entropymancer

Yes, hearsay can be good info. But it still helps to know whether it comes from the authors personal experience, from their personal communications with other individuals (and if so, who those individuals are). This way you can actually take the reliability of the informant into account. And yes, scholarly articles can be full of crap... but it's good to be able to consult the original paper to get a sense of where it came from. One can get an idea of what sort of crap may slip out from a particular author, and what sorts of things they tend to be reliable on. Citing sources is important. This allows the reader to trace back the information to its origins. And if the information turns out to be flawed, the responsibility for that is duly placed on the originator of the error rather than the one who took the information in good faith. Citing is especially important when posting copy-pasta, because without citations it's outright fraud. I believe that teotz has put a substantial amount of effort in and is capable of producing good work... which is why I'm so disappointed that he isn't citing sources. That's what separates quality research from simply collecting scraps of anonymous information: with quality research, the information is mounted onto the author's own framework, but serves also as a guide to the groundwork on which the research is based. We all stand on the shoulders of giants; so much the better if we acknowledge them. I know how tempting it can be to take the lazy way and just write from memory, or add bits of info from a variety of sources without taking all the extra time to take down bibliography info from each source. But lazy habits lead to inferior results. If you're trying to be truly informative (as I believe teotz is), it's so much better to take the extra bit of effort to do things properly.

Got any citations for that post? I recognize a couple parts as direct copy-pasting from some published materials; representing it as your own work is dishonest. Also, when you don't cite sources for some of the types of information presented above, a conscientious reader has a difficult time knowing how seriously to take the information. All I'm seeing is plagiarism and hearsay, and I know you're capable of better than that. Also, a relatively minor quibble: Why title this post "Sage Genus" when you're only covering a single species in that very diverse genus?

My copy just arrived today! I'm floored by the amount of work that went into creating this tome. What a resource! I can't wait until I have the time to properly devour it This was my thinking exactly. If I waited any longer and missed the opportunity, I know I would be kicking myself for years. No libraries seem to have picked it up, and with the quality of the book, I very much doubt any used copies will crop up after the 500 copies sell out. Truly a book to be treasured.

This is old news, but worth some discussion. The "drug tax" bit seems pretty atrocious, I haven't done any follow-up reading to find out if he was able to recoup those costs when the case was dismissed. I want to correct one point though: You say he did "nothing wrong". That's not really true it's clear that what he did was illegal under United States law (though admittedly the particular law he broke is only very selectively enforced). Strictly speaking, all of the charges that were leveled against him appear to be legitimate. At the same time, they speak to a weakness in the federal Controlled Substances Act, so there is good reason for the charges to be dropped without going to trial. A more detailed discussion of the legal status of plants containing controlled substances in the United States can be found here: https://www.dmt-nexus.me/forum/default.aspx?g=posts&t=21527

So had I! But since I found no such list forthcoming, I wrote my own. Suggestions of any other relevant books would be very much appreciated. Teo, I notice you include Schultes' and Reichel-Dormatoff's Ethnobotany book on your list. Could you perhaps give us an overview of its contents? I'm working on acquiring a copy, but since I've blown my impulse-buy budget on Snu's book, I'd like a teaser. Abe books (http://www.abebooks.com/) is a good place to start when looking for out-of-print texts. Also, never underestimate the power of inter-library loan. Even local libraries out in the boonies can borrow rare titles for you, either for free or for a very reasonable small surcharge.

And on a related note: Thanks to the work of Google (on books.google.com) and Microsoft (who provides the resources for many of the books scanned at archive.org/details/texts), as well as some individual publishers, there are some great old references available for free reading and download. General references covering a variety of substances Ritual enemas and snuffs in the Americas by Peter A.G.M. de Smet. 1985. The section on enemas covers includes Anadenanthera seeds, ayahuasca, brugmansia, datura, guayusa, peyotl, and tobacco. The section on snuffs covers calamus, Anadenanthera seeds, ayahuasca, cannabis, datura, coca, guayusa, Justicia pectoralis, tobacco, and Virola. The main pdf link is from the Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies; the publisher also has it freely available, though it's split into six seperate files: pp. 1-18, pp. 19-72, pp. 73-120, pp. 121-132, pp. 133-178, pp. 179-280. The Chemistry of Common Life by James Johnston. 1854. The section on "The Narcotics We Indulge In" covers hops, opium poppies, cannabis, betel, kava, coca, fly agarics, and datura; "The Beverages We Infuse" covers tea, coffee, and cacao. The Seven Sisters of Sleep by Mordecai Cubitt Cooke. 1860. Covers tobacco, opium, hashish, betel, coca, datura and henbane, and fly agarics. Die narkotischen Genußmittel und der Mensch by Ernst von Bibra. 1855. Covers coffee, tea, mate, guarana, chocolate, khat, the fly agaric, datura, coca, opium, hashish, tobacco, and betel. This will only be useful if you can speak German. The book was translated to English and published in 1994 as Plant Intoxicants (with technical notes by Jonathan Ott) and is generally avaialble used for under $10. Ethnopharmacologic Search for Psychoactive Drugs, edited by Daniel Efron. 