extracts significantly improved depressive symptoms and demonstrated anxiolytic effects in patients with atypical depression. There was a significant improvement of sustained attention, working memory tasks, and mood after curcumin treatment. Curcumin showed a significant reduction in SGA‑induced body weight gain on the rats. It exerts hypoglycemic, antioxidant, antitumor, and anticarcinogenic activities. It also prevents tardive dyskinesia Why probiotic? Influence of gut microbiota on neuropsychiatric disorders Got a broad spectrum of probiotics gong on. Along with things like L. plantarum which significantly reduced anxiety-related behaviour and altered GABAergic and serotonergic signaling in the brain, it also ameliorated cognition deficits but also restored ACh and the histopathological features to control group in an AD model, I'm using a lot of L. rhamnosus rich food which has anxiolytic and mood effects: Lactobacillus rhamnosus, can dramatically alter GABA activity in the brains of mice. It reduces stress-induced elevation in stress hormones. Enriching food with Bifidobacterium longum which decreases anxiety and may improve mood among anxious animal models. Lactobacillus casei which cultures appeared to improve mood among those only with a low/depressive mood at baseline. Bifidobacterium animalis which scavenged free radicals and decreased MAO activity. "The development of the forebrain, esp. the neocortex, in social mammals and ultimately primates and humans depends on correct and timely signals from microbial symbionts—which is disturbed, when the microbiota is absent or disturbed. Likewise when the microbiome is disturbed, there is evidence of increased hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis activity in response to acute stress. The immune pathway within the brain–gut–microbiome axis may be a plausible mediator of the effects of this axis on social behaviour" Recent data provide evidence that related bacterial species can interact specifically with a variety of different neuronal populations. For example some bacteria affects the functioning of CNS neurons in the hippocampus and amygdala, and alter PFC funtioning. They can alter vagal tone, HPA axis activity, neuroinflammation/microglial activation, alter serotonergic transmission, levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor, NMDA receptor subunit expression, GABAergic signalling and receptor expression etc [ref] There are also links to a role for oxytocin. Altering the microbiome has been shown to do things like: -improve mood, but only in those who have poorer mood at baseline and alter anxiety related measures -reduce cortisol output in response to an acute stressor -alter brain activity when processing information related to emotional facial expressions -improvement in sustained attention in healthy older adults The first clinical trial of probiotics in bipolar disorder found probiotics lowered the rate of rehospitalisation, building on previous research that has found promise for these in depression, anxiety, cognition, and autism Supplemental probiotics to combat brain-related dysfunction offers a promising approach [1]. Evidence suggests [2] that chronic administration of Lactobacilli and Bifidobacteria strains can have effects on areas of the brain related to emotion, mood, memory, and somatosensory processing - probiotic ingestion attenuates emotional reactions and decreases activity of certain brain regions when measuring brain responses to emotional stimuli Along with improved depression, anxiety, anger, and anxiety in adults [3], probiotic intake for 4-6 weeks altered neural activity in brain regions that control central processing of emotion and sensation in healthy women but no change in gut microbial composition was detected [4]. In a more recent study, a slight change was detected in the microbiome and [5]: Probiotics improved self-reported behavioural measures of positive affect and cognitive reactivity Probiotic administration influenced the behavioral scores for depression and anxiety questionnaires, significantly increasing positive affect and blunting vulnerability to depression in terms of hopelessness and risk aversion Probiotics improved memory performance and altered brain activation patterns Probiotic administration for 4 weeks was associated with changes in brain activation patterns in response to emotional memory and emotional decision-making tasks In major depression, probiotic (Lactobacillus helveticus and Bifidobacterium longum) resulted in an improvement in BDI score compared with placebo whereas no significant effect of prebiotic supplementation (galactooligosaccharide) was seen [6] “The Social Network” – How the Gut Microbiome Governs Our Social Behaviour [1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29701810 [2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29698377 [3] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20974015 [4] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23474283 [5] https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/19490976.2018.1460015 [6] https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clnu.2018.04.010 There seem to be changes in the microbiota that are associated with substance use [1] across an array of SUDs and eating disorders [2] Ethanol drastically changes the microbiome and increase in gut permeability and induces a pro-inflammatory responses. Microbiome alterations were shown to be correlated with alcohol use disorder-related symptoms, i.e. craving, depression and anxiety and manipulations in the gut microbiota may affect cocaine-related behaviors (Animals with