Alchemica

Thanks for the detailed information mutant - your doses seem to agree with the literature. Note: The following assumes that the Northern Hemisphere amanitas are equally as active as the Australian versions. For more about dosing, the following quotes taken from "Amanita muscaria: chemistry, biology, toxicology, and ethnomycology" might be of interest: 70mg of ibotenic acid decarboxylates to 51mg of muscimol, assuming complete decarboxylation during processing. Accordingly, one should theoretically assume that an active dose could start at 1/5th of a potent mushroom (after drying or heating to facilitate the conversion of ibotenic acid to muscimol). Using the above results: 3 grams of dried A. muscaria affords ~6mg of muscimol 5 grams ~ 10mg of muscimol (active dose) 10 grams ~ 20mg of muscimol I wonder if the large difference in required doses is due to differing potency of the mushrooms or incomplete conversion of the ibotenic acid to muscimol? Ideally, if one wanted to be sure that the potency was at a maximum, boiling the mushrooms for some time would be the way to go. The review can be downloaded here : http://www.shaman-australis.com/forum/inde...st&id=12285

5-10 years shouldn't be an issue: www.erowid.org/library/books_online/tihkal/tihkal13.shtml

I had a play around with some acacia burkitti seeds recently. Unfortunately, I'm a bit of a tryptamine hard-head but there were some very slight effects (mild colour enhancement, DMT-like "expanding" feeling in the chest) from ~750mg of powdered seeds. The smoke was fatty and slightly harsh, so making a defatted extract would be the way to go. Also, the method used for smoking seemed to be important - smoking the seeds quickly (in a cone) was the only way that effects could be noticed. I've not been able to replicate the effects of smoked pendula seeds (dose: 10 seeds) but I'd definitely encourage people to keep unviable acacia seeds for smoking experiments (or a crude extract). I will try and get some TLC results for different seeds in the near future.

I'm pretty sure they are Nicotina Rustica. Catha seeds are winged, IIRC.

Reminds me of someone who got busted with GHB... The commercial quantity (ie charge becomes Possession for Sale, Major Indictable) was set at 0.5 grams... 0.5 grams of GHB is threshold, if that. I get really annoyed about the lack of interest in the development (and eventual marketing) of GABA-B antagonists like SCH-50911 for the treatment of GHB ODs. It would be of great if a GHB antidote made it to emergency rooms in the near future; the current reliance on supportive GHB OD treatments is a waste of ventilators and medical professionals. I don't blame people for turning to GHB - it is apparently a great (albeit short acting and uninsightful) social lubricant/anxiolytic when used with caution. It would be nice if the users could be more informed, avoid alcohol at all costs, refrain from frequent top-ups and ideally, get the dealers to sell in standardised doses (eg 1g/mL) that are coloured and bittered with something to avoid sinister uses. Wishful thinking...

I'm also interested in knowing more about the active constituents in this plant. I've tried small doses of smoked [EDIT] 25x Justicia Pectoralis Var. Stenophylla extract (also from Herbalistics) without much effect but Some Simple Tryptamines (Trout et al.) claims: DMT in leaf (Schultes & Holmstedt; Rhodora 70: 113-160, 1968); McKenna et al. unable to confirm TLC indicates (potential) presence of NMT, DMT and a high Rf component (31st August 1994 harvest, TLC by J. Appleseed)

Try using the search engine for "colchicine". A couple of other links that could be of use (not directly related to cacti): http://www.new.dli.ernet.in/rawdataupload/...0005b7e_204.pdf http://plant-tc.cfans.umn.edu/listserv/200...4/msg00071.html

How many other pyrotechnicians do we have on this site? Back in the day (...in highschool or something), The Alchemist had some fun mixing earth, wind and fire to make some pyrotechnical entertainment from Salt Petre, Brimstone, Charcoal and Miscellanous Dangerous Goods... Here's one of the outcomes: 3_inch_shell.wmv So what did other fellow "pyro's" make in the Dark Ages?

The Subtype track is great, awesome work! I'll definitely have to check out the songs you've posted before. Thanks for sharing!

