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The Corroboree

fyzygy

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Posts posted by fyzygy


  1. 23 hours ago, Ishmael Fleishman said:

    Research has focused on psilocybin, ayahuasca, Ibogaine and MDMA, the reason is political. Politicians with their limited education have not heard of psilocybin and they would support research that could help people. However, LSD, ecstasy & shrooms are deadly schedules 1 drug that will kill you or that is what they would like people to believe. Mescaline has had limited research because the duration of 6 - 12 hours does not fit into a standard workday making it not a suitable candidate for psychedelic-assisted therapy. Even if it is highly effective however I have heard of Germans researching therapeutic mescaline.

     

    For better or worse, San Pedro flies under the radar. For better, I would say. The more clueless gardeners buy one from Bunnings, the better. 

     

    A researcher presented at the mega UK/Europe convention a few years ago, on using San Pedro in a clinical setting. I tried but could never locate that presentation, in English or any other language. I think the researcher was from South America? The medical establishment precludes deranged people (like me) from participating in clinical trials, and presumably, from psychedelic therapy itself, once it goes mainstream. 

     

    San Pedro is literally a lifesaver, to one who has been diagnosed with several depressive disorders, anxiety disorders, personality disorders. Where experts have failed, home-grown San Pedro has helped me out of a suicidal funk, many a time. My (former) therapist complained, its positive effects seem to soon wear off ... a bit rich, coming from one who is banking on weekly consultations, presumably over the course of a lifetime.  

     

    Intention, integration, yes those things consolidate the psychedelic healing process. At the end of the day, you're in safe hands with San Pedro, the gentlest of healers. You don't need a shaman, or a trip sitter, you don't even need to pay too much attention to set and setting ... all you need is the plant and a little know-how. Where experts have failed, home-grown San Pedro has helped me out of a suicidal funk, many a time. Possibly no professional psychedelic therapist would treat a depressed and/or suicidal client, but in my experience the plant knows better ... 

     

    Your mileage may vary. 


  2. On 07/04/2022 at 11:03 PM, MORG said:

    And fun quote from the second paper linked in this thread:

    "Interestingly, the concentration

    of mescaline in E. lageniformis “psycho0” was determined to be approximately one-third that of the standard variant of E. lageniformis, despite its being advertised by some users as being “exceptional” in terms of the “high” experienced from its use."

    I've heard similar reports via bioassay, from reputable sources. 


  3. Foliage and bark reminiscent of Acacia mearnsii (black wattle) or one of its close relatives, e.g. A. deanei, A. decurrens. You might narrow down by geographic range. 

    There's an ID app, but requires familiarity with botanical terminology: https://apps.lucidcentral.org/wattle/identify/key.html

    Pl@ntNet Identify (photo-based web app) suggests: A. mearnsii (among others). 

    Beautiful trees. 

     

    • Thanks 1

  4. I don't have much experience with pere. I've kept all of my grafts outdoors during winters in suburban Melbourne (mostly grafted to trichocereus and occasionally opuntia spp.) without issues. Grafting itself is probably best done towards the end of the growing season; warm temperatures seem to accelerate plant growth. Indoors could work just as well, though in a greenhouse I would be wary of too much humidity. Cling wrap method that seems to work best for me, means that the new graft is well humidified locally for the first few days while the bond forms. After that it seems tough as any other cactus in my garden. I don't leave my newly cling-wrapped grafts in a dark place, but somewhere they will be exposed to bright, indirect light. I will try some pere grafts next, and let you know how that goes...

    • Thanks 1

  5. Your name and email address will be added to the politician's mailing list. They may cooperate if your request is concrete and specific (e.g., data from Medicare or another government agency), but will typically ignore appeals to abstract principles such as justice, human rights etc. Often you will be referred to another government department or jurisdiction ("fobbed off"). There's actually very little that a politician can (or will) do on your behalf, in most circumstances. A sympathetic ear (extremely rare) is no guarantee of action, other than the shuffling of your correspondence to the formidable "too hard" basket. Still, it's good to raise awareness of marginal issues among political elites; one has to hope in the prospect of longer-term (cultural) change. 

    • Like 3

  6. On 03/03/2022 at 3:27 PM, SumPlantz said:

    Definitely a difference between your industrial whipped cream canister versions and the medical stuff (the former feels dirty, the latter clean).

     

    Back in my days of fiendish behaviour, I noticed with my dispenser (for whipped cream bulbs) very fine particulate matter, dark greyish in colour. Looks like filth to be putting in one's lungs. I'm not sure if the substance was residue from the cream bulbs or the interior of the aluminium dispenser. I wouldn't recommend imbibing directly from a whipped cream dispenser; use a balloon or similar as an intermediary container. 

    I never got to try automotive or hospital grade. N20 rigs in hospitals always include a second canister, containing oxygen, with which it is mixed for safety. 

    I had an intense -- ultimately, horrific -- experience combining N20 with something believed (at the time) to be LSD. It was a very potent combination that led me to abandon psychedelics for at least 10 years. The last thing I remember is throwing the dispenser as far as I could throw. 


  7. According to Wikipedia entry for "Khat" (note #127) -- there was an Australian Government document named "Import restrictions: Kava and Khat | Office of Drug Control" dated 7 December 2016. The ODC document has been updated in light of the recent Kava reversal; but interesting that these two substances in particular -- long imbibed by (non-white) ethnic communities -- should have suddenly been banned from importation. 

     

     


  8. On 11/03/2022 at 2:44 AM, Wood Chuck said:

    maybe a pachanio x roseii #1

     

    Close to what I was thinking. Colours remind me of Matucana peruvianoids (like roseii); spines remind me of pachanoi. My first impression, whenever I consult the pics, is "short-spined peruvianus" (similar to a variety I have) but probably a hybrid peruvianus x pachanoi. It's terribly hard to be more specific in the case of lost labels. To my eye, spacing between aureoles looks wider than on most pachanoi I've seen. I'm certainly no expert. 


