MovieChat Forums > Altered States (1980) Discussion > Interesting Truth to Movie (Mushroom)

Interesting Truth to Movie (Mushroom)

posted 17 years ago by KamatariTheScythe
10 replies | jump to latest

About the Amanita Muscaria --- the Indians ingesting it for ritual purposes is partially true.

"A statue of Amanita muscaria was found in Nayarit, Mexico. This statue has been dated to 100 AD, suggesting that Amanita muscaria has been used since ancient times in coastal Mexico.

The first written reference to Amanita muscaria being used as an intoxicant dates back to 1626. In that year, a Jesuit missionary in Quebec, Canada wrote a letter to his brother in France about the Indian practice of ingesting Amanita muscaria to become intoxicated."

http://www.a1b2c3.com/drugs/var012.htm

[–] emptyspaces153 17 years ago

correct. Amanita Muscaria, a somewhat poisonous mushroom that causes delerium and a dream-like state (its a cholinergic), has been used for 1000s of years by MANY different cultures. It is commonly known as Fly Agaric and is legal, so some people order these mushrooms to trip (although I can't imagine myself ingesting these, they contain a poison called Ibotenic Acid, along with the deleriant "muscarine" and "muscimol"... all these together are responsible for the trip induced by Amanitas. Among the cultures that used them are the vikings, and according to history, before a battle, they would ingest the mushroom because it made them "berserk" and more ruthless in battle. However, do not confuse these with regular "magic mushrooms" aka psilocybin containing mushrooms. There are many species of Psilo mushrooms, and those are NOT poisonous, so amanitas should not be considered "magic mushrooms", and anyone who uses amanitas should be very careful about taking too high of a dose, which can kill. The name "Fly Agaric" comes from the fact that amanitas kill flies. Also, NEVER pick amanitas, because there are a bunch of different species, and some of them are entirely lethal with no recreational value.

If you're thinking of using these, I'd go for psilocybe species instead, because those cannot kill you at any dose. The most common is Cubensis, which is active at about a gram, but a typical trip resembling that of 2-3 hits of LSD (maybe 200ug) is reached at 2.5- 3.5g... also, some people are more susceptible than others. the shroomery.org has a dosage calculator and has 5 levels of how hard the trip is, you input your weight, etc, the species, and what level you want to reach (level 1 being "threshold" and level 5 being completely submerged into the "spirit world").

The reason I say this is because people may watch this movie and say "hmm I want to try those mushrooms!", and legality issues aside (even though amanitas are legal, psilocybe is not, at least in the states), it would be a wise decision to take psilo instead...

The amanita muscaria mushroom, generally red with white spots, although it can be other colors as well, appears in today's culture very often. Prolly more iconic than even the "pot leaf" logo... take a look at the Super Mario games for instance...

P.S. For more info on both of these mushrooms and their effects/history, etc, go to erowid.org

[–] sildude 16 years ago

Exactly and people who are thinking of ingesting amanita muscaria must realise that because of the ibotenic acid you will not just experience delirium during the trip but extreme nausea aswell, often leading to vomiting and lasting for hours. However the lethal dose is far greater than the dose you'd need for the trip. Also, there is a procedure involving cooking the caps in an oven, when preparing the mushrooms. The upside to amanita muscaria is that those mushrooms are fairly common and really easy to find (look only for the red cap/white spots mushroom). Psilocybin mushrooms are a bit rarer but nonetheless better for consumption.

[–] haewatein 14 years ago

VERY interesting post!

Not much new info for me personally but I think it's very cool that you took the time to post that!

_
SEUL CONTRE TOUS
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[–] Grooblle 16 years ago

amanita muscaria is pretty boring, i've tried it

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I like goats.

[–] rboykins-1 16 years ago

This is all you guys will ever need to know about Shrooms.

http://www.amanitashop.com/amanita-arthur/mankind1.htm

James Cameron's
AVATAR
See a New World
12-18-09
www.AvatarMovieZone.com

[–] sutter1013 13 years ago

Just thought I'd clear a couple of things up...

First off, the dangerous Ibutenic Acid in the Amanita muscaria is CONVERTED into muscimol in the heating/cooking/drying process. Eating the mushroom raw is just stupid. Also, carbonated drinks allegedly reverses the muscimol back into the dangerous Ibutenic Acid.

Best way to ingest is by making a tea. When ingested, shortly thereafter you'll feel very drowsy. Get past that and you'll experience some intersting stuff.

[–] dccheever 13 years ago

still haven't hallucinated from mushrooms before though my friends have with the same batch. i always just get a body high and laugh a lot. i've done LSD probably around 6 times. i saw through my face and watched all my blood vessels pulsating around it when i looked in the mirror one time. most of the time things warped in shape. took it at a bar one time with hippies and they started playing jenga somehow and the jenga tower messed with me. i had to get out of there and ended up just sleeping the trip off. someone i drove home. i remember everything on the road and the lights just melting as i made it back safely. i made that drive many times though so i knew even though things looked completely screwed up i was going the right way. don't be like me kids. drugs are overrated.

[–] sutter1013 13 years ago

SOME drugs are overrated. Some are UNDERRATED ;) I would never take a drug though if I felt dependent on it. The only thing I do is drink occasionally (and never in terrible excess) and occassionally take mushrooms. Alcohol is a terrible drug that accounts for more deaths annually than all the others combined!

That's a good story you told there dccheever. Seeing through (or into) your skin?! That sounds amazing. I've only experienced warping, crazy depth perception, hyper-real 3-D, geometric patterns, CRAZY laughter (like pure laughter from within, not a reaction to an outside influence), light sensitivity/trails, and most importantly... I experienced for a couple hours what can only be described like this: I was exploring my brain with my eyes closed and I realized that there were no barriers between memories, dreams, imagination, and "reality". All were interchangable and accessible. It's nearly impossible to understand but in the couple hours I was experiencing this, it was profound. I kept telling myself that I'll never be the same, that my "eyes are opened", so to speak :P

I had nothing negative happen. No "bad trip". No fear or paranoia. It was pretty great. And that's on 5 grams of psilocybin mushrooms (not Amanita muscaria).

[–] grumpyoldguy1 13 years ago

Amanita Muscaria not worth the risk. Psilocybin 'shrooms recommended, but only to those who understand the importance of "set" and "setting." Also knowing your source, as some unscrupulous individuals have passed off ordinary 'shrooms laced with other substances as psilocybin. Same rules apply to 'shroom use as alcohol. Don't drive, operate machinery, etc. And avoid any kind of situation that might induce paranoia (e.g. going to work or dealing with family) while under the influence. Unless you are really a well-grounded person, you should probably have a guide and avoid mirrors.

[–] bastasch8647 12 years ago

... if memory serves, Dead Sea Scroll scholar John Allegro came up with the theory that Jesus was a code word for Amanita Muscaria and his disciples were tripping on "Him" and interpreting it as experiencing the Holy Spirit ... that's one Jesus movie we haven't seen yet ;)