Hopefully someone else can put what they saw into better words than me but overall, the Today Tonight coverage was reasonably fair and I was able to watch the whole story with mum in the room without feeling too pissed off by the content. It was seemingly more reasonable than I was expecting to see on commercial TV and lacking the pure misinformation that seemed to be spreadby the media after Anna Wood's death. I thought the Thoms family's opinions expressed on Today Tonight were shown in a reasonable manner for a "cheesy" news show. Even in a tragedy like this, Gemma's mother and step-father seemed to share a fairly open view on the cause of their loss. The step-dad, being a paramedic (of some form), gave an brief but fair summary on the topic, acknowledging that there were many things that could have been done differently including getting professional medical aid quicker rather than leaving it in the hands of first-aiders. Likewise, the mother had many ideas on what could have been different such as not giving the daughter a ticket to the BDO event but there didn't be so much blame placed on MDMA itself, rather the circumstances that could have prevented the tragedy. There was mention of the consumption of the three fatal ecstasy tablets as being the result of fear of being caught by the railway sniffer-dogs and much less sensationalistic misinformation about the death being totally drug related than I had expected. Definitely things that could have been added to the debate but on the contrary, nothing to really piss me off.

I don't want to deviate from the main topic too much but as someone who has been in a "psychotic" state, I think it is vital to remember that any foreign (or endogenous) chemical in the brain has the potential to cause problems. There is an extensive history of mental health problems in my family and all through my high school years I knew there was something not quite right. A few of us did indulge in pre-physics cannabis use (very weak stuff) and found that it was always beneficial (the way to get the end of year subject prize, actually) but when we were first exposed to high potency indica type strains via bong delivery systems, it was big trouble. I doubt there were any lasting neurological problems from the infrequent use but who knows. My biggest issue arose after years on SSRIs and finally moving to paroxetine. After about 6 weeks on 80mg of paroxetine, the most extreme mania I could imagine - coupled with a fortnight of insomnia - threw me right into the most interesting and strange psychotic situation (thankfully I have never been one for violence, otherwise things could have got nasty)... The psychosis slowly tapered down after a couple of months (yet any attempt to utilise antipsychotics made it worse) but even now, I'm struggling to get my mind together. Probably the most harmful thing that happened during that period was constant changes in set and setting (home-hospital-shrinks-doctors-no social life-alienation etc.) after a mum called in Government Health Workers (only making the situation worse). I think the most important thing to remember is that any drug, legal or not, has the potential to do things to the mind and we need to sort out what our brains can handle, or abstain from living if we don't want to risk being thrown into those "strange, unusual and different" worlds the mind can sometimes be taken to... Chose your poison (at a sensible dosage) and hope it's a remedy, basically.

The Bin!?! How dare you even talk such nonsense! I'll catch all you excellent people in a little while.

Shruman, The 5-AcO-DMT product is very clean, pleasant and doesn't seem to cause any nausea nor body load. It has only been taken to "antidepressant" levels (mood lift with a slight "dream-like" quality to it). The standard yopo caused strong nausea after a dose (750mg, that was after a solid feed, so if it was taken on an empty stomach, it might be better). The guy in South America will get some more opinions for us from more experienced bioassayers.

Thanks for the correction Torsten. We chemists huffed too much ether and all that back in the day... Hunab, The carbonated water was used to assist in converting the unreacted calcium hydroxide ("crap, my nasal cavities are dissolving") in the mix into the calcium carbonate (inert chalk). Probably not needed but anything to lessen the burn is good in the opinion of the South American guy. Will get some TLC results off the guy one day.

"Since No one can allow the game To become bigger than Hir concept of the Game (what is not imprinted is not real to the primate brain) Therefore Let us define the game as large fast intense precise as possible... Unlimited Space Unlimited Time and Unlimited Intelligence to enjoy same. S.M.I^2.L.E." While I'm at it - Anchoring, Activating and Actualizing the 22 Chakras http://www.iamuniversity.ch/Anchoring-Activating-and,957

