THE PSYCHOZOIC PRESSSpring 19'8/f #7

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An In format ion andCommunication ExchangePaper on Psychedelics.

THE PSYCHOZOIC PRESS Spring, 198*fIssue No. 7Contents

T h e O M I R e p o r t . 1 2LSD vs. Insanity—A Personal Account..15

—Tom LyttleAyahuasca Drinkers Among the Chama

I n d i a n s 3 6c« —Heinz Kusel

Interview with Terence McKenna( p a r t 3 ) • 6 0—Slvin D. Smith

The Leniota Peele Mushroom 66—Stephen L. Peele

B o o k s h e l f R e v i e w s 7 1Invitation for Contributory Works 75T h e M a i l b o x 7 6* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Ad RatesT i m e s F u l l P a g e H a l f P a g e1 1 0 52 2 0 1 03 2 5 1 5k 3 0 2 0* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *The PSYCHOZOIC PRESS is produced quarterly at 2121 BraleyRd., Coos Bay,OR 97k20. Subscription, $7/year. Backissues are $2 each, except #1, which is$1. The #2 issue has been reprinted andall issues are now available. @ 198/f byElvin D. Smith.* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *We are not in the substances trade.* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *2

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The OMI Report

The Oregon Marijuana Initiative isboth a part icular init iat ive proposaland the name of the organization sponsoring the proposal. The organizationwas formed in the Fall of 1981 by agroup of people in the Portland area.From a handful of volunteers OMI hasgrown into a statewide organization.Petitioning began on the first OMI proposal in December 1981.Then the 1982 petition drive gainedmomentum as the July 2 deadline forturning in signatures approached. In thelast kQ hours over 15,000 signatureswere collected by volunteers or arrivedin the mail. Unfortunately, when thedeadline arrived, OMI was just short ofthe 5^,669 signatures needed to qualifyfor the November 1982 ballot. Organizerswere disappointed by the near miss; afew additional volunteers would havemade the difference. But most of thepeople involved in the first attemptwere determined to try again.

Over the winter a new wording for theproposed law was drafted:

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12

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—The OMI Report. Vol. 2, #3. © 1983(Used by permission.)

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* * * * * * * * * * * * » * * * * * *♦♦ * * » » * # » # » » » * # » # * » # ,Put Big Brother away to where he belongs—as a servant of the people.

—D.B.

DoublethanksWorks better than

Doublethink.Count your blessings twice!

Man's greatest possession is his memory.In nothing else is he rich,In nothing else is he poor.

—Tom13

APOLOGIA IN SUI JURISI ANNOUNCE, DECLARE, ALLEGE and SAY:

My published writings in the PsychozoicPress are based in fact. However, thereis no warranty that my writings as published are herein totally factual. Certain things had to be changed such asnames and dates because if I did not Imight find myself in the courts.

My published works are article articles—a phrase in which 2 words pronouncedthe same are used first as an adjectiveand second as a verb. As well, the pre-ceeding and following information fromor through me is copyrighted and allthese things inadmissable as evidencein a court of law without my permission, and you will have to pay for that.OH, will you have to pay for that!

For purposes of judicial review all myworks in the Psychozoic Press are fict i o n .

Thomas Lyttle* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *The probabi l i ty that the informationcontained in PP is objectively factualvaries between zero and certainty. Ifyou cannot differentiate between theimpossible and the inevitable, donft askme because I canft either, (usually).

Elvin D. Smith* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

i k

Means to an End:LSD vs. Insanity—A Personal Account

Thomas Lyttle*

LSD (diethylamide of d-lysergic acid)is a chemical compound first synthesizedas the 25th of a series of ergot derivi-tives by the Swiss chemist Albert Hofmannin 1938 while researching medicines tosalve uterine contractions and migraineheadaches.** This LSD-25 was shortlythereafter ingested in a small dose bythe discoverer during routine laboratorywork. Within about one hour LSD wasfound to be a most powerful non-toxichallucinogen and neurological "skeletonkey" capable of easily carrying Hofmannto the most extreme heights of fantasyand excitement, across psychological andspir i tual barr iers into undreamed ofpersonal transformations and potentials.To put it simply, Hofmannfs mind wasblown!

♦Copyright © 198^ by Thomas Lyttle. Usedby permission.**Hofmannfs first published LSD researchpaper is a 19V7 piece, coauthored withW.A. Stoll, describing LSD and its oxy-toxic effects on the uterus of a rat.However, in 19^-3> many notes circulatedbetween the two researchers concerningHofmannfs initial LSD trips. Excerptsfrom these notes have been published inabout every major book on the subject ofLSD.

15

Previous to this, psychiatrists hadfor years been making educated speculations about just such a chemical; onewhich would allow them free and easyaccess to the deeper parts of theirpatient's troubled minds. Early on inhis career, the famous psychologistC.G. Jung also spent some time inponder, wondering if such a chemicalkey to the unconscious might one day bediscovered. He called this hypotheticalcompound "toxin X." These ideas blossomedfor Jung while he was treating schizophrenia and researching the disorder'spossible connection to personal chemi s t r y . *

LSD quickly provided such easy accessto the hidden repressed thoughts andfeelings of its users that it was suggested in 1949 by the psychologistCondrau that LSD be combined with psychotherapy to create a "made in heaven"marriage between the two mind liberating forces. The chance clinical discovery♦"The Psychology of Dementia Praecox" byCQ. Jung; Journal of Neurological andMental Disease. N.Y., 1906. I woulddiscount th is theoret ical "g landular"app roach fo r t he a l so theo re t i ca l"double-bind" and meta-communicationstheories of Bateson, Erickson, et alin their original attempts at qualifyingschizoid and schizophrenic phenomena.However, a solid scientific proof byeither school (as well as others) hasyet to be presented as fact.

16

by Albert Hofmann was here to take root,florish and blossom into what was to become a most controversial, far-reachingand effective addition to the modernpsychiatr ist 's arsenal.

This unorthodox and notably polemicoffshoot of normal psychotherapy involvesadministering the elixer LSD to preparedpsych ia t r ic pat ients . These dosagesrange from 25 micrograms to a staggering1500 micrograms, usually while in a controlled "laboratory setting.!f* Althoughinitial clinical LSD research was strictin just what an acceptable laboratorysetting entailed, more recent sympathetic approaches allow for emphasis onaesthetic, natural environs that supportless technology and less ar t ific ia lstructure. These settings might rangefrom "home-l ike11 decorated hospitalrooms to a spring garden or semi-secludedwoods, etc in hopes of granting whatare usually complimentary images for thepsychiatrist and patient to work from.***There is a wide plethora of good, ac-cessable works in the area of prescribedLSD dosages and their effects: LSDPsychotherapy by Stanislov Grof, HunterHouse, 1980; The Problems and Prospectsof LSD edited by T. Ungerleider, CharlesThomas, 1972; and LSD, the ProblemSolving Psychedelic by P. Stafford andB. Golightly, Award Books, 1972.**LSD, The Consciousness Expanding Druiedited by D. Soloman, G.P., Putman, 1964;The Use of LSD in Psychotherapy andAlcoholism edited by A. Abramson; Bobbs-Merrill, 1967*

17

In the lower (25-250 meg.) psycho-lytic* doses, it has been voluminouslydocumented that, when used as a precursor to more standard, time-tested techniques, LSD can sometimes remove apat ient 's restr ic t ing memory b locks,stimulate and stabalize related dreamand fantasy images and allow for ecstaticheights of insight to bubble up andquench like a newly discovered well-spring. In a strong supportive setting,LSD can offer the room for him or her to"step outside" and watch physical andemotional defenses operate, relieve deeptensions and generally create a transcendence from the rampant over-intelect-ualization that modern man heavily depends on to communicate with others aroundabout him, and more importantly, thathe uses to communicate with himself.This rational, organized way of thinkingoften prevents a troubled person frommaking the important conceptual leapfrom the static, emotionally deadenedstate that is at the root of many modernmental disorders. This organic link witha more healthy growing and changingself-image is necessary for a true healing to occur; whether it be physical,existential, or spiritual .

