Created December 28, 2007
Copyright 1998-2007 by John W. Allen
Mushroom John's Presents
Online Articles which cite the works or notes of John W. Allen
| The following is a review of Dr. Ralph Metzner's pioneering book on the history of magic mushrooms focusing on both traditional and recreational (ludible) use in todays contemporary Western Civilization. |
| The following book review, courtesy of Dr. Tjakko Stijve, originally appeared in 2004 in: Mushroom, the Journal. Issue 895. Vol. 22(4):26. Fall. |
|
Teonanácatl: Sacred Mushroom of Visions. Edited by Ralph Metzner, Ph.D. with Diane Conn Darling. Four Trees Press. Green Earth Foundation. El Verano, California. 2004. ISBN 0-936329-01-7. 286 pages. $15.95. Paperback. |
| Like many amateur
mycologists, I am interested in psychoactive mushrooms, but only mildly
so. I do not believe that Psilocybe
mushrooms came from Outer Space, nor that they are bringing us messages about
the health of the planet. I also doubt
that psilocybin has the potential of providing every Tom, Dick and Harry with
profound religious or spiritual insights.
Consequently, when reading the book’s title, my first thought was “this
is a no no…” However, since I
appreciate some of the contributors and their works, curiosity got the better
of me. Ralph Metzner’s introduction proved well worth reading, since it effectively prepares the reader for the most relevant of the books chapters. John W. Allen and James Arthur cover the ethnomycology and distribution of Psilocybe mushrooms. Allen, aka Mushroom John, may be a controversial figure, but his contributions to the knowledge of psychoactive fungi, especially those on recreational use of “magic mushrooms” by tourists on the Thai islands Koh Samui and Koh Pha-Ngan, are pioneer studies. The authors give a most reasonable overview of their subject. Unfortunately, the choice of references could be improved, since they do not always relate to the info given in the text, e.g. the literature data provided on the active constituents of the fly agaric are hardly relevant. Paul Stamets gives us mostly an extract of his manual Psilocybin Mushrooms of the World. His statement that “the production of psilocybin has proven to be a competitive evolutionary advantage” sounds impressive, but one could say the same thing about urea, a metabolite widely occurring in many mushroom genera. Both compounds probably serve as a convenient waste product produced by the mushroom to neutralize toxic ammonia from its substrate. This brings me to the most scientific part of the book, the chapter on ”Biochemistry and Neuropharmacology of Psilocybin Mushrooms” by David E. Presti and David E. Nichols. The authors are mainly concerned with the behaviour of psilocybin, psilocin and related compounds in the human body. The relationship with other tryptamines, such as the neurotransmitter serotonin is amply discussed, but the knowledgeable reader observes that Presti and Nichols have not kept up with the literature. They declare that bufotonin (a psilocin analogue) has not yet been found in fungi, whereas at least half a dozen papers discuss its occurrence – at high concentrations – in Amanita citrina and its close allies! Moreover, the authors do not mention that in the genus Panaeolus, serotonin and psilocybin often occur together, accompanied by high levels of urea, a fact that would corroborate the waste product theory. Many chapters deal with the therapeutic use of psilocybin, but Timothy Leary’s experiments, especially those on prison inmates, are to widely known to bear repeating. Thorsten Passie, a German specialist on the use of hallucinogens in psychotherapy, presents a critical history of his subject. Shortly after its discovery and synthesis, psilocybin was used to help uncover unconscious conflicts in neurotic patients to make them accessible to psychotherapy. After forty years of trial and error, the effectiveness of this approach remains questionable, although psilocybin is currently being tested in the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorders. Unfortunately, in the second half of the book, science has been left out completely, and the true believers have the floor, presenting papers with titles such as I was having a conversation with the sun, and The little beings told me that laughing is also holy…Nevertheless, students and aficionados of the psilocybe subculture will certainly appreciate the book. Tjakko Stijve |