Alchemica

Anyone used high dose chasteberry (vitex agnus castus)? If you can supress post-orgasmic prolactin release properly, it could be very interesting. What about blue cohosh or cotton root bark as an oxytocic herb? Then add in a good 5-HT agonist/releaser and it should be even better. Could be beneficial for males (especially those who are a bit out of wack) and more so females.

Never knocked the song, just the supposed non-factual nature of the lyrics. Spent last night watching the clip on youtube... I just want to know what date I need to pencil in for the party (seeing my social calendar tends to fill up several years in advance ) !

Any updates? So if that song was gibberish, how about December 21st, 2012? There's 1,273 people willing to go for that date on facebook...

Lobeline is interesting as it modulates VMAT and hence dopamine release, rather than just substituting smoked nicotine for buccal administration. It shows some promise in treating other addictions (including stimulants). I didn't find it as reinforcing as tobacco but IMO it has some interesting potential - I'd really like to see if it helps anyone quit or reduce their intake. I simply don't find buccal nicotine from gums to be a good way to go (and you end up paying just as much money to some pharmaceutical company instead of a tobacco company). Part of me also assumes that the MAO inhibition from smoked tobacco is part of the problem with giving up - once the MAO activity returns, neurotransmitter levels are likely to throw the smoker into some bad cravings.

Places like Happy High Herbs have the leaf in ?50g bags for under $10 I think, or you could see if http://www.newtonspharmacy.com.au will mail order. Just be careful, it is something that you can overdose on. Another one that could be interesting is cytisine... a real problem to get the dose right (and not die) but if that could be done, it might be quite effective. Then again it's related to varenicline so it might bring out Mr. Hyde

Easy enough to get from GPs - they tend to be happy to see someone who isn't chasing benzos. My problem is that I already have hypotension and tend to pass out making them pretty useless. Personally, I wouldn't bother looking for plant based options. It's one of those things where you want a standardised, reliable dose. Pindolol is also good if you have a curious mind...

All the best with it gromit! Tough thing to be going through. I want to cut back soon but know that tobacco is one of the few things that keeps me a bit saner. In the way of ethnos, you might want to consider a tea of lobelia. Worth a shot if you have it around. Anyone tried bupropion or low-dose selegiline?

Would have been 16... Stumbled across a couple of huge bags of (mostly) leaf trim which had been dumped down at the river after someone's commercial harverst. Got together with a friend to pick out any bud we could find... Rolled a big spliff of bud and a bit of leaf with newspaper and puffed away during our Monday morning free before physics - at first we were pretty worried about having blood shot eyes but once the paranoia subsided, we were still sufficiently high to be able to find the morning amusing. I'm pretty sure the smell hung with us all day and a few people caught on. The next few times where much more unpleasant. The things you do when you're young and foolish...

"Tropo-Yopo" 10gr of seeds (reported to be predominately 5-OH-DMT by someone who knows way more about plants than me, left whole) were gently roasted in a fry pan until ~70% popped open (like pop-corn) and the heat source removed. The seeds were then finely powdered in coffee-grinder to form a fine dust-like powder. 2.5gr of lime-paste was added to the seeds and the mixture ground in a mortar and pestle until homogenous, causing a slight amine (fishy) odour to be liberated. After 5min, the seed-paste was returned to the fry-pan and covered in 250ml of mineral soda water (carbonated water) and the suspension reduced to a goey-paste. The paste was then dried at 11O deg. C until dry and finely powdered to a snuff grade powder. Active by bioassay. 5-AcO-Yopo Edit: improvements to the procedure may involve treating a cold, basified (NaOH) bufotenine (as the Na salt) extract solution w. Ac2O. A batch of the same "Tropo-Yopo" was prepared and covered in glacial acetic acid (AcOH). The excess AcOH was removed at 120 deg. C and 20ml of acet*ic an*hydride (Ac2O) was added. The paste was heated at 60 deg. C for 2hrs and the excess Ac2O removed at 1atm. The seed mass was extracted with 150ml of boiling methanol (twice), filtered and the methanolic solution evaporated to leave a resin. Initial bioassay (smoking) has been positive. Rue-Resin Peganum harmala seeds (25g, whole) were heated to reflux in methanol (150ml) containing glacial acetic acid (25ml) for 2 hours. The seeds were removed by filtration and the red methanolic extract evaporated to a dry resin.