The psycholytic forms of therapy areusually reserved for neurotic or psychosomatic patients. However, the most interesting and controversial psychiatricexperiments are those involving psyche-*This term, coined by British researcherRonald Sandison, from the Greek lysistranslates literally as "mind-loosening."18

delic* doses (250+ meg.) of LSD. Theeffects here are usually overwhelmingand transpersonal in nature, leaving thepatient unable to carry out any sort ofrational, verbal dialogue for any lengthof time with the therapist. Also, inpsychedelic therapy, the LSD trip canbe longer lasting, sometimes extendingseveral hours into twice the psycholyticlength of duration.**

This form of LSD psychotherapy is designed to overload the normal perceptualcircuits of the patient's mind and 'bodyand set deep archtypal and spiritualforces free. Usually hidden from ourwaking view, these unconscious powersare meant to instruct, heal, and transform through personal symbols and eccentric myth-like plays involving thepatient at his very best and his veryworst. Here the psychiatrist is less the

♦This term, (literally, "mind manifesting") was created by a Canadian researcher named Hubbard in 1953 whileusing LSD to treat alcoholics. It waslater popularized by Humphry Osmond.

**This range could vary widely accordingto personal body weight, chemistry, andalso as to whether any adjunctive drugsare used to enhance mood or still anxiety. LSD is often combined with the stimulant Ritalin for this purpose in clinical settings. As well, it was mentionedin PP #5 that various MAO inhibitorsunknowingly broken down during a mealcould extend the time length of an LSDt r i p .

19

authoritative healer as a humble guideor helper limited to aiding or orientingthe tripper in the physical realm.

In psychedelic therapy, all the valid,substantial LSD experiences and theirresults are developed for the most part,on the pa t ien t fs in te rna l , e therea lplanes of experience. Here the psychiatric patient might become, for starters,the wide-eyed spiritual seeker, an extinct wild animal, his mother or hislong-dead great-great grandmother, themusical F sharp note, or the currentcoursing "through the electrical wiringin the walls. The secrets of telepathy,astral projection, quantum physics, timetravel, life, death, and beyond, arecommonly grasped and then lost in a wildswirl of personal images, DNA insights,universal love, or various assorted religious states of rapture.**Amazing Dope Tales and Haight StreetFlashbacks by Steven Gaskin; The BookPublishing Co., 1980. This is a charming,down-to-Earth hippie discourse on psychedelic esoterica from a true believer.

Dimensions of Dying and Rebirth;A.R.E. Press, 1977* This thin book contains a good, solid scientific paper byGrof which deals with LSD produced personal and transpersonal phenomena. Itfsentitled "Transitions: Birth, Death, andReb i r t h . "

See also, Chemical Ecstacy: Psychedelic Drugs and Religion by W. Clark;Sheed and Ward, 1969; ThS Joyous Cosmology by Alan Watts-, Vintage Books,1970; The Private Sea: LSD and the Searchfor God, Quadrangle Books, 1967*20

It is hoped that beneath all thislies the eternal, integrated and evolvedportion of the patientfs being whichwill now come forth to offer redemption,health, and happiness. This type of experience, whether while under a doctor'scare or out on the street is a gambleand can be very dangerous, because notmuch is really known by the scientificcommunity about these l i t t le-exploredareas.

In contrast, it is often felt by theexperienced psychedelist such thingsmust be more than "just" drug related.Perhaps this is the solve et coagulathat any shaman or dying person goesthrough.* If so, such things must surelylie far outside the scientific boundriesof psychiatry and medicine, and rightlyso!* * * * * * * *

The lush, rolling finger lakes areaof upstate New York is undoubtably one

*Beyond Death by Stanislov and ChristinaGrof, Thames and Hudson, 1980. This oversized paperback is of the coffee tablevariety but still an enjoyable cross-cultural reference source.

The Psychedelic Experience by MetznerAlpert, and Leary, University Books,196*f. This is a unique manual for combining LSD tripping with imagery fromthe Tibetan Book of the Dead. It givesinstructions for out-of-body navigatingafter death, or large dose LSD trips,which (it is assumed by the authors)parallel or interface in more ways thanno t .

21

of the most gorgeous places in the U.S.for hiking, camping and fishing or justrelaxing in nature's over-grown glory.Between thousands of acres of stateparks lie thousands of acres of vineyards and orchards heralded for connis-seur wines and the best varieties ofapples, corn and watermelon. In the fallthis bounty is backdropped by a panoramaof changing colors and crisp harvestscents. Right in the center of this hornof plenty, on the upper tip of SenecaLake, was where I had landed and tempor-.arily settled for a few years to relax,reflect, and have fun. Seneca Lake isthe deepest freshwater lake in thecountry and is a favorite for competa-tive trout fishing.

Unfortunately, it wasn't until aboutthe autumn of 1977> when I arrived inthe Finger Lakes area, that I beganserious research and study of the availab le l i t e ra tu re per ta in ing to LSDpsychotherapy. It was then, and stillis, hardly publicized outside academicc i r c l e s .

At the time I was trying to find somefeasable psycho-spir i tual model fromwhich to guage my own blackmarket LSDexperiences; which had been no ways tameand no ways small in mumber. Some quitestart l ing react ions during my ini t ialtrips in another part of the country hada good part of me convinced that I hadglimpsed some higher, eternal realitiesthat had little to do with the drug beyond its role as a stimulant and catalyst. Just the same, I valued my skepticism and was drawn to the psychiatric22

models for clues that might help meseparate the absolute, immortal wheatfrom the personal, psychological shaft.

Right around this time I was coinci-dentally hired as a psychiatric aid bya nearby insane asylum, which was rootedon the banks of Seneca Lake right inthe middle of miles of pine forests.My job consisted of becoming the newpart of a ten-person psychotherapy teamand acting as gofer, caretaker, and general roustabout for fifty or so longterm chronic schizophrenics and psycho-tics.* By pure chance, this gave me thebest opportunity imaginable for studyinginsanity frist hand on a one-to-one basis. Being able to relate to the ideasand descriptions in many of my books onpsychedelics and the disordered mind,based on my own observations and conclusions, was invaluable.

Some of you reading this might findyourself wondering just what an honest-to-goodness insane asylum might be like;who lives there and why, and whether itmight be a better or worse place thanthe numerous media portrayals. In fact,whether these hostels can at all relateto any media description is a validquestion. If you have at all wondered,you can now set your mind to rest. Thebest thing that you could do to helpyourself understand about these placesis to forget everything that you haveever learned about them; and the faster♦At the time of this writing I stillfind myself unsure as to just what thesebehavioral, medical, and legal labelsreally mean.

23

the better! For you see, unless you havehad the pleasures of a stay in a housefor the insane, my words about them justwon't suffice. These places are by nature psycho-spiritual crucibles and are,in all ways, much more extreme than anything a book, movie, or word of mouthcould impress upon you.

I knew that a lot of LSD research hadbeen done in institutional settings, andalthough there exists a lot of datafrom the standpoint of the therapist,little has been printed from an experienced, well versed and literate LSDp a t i e n t .

It was at this point that I startedto put together a plan that would let mewatch just such an intoxicated LSDpatient trip while he was locked in aclinical psychiatric setting. I thoughtthat being locked up without recoruse toan exit would be what any LSD patient inany institution might have to deal with,for starters.

In planning my experiment, I knew Ihad the perfect clinic; I had the gullible patient (Hi!), and I had some good,clean blackmarket LSD in proper doses.*What I didn't have was the hospital'spermission, a reasonable amount of common sense and a good life insurancepolicy in the event I met the wrongpsychotic or violent patient while tripping. Stil l, I convinced myself that*At the time I was using the reliable"Sorcerers Apprentice" blotter LSD invarious doses. This had Mickey Mouse inhis guise from the Disney movie stamped,in color, on perforated squares of paper.2k

win, lose, draw, or arrest, I was placedin this once-in-a-l i fet ime posit ion toreally learn something about psychiatry,psychedelics, and myself. Also, I secretly wanted to convince myself that tripping on LSD is different than psychosis,whether a lot of expensive scholarlybooks said so or not.

I worked during the day at the asylumand had the evenings off. During thelate afternoon the eight-hour shift ofjanitors, therapists, nurses, and doctors would change. The night time broughta streamlined, smaller psychiatric crewto supervise a larger number of patientswho were under lock and key both nightand day for everyone's protection.

Some of the psychiatric wards, whichare like army dorms (or any institutionalliving area) calm down a lot at nightand don't need much supervision. Infact, some of the wards would have onlyone lay person on hand with a key tothe oversized wooden doors which all hada small wire reinforced glass portalthrough which to observe the patients.Nobody else might be around for six orseven hours, except for us nuts.

It so happened that one such night"key man" was a close friend. The wardon which he worked was one where therewas no other supervision; where nobodythere knew me or had prejudices for oragainst me. Here was a place that Icould spontaneously blend into whiletripping and escape the usual "top-dog/underdog" mechanics of the standardtherapist-patient relationship. I thoughtthat this type of thing might just get alittle weird on an acid trip—as if this

25

whole thing wasn't going to be weirdenough on its own! I simply wanted towatch the inmates interact naturally intheir home with their equals, and notadopt the artificial postures that theyhad learned to use to manipulate thedai ly athor i t ies.