1967. This one is courtesy of Erowid. The symposium particularly covered kava, nutmeg, South American snuffs, ayahuasca, and the fly agaric. It includes contributions from Richard Evans Schultes, Sasha Shulgin, Gordon Wasson, and a number of other good names in ethno/psychopharmacology. Sources covering particular substances Ayahuasca Ayahuasca: alkaloids, plants & analogs by Keeper of the Trout. 1st edition 1998; this is the 2004 2nd edition. Not old, but the author has waived copyright on the text; hosted courtesy of Erowid. Cannabis The Hasheesh Eater by Fitz Hugh Ludlow. 1857. Coca History of Coca, "the Divine Plant of the Incas" by W. Golden Mortimer. 1901. Coca and Its Therapeutic Application by Angelo Mariani. 1892. Propaganda intended to sell his coca wine, tempered with some botany and history. Coffee All About Coffee by William Ukers. 1922. Coffee: From Plantation to Cup by Francis Thurber. 1884. Mushrooms Mushrooms, Russia, and History (Volume 1 and Volume 2) by R. Gordon Wasson and Valentina Wasson. 1957. Very rare book (only 500 copies ever printed), available courtesy of the New Alexandria Archive. Opium Confessions of an English Opium Eater by Thomas DeQuincy. 1885. Syrian Rue Haoma and Harmaline by David Stophlet Flattery and Martin Schwartz. 1989. Not available for download, but the full book is available for online reading. It has plenty of technical (and some factual) flaws, but is certainly a worthwhile reference. Other noteworthy texts Harvard University's Botanical Museum Leaflets. The Missouri Botanical Museum Library has the entire series of these leaflets (from 1932-1986) available for reading and download. Wasson has articles in volumes 19, 20, 23, and 26. Hofmann has an excellent article in volume 20 detailing the chemistry of ololiuqui (Turbina corymbosa) to accompany Wasson's ethnographic report on the seeds in the same volume. Schultes has articles in a whole load of volumes, but the really crunchy articles are in volumes 4 (peyotl), 5 (peyotl), 7 (truly landmark, first english language article firmly establishing the Mexican entheogen teonanacatl as a Basidiomycete), 16, 18, 22, 23, and 28. Travelogues and other early literature with historically relevant accounts Notes of a Botanist on the Amazon and Andes (Volume 1 and Volume 2) by Richard Spruce. 1908. Spruce was a pioneering ethnobotanist and a sort of personal hero of Schultes. This book records his explorations of South America from 1849-1864. Includes information on Anadenanthera snuffs, coca, and more. Natural and Moral History of the Indies by José de Acosta. Originally published 1590; this 1880 edition contains books 1-4 and is from the 1604 English translation by Edward Grimston; books 5-7 are available in html format. Acosta commented on the use of coca, cacao, ololiuhqui, and tobacco. Cuatro libros de la Naturaleza y virtudes de las plantas y animales de uso medicinal en la Nueva España by Francisco Hernández. Original in Latin composed late 16th century and published in 1628; this Spanish partial translation by Francisco Ximénez was originally published 1615. The book includes descriptions of ololiuhqui, tobacco (picietl), mushrooms (teonanácatl, teyhuinti), and chocolate (cacahuatl). Historia de las Indias de Nueva-España y islas de Tierra Firme (Volume 1 and Volume 2) by Diego Durán. Originally published 1587; this edition published 1880. No English translations are available for download that I've found (though it has been translated). Durán is an important early post-Conquest source who had a great deal of respect for the Aztec culture. The royal commentaries of Peru, Vol. 1 by Garcilaso de la Vega. Orginal published in Spanish in 1608; English translation 1688 by Paul Rycaut. Garcilaso's served under Pizarro, and his mother was a cousin of the Incan emperor Atahualpa, giving him a unique perspective on the early post-conquest period in Peru. He discusses coca (of which he owned a plantation) and tobacco. I haven't yet found a digital edition of the second volume. Exploration of the Valley of the Amazon by William Lewis Herndon. 1854. Report on an expedition undertaken at the direction of the US Navy. Comments on the indigenous use of coca, and comments some on tobacco (mostly from an economic standpoint). Historia Antigua de México by Francisco Javier Clavigero. Originally published 1780; this edition published 1868. No English edition found online. Contains a rare 18th-century reference to ololiuhqui seeds (which otherwise seem to have dropped entirely out of Spanish awareness in that century); the account appears to be an amalgamation of Acosta and Durán's 16th century descriptions of Aztec traditions. Das Nord- und Östliche Theil von Europa und Asia by Philipp Johann von Strahlenberg. 1730. Strahlenberg was a Swede taken as a prisoner of War after a defeat by Russians in 1709. He was taken to Siberia, where he remained for twelve years, during which time he undertook several journeys exploring and mapping the region. This publication contains a description of life among the Koryaks of the Kamchatka peninsula. Not only was this the first unambiguous European reference to the recreational use of fly agaric mushrooms, it also contained descriptions of the urine-drinking practices associated with the mushroom in that region. History of Kamtschatka, and the Kurilski Islands, With the Countries Adjacent by Steppan Krasheninnikov. Original published 1755 in Russian; this English translation by James Grieve published 1764. Another early account containing descriptions of fly agaric use. Beschreibung von dem lande Kamtschatka by Georg Wilhelm Steller. 1774. No English edition available online. Another early source with an account of fly agaric usage. Das Muscarin: Das giftige Alkaloid des Fliegenpilzes by Oswald Schmiedeberg and Richard Koppe. 1869. Not available in English. Account of the discovery of muscarine (not muscimol), isolated from fly agarics. Personal Narrative of Travels to the Equinoctial Regions of America, During the Years 1799-1804 by Alexander von Humboldt and Aimè Bonpland Volume I, Volume II, and Volume III by Alexander von Humboldt. Original in French (1807); this English translation by Thomasina Ross (1852). Contains the first report on the use of yopo snuff. Humboldt and Bonpland also encountered guarana (Paullinia cupana) a species of Banisteriopsis and of Brugmansia, and Theobroma bicolor (a species related to the cacao tree). An historical relation of the island Ceylon, in the East-Indies by Robert Knox. 1681. An early English-language account describing betel-chewing practices.