reduced gut bacteria showed an enhanced sensitivity to cocaine reward and enhanced sensitivity to the locomotor-sensitising effects of repeated cocaine administration [3]) and methamphetamine [4]. There is a strong negative influence of alcohol dependence on gut microbiota [5] and "Intestinal flora between cocaine users and non-cocaine users and have found that cocaine users have a higher mean relative abundance of Bacteroidetes and a lower abundance of Firmicutes than non-users; are more likely to smoke; have a lower mean percentage of body fat; and consume more alcohol than non-users." Phytonutrients impact the microbiome “eat the rainbow” AND eat prebiotic and probiotic foods" so to do omega-3's: Some of the health-related benefits of omega-3 may be due, in part, to increases in butyrate-producing bacteria. You can shift the microbiome with probiotics. Some of the other non-LAB are also now available as supplements. Probiotic intake induced an increase in Proteobacteria and in the Clostridiales spp. Patients taking probiotics had an increased numbers of butyrate-producing bacteria, especially Faecalibacterium and Clostridiales spp. Probiotic intervention modulated the fecal concentrations of butyrate in a manner dependent on the initial levels of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) [things like live B. bifidum cells affected the relative abundance of dominant taxa in the fecal microbiota and modulated fecal butyrate levels] [1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5472629/ [2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28482009 [3] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27752130 [4] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5575146/ [5] https://microbiomejournal.biomedcentral.com/.../s40168... Black pepper - more than a spice and bioavailability enhancer... "During the time of Hippocrates the pepper was used as both a spice for food and as a medicine. The Asian world has long considered black pepper to be an important spice for detoxifying and as an anti-aging compound. It is widely used in different traditional systems of medicine like Ayurvedic and Unani System of medicines" Black pepper is itself used as an analgesic, antiinflammatory, anticonvulsant, antioxidant, antidepressant and cognitive-enhancing agent. It contains 5-10% pungent acid-amides, with piperine as its main compound and several others, such as the N-isobutylamide guineensine which is a nanomolar inhibitor of cellular uptake of the endocannabinoid anandamide. Recent studies on the pharmacological actions of piperine have demonstrated its antioxidant activity, antiinflammatory [1] and cognitive-enhancing effect following long-term oral administration. It performed as well as memantine in an Alzheimer's model [2]. It reduces cholinesterase levels and amyloidal plaque formation [3]. It is a potent anti-inflammatory [4]. The antidepressant-like effects might depend on the augmentation of the neurotransmitter synthesis or the reduction of the neurotransmitter reuptake, along with inducing BDNF promoter, increasing brain-derived neurotrophic factor expression in the hippocampus and promoting neurite outgrowth [5,6]. It predominately seems to be mediated via the serotonergic system by enhancing 5-HT content [7] It exerts anxiolytic effects by GABAergic and nitrergic systems [8] It exerts anticonvulsant effects [9] due to antioxidant actions, as well as TNF-α reduction, along with effects on inhibitory amino acids and on the GABAergic system [10] and analgesic properties dependent on the opioid system [11] Piperine pre-treatment time-dependently improves the bioavailability of poylphenols, including flavonoids/green tea catechins and curcumin, through the reversible and selective inhibition of UGTs and SULTs. It also increases the bioavailability of things like ashwagandha, rosmarinic acid and a variety of drugs [12]. Enzymatic inhibition by piperine resulted in increased bioavailability of many drugs and nutrients e.g. amoxicillin, ampicillin, acefotaxime, carbamazepine, ciprofloxacin, norfloxacin, metronidazole, oxytetracyclin, nimesulide, pentobarbitone, phenytoin, resveratrol, beta-carotene, curcumin, gallic acid, tiferron, nevirapine, and sparteine by different types of mechanisms. Curcuminoids and piperine could inhibit drug metabolism but is "unlikely to result in a clinically significant interaction involving CYP3A, CYP2C9 or the paracetamol conjugation enzymes." [1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28185326 [2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28939403 [3] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26023568 [4] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28185326 [5] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29063362 [6] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17701559 [7] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21477634 [8] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25149996 [9] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28352353 [10] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23313550 [11] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24388894 [12] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3458266/ Ginger: This itself functions as a bioavailability enhancer. Ginger has also a broad anti-inflammatory properties and may be useful in auto-immune conditions including MS. Ginger and its constituents, such as 6-gingerol, 6-shogaol, 6-paradol, zingerone, and dehydrozingerone, are effective for ameliorating the neurological symptoms of neurodegenerative conditions. Ginger and neurodegenerative disorders:

