Good narcotics, or bad?

[sanctus]

I'll look for some links tomorrow

[Queso]

We've discussed schizophrenia, psychedelics like DMT, and marijuana on a few occasions and it's evident that marijuana does not cause schizophrenia.

Schizos happen. Marijuana seems to have this funny ability to force truth upon us.

 

I think it's so beautiful how Zen smokers of the herb become.

 

And no, of course, not everybody does. Some people suck. We all know this.

 

If my inner schizophrenic nature was repressed and I smoked marijuana, I would immediately realize I was lying to myself and be true, even if that meant being a mad man.

 

Once we know something to be true we are affected greatly.

 

As for Amanitas, that is some good information.

I personally don't like them. They are a menacing delerient.

 

They look beautiful, though.

 

It's right there in plain view that alcohol is way worse for our bodies than thc.

 

It's been said over and over that smoking anything is bad for your health.

 

Exract source.

 

Jah.

[ughaibu]

Generally speaking, any philosophical position can only be opposed at it's premises.

[Queso]

I'll look for some links tomorrow

 

We are your link.

Amanitas make you dizzy.

Psilocybin translates gaia and was a major contributing factor in the evolution of consciousnesss, communication, and religion.

 

[Queso]

Generally speaking, any philosophical position can only be opposed at it's premises.

 

I love how everyone sees everything differently and when you look down on everything, it LOOKS like everyone's all looking East.

[Ganoderma]

perhaps not as popular in as many people. but certainly well used. muscaria is spread throughout the world and in northern Canada, Russia and Europe it was used as a "hallucinogen". There is an episode of "Weird Nature" on discovery channel (maybe 5 years old now?) that talks about animals an drugs. for the most part it is rather useless, just entertaining. but they talked about how in its hallucinations the person can experience lightness or even fly sensations. also the colour red is prominent (neither of which i experienced when younger). That put together that these people are famous reindeer breeders/keepers they put together a hypothesis for the invention of Santa Claus. i am not positive but i think it was in Scandinavia.

 

Both amanita muscaria and psilocybe sp. are both very commonly used, throughout history.

 

But i doubt any fungi has as much human history as the psilocybe mushrooms, certainly in the americas.

[sanctus]

Here is a super link as promised

Schizophrenia.com - Marijuana Cannabis and Schizophrenia

 

It says as well what an old hippie said to me when I was younger and needed to be cool, do not smoke before you are 20...

Or another:

Heavy Marijuana Use And Schizophrenia Risk

 

As for not finding ganoderma I just googled:

schizophrenia marijuana - Google-Suche

[maikeru]

Doesn't the body raise it's temper naturally to fight bacteria, and viruses? And isn't that called a fever?

 

I'd be surprised if this had some negative affect on the brain, and am patiently waiting for a reply.

 

Yes, it does. Many bacteria and viruses reproduce well at 37 C and when the body temperature rises above this, it can disrupt their reproduction and allows the body's immune cells to fight more actively than normal because of increased metabolic processes and healing...to a certain point. When the temperature reaches about 105-106 F, as Ganoderma mentions, proteins in the brain begin to unravel and brain cells start to die en masse, and other organs in the body are taxed and may begin to take damage as well.

 

There is also the possibility that the immune system may react too violently to an infection and mistakenly attack other tissues or organs in the body, such as the heart or nervous tissue, basically causing auto-immune disease.

 

BTW, concerning Amanita mushroom ("Angel of Death"), I believe it contains phalloidin, which is a rather potent poison. I read about it earlier tonight in one of my molecular biology books. It poisons cells by "locking" subunits in F-actin and not allowing them to depolymerize. This means that cells cannot change shape or activate their cytoskeletons when necessary (important for a wide variety of functions), and can cause impaired cell function or cell death.

[C1ay]

BTW, concerning Amanita mushroom ("Angel of Death"), I believe it contains phalloidin, which is a rather potent poison....