Rather than set a date and timetablefor my experiment I had decided to hangloose, let the right time show up andthen let nature take its course. Somewhere in the back of my mind, somethingtold me that I wouldn't have long tow a i t .

One night shortly after this I was athome relaxing in front of my stereo andenjoying a really stoned LSD trip thatwas just coming on. In a flash I got upand left my room which was about ahalf mile from the asylum as the crowflies. This fresh direction in my tripwasn't without purpose. Although notraces of rhyme or reason could befound at the time, I found myself movingon foot across the moonlit grounds ofthe asylum. Up ahead was the lockedpsycho ward where my buddy was busy eye-balling and corralling stray patients.

To break up the night time monotonyof his job, we had often enjoyed afriendly chillum or two while he was inthe middle of his late night shift.I'm a night person, so he was used tomy occasional visits to him and wasn'tat all surprised when I showed up about1 a.m. Although I was illegally tresspassing while off duty, I knew how toavoid the hospital's a.m. security whichwent up to, but not beyond, the locked26

violent wards of the several buildingasylum. As usual, his quick glance toldme he was grateful for the diversionfrom a job too long worked. He unpackeda chillum, and I went to get a wet clothfor the mouthpiece.* The water faucetwas outside the five-foot-wide, 50-yearold wooden door, and my friend opened itby placing a metal key as thick as atire iron into a keyhole the size ofyour thumb. (These things were built tol a s t ! )

By this time the oversized door waslooking l ike Hol lywood's best Tran-sylvanian castle entrance and I was not ic ing the s im i la r i t ies be tween thecolor and grain in this aged wood andthe ones that had been in the front doorof my parents home as a child. Come tothink of it, the glossy waxed linoleumbeneath me did kinda resemble my oldfront porch covered with shiny ice. Ihad been seeing inappropriate colors forabout half an hour now, and the differences in the colors of the two things infront of me were quickly dissolving andbecoming moot; then exploding, suddenlybecoming striking and unique to thepoint of inexpressability.

I was led down the hallway towardsthe patients social room which was stillhalf-filled from a TV show. As I drew*This Shivaite style of smoking involvesplacing lit, tightly wound twine (gundi)atop a bowl filled with bhang. Thiskeeps things cooking and the wet clothat the other end keeps things cool ands a n i t a r y.

27

nearer I started catching bits and pieces of the TV show and reassembling it inmy mind like a Gysin-Burroghs cut-updivination. As these clues mounted,every few steps I made changed my mindconcerning what lay ahead: A 3-d funhouse, an Eleusis initiation chamber ora Martian meeting the first Earthlings?

All this revelry was cut short as Ientered the room and 30 pair of babyblues (and a few baby browns) devouredme like a pack of wolves. It is the samefor every new patient (or convict, orbuck private) which I knew they wouldconclude I was. I suddenly became everyalien invader from Genghis Khan to Margaret Mead as the lessons of mammalianterritorial politics assualted my senses from hundreds of directions at once.The normal territorial instincts of primates would have been hard enough tosort out in my psychedelic state, buthere was a cage; a microcosm and inflam-ation of everything humanly territorialbubbling like a cauldron. This cauldron,however, was madly cracked in a fewspots and had been tossed in society'slocked closet.

I knew that if I reacted in a hostileor fearful way it would decide my placein this micro-counterculture heirarchyon the spot* The anthropologist in mewas smart, but the mystic in me wassmarter! I flashed into the realizationthat no reactive signal from me to thesejokers would be the best signal at thistime. I immediately let go, let it be,and went transparent; I stopped my brainfrom organizing what was being collected28

from my senses with a neat yoga-liketrick that I had long ago picked up andperfected. This let the growing emotional charge within me run out; as with nobody at the controls to cause and effectsuch things, the emotions tend to discharge and lay still.

After a timeless moment or two I reincarnated and sat dazed, far-flung, andflustered. Some of the more animatedoriented schizophrenics started to gethip to me and to the fact that contraryto what I was really (!) going through,it appeared, at least to them, that Iwas acceptably half-nuts and operatingoutside of the "sane" dialectics thatled them to their own psycho-spiritualpredicaments.

A few immediately gave, what was tome, some sense of approval with speechless body movements that were congrousand consonant and contained direct eyecontact. This gave me some hint of anirrational bypass system of the brainsthat schizophrenics, mystics, and acidheads might tap into and out of to establish rapport. This is probably unconscious as it occurs, which is why it remains so well hidden from both its creators and conscious observers. Withpsychedelics I had access to theseusually out-of-reach parts of my mind,at least temporarily. This experiencegave a lot of credence to the communications theories of Gregory Bateson andMilton Erickson who maintain that suchis off and on in the case with the usually misunderstood quandrum of schizo-

29

phrenia.*As if to push me farther along,

through and beyond this line of rationale, the two hands of God, wearinggloves that looked like long-term psycho tics, approached and pointed to theglowing TV. This set up a chain of syn-chronicity that was l i teral ly out ofthis world! It was one of those thingswhere the TV started a plot in word orpicture; the plot was next picked up bysome patient coming around the cornerwho added to it without even knowing theTV was on. Then the plot would jump backinto the TV and continue. Like a storywould be on TV about giving flowers,then an oblivious person would come up,bump a table and knock a flower vaseover smashing the pot. Then when youglance back to the TV, the first thingyou see would be an oil painting of abroken flower vase. You know what Imean, except that it might go for sevenor eight glances, each one referencingan unfolding plot that is written bothspontaneously and randomly, but would♦Dissonant and/or conflicting levels ofbody language can be clues to pinpointing similar mental and emotional statesaccording to the science of kinesics.Bateson and Erickson claim that bodyposture, as well as voice inflection,use of syntax and other verbal and sub-verbal devices for communicating becomemixed up during early youth and laterblossom into schizophrenia. What I sawwas a reverse of obverse; an agreementinstead of a tangle at these deep unconscious levels.30

make perfect sense, not just to you, butto a football stadium ull of people.It's uncanny and has happened to me on avariety of LSD trips.

Maybe it's like a junction of parallel universes each containing similarenough elements to effect a reflex quantum composite, sometimes tumbling into"our" dimension and sometimes mergingelsewhere...Maybe.

Or perhaps it has to do with somehidden way that we process and organizeinformation; and it is this that backfires and creates the impression thatthere is causality or synchronicity whenactually it is just random bits thatget creatively organized during a flukeof brain functioning...Maybe.

By now the whole asylum scenario hadmutated into areas that had so littleto do with psychiatry and science that Ihad used as a premise that I gave uptrying to force my experiences into thistype of conceptual mold. I was leaningin favor of something above and beyondmere science, but was so high at thispoint that I couldn't begin to organizeor fix my ideas in any sort of presentable way. Things were moving rightalong! At this moment I noticed five patients standing up in front of the TV,blocking my view for no apparent purpose.

For some reason I flashed into someof the ideas that Illuminatus! authorRobert Anton Wilson tossed my way whenhe made me a Pope in the DiscordianSociety. The results of the Discordian's

31

confusion contest were enclosed with hisletter.* This mail-in contest in olvedmembers donating five written words thatwere meant to cause varying degrees ofconfusion when read in a row. Trying tomake some sense or draw meaning fromthem would result in an exercise thatbecame an exorcism of the strict modesof normal, linear thinking. Breaking theline (or chain) of association and syntax into more fluid patterns of thoughtwas the goal of the trip here.

It was just this kind of prankish,Dadaistic comedy that the Discordiansfound effectively pleasant, and able tofree up and alternate your way of looking at the world. As a prerequsite tothe more important mystical states thatthese folks trafficked in, it was greatfun!

Remembering all this made me laughout loud in spite of my attempts atplaying the serious scientist. I realized that I was in the same perceptualcage as al l the psychot ics si t t ing♦Personal letter to the author fromMalaclypse the Younger (Greg Hill) andMordecai the Foul (Robert Anton Wilson)dated around 10-75* "The Discordian Society is now completely discordian (decentralized). Greg Hill and I are bothtoo busy with other projects to do anything about serving as central clearinghouse for Discordians," pronounced a10-81 letter to me from Wilson. The Discordian bible, entitled Principia Dis-cordia, is back in print from: Loompan-ics, P.O. Box 26*f, Mason, MI A-885V

32

around me and standing in front of theTV set. The five psychotic syncopatorsnow left the TV for the more up-to-datefascinations of the room's steam radiator, which had just come to life with aslow hiss.