My sisters home-made bonsai. Some people have all the luck...

Some Datura pictures...Datura wrightiiDatura discolorDatura metel var. fastuosaDatura quercifoliaDatura stramonium

Awesome. I'm in for sure. I absolutely love the idea of a share night too, I'm pretty good at cooking a spit roast to share and will have a couple of kegs of home brew at least. The last EGA was a bit of a mis fire from us. But this we would be on board full swing. To be totally honest. That first weekend in December is pretty special to a lot of us Sydney sabers as it's one of our much much loved members birthday. we have had a camp for a few years at that time. I have been toying with the idea of going back to the same site for a camp again this year so Sydney and Melbourne people could converge. So I can't convey how keen I am for this to happen this year. Let's do it!!

eels up inside ya

Giving away some extra misplant seeds. One person will receive seeds of the following: Validus x Peru2 Peru Clyde x Zelly1 Peru2 x Bridgesii 'Killer Green Cactus' All you have to do is post below. Entries close 7pm AWST, 25/7 and I'll post when I get home AUS only GO

Hey guys, A friend and I recently launched our website for the sale of Mitragyna speciosa seeds: m2seeds.comWe source them from a professional kratom farmer in Malaysia we've been in contact with for a while, not far from Kuala Lumpur. I did a giveaway of some of these seeds a few months ago.We currently have 2 strains available, but more coming soon: Green Malay (local name "Urat Hijau") Red Malay (local name "Urat Merah") which was originally sourced by the farmer up north near the Thai border so technically this is what kratom sellers call Red Thai. The seeds are fresh and germination rates are great, see below for pictures of some seedlings. We're running a free shipping worldwide promotion until the end of July, check us out! We ship from Europe, orders going to Oz will be labeled & packaged accordingly.

Admired her and found out she is getting basal pups. Pollinated also...

fluff... School holiday project shaping up nicely, will need to cut him some longer bark to weatherproof it all sweet, and sneak some mud into the top... but he's done alright so far. I'll dig him out a fire hole for cooking and make a decent fire lay for heat today while he is off with some buddies today

built a trellis for my young caapi.

Thanks Since I mentioned hypocotyl grafting [which many people seem to misunderstand] I took this as a chance to repot my first such grafts to check their progress and get some photos. If the size of the stock counts then these are my smallest ever successful grafts. Lophophora williamsii seedlings grafted to Echinocactus texensis seedling hypocotyls [the portion under the cotyledons, before the first areole]: No pressure was applied. The upper left plant died shortly after this photo, the others grew. This is after several years of growth in regular potting soil with a little sand added: My purpose in these grafts was obviously not speed. We've all seen taprooted lophs and we've all seen degrafted lophs that formed secondary roots. This was an attempt to see lophs with 'natural' primary root systems lacking a taproot. They just have a short anchor root and a mass of surface feeder roots and, apparently, they had no problems at all with rot. I cant wait to try using Opuntia compressa hypocotyls to give plants an indestructible taproot. Also on my long term to-do list is Peniocereus gregii hypocotyl grafts to give a taproot that can grow to weigh kilograms! Grafting doesn't have to be traditional