 

Yes, Amanita phalloides is highly toxic however, amanita muscaria is the species consumed for it's psychoactive properties and lack of toxicity. Amanita species number in the hundreds so it's a bad practice to claim the species as a whole is either safe or deadly.

[Ganoderma]

ya, i dont think A. muscaria has phalloidin in it. many amanitas are great edibles. but there is a pretty lame understanding of the genus. my main point is ibotenic acid is not friendly. maybe not super dangerously deadly, but it can cause issues when taken too much. That said, apperntly a. muscaria sends a lot of people to the hospital. whether its do to a "bad trip" or physically being sick, i can't say. i can say, its not one for the party.

 

sanctus, thanks for the links. i will have to read them later, alas my eyes must close for one more moon. thanks though, i look forward to the read! now i know how to PROPERLY spell Schizophrenia (i usually copy it) :)

[Ganoderma]

a good read, but doesn't prove anything. i agree it seems to point that direction but like that article says, its impossible to know if the person would of showed them anyways. my question is this. is it possible that people that are likely to have this disorder the type of mind that would be more willing to experiment. there have also been studies that show people who have a tendency towards artistic habits are more likely to play with drugs than those who are not. people who are more sensitive or unable to handle large stress are also likely to do things like smoke marijuana or drink to try to overcome outside pressures.

 

from the first link.

Schizophrenia can sometimes be triggered by heavy use of hallucinogenic drugs, especially LSD; but it appears that one has to have a genetic predisposition towards developing schizophrenia for this to occur. There is also some evidence suggesting that people suffering from schizophrenia but responding to treatment can have an episode as a result of use of LSD. Methamphetamine and PCP also mimic the symptoms of schizophrenia, and can trigger ongoing symptoms of schizophrenia in those who are vulnerable.

 

 

as far as proof goes though, that isn't enough for me. can't compare those, probably very educated, hypothesis to comcrete proof like how marijuana causes lung cancer, or meth destroys brain cells etc.

[sanctus]

Agreed there is no real proof. I though believe in it, because:

1) two friends of mine have it

2) there are strong arguments (not proofs) that if one has genetical predisposition it causes the coming out of schizophrenia earlier than without the heavy consumption.

 

I mean how could you prove it with our knowledge of genetics today?

[Ganoderma]

indeed. i agree it is likely, but i also have doubts. that is also saying that it might speed it up or amplify it. It does not say it causes it. looking at a meth head and a pot head, i tend to lean more towards the meth head for having caused brain damage/mental problems. a few others i would think cause soem pretty hefty noggin thumping.

 

alcohol sems to also "inhance" things like depressiona nd anxiety and thsoe sorts of problems. which seems to lead some peopel down a dangerous spiral of depressed addiction.

[maikeru]

Yes, Amanita phalloides is highly toxic however, amanita muscaria is the species consumed for it's psychoactive properties and lack of toxicity. Amanita species number in the hundreds so it's a bad practice to claim the species as a whole is either safe or deadly.

 

Good point. I should've done my research better, and fungi are definitely not my specialty.

[sanctus]

Ganoderma,

you know to get the health problem from alcohol you need to be dependent for a much longer time than to what it seems to be the case for marijuana. That's one of the reasons why I judge the latter more dangerous.

Another reason is that in my view the psycological problems which can arise from both drugs, i.e depression and schizophrenia, the latter is worse.

[Ganoderma]

that is true. and i, for the most part, agree. But there is also the risk of alcohol poisoning. this can lead to death, and has many times. which is worse than both the previous mental conditions. Both may mutate you, but one kills.

[sanctus]

Yes, if you really drink too much (even if is the only time you ever drink in your life) can be deathly. No need for long time dependency for that.

But I do not consider this in my judgement because this is not a consequence of addiction (or it seems to me only very very rarely alcoholics do this, I neverheard of an alcohlic being in ethilic coma)