Taking everything into consideration,I felt that I was still ahead in thiscrazy game, since I could laugh openlyand easily. Laughter was, to me, stillthe lowest common denominator in mosthuman communication.*

While I was still giggling uncontrol-ably over all this, I heard a familiarbut distinctive sound from down the longhall that I had earlier in the eveningentered. As the footsteps got closer andcloser, I knew that it would soon betime to leave this place and go my wayback into the world of the sane.

Although I felt that I had missed orforgotten a lot during the last coupleof hours in this magic theater, I wasn'tat all disappointed. I knew that what Idid retain would nourish me for years tocome. Whatever else I might pretendafter all this was over wouldn't keepthese very important insights from returning to me again and again.

As I recount, I find that too manyparts of this unusual trip have been♦...unlike smiling, which is a much morecomplicated celebration and expressionof emotion. Some theorists claim thatwhile schizophrenics can easily laugh,they have a much harder time organizingthe complex emotional information repre-sended by a simple smile.

33

carried alone and undigested by me fortoo long a time...far too long, I fear.I grow impatient to be done with them,write them to their conclusion and go onto other more important lessons of themind and the spir i t . Lately, duringthese recent times, I might think a lotabout such things.

In closing my way to you, I havehumbly confessed what are, in truth,dire needs and obligations. With thisarticle I have let them loose to runaway. The images have been known elsewhere, in'part, by many people, including William Burroughs in his instance,and others, uttering and petitioning mefrom my cassette deck to the jazz riffsof Kaiser Marshall's 1926 "Once orTw i c e " . . . .

Fade out overtakes imagein subliminal slow sheetsDripping out of the taperecorder

—1962-68 Burroughs, fromThe Ticket That Exploded

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Selected BibliographyThe Boo Hop Bible, by Art Kleps; ToadBooks, 1971.The Psychedelic Reader; Gunther Weil,ed. Citadel Press, 1973•Psychedelic Ecstac.y, by W. Marshal andG. Taylor; Wilshire Books, 1968.Psychedelic Drugs Reconsidered, L. Grin-3k

spoon and J. Bakalar; Basic Books, 1979*Realms of the Human Unconscious: Observations from LSD Research, by StanislovGrof; Dutton, 1976.LSD, Personality and Experience, byHarriet Barr; Wiley-Interscience, 1972.Psychedelic-40 by Louis Charbonneau;Bantum, 1965*High Times Encyclopedia of RecreationalDrugs; editors of High Times; Stonehill,1978.Mindfuckers: A Sourcebook on the Rise ofAcid Facism, David Felton, ed; StraightArrow, 1972.Expanding Dimensions of Consciousness,A. Sugarman and R. Tarter; Springer,1978.The Brain Changers: Scientists and theNew Mind Control, by Maya Pines; NewAmerican Library, 1973•Consciousness: The Brain, States ofAwareness and Alternate Realities, byDaniel Goleman; Irvington, 1979*The Dancing Wu Li Masters: An Overviewof the New Physics, by Gary Zukav; W.Morrow, 1979*The LSD Controversy: An Overview, byMaurice Tarshis; C. Thomas, 1972.Sex and Drugs, R. A. Wilson; PlayboyPress, 1973*"LSD is Claimed to Aid Psychic Research,"by Wentworth Williams, Beyond Magazine,August, 1969** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

35

AYAHUASCA DRINKERSAMONG THE CHAMA INDIANS^

Heinz Kusel

Some time ago I read an articledescribing the experience of consumingpeyote, a cactus, with Indians of SouthDakota. I could not help being remindedof the ayahuasca drinkers of northeastPeru. I lived for seven years travelingand trading in the Upper Amazon regionand often heard stories about the effectof the drug. Once on a long canoe tripdown the river my Indian companion hadchanted the song of the "Goddess of Ayahuasca." Ayahuasca, a Quencha word meaning "vine of death," is the collectivename for var ious c l imbing t rop ica llianas and also designates the teaprepared from the leaves of the vine,either by itself or in combination withother leaves.

Indians and low-class mestizos alikevisit the ayahuasquero or witchdoctorwhen they are ailing, or think they needa general check-up, or want to make an*©1965 by Psychedelic Review, Leary,Metzner, Weil, Morrow, eds. Reprinted bypermission.

Interested readers should also see"The Sound of Rushing Waters" by MichaelHarner on shamanic witchcraft practicedby the Hivaro Indians of the AmazonBasin. Discusses the use of ayshuascaand other substances to communicate withthe spirit world in order to effecthealings or bewitchment. Natural Sciencevol. 38, No. 6, 1968.

36

important decision, or simply becausethey feel like it. Among the scatteredhalfcastes and natives of the swamps andrain-forests of the Ucayali region, theayhuasca cult plays a significant rolein their religious medical practices andprovides them with a good deal of entertainment.

Repeatedly I heard how in a visioninduced by drinking the tea preparedfrom the liana the patient had preceivedthe specific plant needed for his cure,had later searched and found it in thejungle and had subsequently recovered.To the enigmatic mind of the Indian,ayahuasca opens the gate to the healingproperties of the forces of nature atwhose mercy he lives. A recurrent theme,whenever the natives refer to the results of the drug, is the vision of theprocession of plants, with garlic, the"king" of the good plants, leading theway. Garlic, tobacco, quinine, and o j e, ♦(a tree latex processed in Iquitos andexported to a pharmaceutical firm inNew York for use in a remedy againsthookworm), are at the head of a longline of friendly, elf-like plants whichin ayahuasca visions bow to man, offering their services.The half-civi l ized Chama Indians,sturdy fellows, who today specialize indrawing mahogany and cedar logs for thesawmills in Iquitos, undergo a "purge"of ayahusca before they enter theflooded areas of the forest to float outthe logs and assemble them into tremendous rafts. For a cure of that naturethey prepare themselves by a prolonged♦ F i c u s h e l m i a n t h i o g o g a 3 7

diet, avoiding meat, salt, alcohol, andsugar.

Aside from the main use of the drugfor curing or keeping the consumer ingood general condition ayahuasca will,according to its users, induce clairvoyance and may, for example, solve atheft or prophecy the success or failureof a given enterprise. A man might beplanning a trip to a certain river wherehe knows of a good place to tap rubber,but to be sure of good results he willconsult ayahuasca first . After that,more than likely he will abandon theenterprise altogether and set off inanother direction to pan gold, hunt peccary, or do something else.

In these unhurried hours and days Iarrived at an insight into the natives'fantastic beliefs and images, the richness of which is equalled only by thegrowth of the surrounding vegetation.

MAN, PLANT, AND ANIMAL PASSIVELY UNDERGOTHE IRRATIATIONS OF EACH OTHER. SOMETIMES THEY EVEN AQUIRE EACH OTHER'SCHARACTERISTICS.Their superstitions, ideas and imagesfreely cross and recross the borderlineof reality in strangely patterned ways.Their stories have one thing in common:Man, plant, and animal are one, foreverwoven into an inextricable pattern ofcause and effect. Later I found thatayahuasca visions are the fabrics thatillustrate endless combinations of thispattern. Man, plant, and animal also

38

passively undergo the irradiations ofeach other—irradiations of powers thatto us are mostly non-existant. Somehow,sometimes, they even aquire each other'scha rac te r i s t i c s .

Once, while drifting in a canoe, theCampa Indian with me disturbed the silence by imitating the voice of thecotomono, a copper-colored monkey. Acotomono from the shore answered him. Athird joined in. After a while the wholeshoreline seemed to come alive withcotomonos. The natives use this abilityto imitate voices to such a degree thathunting takes on the character of treacherous assassination.

Though hardly in the way of an equivalent, the animal world "puts out" abird that I heard one night, on the Pa-chitea River. I t fil led the darknesswith a decending scale of glass-clearnotes. Quite likely it is a beautifulscale, but nevertheless it resemblesthe hysterical laughter of an insanewoman. It shocked me; I felt upset,mocked, laughed at.

Everyth ing "cal ls" in the jungle.Once a Campa Indian in my boat, when wewere drifting far from the shore, was"called" by ayahuasca. fol lowed the"call," and later emerged from the forest with a sampling of the fairly rareliana that today is cultivated by theayhuasquero in secret spots. I myselfcertainly did not hear the call.

If this jungle life in its irrationalmutual dependency forms a picture ofgeneral confusion, ayahuasca is themagic mirror that reflects Eh"is confusion as something beautiful and attract-

39

ive. For whomever I listened to, allmanifested the enjoyment of a wondrousspectacle that was pleasing to thesenses. If fearsome visions occurred,they said that the ayahuasquero couldeasily dispel them by shaking a dry twignear the ear of the affected drinker, orby blowing the smoke of a cigarette onthe crown of his head. The aestheticclimax of the spectacle was, they claimed, the vision of the goddess with concealed eyes who dwelt inside the twining tropical vine.