I made this post on another forum, but it fits well here. Essentially my list of excellent literature on psychoactive plants: General References (books covering many plants) The Chemistry of Common Life by James F.W. Johnston (1855; many revised editions were published in the following years) While Johnston's work was not explicitly a treatment of drug chemistry, it contained several chapters on "The Beverages We Infuse" (Tea, Coffee, and Chocolate), as well as on "The Narcotics We Indulge In" (datura, fly agaric, coca, betel, cannabis, opium, hops, and tobacco) which make it worth consideration as a historic book of drug lore. [Available online (see next post)] Die narkotischen Genußittel und der Mensch by Baron Ernst von Bibra (1855) I own the English translation, Plant Intoxicants (1994) which is nicely annotated with Technical Notes by Jonathan Ott. Bibra covers: coffee, tea, mate, huarana, chocolate, khat, the fly agaric, datura, coca, opium, hashish, tobacco, and betel... not a bad spread for over 150 years ago. [Original German edition available online] The Seven Sisters of Sleep by Mordecai Cubitt Cooke (1860) Excellent early review of the seven best-known psychoactive plants in the Victorian era: tobacco, opium, cannabis, betel nut, coca, datura, and fly agaric. Cooke's attitude towards altered states is refreshingly positive considering the social mores of his era.[Available online] Phantastica by Louis Lewin (1924) Translated to English in 1931 from the 2nd German Edition (1827), can be readily found in used book stores thanks to a 1998 repriny by Park Street Press/Healing Arts Press (who reprinted Seven Sisters of Sleep and translated Die narkotischen Genußittel und der Mensch around the same time). This is basically Lewin's magnum opus on psychoactives (having previously published monographs on several of the plants discussed in the book). In this book, the well-known German pharmacologist covers opium and morphine (and some related opiates), coca and cocaine, peyotl, cannabis, the fly agaric, Solanaceous deleriants, ayahuasca, alcohol, kava, betel, khat, coffee, mate, tea, kola nut, guarana, cacao, tobacco, and a few other various and sundry plants and chemicals. Narcotic Plants by William Emboden, Jr. (1972) I own the revised 2nd Edition (1979). It's a near-exclusively botanical treatment of the psychoactive plants, interspersed with the occasional graphic plate depicting the plant's context in indigenous use (generally either paraphernalia or ancient artwork). An excellent source for botanical information, but not a whole lot beyond that. Botany and Chemistry of Hallucinogens by Richard Evans Schultes and Albert Hofmann (1973) Revised 2nd Edition published 1980. This one's definitely on my wish list; for now I just have a photocopy of chapter 4 (the main meat of the book, pp. 32-316) and the bibliography (pp. 369-409). Until Ott's Pharmacotheon, this was the definitive volume on the visionary plant drugs. Unfortunately the work lacks a Table of Contents. The "Plants of Hallucinogenic Use" whose chemistry and ethnobotanical backgrounds are discussed include: ergot, fly agarics, psilocybian mushrooms, cannabis, nutmeg, Virola spp., Anadenanthera spp., jurema, mescal beans, ayahuasca, the psychoactive phenethylamine-containing cacti, iboga, the bindweeds (Ipomoea, Turbina, and Argyria), Salvia divinorum, the Solanaceous deleriants, Justicia pectoralis, Psychotria viridis, and a few miscellaneous others. Hallucinogens and Culture by Peter T. Furst (1976) I haven't finished reading this one yet, so I can't give it a proper review... but so far I like it. Has a particular emphasis on cultural roles that the plants fulfill. Covers: Tobacco, cannabis, nutmeg, eboka and ibogaine, morning glories and LSD, psilocybian mushrooms, the fly agaric, peyotl, datura, and hallucinogenic snuffs. Psychedelics Encyclopedia by Peter Stafford (with technical editor Jeremy Bigwood) ( 1978 ) (2nd Edition 1983; 3rd Edition 1992) I was hesitant to include this one, since it's generally inferior to the other contemporary references. This volume is primarily noteworthy for its inclusion of preparation methods for the substances discussed, though the dosage advice is somewhat spurious. It is otherwise fairly unremarkable; informative, well-organized, but lacking in adequate citations or bibliography and containing little information that couldn't be found in Schultes & Hofmann's Botany and Chemistry for example. Primary subjects covered are: LSD, the lysergic acid amides, ergot, and bindweeds; peyotl, mescaline, and san pedro; cannabis; psilocybian mushrooms; nutmeg, MDA, and MDMA; DMT, DET, and DPT; ayahuasca and harmaline; iboga and ibogaine; fly agarics and panther caps. Subjects given cursory treatment include: Solanaceous deleriants, yohimbe, kava, and ketamine. Plants of the Gods by Richard Evans Schultes and Albert Hofmann (1979) (Revised and expanded edition coauthored by Christian Rätsch printed in 2001) Much less informationally dense than Botany and Chemistry, but full of color photographs and other graphics. Sort of the 'coffee-table book' guide to the sacred psychoactive plants. PiHKAL (1991) and TiHKAL (1997) by Sasha and Ann Shulgin While the books aren't focused on psychoactive plants, some of the chemicals covered in Part II of each book occur in some of our favorite plants, and Sasha is quick to refer to these plants whenever and wherever they're relevant. Pharmacotheon by Jonathan Ott (1993) (2nd Edition, 1996) Truly a masterwork. This is one book I would never like to be without; unfortunately it's out of print but you might be able to track down a pdf if you can't find a hard copy of it. It's very thoroughly cited, treating the material in a lucidly direct and engaging fashion, informed by personal experience with the substances. Primary subjects are: mescaline and the cacti of which it's a constituent; lysergic acid amides and the morning glories (Convolvulaceae) and Ergot fungus in which it occurs; South American snuffs, particularly cohoba and epéna; β-carbolines, ayahuasca, and rue; the psilocybian mushrooms, psilocybin, psilocin, and baeocystine; and ibotenic acid, muscimol, and the fly agarics. Compounds given only a very cursory treatment include: calamus root and the asarones; atropine, hyoscyamine, scopolamine, and the Solanaceous deleriants; ibogaine and voacangine; nicotine, Tobacco spp., and pituri; kava and the kavapyrones; Salvia divinorum and salvinorin A; and Cannabis spp. and tetrahydrocannabinols. Very thorough bibliography. Defined scope of the work is the "entheogens". Pharmako/Poeia (1995), Pharmako/Dynamis (2002), and Pharmako/Gnosis (2005) by Dale Pendell A very poetic trilogy covering the "poison path", with one volume on