Hahahah, has your life just turned into a constant assessment of potential kancho targets? I've been having a lot of fun with my mental health! Yay for complex PTSD! Thankfully I'm starting to find more and more opportunities to move towards what I feel will help me thrive rather than exist... I just got home from doing sound for the local ukulele festival, which was freaking BRILLIANT fun, largely positive reception except for a couple of artists with shitty pickups and mic technique roasting me from afar for not turning them up to the point of feedback. Ahh well. I'm working on the theory that a lot of mental health problems stem from, or are exacerbated by, a lack of community involvement. This is partially through what I've learned about cultures with low mental illness rates- everybody has a place and belongs, people look after each other, the youth belong to a vast family which is their tribe, so if their parents are shit cunts the blow is absorbed by the love they receive from their peers. I'm also informed by my time living close to the city and how downright afraid everybody is of everybody else. Also had a professional development session for an arts festival I'll be performing at later in the year, another Big Thing for me. It's the first time I've acknowledged myself as an artist and exhibited as such. I asked my supervisor if I can drop down to 4 days a week. Here's hoping. I'm adamant that being less involved in the cooked logic of a huge multi-national corporation will do really bloody good things for me. Also, any reduction in time spent in a warehouse in winter is a GOOD THING, last winter was just painful.

I reckon this type of shit is actually problematic, in that it's a bit of "Well, now we've proven it, you can use it for this purpose, and when we've proven it for that purpose, then you can use it..." Cannabis helps you sleep? NO FUCKING SHIT! Mankind has known this for ever, but thanks OZ for chucking heaps of cash at research to prove it. Who knows, it may even improve appetite in some patients... Next research question for study = found. https://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/latest-news/cannabis-may-help-insomniacs-sleep/news-story/43a6cebca6823039b3c724e96c706761

Ok...I must have selectively misremembered a lot of this :D eerrmmm pretty sure some of it was just chics in bikinis straddling cacti...BUT HOLY FUCKING HELL...IS THIS ALL REAL OR IS SOME OF IT CGI? cause as one of the gender/sex minorities on this forum (last I checked there was a slightly unbalanced ratio on these forums)....I AM THE PROUD OWNER OF A SOUL SUCKING VAGINA AND FUCKING JESUS CHRIST, I DO SOME WEIRD FUCKIN SHIT BUT UMMMMM....THAT JUST LOOKS PAINFUL...I mean, I will give anything a go (mostly) but do photo shoots like these come with internal local anaesthetics?? If not, I'm out aye ...ok back to being productive...THIS WAS NOT QUITE WHAT I REMEMBERED...its almost better...I would totally like to see a dude have a go at this...I am a big fan of efukt from years back...watch it with me old mates for a laugh! Happy New Year everyone! Glow vials and shroom crafts restarting soon...I assure you they have not been inserted into any orifices...(that would incur a massive price hike sorry lol)

"Some fascinating studies have been done in Germany where the metabolically active mycelium of some Psilocybe species have been administered diethyltryptamine as a potential diet component. Normally, this mushroom species dutifully converts N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) to psilocin, by introducing a 4-hydroxyl group into the molecule by something that is probably called an indole 4-hydroxylase by the biochemists. You put DMT in, and you get 4-hydroxy-DMT out, and this is psilocin. Maybe if you put Mickey Mouse in, you would get 4-hydroxy-Mickey Mouse out. It is as if the mushroom psyche didn't really care what it was working with, it was simply compelled to do its sacred duty to 4-hydroxylate any tryptamine it came across. It was observed that if you put N,N-diethyltryptamine (DET, not a material found in nature) into the growing process, the dutiful and ignorant enzymes would hydroxylate it to 4-hydroxy-N,N-diethyltryptamine (4-HO-DET) a potent drug also not known in nature. This is the title drug of this commentary. What a beautiful burr to thrust into the natural versus synthetic controversy. If a plant (a mushroom mycelium in this case) is given a man-made chemical, and this plant converts it, using its natural capabilities, into a product that had never before been known in nature, is that product natural? What is natural? This is the stuff of many long and pointless essays." ^ DIRECTLY cut and pasted from @MeanGreen 's link A B S O L U T E L Y F U C K I N G F A S C I N A T I N G ! ! ! EDIT: Shrooms are like a little machine that convert man made chemicals into (never before seen in nature) semi synthetic tryptamines (depending on whats being fed to them). These things really are alien seeds man - an intelligent entity from other planes.