Many times I listened to these tales,but it never crossed my mind to try theliana myself. It belonged definitely tothe low-class Indian lore, to somethingsordid, outside of the law, somethingpublicly frowned upon like the bind-ing-up of the heads that the Chamaspractice on their babies, or like burying one twin alive as they also do, orso many other equally fantastic orghastly things.

In 1949 I had my headquarters in awhite-washed brick house in Pucallpaoverlooking a wide curve of the Ucayali.Pucallpa at that time was a village ofabout 200 homes, a Catholic church, anAmerican Protestant mission, a Masonictemple and two primitive hotels. Theplace had gained some importance bybeing at the end of the only road, precariously connecting Lima and the Pacific with a navigable river of theAmazon system. It had also an airport

kO

which could be used when the ground wasdry. After the war and the falling ofprices for rubber, the importance of theroad decreased, and Pucallpa fell backto the stagnation of a Peruvian junglesett lement.

At that time I realized that my daysin the jungle were coming to an end andin spite of being somewhat skepticalabout the possible effects of the drug,decided to try it.

I drank the bitter salty extract ofthe vine three times. It seemed too muchtrouble to look for a venerated greatayahuasquero like Juan Inuma, who livedup the river near Masiesea. There werea number of less widely esteemed fellowsin Pucallpa, such as Nolorbe, who wasrecommended to me as the most reliableof the witchdoctors in the vi l lage.His hut was the last upstream in thelong row of buildings avove the steepshore of Pucallpa. It was there that Ifound myself sitting on an empty gasoline crate one night, while other peoplesquatted on the floor. I drank the required dose—about a quart—and nothinghappened. The only noticable effect wasan increased auditory sensitivity, whichis the reason why the drug is consumedin secluded places at night. A neighborhood rooster crowed recklessly whichupset me considerably for it seemed tohappen right in my head. The people inthe hut were disturbed also for theysighed and shifted their positions uneasily. Nolorbe blamed the ineffectiveness of the drug on the fact that it hadnot been freshly prepared.

k l

Another evening the guide who carriedmy blanket led me to a hut far outsidethe limits of the village. The hut, atypical structure of a floor on stiltswithout walls, covered by a thatchedroof, belonged to Saldana, a mestizo Idid not particularly like, who had manypatients in the village. I lay down onkZ

the raised floor of beaten palmbarkoverlooking the clearing, and Saldafiahanded me a bottle of ayahuasca. Istarted to drink and heard him singingbehind a partition where he was tendinghis patients. I l istened carefully tothe startling song that is always sungin Quencha, the language of the highland Indians which only old people .inthe Ucayali region speak. The songstarts with a shrill musical questionand continues with a series of answers,intermixed with hissing sounds and syncopated with gutteral noises produced bythe tounge against the palate. I drankthe whole dose Saldana had prepared forme and felt slightly dizzy and nauseated.After a while I climbed down from theraised floor, using the ladder, made asusual by hacking footholes into an upright log. The clearing and surroundingjungle looked as though covered withwhite ashes in the strong moonlight.From the hut behind me I heard the soundof voices speaking monotonously. I heardSaldana intermittently singing the songor administering his cures.

One of the procedures used to relievea pain is actually to suck the pain outof the hurting member. When this hadbeen repeated often enough, the pain issupposed to be located in the doctor'smouth and removed from there by spitting.Again my stimulated hearing reportedthose awful noises so intensely that attimes they were hard to endure.

The next day SaldaSa attributed thisfailure to the fact that I had a slightcold. I was more skeptical than ever.

k3

After all, if unlike those people I wasnot able to hear the call of the plantor to walk noiselessly through thejungle, maybe I lacked also the requiredacuteness of senses to meet the iridescent goddess.

I am glad that I went a third time. Imade another appointment with Nolorbefor a Saturday night. I walked out tohis place at the edge of the forest atabout 10 p.m. I realized that his one-room house that stood in darkness andsilence was crowded and waited outsideuntil he emerged. I told him that Iwould rather not join the crowd and heobligingly showed me a good-sized canoepulled up for repairs and resting abouttwenty feet from the cane wall of hisshack towards the edge of the jungle.

I wrapped myself in a blanket and laydown comfortably, my shoulders againstthe cedar walls of the dugout, my headresting on the slanting steam. I feltrelaxed and full of expectation. Nolorbehad appeared eager and confident. Asmall, barefooted Indian, with somethingqueer and slightly funny about his face,he showed a nervousness which did not gowith his sturdy native build. He seemedto be never quite present, as if continuously distracted by frequent encounterswith his vegetable gods and devils. Hiseyes were not steady but pulled in different directions. While somewhat fearful,there was something very happy aboutthis man, as if a hidden gaiety werebur ied under h is worr ied features.He believed himself smart and powerful;he lived a glorious life, even if sometimes he seemed to go to pieces in hiskk

effort to walk back and forth professionally between two equally puzzlingworlds. I remembered seeing him once inthe Comisaria in conflict with one ofthem, accused again of leading a disorderly life and practicing quackery. Hewas standing in his formerly green trousers, before a wooden table and thePeruvian flag, answering the rude Guard-ia Civil with a humble smile, his eyesgoing apolegitically in all directions.

He soon appeared with a gourdful ofliquid he had carefully prepared bystewing for hours the leaves of the vinewith those of another plant, whose name

possibly was his secret. He squatted atthe canoe and whispered, his eyes goingsideways: "Gringo, today you will experience the real thing; I will serveyou well, we will have the true intoxication; you will be satisfied, wait andsee..." And he left me alone.

THE BIRD'S WHISTILING AND MELODIOUSSOUND AT THE END OF HIS CALL SEEMED TOTOUCH ME LIKE A WHIPLASH.

After a while a girl approached mefrom the hut and asked for a cigarette.She lighted it, inhaled, and for a moment I saw her wide face surrounded byhard black hair; then she walked noiselessly back into the hut. A tu-ayo birdbegan to call repeatedly, high above myface. The whistling and melodious soundat the end of his call seemed to touchme like a whiplash. A truck loaded withcedarboards left the village, and on thedistant highway accelerated madly andshifted gears. By that time I knew thedrug was working in me, felt fine andheard Nolorbe whispering near my earagain: "Do you want more? Shall I giveyou more? Do you want to see the goddesswell?" And again I drank the full gourdof cool, bitter liquid. I cannot say howoften Nolorbe was present, whisperingand drinking with me, singing the songnear my ear and far away, treating hispatients and making those awful primitive noises that I despised. There wasanother sound that upset me more thananything, like something round fallinginto a deep well, a mysterious, slipperyk6

and indecent sound. (Much later I foundout that it was produced by the normallyinnocuous act ion of Nolorbe ladl ingwater out of an old oil barrel by meansof a small gourd.) I yawned through whatseemed to be an interminable night, tillthe muscles of my face were strained;sometimes I yawned so hard that it seemed to me as loud as the roaring of thesea on a rocky coast. Things got so gay,absorbing and beautiful, that I had tolaugh foolishly. The laughter came outof my insides of its own accord andshook me absurdly. At the same time Icried, and the tears that were runningdown my face were annoying, but theykept running madly, and no matter howoften I wiped my cheeks, I could not drythem.

The first visual experience was likefireworks. Then a continously creatingpower produced a wealth of simple andelaborate flat patterns in color. Therewere patterns that consisted of twining

THE SONG IN THE BACKGROUND SEEMED TOPHYSICALLY TOUCH A BRAIN CENTER ANDSTARTED NEW CENTERS OF HALLUCINATIONSWHICH KEPT CHANGING TO THE RYTHM OFHIS CHANT.

repeats, and other geometrically organized with rectangles or squares thatwere like Maya designs or those decorations which the Chama paint on theirthin, ringing pottery.

The visions were in constant flux.First intermittently, then successively,the flat patterns gave way to deep-brown,

k7

purple, or beige depths, l ike dimlylighted caves in which the walls weretoo far away to be perceived. At timessnake-like stems of plants were growingprofusely in the depths, at others thesewere covered with arrangements of myridsof lights that like dewdrops of gemsadorned them. Now and then brilliantlight illuminated the scene as thoughby photographic flash, showing widelandscapes with trees placed at regularintervals or just empty plains. A bigship with many flags appeared in one ofthese flashes, a merry-go-round withpeople dressed in highly colored garments in another. The song of Nolorbe inthe background seemed to physicallytouch a brain center, and each of hishissing gutteral syncopations hurt andstarted new centers of hallucinationswhich kept on moving and changing to therythm of his chant. At a certain pointI felt, helplessly, that Nolorbe and hissong could do anything with me. Therewas one note in his song, that came backagain and again, which made me slidedeeper, whenever it appeared, deeper anddeeper into a place where I might loseconsciousness. If, to reassure myself, Iopened my eyes, I saw the dark wall ofthe jungle covered with jewels as if anet of lights had been thrown over it.Upon closing my eyes again, I could renew the precession of sl ick, wel l-lighted images.