Have you experienced altered states of consciousness which you believe have resulted directly from external, human-made electromagnetic radiation other than visible light (mobile communications, wireless internet, radio waves (including TV signals), microwaves)? There is some interesting material on the formation of highly structured microcrystals in the pineal gland which have piezoelectric properties, with potential excitability in the frequency range of mobile communications and other non-ionising radiation: Piezoelectricity in the human pineal gland "Melatonin secretion by the pineal gland has been reported to be affected by exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMFs). In an initial investigation to determine if calcifications commonly found in the pineal gland could respond to EMFs by a transducer mechanism, studies were conducted to ascertain if pineal tissues were piezoelectric. Second harmonic generation (SHG) measurements showed that pineal tissues contained noncentrosymmetric crystals, thus proving the presence of piezoelectricity. Both mulberry-like and faceted crystalline calcifications were observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Some of the calcifications had compositions similar to that of hydroxyapatite; others contained a high concentration of aluminum.... ...The SHG results show that the pineal gland definitely contains noncentrosymmetric material which, according to crystallographic symmetry considerations [7], is piezoelectric. SHG detection does not permit determination of quantitative piezoelectric and other material constants. Piezoelectric crystals were detected throughout the human pineal gland (Fig. 1) in all subjects examined (Fig. 2)..... ...The first two kinds of crystals are chemically similar to bone mineral, which is not piezoelectric [17], perhaps suggesting that they were not the source of the SHG response. On the other hand, the crystal structure of bone mineral and pineal calcifications is not well known, and it is possible that small changes in crystal structure could result in the appearance of noncentrosymmetry, hence piezoelectricity. With the exception of one location, the nonpineal tissues contained no crystals visible in the SEM. Thus, if the SHG determinations involving the nonpineal tissues (Fig. 2) are interpreted as negative, then it could be concluded that there is a strong correlation between the presence of crystals and piezoelectricity. Aluminum was consistently observed in the pineal glands using independent methods of measurement (EDS on powder, EDS on single crystals, atomic absorption), indicating that the element is consistently present in the human pineal gland. Its relationship to the piezoelectric property of pineal deposits, however, is unknown." - http://ortho.sh.lsuhsc.edu/Faculty/Marino/...electricity.pdf "Because of the fast development of mobile telecommunication, the interaction of Electromagnetic Fields (EMF) with biological environment becomes a public health concern. Although the action of non-ionizing radiation on biology is still unclear, several hypotheses of interaction have been suggested: hot spot phenomena, ADN/RF-EMF interaction, EMF effect on cellular development (oncology) [1-3]. But no convincing study brings to the conclusion of an effective risk of RF-EMF for health. The pineal gland converts a neural signal into an endocrine output. The most important hormone it secretes is melatonin the main role of which is to control the physiological circadian rhythm [4]. Two biomineralization forms can be observed in the pineal gland. Concretions so called "brain sand", a polycrystalline complex of few millimeters long, and microcrystals the length of which does not exceed 20 micrometers. While concretions have been extensively studied [5-9] no study has been published on the microcrystals. In this article the microcrystals were analyzed with different biophysical techniques. Their physicochemical properties and particularly piezoelectricity would give them an active role in a potential mechanism of electromechanotransduction in the pineal body. We are currently planning a study on the effects of Global System for Mobile (GSM) waves on these microcrystals in cellular culture and their influence on the pineal body physiology.... ....We report here the presence of a new form of mineral deposits in the pineal gland. The calcite microcrystals would have piezoelectric properties with excitability in the frequency range of mobile communications. Their interaction with GSM waves could constitute a new mechanism of electromecano-transduction on the pinealocyte membrane, influencing by the fact the melatonin production. The RF-EMF electrical component interaction with the crystals could induce a morphological modification of the crystals, a vibration depending on the EMF frequency. This morphological change, even tiny, could involve a modification of their cellular environment, by a localized modification of the cellular membrane of related cells. The membrane changes could alter the adrenergic suggested and/or calcium channel function. A similar mechanism of magneto-transduction was revealed by Kirschvink in connection with magnetite crystals of the brain and their interaction with the magnetic component of RF-EMF [15]. Pinealocyte can "communicate" through their gap junction [16, 17]. The deformation caused by the crystal vibrations could thus by simple activation of one or two pinealocytes, activate a whole area of pineal cells and thereby act on the pineal physiology." - http://www.ursi.org/Proceedings/ProcGA02/papers/p2236.pdf Anyway, I'm keen to see the results of the Poll.

