Jochen Gartz - Magic Mushrooms Around the ... - preterhuman.net

Panic Reactions
In cases when intoxications were caused
by eating 'normal' amounts of mushrooms and the
ingestion of potentially deadly species could be
excluded, pumping the patients' stomachs turned
out to be a procedure that was both too drastic as
well as unnecessary. In younger, hypersuggestible
patients, the procedure can precipitate
extremely aggressive behavior. In addition, it
often doesn't work, because the mushrooms tend
to clog the pumping apparatus.
Therefore, panic reactions after ingestion
of Psilocybe semilanceata is a condition that, in
some cases, may be aggravated or even induced
by improper treatment of the patient at hospitals
and clinics. After evaluation of the statistics on
Psilocybe semilanceata usage in Great Britain, J.
Francis and V.S.G. Murray emphasize that there
has not been a single fatality among some 318
poisoning cases - in fact, no severe somatic
symptoms were noted, nor have there been
incidents of misidentification of the mushroom
species. According to the authors, intoxication
can be a quite unpleasant experience for the
individual. Panic reactions pose the only
significant hazard, which may endanger the
individuals as well as their surroundings for the
duration of the mushrooms' effects.
As an ideal treatment, they proposed that
patients be moved to a darkened, beautiful room,
and that they be watched until the effects have
subsided. If necessary, tranquilizers such as
diazepam should be administered.
R. Watling mentions a non-fatal case in
Scotland, where Inocybe geophylla (Sow. & Fr.)
Kumm., a mescaline-containing species, had been
mistaken for the Psilocybe species.
In the 1980s, Psilocybe semilanceata was
named as the mushroom species that caused by
far the largest number of intoxications in Great
Britain. Today, usage of this psychotropic species
in that country is not quite as popular anymore as
it was 10 years ago. Also, mushroom eaters are
no longer prosecuted.
By comparison, a short report by a
medical student from Manchester was not
convincing. The report claimed that a 24-year old
patient suffered from severe depression with
somatic side effects for three months ("persistent
psychiatric symptoms") and that these symptoms
had been induced by ingestion of Psilocybe
semilanceata. At the time, the patient was
experiencing personal stress and had also taken
other substances as well. Despite the wide
distribution of psychoactive mushrooms around
the world, there have been no reports of similar
episodes.
The usage of Psilocybe semilanceata in
Norway was first described during the fall of
1977, in Sandnes, near the Rogaland area. Up to
that time, the Norwegian literature had depicted
Psilocybe semilanceata as merely a small, inedible
mushroom known to grow in grass interspersed
with other, similar, species. Apparently, the
experiences in England and the United States
inspired the use of these mushrooms in Norway,
as well as in other European countries. However,
it is also possible that a report published in 1976
about the discovery of psilocybin in Norwegian
collections contributed to subsequent usage of the
mushrooms.
Knowledge about the mushrooms spread
quickly around Norway, especially in the fjord
areas, were the species fruits most abundantly.
Daily and weekly papers as well as underground
magazines dealt with the mushrooms at length.
Only a small number of panic reactions were
known to have occurred in Norway, with some
individuals requiring temporary clinical attention.
Nonetheless, in December 1981, the mushroom
species was classified under Norwegian narcotics
law as an "absolutely forbidden substance". The
same classification applies to the potentially
dangerously addictive drugs of the heroine type,
as well as to the pure hallucinogens, such as LSD,
mescaline and psilocybin, all of which are
pharmacologically completely different from any
of the heroine-type drugs. By contrast, Figure 57
illustrates that other European nations have
attitudes similar to those found in British
Columbia, which form the basis for my own
analytical work with mushroom materials.
Compared to Norway, there is less
information about usage of Psilocybe
semilanceata from other countries. The year 1981
has been named as the starting date of usage in
Finland; by 1984, there had only been one patient
who required medical attention.
There are additional countries where the
mushrooms are being used and collected, more or
less sporadically: The Netherlands, Austria,