the inebriants (/Poeia), one volume on the stimulants (/Dynamis), and one volume on the visionary compounds (/Gnosis). Not a great source for thorough histories, dates, facts, etc... but I absolutely love Pendell's visceral approach. It beautifully captures the essence of the experience in the poetry of his monographs (and engaging interludes that evolve the poetic narrative). Pharmako/Poeia covers: tobacco, pituri, alcohol, absinthe, opium, kava, Salvia divinorum, cannabis, and a few sundry others. Pharmako/Dynamis covers: coffee, tea, chocolate, mate & guayusa, guarana, kola, betel, Ephedra spp., khat, amphetamine, coca, nutmeg, MDMA, and GHB. Pharmako/Gnosis covers: morning glories, psilocybian mushrooms, LSD, mescal beans, peyotl, Trichocereus spp., ayahuasca, jurema, syrian rue, Bufo alvarius, DMT, tropanes and the Solanaceous deleriants, ketamine, the fly agaric, and iboga. Enzyklopädie der psychoaktiven Pflanzen by Christian Rätsch ( 1998 ) (Translated to English as Enclyclopedia of Psychoactive Plants (2005) Truly encyclopedic in scope, it covers 414 psychoactive plants. Depth of information is not tremendous (and there are factual errors here and there), covering a smattering of chemistry and ethnography, but each monograph is concluded with a bibliography through which to find further source material. Overall, a great volume. Collections These books don't really belong in the general reference section, but they aren't specific to a particular plant either. Each one covers a range of plants with contributions from several writers in the related fields. Flesh of the Gods edited by Peter T. Furst (1972) Particularly covers tobacco, ayahuasca, san pedro, peyotl, fly agaric mushrooms (through the lens of Wasson's soma hypothesis), cannabis, and eboka (iboga). Authors include Emboden, Furst, La Barre, Reichel-Dolmatoff, Schultes, and Wasson. The Ethnopharmacologic Search for Psychoactive Drugs edited by Daniel Efron, Bo Holmstedt, and Nathan S. Kline (1967) This volume is a collection of papers from a symposium on psychoactive plants from January 1967 (sponsored by NIMH). It particularly covered kava, nutmeg, South American snuffs, ayahuasca, and the fly agaric. It includes contributions from Richard Evans Schultes, Sasha Shulgin, Gordon Wasson, and a number of other good names in ethno/psychopharmacology. [Available online] Books covering particular plants Entheogenic Snuffs Ritual enemas and snuffs in the Americas by Peter A.G.M. de Smet (1985) This was on my wish list until I discovered the publisher is allowing it to be downloaded for free since it's been out of print so long. So far it looks like everything I'd hoped for and more. Rich in information with thorough citations (I'm a sucker for a nice thorough bibliography employed to good effect). The section on enemas covers Anadenanthera seeds, ayahuasca, brugmansia, datura, guayusa, peyotl, and tobacco. The section on snuffs covers calamus, Anadenanthera seeds, ayahuasca, cannabis, datura, coca, guayusa, Justicia pectoralis, tobacco, and Virola. [Available online] Shamanic Snuffs and Entheogenic Errhines by Jonathan Ott (2001) A rare book indeed, and stylistically not my favorite of Ott's offerings; at times he lets himself diverge into wordplay almost enough to lose the thread of his points. Still, very dense on information (thoroughly cited as always), and a good reference to check no matter what plant you're researching... it's surprising how many plants have been used in relation to snuffing practices. Unfortunately only 1026 copies were ever printed, so even when you find a used one it costs several hundred dollars (it retailed for $120, already a hefty price for a 160 page volume)... PM me if you're having difficulty finding a copy, I may be able to help. Anadenanthera: Visionary Plant of Ancient South America Constantino Manuel Torres and David B. Repke (2006) An outstanding book covering the history (and archaeology), chemistry, and ethnography of traditional use for Anadenanthera colubrina and A. peregrina seeds (both smoked and as a snuff). I've got a soft spot for the seeds, and this is an excellent treatment of them. Methylxanthine Plants (Cacao, coffee, guarana, mate, tea, etc.) All About Coffee by William Ukers (1922) A very good source on the history of coffee. The writing isn't terribly engaging, but the depth of information is great. [Available online] The Cacahuatl Eater: Ruminations of an Unabashed Chocolate Addict by Jonathan Ott (1985) Highly entertaining book about chocolate. A divergence from Ott's typical academic approach, you can tell that chocolate is something Ott really enjoys. Apparently some people thought that Ott's central thesis (that cacao is psychoactive) was controversial... guess they haven't had good cacao . Caffeine Blues: Wake up the the Hidden Dangers of America's #1 Drug Stephen A. Cherninske ( 1998 ) Not exactly up to the caliber of the other literature here, but it's a great guide to the literature on the health effects of caffeine. I don't exactly agree with the book's thesis (that caffeine is a dangerous drug and everyone should stop using it), but I do think it's worth noticing the studies, particularly on the actual efficacy of coffee at enhancing work output (used daily, it's really next to nothing), and that people should be mindful of how it effects them so that they can alter their pattern of use to suit the effects they want to obtain from it. The World of Caffeine Bennett Alan Weinberg and Bonnie K. Bealer (2001) Again, I'm hesitant to include this one. I decided to include it because its account of the social history of tea, coffee, and cacao is excellent, particularly during the era when they were first introduced to Europe and began to spread between countries and each gained particular following in different countries. Its endnotes and bibliography are also fairly decent, though as I checked into their sources I began to notice occasional errors (mostly sloppy ones, like dates being incorrectly transcribed). Cannabis Frankly I haven't found any comprehensive references on cannabis that really impress me. Nothing with much wow-factor... it seems bizarre, considering I can find that sort of thing for plants like kava and cebil that are comparatively so much more obscure than cannabis. Surely I must be missing something. Anyone got any good cannabis references? The Hasheesh Eater by Fitz Hugh Ludlow (1857) Historically, Ludlow's book helped to spark some public interest in cannabis, and his descriptions of its effects are interesting... been years since I've read this one though. [Available online] Coca History of Coca, "the Divine Plant of the Incas" by W. Golden Mortimer (1901) A charming book on the coca leaf and its history. While its