There were two very definite attractions; I enjoyed the unreality of a created world. The images were not casual,accidental or imperfect, but fully or-k8

ganized to the last detail of highlycomplex, consistent, yet forever changing designs. They were harmonized incolor and had a slick, sensuous, polished finish. The other attraction of whichI was very conscious at the time was aninexplicable sensation of intimacy withthe visions. They were mine and concerned only me. I remembered an Indiantelling me that whenever he drank ayahuasca he had such beautiful visionsthat he used to put his hands over hiseyes for fear somebody might steal them.I felt the same way.

The color scheme became a harmony ofbrowns and greens. Naked dancers appeared turning slowly in spiral movements.Spots of brassy lights played on theirbodies which gave them the texture ofpolished stones. Their faces were inclined and hidden in deep shadows. Theircoming into existence in the center ofthe vision coincided with the rhythm ofNolorbe's song, and they advanced forward and to the sides, turning slowly. Ilonged to see their faces. At last thewhole field of vision was taken up bya single dancer with inclined face covered by a raised arm. As my desire tosee the face became unendurable, itappeared suddenly in full close-up withclosed eyes. I know that when the extraordinary face opened them, I experienceda satisfaction of a kind I had neverknown. It was the visual solution of apersonal riddle.

I got up and walked away without disturbing Nolorbe. When I arrived home Iwas still subject to uncontrollable fits

k9

of yawning and laughter. I sat down before my house. I remember that a drop ofdew fell from the tin roof, and its impact was so noisy that it made me shudder. I looked at my watch and realizedit was not yet midnight. The next dayand for quite some time I felt unusuallywe l l .

Three years later, in a letter fromPucallpa, I heard that Nolorbe had beenaccused of "bewitching a man into insanity" and had been jailed in Iquitos.* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

50

M EXPERIENCE WITH 2-CB*Del Williamson

If you are familiar with the chemicalconstituancy of peyote, you know thatthe magical cactus contains dozens ofother active alkaloids besides mescaline.The mescaline molecule, a ring with a"tail" of ethylamine, can be modified inl i terally hundreds of different ways,by adding or removing various peripheralrad i ca l s .

HCO

OCH, NH2 H3C0OCH-

2-CB Mescaline

Alexander Shulgin, inventor and investigator of the properties of many ofthe mescaline analogs recently took partin the Entheogenic Conference held atthe University of California in SantaBarbra. Shulgin discussed several newcompounds, and one in particular whichwas mentioned was the compound known as2-CB. He described 2-CB as "a tool whichties the mental process directly andconstructively to the physical soma."I was recently invited to partake inthe experiencing of this unusual compound. This was not a guessing game or a

*2,5-dimethoxy-/f-bromophenethylamine51

trial and error experimentation, becausethe people who were with me were allknowledgable and had a good measure offami l ia r i t y w i th the subs tance . Ofcourse I was curious about it, and alittle aprehensive, but my guide assuredme that the quantity was not a high dose,and my prior experience with other psychedelics should make it easy for me toassimilate the experience.

It must have been close to 3:00 a.m.when we finally took 18 mg each. Mark,my guide, had experimented with higherdoses, and reassured me that it wouldbe a fairly mild experience. Before thesession, I listened carefully to one ofthe tapes of Shulgin's lecture in whichhe almost tearfully expressed concernthat 2-CB should never become a commercial enterprise. The tape mentionedtwenty mg as a medium dose for a 150 lb.person.

It was about 35 minutes before Istarted coming on. A tingling sensationin my legs—no, in my whole body. Notexactly tingling, but more like a warmshiver. Feeling elated and light, I noticed some peripherial imagery, butst i l l very l ight.

My brother, who had taken only a subthreshold dose of perhaps five mg, saton the couch and talked with me whileMark laid down on the carpet. Thoughtswere flying around in my mind and myborther and I were having some interesting conversation.

Then I looked over at Mark, who wasby now snoring like a cartoon character,and I said to my brother, "Looks like

52

Mark has finally conked out."But to my surprise, he was wide awake,

and responded alertly, "Nope, still withyou I"

I noticed much the same effect myselfa short while later. Lying on the couch,resting, watching the visual show withdetached fascination and much internalthought, I was almost in a dream state.With my eyes closed, I could have fooled anyone into thinking I was asleep.Yet I heard every sound and knew clearlyeverything going on around me.

Some minor mental schisms arose within my mind. A difficult phenemenon toexplain, but one fairly common withhigher doses of LSD or LSA. The feelingis one of being composed of myrids ofdifferent parts; each part divided fromthe others. Pulsings and ossilations ofthe ratio of positivity ot negativity,cheese going through a shredder, leavesdropping from trees, and such. Disturbing somewhat, but fortunately not veryintense. I recognized the feeling fromother psychedelic experiences and knewthat it was not progressing v/ith intensity enough to be alarming. I also recognized that it was a manifestation ofa poor set; the excitement and hullabal o o o f h o l i d a y a c t i v i t i e s , fi g h t i n gt r a f fi c , s e e i n g r e l a t i v e s , a n d a l l ,followed by the extraordinary tranquility of the psychedelic experience...Sothe feeling was no great problem.

How thoughtful it was that Mark hadstayed in the living room with us. ThenI realized the reason he had done so wasto make sure everything was going all

53

right with us, and no complications weregoing to arise. Later, after the effectsbegan to wane, he did go to bed.

I thought about God and what a priv-elege it was to be one of the few peopleto whom had been revealed at least atiny bit of the alternate state of consciousness experience. Life is filledwith ups and downs for any situation inwhich you are involved, and that is whatmakes it so grand and interesting,though sometimes we don't realize ittill much later.

Hal lucinat ions are much di fferentthan on LSD or psilocybin, or even mescaline. With those substances, the frequency of hallucinations is fairly high.For example, with LSD, you take 100 meg,and the imagery is almost continous inthe ascending phase, though not highlyintense. With 2-CB, however, the imageryis worked into gradually, so you may getstrong, visually transcendent hallucinations every two to ten minutes dependingon how still or active you are. Mescaline is somewhat similar in its lowerdoses, but still the frequency of imagery is higher than with 2-CB. This "lowfrequency" or intermittancy of visualimagery makes it somewhat more easilymanaged than LSD, psilocybin, or mescal i n e .

. After I had been talking to my brother for a while, and Mark had finallyleft the room to go to bed, I was feeling somewhat drowsy. I lay down, andmany interest ing things were goingthrough my mind. Yet I didn't seem tohave the energy to reach over and turn5k

on the tape recorder again, and besides,that activity would disrupt the flow ofconsciousness which I found was quiteenjoyable. Little or no visual imageryoccurred with my eyes closed. Instead, Ifound that by holding my lids in a nearly shut position, letting only enoughlight in to vaguely perceive form I hadthe option of "going into" the imagerymuch deeper than I had previously thoughtpossib le.

Lying silently on the couch this way,a curious landscape appeared. Not highlydetailed and articulate as with mushrooms, but edges and discreet parts weresharply defined. In the midst of thisinteresting place was the most beautiful,vibrant, silvery-white dome-like structure; perhaps the Jewel of the Universe,or at least of my mind. When I opened myeyes wider, the vision vanished and Icould see that the landscape which hadbeen so vivid was no more than the fingers of my left hand out of focus a fewinches in front of my face. And thebril l iant, magnificant dome of l ightwhich so beautifully enhanced that enchanted place was no more than the un-focussed reflection of l ight off thesurface of my wedding ring.

To achieve such an intensity of visualimagery with LSD would have taken about200 meg. But when I opened my eyes toreturn to the here and now, the visualintensity of the experience fel l offsharply, so it was then like a subthreshold dose of LSD.

I experimented with the "nearly shut"eyes technique for the next hour or so

55

and found it to be very enjoyable, serene, and entertaining. I found I couldalso force myself, if I wanted, to holdthe visions, voluntarily, to the pointwhere they would become uncomfortable...Those endless banks of synchronousminiture windmills, with their wickedl i t t le bipolar propellers sl icing theirway through the etheric matrix of mymind...Enough of that; time for somemore conversation with my brother.