We keep it movin' to the broad day light... Blue Guys and Girls of the world unite, alright! Scientist: All Blue-Eyed People Are Related http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,327070,00.html New research shows that people with blue eyes have a single, common ancestor. A team at the University of Copenhagen have tracked down a genetic mutation which took place 6-10,000 years ago and is the cause of the eye colour of all blue-eyed humans alive on the planet today. If you've got blue eyes, shake the hand of the nearest person who shares your azure irises: He or she may be a distant cousin. Danish researchers have concluded that all blue-eyed people share a common ancestor, presumably someone who lived 6,000 to 10,000 years ago. "Originally, we all had brown eyes," Professor Hans Eiberg of the University of Copenhagen said in a press release. "But a genetic mutation affecting the OCA2 gene in our chromosomes resulted in the creation of a 'switch,' which literally 'turned off' the ability to produce brown eyes." That "switch" a simple change from "A," or adenine, to "G," or guanine, in the DNA actually sits next to the OCA2 gene, which regulates the pigmentation of our eyes, hair and skin, and hence has only a limiting effect on it. If the mutation had completely deactivated OCA2, all blue-eyed people would be albinos. Eiberg and his team analyzed 155 individuals in a large Danish family, plus several blue-eyed people born in Turkey and Jordan. All blue-eyed subjects had the mutation, and there was very little variation on the genes neighboring it on the chromosome, indicating that the mutation first arose relatively recently. In contrast, most mammals share the "normal" form of the gene. The six-letter sequence is exactly the same among mice, horses, cows, rats, dogs, cats, monkeys, chimpanzees and humans with brown eyes. (No word on what gives Siberian huskies and Siamese cats blue eyes.) Above: "My grandma's second great, great cousin... " Eiberg figures the mutation took place on the northern of the Black Sea, but that's an educated guess, assuming the first blue-eyed humans were among the proto-Indo-Europeans who subsequently spread agriculture into western Europe and later rode horses into Iran and India. Ironically, neither the first person to have the mutation, nor his or her children, would have had blue eyes themselves. Blue eyes are a recessive trait, and the gene must be inherited from both parents. (Green eyes involve a related but different gene, one that is recessive to brown but dominant to blue.) It wasn't until the original mutant's grandchildren or great-grandchildren hooked up cousin marriage is the norm through most of human history that the first blue-eyed person appeared. He or she must have looked pretty odd for the Neolithic era. Eiberg stresses that the genetic variation, as the press release puts it, is "neither a positive nor a negative mutation." That's a bit disingenuous, as the mutation also produces greater instance of blond hair (sexually selected for even today) and fair skin, which confers a survival advantage by stimulating greater production of vitamin D in sun-starved northern European countries exactly where blue eyes are still most prevalent. "Nothing like a few Blue m&m's to celebrate our heritage..." and in other breaking news... Blue MM's Better than Green for Sex Drive? Taken directly, without modification from http://www.thespoof.com/news/spoof.cfm?headline=s5i43615 In an unscientific but documented study of colored MM candies on human sex drive, British Pharmacist Dr. Benjamin Licken discovered what was described as a definite connection between the ingestion of blue MM's and positive effects on the male libido. Testing the widespread belief that the green colored MM's were a natural aphrodisiac, Licken found quite the opposite was true for males tested in his six month study. "None of the other colors including green had any noticeable effect on the male sex drive, but the blue candies had an immediate impact" Licken said. "The results varied of course but for the most part, you could use my wiener as a coat rack, and I mean full length, heavy wool winter coats. Three to four of them, actually". The pharmacist's wife and assistant in the study, Anita Licken says, "We plan to do a similar study on women and green MM's, but any chocolate seems to work for me. As for the male study, we hope to secure additional funding for years and years of further research". Mrs. Licken was seen smiling at her own comment. Sensing more to the story, reporters asked Dr. Licken if the MM samples were tested for consistency of ingredients between tests, to which he replied, "My wife was responsible for setting out the samples and come to think of it, some of the blue MM's were crunchier and had a bitter aftertaste. Shortly after that, I found reason to give Mrs. Licken a good rogering." Licken's hypothesis was later debunked by Oxford University Chemistry experts, when one test sample was found to contain blue MM's of the diamond-shaped, "Pfizer" stamped pill variety. "Apparently Mrs. Licken had been tampering with the samples in order to achieve the results she found to be in her best interest", one professor said. "I think she preferred test results that did NOT melt in her mouth or her hand".