emphasis is a little too heavy on Peru (largely ignoring the other nations in which it has traditionally been used), it's a great historical source on the period of the conquest of Peru and the decades that followed, quoting extensively from early Spanish writers. It also is an excellent source in tracing coca's re-emergence into European consciousness in the 19th century, albeit with a sometimes naïve eye. Mortimer was friendly with Mariani, and was dismissive of the notion that pure cocaine could have any significant addictive tendencies; whether neglecting the late-19th century sources that had already begun to indicate otherwise was his own editorial hand or Mariani's influence, I do not know. And although he tends to diverge into tangents that bear only minimally on coca (such as the then-current medical understanding of nutrition, or plant biochemistry, etc.), and more is know known on the precise chemical composition and pharmacology of cocaine, I've yet to find a modern source that's as engaging as this one. [Available online] Ayahuasca Ayahuasca Analogues by Jonathan Ott (1994) Just the sort of crunchy informative book that you can expect from Ott. And less exorbitantly priced than his rarer books, used copies generally running less than $100 despite being out of print in English (I think it's still in print in Spanish though). This is the single most exhaustive reference on ayahuasca that I've found. Invaluable reading material. Trout's Notes on Ayahuasca & Ayahuasca Alkaloids by Keeper of the Trout (1998) (2nd Edition 2004 as Ayahuasca: Alkaloids, Plants & Analogs) Not quite as dense and exhaustive as Ott's book, but a valuable source nevertheless. [Available online] Singing to the Plants by Stephan Beyer (2009) A very thorough guide to mestizo shamanism in South America, particularly modes of healing learned or applied through the use of ayahuasca (though it touches on other plants as well). It should appeal to the casually-interested reader, but contains extensive footnotes and a comprehensive bibliography that should satisfy the more scholarly reader. The book gives good attention to pharmacology, botany, and other practical considerations, but is especially unique in its in-depth treatment of the syncretic use of the plants for healing in the parts of the Amazon that are becoming more urban. Fly Agaric Mushrooms, Russia and History by R. Gordon Wasson and Valentina Pavlovna Wasson (1957) A classic text, elucidating the various lines of reasoning that led them to postulate a period in the past where there was a pervasive religion or worship centered around mushrooms. Includes a summary of the literature of the fly agaric eating cultural groups in Siberia. It culminates with their expedition to Mexico where they are the first Europeans ever known to consume the psilocybin-containing mushrooms employed by indigenous people there. Only 500 copies were ever printed, so little hope of acquiring a hard copy. [Available online] Soma: Divine Mushroom of Immortality by R. Gordon Wasson ( 1968 ) Another classic, wherein Wasson lays out in detail his arguments for the identification of the Aryan Soma as a psychedelic drug, specifically the fly agaric mushroom. While I don't personally tend to agree with this identification (for one thing, while the literature certainly casts soma as psychoactive, it's not unambiguously psychedelic... for another, psychedelic is hardly the word I'd use to describe the experience of the fly agaric), the book is still a great source of information, and it restructured the academic discourse on soma and opened the floodgates on speculation about its identity. Syrian Rue Haoma and Harmaline: The Botanical Identity of the Indo-Iranian Sacred Hallucinogen "Soma" and its Legacy in Religion, Language, and Middle Eastern Folklore by David Stophlet Flattery and Martin Schwartz (1989) Another book on the soma mystery, in this case examining haoma (linguistically identical to the Vedic soma from the Iranian branch of the Aryans. Again, I don't agree with the main thesis (I don't believe Syrian rue was the original soma), but the book is still a useful resource. In addition to providing information on the cultural place of Peganum harmala in contemporary Iran, it also provides useful information in considering alternative candidates for soma (particularly Ephedra spp.). The low point of the book is when Flattery decides to treat the experience of Syrian rue as identical to that of an ayahuasca brew (complete with chacruna and several other psychoactive admixtures). [Available online] Psilocybian Mushrooms Mushrooms, Russia and History by R. Gordon Wasson and Valentina Pavlovna Wasson (1957) [Yes, I know I put this under Fly Agaric literature too] A classic text, elucidating the various lines of reasoning that led them to postulate a period in the past where there was a pervasive religion or worship centered around mushrooms. It culminates with their expedition to Mexico where they are the first Europeans ever known to consume the psilocybin-containing mushrooms employed by indigenous people there. Only 500 copies were ever printed, so little hope of acquiring a hard copy. [Available online] Teonanácatl: Hallucinogenic Mushrooms of North America edited by Jonathan Ott and Jeremy Bigwood ( 1978 ) This book was put together from papers presented at the Second International Conference on Hallucinogenic Mushrooms in 1977. Contributors include Ott, Schultes, Hofmann, Wasson, and Bigwood. Covers history, chemistry, description of the psilocybian mushrooms known to occur in North America at the time, and developments in cultivation. In addition to being a fine reference, its also a nice slice of history, a peek into a time when the four of the most eminent minds on psychoactive drugs had all turned their attention on the same substance. This also marked the time when mushrooms began to become widely available in western cultures through developments in cultivation of Psilocybe cubensis. Considering the relative rarity of this volume, I thought I'd got a great deal a few years ago when I got it for $30, but it looks like Amazon has several used copies in decent condition for only $10 or so right now! The Wondrous Mushroom: Mycolatry in Mesoamerica by R. Gordon. Wasson (1980) This one's on my wish list. I had started reading a borrowed copy at one point, and it seemed like a good retrospective on Wasson's researches on the psilocybian mushrooms over the previous couple of decades. Unfortunately things came up and I wasn't able to finish the book. Sooner or later I need to pick up a copy and finish reading the book. Kava Kava - The Pacific Elixir: The Definitive Guide to its Ethnobotany, History, and Chemistry by Vincent Lebot, Mark David Merlin, and Lamont Lindstrom (1992) Republished 1997. It's everything it says in the title. If you're interested in kava, you'll want to read this book. Aside from the history (which I always find interesting), their use genetic and chemical analysis to identify classes of kava (chemotypes) and track its spread through the Pacific is very informative. Their thesis that Piper methysticum is actually a set of closely-related sterile cultivars of Piper wichmannii is pretty well bulletproof. And it's affordable; I picked up my copy for $5. Substances that I haven't found any excellent books on, but would like to know about if they exist: Salvia divinorum Mescaline-containing cacti Psychoactive bindweeds (morning glory, ololiuqui, HBWR) Cannabis Betel Datura and Brugmansia