Had two fruits recently on these two pilosocereus. Very cool looking!

scop X psycho0 (and friend)

We have a thread for a flat earth and a thread for climate change. The obvious was missing. Here is the thread for those who question the theory of evolution. Coming soon, the thread for those who question gravity.

They said i shouldn't tell you this cause it is to soon and may cause a break in your psyche but i think you need to know, there is no airplanes, no cows, no horses, no dogs, no noisy machines, you are not in a house, you are not in australia and it is not 2018, you are in a mental facility located in illionsis usa, it is the year 1973, you have been here for three and a half years since you had a psychotic episode at the local milk bar claiming Henry Winkler had killed the fonze and now he is after you to take your soul to the underworld. Now we have tried telling you this before and you reverted moments after, again claiming you are in australia 2018 complaining about all the noise, we are now trying a new method to reach you, it is called the forum text method. We need you to come back, please come back

Climate would naturally be warming in this phase DualWield, though it is being exacerbated and brought quickly... some facts that you were after • Temperatures are rising world-wide due to greenhouse gases trapping more heat in the atmosphere. • Droughts are becoming longer and more extreme around the world. • Tropical storms becoming more severe due to warmer ocean water temperatures. • As temperatures rise there is less snowpack in mountain ranges and polar areas and the snow melts faster. • Overall, glaciers are melting at a faster rate. • Sea ice in the Arctic Ocean around the North Pole is melting faster with the warmer temperatures. • Permafrost is melting, releasing methane into the atmosphere. • Sea levels are rising, threatening coastal communities and estuarine ecosystems. • The ocean is absorbing around 22 million tonnes a day of carbon dioxide, and is acidifying. • The current extinction event is accelerating. Every single one of these things can be referenced with evidence by highlighting them and right-clicking search. I'm not a fanaticist and do not think that the whole thing is caused by humans, but the changes we have made in our ecosystems are undeniable and anyone with an ounce of logical extrapolation can see that we are a contributing part of these changes that are happening. What a lot of people fail to realise though is what these changes mean is that we will have a wetter world, as there will be much more water in the atmosphere, not a drier one. That's great for plants and tropical rainforests, but a pain in the bum for much of the world's population that is going to be washed out of their homes and cities and find their food sources either disrupted or broken. The "proof" you are screaming for is widely documented, though the finalisation required in the scientific method, that something needs to be reproducible is never going to be available... because we only have one planet. You can deny all of the studies that show there is an acceleration of all the points above if you wish, but that doesn't make any of the millions of correlating data points invalid. The world is rapidly changing, there is no scientist that denies that... there's only a vast minority who insist that somehow the ecological changes we have made have nothing to do with it. Either way, as I said before... It's not the end of the world looming. Just the end of majority of the organisms on it, including us. All will recycle and we will be just part of the fossil record for some other curious creature to dig up and examine.

" This book presents a series of perspectives on the therapeutic potential of the ritual and clinical use of the Amazonian hallucinogenic brew ayahuasca in the treatment and management of various diseases and ailments, especially its role in psychological well-being and substance dependence. Biomedical and anthropological data on the use of ayahuasca for treating depression, PTSD, and substance dependence in different settings, such as indigenous contexts, neo-shamanic rituals, contemporary therapeutic circles, and in ayahuasca religions, in both South and North America, are presented and critiqued. Though multiple anecdotal reports on the therapeutic use of ayahuasca exist, there has been no systematic and dense reflection on the topic thus far. The book brings the therapeutic use of ayahuasca to a new level of public examination and academic debate. The texts in this volume stimulate discussion on methodological, ethical, and political aspects of research and will enhance the development of this emergent field of studies. " Editors: Labate, Beatriz Caiuby, Cavnar, Clancy https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783642404252 Springer.The.Therapeutic.Use.of.Ayahuasca.pdf Springer.The.Therapeutic.Use.of.Ayahuasca.pdf