"Have you ever noticed," I said tohim, how there are different kinds ofcreative thinking? Some kinds of problems, you know, you work and work onthem, maybe for months and months, untilfinally you can come up with an answer.Then there's other kinds of thinkingwhere you don't really think consciouslyabout it, the answer just pops into yourmind. It's already perfectly focussed."

And my brother says, "Yeah. Or sometimes you know what you want, and thepicture is there but you don't know howto go about materializing it to make itwork. You don't have the knowledge. Soyou go and investigate for the knowledge,and nobody wants to tell you the knowledge, because it would put somebody outof business or whatever. Just becausethey don't have the knowledge, they'lltell you it's impossible to do."

Then I was thinking about what he hadjust said in application to the controversy over controlled substances. "It'sa similar situation with drugs. Peopledon't want drugs in society because theythink it's too dangerous, but in factthey are really saying it's just some-56

thing beyond their knowledge, so itshouldn't be around for anyone; thusit's ' impossible' to have uncontrolleddrugs." But of course that att i tudearises from fear and ignorance aboutthese substances, which is then coupledwith the beauracratic brainwashing bythe political systems people. Of coursethey don't want people changing theirconsciousness to such a state that theyare no longer dependant on this system.

It went along like this for anotherhour or better, till dawn began to break.Finally I had to lie down and get somerest. I was a bit disappointed that Ididn't have the "central experience" ofpeaking out which is characteristic ofother entheogens. Nor was there any egoloss, out-of-body experiences or dissolution of being. The transcendence principle is manifested mainly as visualphenomena. But then with only a singleexperience, one can't really extrapolatetoo much about what would go on athigher doses.

On the whole, a very enjoyable experience. It was interesting that there wasa much broader range of personal options(on the mental plane) with which I couldenter or not into the visual experience.Obviously this range would diminish asdosage was increased.

On the other hand, I did not feel itto be much of a spiritual experience,but possibly I wasn't in the mind-setfor a spiritual trip. I considered it anexploratory venture, and a learning experience. It did seem to enhance interpersonal communication, though while

57

going through such a phase, the imagerywas considerably diminished.

The option of intense visualizationor not would seem to suggest that 2-CBmight be effectively used in controlledenvironment situations for the purposeof enhancing its effects with a givendosage. The "nearly shut eyes" techniquewould probably work well with any lowlevel light situation, such as candlelight or moonlight.The laid back feeling which at onetime makes one feel as if he is on thebrink of sleep, not caring to move, butstill very much mentally active andalert, is quite a contrast form LSD andpsilocybin, though I've heard scatteredreferences to people not wanting to movewhen they are on peyote. Of course onthe indole hallucinogens, you can movearound, or lie still and go into thetrip as you prefer, but it's optional.The 2-CB seemed to have a decidedlytranquilizing effect, probably due tothe bromine, I would guess. Makes onewant to speculate about differences inphysiological effects which would bebrought about by omitting the bromineatom and/or altering the number and sequence of the methoxy radicals on ther i n g .

We all got up around 9:00 a.m. Markwas asking me about the trip and how itwent. He offered me a hit of his DMTwhich I had to tactfully decline. Iwould have really liked to try the DMT,because I'd never really done it before.But the 2-CB experience was now beginning to gel in my mind, and I thought if58

I smoked the DMT, it might create someconfusion. And I had a long drive to getback home, so it seemed like not an appropriate time for hasty drug experiments. Anyway, there would be othert imes.

It was about a hundred miles back tomy place. Having had only a couple hourssleep, I thought I would be totally exhausted by the time we got back home.But to my surprise, I felt quite awake,energetic, and alert, but not speedy.* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Honey for the Day After?A journal on beekeeping, Gleanings

in Bee Culture, mentioned in their January '8*f issue an unusual use of honeywhich may be of interest to readers. The"Siftings" column by Charles Mraz, makesreference to the use of mushrooms byhippies and psychedel ic pi lgr ims inMexico which followed Wasson's report ofmycolotry in Mesoamerica. The articlestated that the eating of copious quantities of honey following a mushroom tripwould prevent the "psychedelic blues"which often follow for a few days afteran excursion. The article further statedthat such use of honey would enable thetripper to repeatedly take mushrooms forup to five consecutive days, apparentlywi th l i t t le to lerence bui ld up. Thehoney sugar levulose is converted by theliver to glycogen, which helps the bodyrestore chemical balance.

But I can't help but question thepractice of such repeated tripping. I'veoften found it takes considerable time( t o p . 7 0 ) 5 9

TERENCE MCKENNA(Part 3)

McKenna: With culture, and the advent oflanguage, and then the further advent of alphabets and writing, information is taking on this moreand more intense, rapidly replicat ing and sel f-reflect ing abi l i ty.

And of course, the psychedelicsrelate very closely to this becausewhat they are essentially, areinformation probes of some sort,reporting telemetric data comingin from nearby and not so nearbydimensions. But they are entirelyinterpretable as information, andin that sense probably susceptableto analysis by information theory.

PP: You talked quite a bit too, aboutthe UFO experience. I've read afew references to people who havehad a perception of "galactic consciousness" with LSD. I've hadthat experience too. But I noticeyou have made quite a point ofdi fferent iat ing the t ryptaminehallucinogens from others.

McKenna: Well, I'm not sure what youmean by "galactic consciousness."I can imagine that LSD gives youa vast and sympathetic perspectivewith nature on an astronomicalscale. But what I'm talking aboutwith these tryptamines is some-

60

(McKenna)t h i n g a l i t t l e d i f f e r e n t . T h esense of the presence of anintellect of some sort. The sensethat there are life forms, andforms of conscious organizationthat really are alien and bizarre.But the problem is that they arenot 30,000 light years away, theysomehow, someway, interpenetratethe here and now.

This is a persistant claim ofshamanism and of true folkloricth inking wor ldwide, but i t 's avery alien idea to the last thousand years of Western thinkingwhere we have been definitely onthe retreat from the idea that theuniverse is populated with teamingangels, demons, or anything else.

Again, the reason I link theUFO to psilocybin is because inthe high dose situation, or in therepeated high dose situation inisolation, the psilocybin experience blends imperceptably intowhat is called the "contact experience."

And nobody likes to hear this,because the UFO people are veryjelous of their UFO's and absolutely convinced that they comefrom the stars and are made ofmetal and bear great hope for mankind. They think that any explanation which explains this in termsof human psychology or somethinglike that is a reductionment, but

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(McKenna)actually I don't think this ist rue.

I think the UFO represents asort of "shock wave" of concrescence; it preceeds concrescence.It's a shadow of concrescencethat haunts time and has alwayshaunted time. It comes and goes,in and out of history. It is likea reflection of the end of history.It is the spiral lens-shaped topology left when everything flowstogether; when the temporal vectors collapse, you know, and we passbeyond description...

Press: The thing I was thinking of justthen is the attitude we have toward these UFO's now probably isnot much different than primitivemen had about the moon and stars10,000 years ago. They probablylooked up in the sky and wonderedwhat the silvery disk of whitelight was which moved across thesky at night.

McKenna: Yes, that's right. And youdon't have to go back 10,000 years.A very interesting parallel to therelationship of the flying saucerto modern people is the relationship of the search for the philosopher's stone to the psychology ofpeople in the fifteenth or sixteenth century. Here it was rumored, you know, that certain peoplecould produce a magical objectthat would give you long life,

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(McKenna)transmute substances into gold; itwas just this mystical substancethat would do everything, the universal panacea. Certain peopleclaimed to have seen it or posses-ed it at one time, and wild andfantastic speculation was launchedaround this thing. And thus itserved as a great impetus to theexploration of physical matter.

And then as more and more wasdiscovered about physical matter,obsession with the philosopher'sstone was slowly itself transformed into modern science.

And I think the UFO obsession,i f i t developes correct ly, w i l lslowly change from an obsessionwith brotherly space people whowill come and save us from ourselves into a much deeper apprecia t ion of the hyperd imensionalnature of consciousness, and therealization that all mind is Mind;there is only one Mind. Humannessis a name for a section of mindthat we exercise some control over,but information passes everywhere.There's an aphorism—Understandingpasses everywhere.

Press: How about the UFO experience inrelation to other types of lightvisions like people seeing anglesand saints and Virgin Mary's.Ezekiel's UFO, are you familiarwith that?