That source is actually a government publication (amazing, isn't it, that the government actually at one point supported such a meeting of minds?) which is not under copyright. There's a lot of good info in the book, and I especially recommend it if you're interested in South American snuffing practices. The book can be downloaded from erowid: http://www.erowid.org/library/books_online/ethnopharmacologic_search.pdf Regarding the Coleus issue, the first to comment on it was Wasson in his groundbreaking 1962 paper that essentially introduced Salvia divinorum to the world. Even there, the psychoactivity of the plant was ambiguous: The fact that Coleus is a non-native species hardly seems relevant as far as I can see. After all, we have absolutely no evidence that Salvia divinorum was used at the time of the Conquest (the first clear reference to the plant does not come until 1938), but few would dispute its efficacy on this basis. Even if you hold to the belief that S. divinorum is the Nahua divinatory plant called pipiltzintzintli (which to my mind is extremely unlikely), there is actually no evidence that pipiltzintzintli was used at the time of the Conquest either (the first reference to this plant occurring in 1696, a full 175 years after the Conquest of the Aztecs). I guess my point is, antiquity has really nothing to do with activity. Coleus blumei does contain terpenoids (Garcia et al. 1974) and flavonoids and coumarins (Lamprecht et al. 1975). The pharmacology of these compounds is unknown. It does not contain forskolin (Shah et al. 1980), a terpenoid which is known to be active and occurs within the genus. Considering the hit-or-miss testimony from bioassays, I think it's safe to say that if C. blumei is active, this activity is only present in particular strains, rather than in the species in general. One final note: A poster above mentioned testing crystalline extracts for activity. Unless these were obtained as crystals only after separating an extract on a column (or some other fairly rigorous mode of purification), it's not likely that these compounds would be terpenoids, the class of compounds in which we tend to look for activity within the Labiatae. Mixtures of terpenoids will generally present as either amorphous solids or oils, rather than as crystals. References: Garcia, L.L., L.L.l. Cosme, H.R. Peralta, and B.M. Garcia. 1974. "Phytochemical investigation of Coleus blumei Benth.: 1. Preliminary studies of the leaves" Philippine Journal of Science 101(1-2): 1-12. Lamprecht, W.O., H. Applegate, and. R.D. Powell. 1975. "Pigments of Coleus blumei" Phyton 33: 157-163. Shah, V., S.V. Bhat, B.S. Baiwa, H. Dornauer, and N.J. de Souza. 1980. "The occurrence of forskolin in the Labiatae" Planta Medica 39: 183-185. Wasson, R.G. 1962. "A new Mexican psychotropic drug from the mint family" Botanical Museum Leaflets Harvard University 20(3): 77-84.

Yikes! I recall reading this thread when it was first posted, then got busy with other things and forgot about it for a year and a half I really hope there are still copies available, I've just emailed Snu to inquire. Sounds like this book is more than worth the price tag. I just hope I haven't waited too long! Edit: As of 26 June, there are some copies left

Do you have a source for that claim (that ibotenic acid is more toxic)? I don't have experience with the purified compounds, but I have experimented with both fresh and dried materials, and I personally prefer the fresh mushroom, very lightly sauteed in butter. I find the dried material (from the same mushrooms) to be more nauseating than when fresh (this could be a flavor thing... the fly agaric is about the most delicious mushroom I've ever eaten when fresh, but takes on a musty flavor like the smell of old gym socks when dried). It turns out I was mis-remembering about UV light encouraging the converison of ibotenic acid to muscimol (or if I wasn't, I can't seem to turn up any references to back it up). However, I did find that UV light encourages the decomposition of ibotenic acid to muscazone. The pharmacology of muscazone is unknown, but considering the increase in potency that comes from sun-drying (in both your experience and mine), I'd strongly speculate that it's either notably active, or potentiates the other active compounds effectively. Reference: Toennies, JP. 1967. Angewandte Chemie International Edition in English 6(10): 887-888

That doesn't make any sense. At all. In the rest of the world, specific preparation methods are completely unimportant. You can eat them fresh out of the ground. You can sautee them in an omelette. You can make a tea out of the fresh mushroom. You can air-dry them, sun-dry them, or dry them in an oven. And it basically doesn't make the slightest bit of difference how you prepare them (well, sun-drying will make them somewhat more potent, but still qualitatively very much the same). So I don't buy the argument that Australians don't know how to prepare them right. With the fly agarics I eat, there is no one right way to prepare them; pretty much anything goes. Also, it sounds like you believe ibotenic acid to be responsible for the physical side-effects. It's not. It produces the same spectrum of essentially positive effects that muscimol does, it's just less potent. The negative side-effects are caused by other trace chemicals (such as muscarine, stizobolic acid, and stizobolinic acid). Also most of the methods touted in this thread as way to decarboxylate ibotenic acid to muscimol simply don't work to accomplish this. Drying the mushrooms on low in the oven will not accomplish this. Boiling or sauteeing will not accomplish this. The ibotenic acid is primarily broken down to muscimol by certain UV wavelengths that occur naturally in sunlight, so sun-drying them will increase the muscimol content somewhat... but it certainly won't eliminate all the ibotenic acid, nor should the ibotenic acid be looked upon as something that is necessary to eliminate.