  9. I recently inherited a TurboKlone T24 and have no idea what to do with it. I know what most people do with theirs, but I'm not interested in black-marketeering. Apart from cactus and succulents, just about anything I want to grow from cutting can be done in a glass of water on a windowsill (etc.). This machinery seems like overkill to me, in terms of cost and energy inputs. For low-cost plants like (legal) herbs, it hardly seems worth the expense of a fresh propagating collar per plant. I think I was initially interested to clone acacias from cutting, which are notoriously slow. Anyone with experience of aeroponic propagators to share? 


  10. De Feo and Capasso (1996, 2002) studied the pharmacological effects on the central nervous system of rats, noting probable psychotropic effects. It has been ascribed to "black magic" practices among traditional healers in Peru (as an adjunct to San Pedro). Scientists have isolated various interesting compounds including novel viroids and isoflavones.  https://booksc.org/s/iresine herbstii

     

    Christian Rätsch reports, in The Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Plants: "Various species of this genus are used in South America as ayahuasca additives. Some species, under the name cimora or timora, are added to San Pedro drinks... Iresine species also are said to be the main ingredient or at least one of the main ingredients in the mysterious South American magical drink cimora (Ott 1993, 409*). Unfortunately, chemical studies are lacking. Betacyanin has been detected in the herbage of the Caribbean Iresine herbstii Hook. f. (Wong 1976, 119*)."

     

     

     

    IMG_0523.thumb.jpg.e1fb855a0dd31f88d5e443d417cd726e.jpg

     

     

    IMG_1309.jpg


  11. On 28/02/2022 at 6:10 PM, tripsis said:

    Showing anti-tumour and anti-cancer properties in a petri dish only really tells us the compounds in question are cytotoxic; this doesn't necessarily translate to tangible medical benefits if consumed.

    By the same token, showing therapeutic properties in an animal model ... doesn't necessarily translate to tangible medical benefits if consumed by humans.

     

    16 hours ago, tripsis said:

    Traditional doesn't mean safe.

    "Modern" doesn't mean safe either -- as per my previous post. 

     

    16 hours ago, tripsis said:

    An reply which fails to answer the question. 

    What was the question?

     

    If neither safety nor efficacy are the absolute benchmarks for regulatory approval, then the answer must lie elsewhere ... in political economy, and ideology. 


  12. Not sure about the faded yellow section -- could just be from excessive sun exposure? The black spots I'd dust with cinnamon as a precaution against pathogens. The yellow/brown bits too, wouldn't hurt any, IMO.*  Exposed wounds in plant tissue can potentially benefit from the application of cinnamon or cassia bark, either powdered or in aqueous solution, as an anti-fungal precaution. I've used it a lot, over more than 5 years, without any ill effects. Fungal infections are easier to prevent, than cure. 

    * Not everyone on this forum shares my high opinion of Cassia spp. as an organic horticultural input. Hence my reluctance to respond to your post more promptly. But since no-one else has chipped in with any advice, I offer this in lieu. 

     

    https://growplants.info/plant-care/cinnamon-for-plants/
    https://luv2garden.com/cinnamon_fungicide.html
    https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304423818301316
    https://treehozz.com/does-cinnamon-kill-fungus
    https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15607195/

     

    On 28/02/2022 at 1:41 PM, Boof said:

    Very new to cactus keeping. 

     

    • Like 2

  13. Aloe Vera (yellow flower) doesn't have spotted leaves. The orange-flowering Aloe Vera var. chinensis does have spotted leaves, but also a bitter taste. This one doesn't taste bitter (or soapy, like A. maculata, another lookalike). There are a few obscure spotted (maculate) varieties documented, but none of them seem to be the "Japanese Aloe" of urban (YouTube) legend. Aloes have amazing medicinal properties, yes. Just not sure about this non-bitter variety. 


  14. I think many prescription drugs are borderline ineffective too -- not to mention a leading cause of death and disability, alongside "unsafe patient care." Sometimes placebo works wonders, yet science can't explain it. There's a lot of ideology to unpack in the regulation of (angelic) western pharmaceuticals versus (demonic) traditional medicines. Follow the money, I dare say. 

     


  15. I don't think he was trying to rip me off. Probably just a tad confused, got labels mixed up, whatever. I bought several other specimens from him, no issues. I think he offered a refund but I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt, just in case. But yeah, I don't see a trace of bridgesii there either. 


  16. How to conserve Acacia genetics without preserving native habitat, strikes me as a major conundrum. 

    Conceivably, even an endangered Acacia could become an environmental weed, outcompeting endemic species, if carelessly distributed. 

    Hybridisation must also pose some kind of threat -- escalated by the random proliferation of (native and exotic) Acacia spp. in cultivation and beyond.

    "Growing and planting more Acacias" could ultimately prove counter-productive to the goal of Acacia conservation. Unless planted wisely. 

     


  17. The orange slime is the one I've encountered most frequently around Melbourne, anywhere a San Pedro has been cut and then left to fend off more than a day or two of heavy rain. In larger specimens it doesn't seem to pose much of a threat, but in smaller cut sections (e.g. root stock) it has a tendency to dominate.

    Overcrowding in the greenhouse will promote plant pathogens. Sun and wind dry out exposed surfaces, helping the plant's natural immunity. But the graft needs high humidity those first few days. After 2 or 3 days under cling film I expose the graft to plenty of (indirect) UV light and ventilation, I don't keep them in a greenhouse. I don't usually apply fungicides to my grafts, though I dare say it wouldn't hurt. 

     

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