My biggest turning point was when I lost faith in mainstream pharmaceuticals (even though I'd devoted my highschool years and uni time to studying Molecular and Drug Design/pharmacology). Once I realised that there was indeed more to life than my chemical-minded brain had ever considered, thanks to the use of enthogens and other "supplements", things changed for the better. The highlight (to date, anyway) was my experience with "The Devil" and finding out that my life had basically followed "The Game of Life". After that, I was a convert. I'll admit that I'm slowly working my way through being diagnosed with every DSM-IV in the book by my team of shrinks, so think what you wish of my words. The elixir for releasing a man's "inner devil" ...and continuing on with "The Game of Life"! Special thanks go to Mr Griffin... Note: to prevent anyone replicating this procedure, turning into The Devil and then being unable to rectify the situation, I have kept the Secret Potion Ingredients to myself (have to chase down my Toxicology Screening, or ask me in person) Above: Me after the events... (Picture credit goes to Little-Nicky, used under Terms of Fair Use Policy) Don't diss extreme psychosis 'til you get to try it... for me it was like living in a cartoon with Gumby, Sponge-Bob and Aliens... quite entertaining! -------------------------------------------------------------- (I suggest you listen to Dj Zany - Science Religion or Qlimax - The Prophecy while you read this, just to make it even harder to get a grip on what I'm trying to say) The words of a "Certified Insane Chemist", stated to the best of his knowledge, who lived in the Sound of Silence a few months ago: "A 20 year old male, taking 80mg/day of paroxetine experienced manic-type symptoms under the influence of the medication, forcing a taper down to 40mg/day. Sleep was disturbed extensively for approximately two weeks and symptoms of agitation and anxiety increased. The patient, while manic, began inhalation of the volatile solvent, diethyl ether, for the period of approximately three days. Ether was highly sought by the individual because of the anxiolytic and sedative effects; reducing the manic-type symptoms he experienced. After the use of ether for three days, myoclonus in a rather un-normal fashion was noted by the man, causing contraction of the ring/index fingers towards the palms and winking of one eye in sets of two winks/cycle. The patient began to recite "The Devil" persistently and made continual requests for more ether. Eventually, totally out of character, he began writing on the door with a white-board marker, listing all the "bad things" he had done in his life (nothing too bad, just chemistry related things, mind you). Freaked out by the events, he consumed 1000ug of "you know what" which caused a rapid reversal of "devil twitches" back into a manic phase where he experienced "psychotic like states of artificial intelligence and felt a need to use music to work out "WTF?!?". After a day or so, 10mg olanzapine, oral, was administered causing a rapid decline in mood and some suicidal idealation. The patient was admitted to the RAH and rapid detoxification from paroxetine, 40mg - 0mg overnight, commenced. Lorazepam was also utilised for anxiety, muscle cramping and insomnia. Care was continued in a Loony Ward for a week. Unusual and religious-type experiences w/ the ability to tune into wireless-internet electromagnetic fields, see the future? (or past) on TV, communicate with satellites/aliens and change radio stations remotely (I attempted to reality check all of them, except for the aliens -eg. extremely atypical psychosis) persisted for 4 weeks, after which the man regained semi-normal functioning. All these were totally out-of-character for the man, who normally thought all Spiritual "dimensions" were "lies" before the experience. Residual myoclonus was resolved with clonazepam and piracetam, antipsychotics ceased (against all "professional" medical advice)" Anyway, no one will believe a word that comes out of my mouth... but whatever - I though it was weird and interesting to say the least. In retrospect, it was both an educational experience and something funny to laugh at.

Thanks for sharing, great article. I wonder if this guy was a former inhabitant of the infamous "The Hive"...

Morg, I just added "the science isn't sound" so I could stay neutral in the debate... Being a blue eyed individual, I don't want to seem like I'm starting up any trouble... I have a passionate hate for any genetics (couldn't stay awake in the lectures); so I've retracted the statement and I'll leave it in the hands of a qualified person to give a verdict. EDIT: I'll agree that some (definitely not all) of the most over-the-top and annoying females I've known (from a distance, never been up close and personal to any) have been blonde and blue eyed. Then again, I've also noticed that most of the blue eyed guys I know are introverted and rather shy... I can certainly confirm that for myself (although I'm working on it). I had the blonde hair until I was about three, then I went dark brown... Probably fluoridosis, or growing old.

I just want an excuse to give to my psychiatrist to say I'm not psychotic after I tried to convince them I was an alien/ blue m&m. I've lost all faith in pure science and chemistry basically too (hence the switch to Alchemistry), so I think the safest option is to take any findings with a grain of pure crystal acid...

Good idea with the "Items Sent" - I must confess that I'm really bad with organisational skills at the moment (I blame the fact that I'm Born Slippy - born blonde, high-intensity, blue eyes, remembering nothing...Sending mum on her way to a new age tension headache...) so if anyone is waiting on things from me, yes they are on the "to do soon" list, I just have to find time between shrinks, GP's, fighting CTO's, maintaining sanity and trying to learn how to socialise...

A tough question and one that I like to constantly reconsider. I like to think that happiness is taking the time to look at life and think "what? how? when? where? why? and who?" (probably forgot one of them) after something has happened, then do your best to rectify/band-aid the situation. Then you take the time to teach/share your story and experiences, without any regard for a profit nor credentials, to others who might have (or had) similar experiences. I also think it's something you can't chase... you just have to accept the little things you are given in life and do what you can to appreciate them for what they are. I admit that there have been times where my sole intention was to persue self-driven happiness, but we all like to indulge at one time or another... Then again, I'm not taking my anti-crazy drugs... so whatever I say must clearly be the words of a mad-man in the midst of a "psychotic episode". Good to see the topic being discussed, Hunab!

Botanical_Therapies_in_Chronic_Fatigue.pdf

"My life seems unreal, my crime an illusion. A scene badly written in which I must play." Wednesday Morning 3 A.M (Simon and Garfunkel). Plenty of other "excuses" out there, too, like the great ones already mentioned.