I've got to bump this thread to ask: Has anyone actually had a decent experience from these with native Australian Amanita muscaria mushrooms? It seems like virtually every report I read with Australian mushrooms only describes the physical side-effects that come from other trace chemicals in the mushroom (the sweating, the nausea, etc.) and very little of the primary effects of muscimol/ibotenic acid. I get the impression that Australian material is virtually unusable, and was wondering if anyone has experience that disagrees with this? As to the urine-recycling issue, it can produce a better experience if you've got mushrooms that have a heavy load of side-effects, as the chemicals that cause these are metabolized, and don't pass unchanged in the urine as ibotenic acid does. But it should be noted that muscimol (which is roughly 8 times more potent than ibotenic acid) only makes it into the urine in small quantities; the ratio of muscimol to ibotenic acid is naturally higher in the mushroom than in the excreted urine (and if the mushrooms are dried in sunlight, it's even higher than that!) So if you've got good clean mushrooms that don't give a heavy load of sweating, you're better off redosing with more mushrooms than you are drinking your own urine. As someone said earlier in this thread, the urine was drunk by the poor who couldn't afford the mushrooms. As poo says, the reindeer-urine connection seems to stem partially from the fact that reindeer drink human urine (regardless of the presence of muscimol). They are also well-known for eat the mushrooms when they find them growing in the wild. These two facts (and the familiarity that some indigenous tribes had with their reindeer herds) almost certainly combined in some fashion to contribute to the discovery that the urine is psychoactive; the precise connection can only be guessed at. After all, there is no tradition of drinking the urine after ingesting psilocybin mushrooms, even though unmetablised psilocin is taken up into the urine by the kidneys (as ibotenic acid is with the fly agaric), nor is there any tradition of ravers recycling their urine to get the most out of their rolls (though MDMA is likewise excreted in the urine). Personally, I love the fly agaric. And I prefer it fresh. Back when they were in season (I'm in the northwestern US) I would cook a slice of cap into most of my meals. I still use them when they're not in season; I pickled a couple jars and laid in a stock of dried material, but I really wish I'd pickled more. The flavor just goes to hell when they're dried IME, and they aren't any qualitatively better in terms of the experience.

Do you have a source on that? I was under the impression all anadenanthera seeds contain more bufotenine than 5-MeO. There are some varieties with enough 5-MeO-DMT for it to play a role in the seed effects, but the bufotenin effect is always present.

I wrote this during the course of investigating some non-DMT alkaloids that people have been reportedly extracting from Mimosa root bark (commonly called "jungle spice"). One of the biggest unanswered questions I ran across was: Do we really know that the rootbark which is being sold is Mimosa hostilis? It turns out there doesn't seem to be a really satisfactory answer to that question (unless someone has some information I don't.. if you do, please share). Nevertheless I thought this discussion would be of interest to the ethnobotanical community here. It discusses the various factors which prevent us from discerning whether the commercial rootbark is M hostilis. This is excerpted from my much larger Jungle Spice - Mystery Alkaloids of Mimosa Rootbark discussion at the DMT Nexus. V. Botanical Confustication I'll say right off the bat that this section is less than satisfactory in terms of drawing any concrete conclusions. None of the vendors I contacted had any idea what color flowers were produced by the trees our root bark comes from, though some said they'd send the question down the line. At the very least, I can outline the various issues that seem to be confusing the issue. V.1 Hostilis? Tenuiflora? Verrucosa?!?! The very first issue that I'm not satisfied with is the extent to which Mimosa hostilis and Mimosa tenuiflora are identical. It's certainly well established in the literature that these Latin binomials are synonymous. There is no doubt that M hostilis and M tenuiflora are both legitimate names to apply to the white-flowering tree from which the bark is theoretically being harvested. On the other hand, there are some indications that the term M tenuiflora may sometimes be applied to another Mimosa tree which does not have white blooms. In Mexico, following some catastrophic events in the '80s, the tannins in M tenuiflora rootbark, called "tepescohuite", have been hailed as a miracle-treatment for burns when applied as a topical ointment. This seems to have given rise to a proliferation of tepescohuite throughout southern Mexico, and it seems likely that sources distributing Mexican root bark are probably distributing bark from the tepescohuite. The problem is, I'm not convinced that all of this tepescohuite is actually M tenuiflora. There are several vendors peddling Mimosa tannin-based ointment who seem to indicate that their Mimosa has a bright yellow flower, though it's still claimed to be Mimosa tenuiflora. Less frequently, there are vendors distributing similar preparations who identify their Mimosa as having a bright pink flower. It seems reasonable that, since there was such a high demand for the ointment, and several Mimosa species have similar root barks, someone may have unknowingly or unscrupulously begun propagating another species as tepescohuite. The possibility of this misidentification might be of interest to any supplier obtaining their product from Mexico. On the other hand, I've seen some popular speculation that the Mexican root bark has a higher alkaloid content, so the possibility of a misidentification doesn't necessarily mean an inferior product for extracting purposes. Figure X. Images associated with Mexican tepescohuite Also casting doubt on the identity of the root bark are the seeds. Consider what Torsten of Shaman Australis had to say: The seeds which have been distributed as M hostilis seem to almost invariably produce plants that are of the genus Mimosa, but are definitely not M tenuiflora. I have yet to find a verified report of any vendor selling "M hostilis