Psilocybe cubensis is a coprophilic fungus ( one that favors to grow on dung or manured soils ) that regularly colonizes the dung of big plant eaters, most significantly cows and other grazing mammals. It prefers humid grasslands and has been found in tropical and subtropical environments. In the US, it is frequently found growing wild in the South, often below the 35th parallel in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas. It is present in Mexico, Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Guadalupe, Martinique, Puerto Rico, Trinidad, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, French Guiana, Peru, Cambodia, India, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Australia, Tasmania, New Zealand and Fiji.
This species was first described as Stropharia cubensis by F.S. Earle in Cuba in 1904 ( thus the express name ). The name Psilocybe is derived from the Greek roots psilos and kub and translates as "bald head". It was later identified independently as Naematoloma caerulescens in Tonkin in 1907 by N. Patouillard and as Stropharia cyanescens by W.A. Murrill in 1941 in Florida. These synonyms were later allotted to the species Psilocybe cubensis.
Entheogenic use
Its major psychoactive compounds are :
- Psilocybin ( 4-Phosphoryloxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine )
- Psilocin ( 4-hydroxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine )
- Baeocystin ( 4-Phosphoryloxy-N-methyltryptamine )
- Norbaeocystin ( 4-Phosphoryloxytryptamine )
Individual brain chemistry and psychological predisposition play a major role in deciding appropriate doses. For a modest psychedelic effect, at least one gram of dried Psilocybe cubensis mushrooms is ingested orally. 0.25-1 gram is usually sufficient to supply a mild effect, 1-2.5 grams customarily offers a moderate effect. 2.5 grams and higher sometimes produces robust effects.[3] For the general public, 3.5 dried grams ( 1/8 oz ) would be considered a high dose and may produce an intense experience. For many individuals doses above 3 grams might be overwhelming. For a few rare folk, doses as small as 0.25 grams can produce serious effects usually associated with terribly high batches. For most of the people that dose level would lead to virtually no effects. Due to factors such as age and storage strategy, the psilocybin content of a given sample of mushrooms will change. Therefore , some users prefer to use a formula or dosage calculator to tailor the dose to the level they would like to experience.
Effects
Effects sometimes start after roughly 20-60 mins and may last from 4 to 5 hours, depending on dose. Hallucinatory effects regularly occur, including walls that seem to breathe, a vivid enhancement of colors and the animation of organic shapes. At higher quantities experiences have a tendency to be less social and more entheogenic, regularly intense and spiritual in nature.
It's almost impossible to overdose on psilocybin mushrooms since one would need to consume just about their complete body weight in fresh mushroom.Nonetheless, the effects of very high doses can be overwhelming. Depending on the particular strain, growth method, and age at harvest, Psilocybe cubensis mushrooms can come in rather different sizes. It is recommended that one weigh the mushrooms, vs simply counting them. People taking MAOIs need to be careful, as psilocybin and psilocin are metabolized by the enzyme monoamine oxidase. An MAOI decreases the body's capability to handle the mushrooms ( approximately doubling their virility ), and can lead to an uncongenial, prolonged, or dangerously robust experience.
Legality
Though it is not legal in numerous states to possess psilocybin-containing mushrooms or mycelium ( which can contain psychoactive substances at certain stages ), it is legal in several places to own and sell spores. In the united states only the psychoactive compounds ( see above ) are scheduled under federal law. The spores do not contain either ( but possession is prohibited by state law in Idaho, Georgia and California ) .
Cultivation
Personal-scale cultivation of Psilocybe cubensis mushrooms goes from the comparatively easy and small-scale PF Tek and other "cake" strategies, that produce a small restricted amount of mushrooms, to complicated techniques making use of systems of pro mushroom cultivators,eg Paul Stamets. These complicated methods need a larger investment of time, cash, and information, but reward the diligent cultivator with far larger and masses more consistent crops. A number of books and online guides have been written that debate the numerous methodologies. The Shroomery and Mycotopia are 2 of the biggest and most important net communities dedicated to sharing this type of information. Acute caution is recommended if you are wanting to find psilocybin mushrooms in natural settings ; there are plenty of mushrooms that look like Psilocybe cubensis that are essentially poisonous. Cultivation of wild mushrooms is greatly deterred because many look-alike species are dangerous ; unless one is an expert of mycology and ethnobotany, he should desist from this activity.