My penis blew its top

Fertilized my Lophs. To keep them from being buried in mud when it rains I plant them on level, or even slightly elevated ground. That way I can just rinse off the mud spatters with a spray bottle. This, however, makes deep watering tricky. I took milk jugs, cut a hole in the top, and drilled a 1.5 mm hole on one of the sides nearly on the bottom. Rocks or disks of tree branch keep the jugs from touching the buttons. And the small size of the drain hole lets the fertilizer water actually soak in before getting too far from the jug. I also spotted a long hair tuft growing on a button from a genetic group thats never flowered for me. First flower may be on the way

Winner is @Ex-Cess'es Sent you a PM

Had an idea but not sure how well it'll be perceived or if its worth doing Basically: We find skilled cacti grower(s) from within the ranks Find generous people(s) to donate nice seed stock I'll put up funds for growing media if needed Buyer pays postage to the grower and pays XX dollars per seedling towards SAB server cost Do a few different cultivars per year Just a thought

Weeded and made some photos today

You could slip them. The opposite of your idea is done in bonsai sometimes. Lift the rootball ans pad a little layer of soil in the bottom and put the plant back in there. Then try to poke down soil in the gaps along the side as good as you can. It's better for the plant. Depending on who your patient is.

Man, sorry to hear of your circumstances and having to part with your collection. Anyhow i hope you find some loving custodians for them all and find some comfort in the thought that the plants will likely be cared for and live on well. All in all i am hoping you well for now and into the future.

put in for leave anyway sweet cheeks... at the very worst you'd just cancel and go back to work at the strip club but this thing seems like it's just gunna happen with a staunch group with minimum of fuss. At the very worst we'll all catchup, swap some seeds/plants, fire up the smoker and have a yarn, spin some shit, catchup on what we've all being doing. no biggee, bro The petal and I are in

Hey Alchemica, first up i enjoy reading your well thought out and put together posts. Thankyou. Slighty off centre to your topic maybe and i ramble but here goes. I had until recently been studying nursing and i work in the hospital system. Through years of learning and thinking about the body as a machine (and maybe the death of mum ) I gradually, insideously dissassociated from my previous beliefs. I began to be very 2 dimensional about life seeing it only through a biomedical prism. This culminated in me having thoughts about death and the hopelessness of exsistence almost constantly, like every minute or two, this went on for many months, maybe a year. Constantly thinking im about to die. Before going to work the shutters would come down, i would feel like an army guy about to jump out of the trench ( knowing im fucked ). Sometimes id have to stop driving to work and just sit for a time because i was so upset and so anxious. The night before things changed i remember lying in bed remembering when i was happiest. Noticing that i had no belief system anymore where i once did. My reality so fucking bleak. The next morning my 3 yo son Joe and I found a dead Grey Goshawk out front of the house. If you've never seen one they are pure white (grey ???) a truely stunning bird. They're nearly extinct with only 120 pairs left. Devastating! Joe and I went to a nearby lake for a burial. We have tassie aboriginal ancestors and i wanted share a smoking ceremony with little Joe. I lit a fire either side of the bird and looked with my imagination through its eyes. Thought about the decisions,the thoughts, understandings of the bird. Then at the point of ignition of the gum leaves, where heat becomes flame, like a crack of light under a door i saw JOY just for a timeless moment. Something i hadnt seen or felt for years, I understood it as an inherent joy connecting all life. I had found a strand, a place to unravel some new beliefs from. It was the earth and the natural world around me communicating with me. Reassuring me. I all of a sudden had a reference point a deep feeling of connection. Some days later trying to sleep ( nightshift ) before work, the predictable heavyness decended on me. I got up as i couldnt bear it. After a while i lay back down and put hands on heart. Was then that something asked permission to come in. Intuitively I said yes and 6 things, entities, spirits, something filled my body. Tingling, restoring, filling me up. From out of nowhere Im back in the belief game. All these anxieties reduced to just shitty memories. Work isnt a problem, thoughts of dying gone. I no longer default think that everyone hates me. Such a relief. I feel very grateful, humbled, lucky, happy. Joe still talks about that day often as it stands out as special to him too. I vow to always work towards making my world a better place for birds, so atm im growing as many natives as i can propagate. Learning as much as i can. And have quit studying nursing as its toxic for me. I am better serving to heal others through healing the environment, rather than the acute, ambulance at the bottom of the cliff shit. It wasnt long after discovering that the natural world as my guide that I found SAB and a whole heap of people who may feel similarly. Blown away to have a sense of community and access to all this knowledge as well. H