seeds" that actually give rise to an M hostilis tree. Most of the "M hostilis seeds" available these days appear to produce Mimosa verrucosa trees, including the seeds from BouncingBearBotanicals and Shaman Palace. Mimosa verrucosa is the "Jurema branca" used by some indigenous South American populations (in contrast to "Jurema preta", which is our old friend M tenuiflora). However, it appears that nomenclature varies among indigenous populations in South America, which may be causing misidentification by miscommunication. Consider the following quote from a 1998 MAPS Newsletter In years past, there were misidentified seeds that produced Mimosa pudica or even Mimosa scabrella, but these appear to have faded from the marketplace. Sometimes genuine seeds have been acquired through trades with people in possession of genuine specimens. Live cuttings of genuine specimens are also sometimes traded amongst the ethnobotanical community. The scarcity of genuine seeds and the concurrent abundance of misidentified samples begs the question: Have the imported root bark samples been similarly misidentified? After all, it doesn't make much sense that a vendor would be able to acquire legitimate Mimosa tenuiflora root bark, but unable to acquire legitimate seeds from the same source. On top of this, Torsten of Shaman Australis reports having seen a photo of the Mimosa plantation from which a major vendor obtains it's root bark, and the flowers on the trees were pink. Mimosa tenuiflora has white flowers. It does not have pink flowers, or purple flowers, or yellow flowers. As you can see, this leaves us with a nicely jumbled picture that casts a significant shadow of doubt over the botanical identity of the root bark that's being imported. V.2 So what have we been extracting from, and does it matter? Considering the evidence, I think we can say with a fair degree of confidence that the root bark that everyone has been extracting is Jurema. The question is whether it's Jurema preta (M hostilis) or Jurema branca (M verrucosa). I have a hard time imagining that 100% of the vendors have been sold the "wrong" species of Jurema, so I'd wager that at least some vendors are probably selling legitimate M hostilis root bark. Considering the scarcity of genuine seeds, I'd be hesitant to speculate that genuine M hostilis root bark is prevalent on the market. That said, it seems exceedingly likely that some of the root bark available online is in fact M verrucosa. Unfortunately, unless vendors can find out what color flowers their suppliers' trees produce, it is impossible to speculate on the degree to which M verrucosa is being sold as M hostilis. This brings us to the second question, does it really matter? Despite all of the indications that some of the bark may not be from M hostilis, I haven't heard any confirmed reports of bunk batches of bark being sold. We're all familiar with the periodic reports of low-yielding bark from various vendors, but these samples still seem to contain N,N-DMT in significant concentrations (>0.2%). I vaguely recall an unsubstantiated report of a person extracting a white crystalline solid that looks like spice, but was completely lacking in physiological activity; this could indicate that the root bark used was from another species, but without multiple consistent reports, I can't lend it too much significance. So for those who are concerned solely with extracting the N,N-DMT, the answer is: No, it doesn't really matter whether the rootbark you've been buying is actually M tenuiflora. Whatever it is, it serves as an effective source of DMT, with minimal fat content to contaminate the extraction product. There has been some speculation about the possible dangers of a misidentified root bark, and the most frequent concern is that the unknown bark may contain mimosine, a toxic clastogen (chromosome-breaking chemical). Mimosine has been isolated from M pudica, as well as a few other species. According to K Trout, no studies have been done to establish the chemical makeup of M verrucosa root bark, so it is impossible to speculate one way or the other about whether mimosine may be present in popularly extracted root bark. If we want to assume for safety's sake that it is present in the bark, it appears easy to make certain it doesn't end up in the final product. Mimosine is much more polar than DMT, and is practically insoluble in higher alcohols, ether, benzene, chloroform, etc. This means that very little mimosine is apt to end up in the nonpolar pulls when you extract the DMT freebase. Since mimosine is substantially more soluble in water than in nonpolar solvents, the sodium carbonate wash (as described in Vovin's tek) ought to remove any residual mimosine. So that's all well and good for the average spice extractor, but what about the folks pulling jungle spice? It is certainly tempting to claim that some of the variability among different jungle spice extractions can be accounted for as the result of different species of mimosa being sold as the same product. Unfortunately, such a claim would be completely indefensible. The truth is, we don't know how much of the root bark on the market comes from which species. It's entirely possible that misidentified rootbark is a significant factor in jungle spice extraction, but until someone runs extractions of jungle spice on confirmed samples of M tenuiflora and M verrucosa, we just don't know. There is also the possibility that a large amount of the variation in the jungle spice may be accounted for by differences in environment or harvesting conditions. Maybe the tree needs ample access to a particular nutrient in the soil to produce a good portion of jungle spice. Maybe the quantity of this alkaloid fraction varies with the time of year, or even with the time of day. Maybe the tree must reach a certain age before it begins producing it. Or a million other things. Or maybe all of the variability has to do with unrecognized nuances in the extraction process. As I said, this section is far from satisfying, and leaves open a lot of loose ends, but that's how it stands today. It is also worth mentioning that this confusion over the botanical identity of the available root bark may explain why a few people have been unsuccessful in attempting to verify Jonathan Ott's claims that jurema is orally active without an added MAOI. The individuals who were unsuccessful may have been using M verrucosa while Ott was using M tenuiflora.