Thanks Fenris - interesting links, hadn't heard of SQUID before. Links from DMT/Ayahuasca - The Spirit Molecule - awareness Facebook page) Sweet Dreams are made of Geomagnetic Activity http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn1687...c-activity.html The Biological Clock mechanism: dynamic & rhythmic fluctuations in the Solar System Interplanetary Electromagnetic Field Matrix http://diamondhead.net/ssiefmbc.htm Cell Phones and the pineal gland http://cellphonesafety.wordpress.com/category/pineal-gland/ http://www.biomedexperts.com/Abstract.bme/...uction_of_melat Maybe 50 Hz mains power is a problem, too? Electro Magnetic Fields and the Nature Rythms of the Earth http://www.articlesbase.com/cell-phones-ar...rth-524383.html http://druhempel.gnn.tv/blogs/28719/Melato...agnetic_Secrets http://www.bridgeofstars.co.uk/pineal-gland.htm http://cacaoist.blog.com/1024870/ Facebook users might be interested in the video http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/video/vi...?v=127653780299 GEOMAGNETIC STORMS AND THEIR INFLUENCE ON THE HUMAN BRAIN http://www.cnic.edu.cu/revista%20CENIC/rev...05-4-CB-081.pdf Geomagnetic storms: association with incidence of depression as measured by hospital admission The hypothesis that geomagnetic storms may partly account for the seasonal variation in the incidence of depression, by acting as a precipitant of depressive illness in susceptible individuals, is supported by a statistically significant 36.2% increase in male hospital admissions with a diagnosis of depressed phase, manic- depressive illness in the second week following such storms compared with geomagnetically quiet control periods. There is a smaller but not statistically significant increase in female psychotic depression and non-psychotic depression admissions following storms. There was no correlation between geomagnetic storm levels and number of male admissions with psychotic depression, which is consistent with a threshold event affecting predisposed individuals. Phase advance in pineal circadian rhythms of melatonin synthesis may be a possible mechanism of causation or be present as a consequence of 5- hydroxytryptamine and adrenergic system dysfunction associated with geomagnetic disturbance. Effects on cell membrane permeability, calcium channel activity and retinal magneto-receptors are suggested as possible underlying biochemical mechanisms http://bjp.rcpsych.org/cgi/content/abstract/164/3/403

Nice find! Amazon has it for $12 used or $20 (all USD), unless the first edition is worth significantly more? There's a "collectible edition" listed for $275 but I have no idea what's special about it... (just an insomiac's ravings)

Yeah Thelema thanks for bringing that up- I agree that the incandescent light bulbs are much nicer to work under, being close to full spectrum rather than vapour/phosphor emission lines (not to mention the problems that are going to arise from all the mercury vapour in them when they are disposed). I've heard that the cheap compact fluoros are really bad for some. I've seen some low-wattage energy saver halogen lights for standard fittings that can even be dimmed - I wonder if they are more friendly?

Thanks for voting everyone! The light problem is difficult, so "No" was probably the way to go. I thought the SAB lot needed a "Not Sure" option if we did experience an altered state, but were off our chops anyway... Just to clear up the meaning of it.

The calcite microcrystals have been found in humans [1]. So have magnetite particles [2,3]... So, next time we get a pole reversal and maximum solar flare activity (2012?), that should be enough to mess us all up quite nicely. ...maybe fluoride was added into water to alter these crystal structures so that governments could tap into our thought processes using radio waves... [1] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12224052 [2] Marcia Barinaga, “Giving Personal Magnetism a Whole New Meaning”, Science , vol 256, page 967, May 15, 1992 . [3] Charlene Crabb, “Magnetic Minds”, Discover , vol 14, page 70-71, January, 1993.

Stumbled across http://forum.centauremt.com/ - seems to be a good place to go for details.

The asarones in calamus are known for insecticidal activity. Could be an effective, fragrant option. http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/1...17.2008.00205.x

Got it on tape - feel free to PM me faustus and I'll send it on if you can't be stuffed downloading it. Quite a drug-fiend TV marathon tonight... some good stuff on before and after - thanks for the heads up!

I'll tape it faustus.

The compact fluorescent globes probably should be included, as long as the light isn't directly aimed at or reflecting into the eyes. They are known for generating EMF radiation along with visible light.

Click Edit at the bottom of your post and use "Full Edit". Hope that's the answer you were looking for.

Thanks for the links - some good material there.

This simple test might be of interest to some (for the purpose of IDing amatoxins in mushrooms): Presence of amatoxins in mushroom samples may be detected by the Meixner Test MEIXNER TEST 1.Squeeze a drop of juice from the mushroom onto absorbent, high lignin content paper (newspaper). Stool or gastric sample should be diluted with methanol, spun and filtered. 2.Mark the perimeter of the spot with a pencil 3.Dry the spot 4. Add 2 drops of concentrated hydrochloric acid to the area. If the paper goes blue it indicates the presence of amatoxins. A control drop of acid can be added to another area of the paper. The reaction may take up to 20 minutes for trace amounts of toxins. http://curriculum.toxicology.wikispaces.net/Meixner+Test The mushroom body can also be extracted with 70% ethanol (see below) A Positive Test: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cornellfungi/2828851149/ A Negative Test: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cornellfungi/2829688198/ NOTE: Specimens of A. virosa containing smaller quantities of a-amanitin were not always detected (test sensitivity 67%) [1]. This test should NOT be used as the sole method to determine if the mushroom is devoid of amatoxins. The test is suggestive for amatoxins, but not definitive. [1] http://www.informapharmascience.com/doi/pd...1/CLT-120016866

I guess the concentration of DMT and 5-MeO-DMT could be higher in the fresh seeds (most of the literature seems to suggest that bufotenine is all that remains after long-term storage) but wouldn't think that 9 months would change the alkaloid profile too much. As for an ID... I'm not sure. Probably peregrina but I really don't understand enough about the plants to be able to give an definite answer.

Interesting!