Below are photos of the white gilled one. There's definitely something weird going with the on with the cystidia but I am not sure exactly what. Also while the spore print was normal there were hardly any spores on the gill (unless those black things are actually attempts at spores).

A photo from the passed winter.

Recently I’ve experienced a second awakening comparable to my introduction to psychedelics. This time through poetry, a poet named Bob Strums workings had just appeared in my face book news feed. He had sponsor his page and it had some how found me. I began to hear the poetry in everything, recognising omens, its as if the Architect was speaking to me again, I remembered we are one. This time its as if im speaking back to myself from the future, frighteningly telling myself to support the ideological war on Islam, and letting myself know not to worried about the Ebola epidemic, its all a part of some grand plan, a great ideological and biological cleansing. The symbol Mercedes Benz uses is constantly present in my minds eye, Nazis were the swastika the four, now is the three, then will come an omen of the two, then one, before we return to (or realise) the true timeless conciousness. Also I feel an urgency to return to my original path, I left home at the age of 13 and a half and lived as a female until I returned to my home town at the age of 15. I remained openly homosexual but in suppressing my will I turned to drugs, firstly chroming followed by a decade long gear binge that had almost destroyed me. My one redemption was finding the Corroboree, although id dabbled in psychedelics often throughout my adolescence this place helped direct my motives towards evolution rather than degradation. My relationships have always been with heterosexual men, for most I had been there first and last experience with another male, other homosexuals are seldom attracted to me with the exception of militant lesbians, my spirit is definitely more female, rather a conjugation of masculine and feminine leaning further towards the latter. I feel its my Dharma to be somewhat a painter, poet, clown, express my femininity outwardly sending a visual message to the masses to begin a trigger towards a pan sexual transhumanist evolutionary process. Other strange happenings are beginning to occur which are suggesting to me it my time to eclipse my mother, dissolve her Dogma for the betterment of the family, this is causing tension in our relationship, she had grown up in Penang (although indo-aryan heritage) before moving to Australia (her father an SAS man stationed there) her belief system incorporates Vedic, Christian, then after moving here and taking to much acid in the 70s Pagan ideology, we practice non violence and vegetarianism she has also worked in our town as a Tarot card reader the last 30yrs,she ensured her children were taught cartomancy, the method of loci, and lucid dreaming techniques, my childhood was a mixed blessing I suppose my parents are quite much like a lot of members on this forum. Any how along with my recent reawakening noticing omens etc., I had been walking along the street when out of nowhere the three of clubs flew up into my hand, perhaps its the architect telling me to begin reading, im worried what my mother may think of this. I’m also a little upset at her for recently beginning to attend the local rave scene in a professional capacity reading cards and offering sound healing. I had always operated at such events in my own professional capacity as a go to guy if you catch my drift, but feel as if I continue it would affect her professional reputation, she is aware of this and im unsure if I began reading if she would take this as tit for tat and become upset. Well not sure if this is the kind of response to your thread you were expecting but its the thought process it triggered within me so thought it appropriate to share.