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McKenna: Sure. That's all this businessof "the other" presenting itselfwithin the context of the historical situation. In other words,what happens is that you're somebody in some historical period andyou're out in the wi lderness.Something very strange begins tohappen. The immediate symptoms ofit are that the hair on the backof your neck stands up and yourknees feel weak and you see atremendous light decending fromthe sky. At that point your mindthrows an enormous question out inthe universe which is, "WHAT'SHAPPENING?" And the answer comesback dependant on your historicals i tuat ion. I t is e i ther wi thoutdoubt, a manifestation of Krishnaor the Virgin Mary, or the flyings a u c e r, o r t h e p h i l o s o p h e r ' sstone, or your personal guardianspir i t—it depends ent i re ly onwho you are. You explain; the mindjust goes into a tizzy of explanation whenever the mind is confronted with something it can'timmediately dismiss, it falls intoa frenzy of explanation, and thatis what happens in that situat i o n .

And again, it has close parallels with these tryptamine hallucinogens. Because what happenswhen you smoke DMT and whatmakes it so strange is you immediately have these very complicated, three (at least,) possibly

6k

(McKenna)four d imens iona l ha l luc inat ionsby which you are surrounded. Andyou attempt immediately to pourlanguage onto them and you say," I t ' s a . . . i t ' s l i ke a . . . " and i tdoesn't work. And the more thatit doesn't work the monkey insideyou begins to go into some kindof shock, because language issupposed to work.

Press: So that triggers the glossolalia-like phenemenon you were talkingabout in the Esalen lecture?*

McKenna: Well, in an effort to utterwhat the thing is, and seeingthat English is hopeless, you areabandonded to your deeper intuition, and out of that comes theglossolalia which then is actually able to "lock,! that modalityand affect it or "dance" v/ith it(you wouldn't say "control" it)but you can then enter the flowand go through these changes withi t .

^Tryptamine Hallucinogens and Consciousness, by McKenna. Dolphin Tapes, P.O.Box 71, Big Sur, CA 93920

(Continued next issue)* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

65

The LEPIOTA PEELE MUSHBOOM*Stephen L. Peele

Genus: LeucoagaricusSpecies: ginerascensCommon Name: Peele's Lepiota

The author in no way encourages thatany laws be broken pertaining to anyspecies of mushrooms. The purpose ofthis manuscript is to prevent the accidental ingestion of this mushroom. Several new and until now, unknown compoundshave been found. A compound which ismanufactured by the human brain has alsobeen found. Scans show no traces ofpsilocybin or psilocin. These two compounds make up the list for active compounds in a vast number of mushrooms.Once again, these two compounds are notpresent. There have been reports ofadverse effects on children who haveaccidentally ingested mushrooms containing psilocybin and psilocin. The fear ofthese two toxins is not to be associatedwith this mushroom.

Several mycologists in other countriesare now working to verify the reportsour chemist made. We do know that* theactive compounds present have a shortlife span. Once dried, they break downat a very fast rate. Even if held undercold storage, the breakdown occurs. Onlyfresh samples are active. Because thismushroom bruises red, it is most important not to confuse it with Agaricusplacomyces, or A. silvaticus, choice*Copyright(c) by Stephen L. Peele, 1982.All rights reserved. Used by permission.66

edibles to many. Use all points of identification. In cases of accidental ingestion of this mushroom, victims recovered with no known side effects.

Descr ip t ionCap is li" to 3" across and parasol

shaped. The young are white with thevery top of the bulb beige yellow. Theyoung, unopened caps are entirely smooth.As the cap matures, the yellow disappearscompletely, leaving a faint brown in thecenter of the cap, and small brown scalesappear in the center also. At this stageits resemblence to Chlorophyllum moly-dites is awesome, at least while lookingdown on the cap. At this top view theonly difference is size and the amountof scales. Even the ring on the stalkwill sometimes come loose and movable onboth species. When the mushroom isturned over for gill examination howeverthe two are clearly separated. The matureC. molybdites has green gi l ls, theLepiota wil l have pure white gi l ls.These white gills are close, and they donot touch the stalk. That is to say,they reach to the stalk, but they arenot physically connected to the stalk.The ring on the stalk is also white. Themushroom has no cup or volva below thestalk. Always check this on any gilledmushroom. There is always the possibilityof Amanita, and I always hunt with thatthought in mind. The most striking character ist ic of this mushroom is thebruised color react ion. Within thir tyseconds after bruising, the area willchange to a deep beet red. The younger

67

Superior annulaaT h i s r i n g i swh i te or veryfaint brown.

Light brown ands l i g h t l y s c a l yin center of cap

Pure white

Always dig up the baseof any white gilledmushroom to check forthe cup-like structureknown as the volva.This would indicatethe Amanita. Lepiota

eele does not havehxs volva structure.i

Gills are purewhite and notphysically connected to stalk

Stalk is purewhite

Beet red rea c t i o n w h e r ebruised

L. peele identification features

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mushrooms seen to change color thebrightest. Older samples will appear abrown maroon. Both the cap and stalkreact in this manner. The flesh has almost no taste, being only s l ight lyearthy. It is found in pastures andaround barns. It seems totally associated with cow fertilizer, but rarely everis it found growing directly from cowpies. Gardens that have been enrichedwith cow dung seem to be good huntinggrounds. Pastures that have good shadetrees are also good producers. It seemsto like shaded areas rather than out inthe open. High grassy areas, under shadetrees, in meadows or pastures with cows,seem to be best. When found growingunder these conditions, another characteristic trait is shown. The myceliumof this mushroom will sometimes growabove the ground in a thick, mat-likecondition. It is not soft and easy totear as you would expect. Instead it isquite tough, and even hard to lift fromthe ground. I have noted this conditionmany times, and when growing in thisstate the number of mushrooms usuallyexceed fifty. I have seen these myceliummats as large as 20' X 25'> producingwell over 200 mushrooms! July, August,and September are the only months thatproduce this mushroom.When viewed under the microscope, thespores are s l igh t ly e l l ip t i ca l , th in -walled, with a pore at the apex. Alsoremember that there is no indication ofthe color beet red until the white capor stalk is bruised. No matter howcareful you are, the white stem will

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still change color at the point of detachment.

The characteristics of the mushroomsin the genus Lepiota are white spores.,free gills, and no volva or cup. Theypossess scales on the cap which are actually part of the cap tissue, not remnants of the universal veil material.They also have a superior ring. The unidentified mushroom just discussed hasall of these traits. There are aboutthrity species of Lepiota, but none Ihave found match this Lepiota mushroomexactly. It may be that this particularmushroom has never been classified, butfrom my standpoint it is not rare, atleast not on the Gulf coast. It is also1worth mentioning that the hallucinogenictoxin present is unknown to me at thetime of this printing.* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *(from p. 59)tions the experience brings, and goinginto another trip day after day wouldnot be constructive use of the mushroom; it could even become confusingand bring about a temporary "psychedelic psychosis." Nevertheless, honeyhas been recognized as a medicinal agentsince ancient times. I, for one, havenever had the "acid blues," but manypeople have mentioned to me that theydo have trouble getting started againafter a trip. It is logical that honey,with its natural sugars, would revitalize physical energy, and be better thantrying to do it with some syntheticd r u s # ( ( I n f o c o u r t e s y J . B . ) )* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *70

A Treasury of Hashish. Alexander Sumach,1976. Stoneworks Publishing Company,2186 Queen St. E., Tronto, Canada. lj?Zfpages.

This book is the most detailed studyon hashish and cannabis I have everseen. A hand lettered text is accompanied by photographs, detailed illustrations and an occasional cartoon. Coversall aspects of hashish, including historical, ethnic, medical, botanical, andblackmarketeering.Dr. Sumach is decidedly a factual humanist in presenting his encyclopedicknowledge of cannabis and hashish. It isnot presented as a lot of dry scientific data, but as a very interestingand layman-readable discussions. For example, a credible assesment of now growing environments and genetics interactto modify percentages of the variousalkaloids is brief and to the point

71

without bringing in confusing and extraneous data. He describes several labtests for cannabis, and how with only arudimentary knowledge of chemistry, youcan do a "beam test" to get an idea ofpotency for a particular sample. Variousmethods of making hashish the worldover are discussed, with recommendationson how to eliminate undesirable elementsfrom the raw material. Do you know howto recognize various grades and qualities of hashish when traveling in Eastern lands? Read the book to find out howto avoid getting stuck with camel dung-adulterated "tourist grade" kief.

Dr. Sumach's book is as educational asa formal text, yet as enjoyable to readas a Freak Brothers comic. Recommended!

Song of the Siren: A ParapsyetiologicalOdyssey. Stanley Krippner, Harper andRow, San Francisco, 1977- 310 pages.Order from Saybrook Inst., 1772 VallejoSt., San Francisco, CA.

Krippn.er is taking the stand that thepsychedelic experience is only one ofmany realms of experience which can shedlight on the function of the human mind.His observations at Millbrook on thepsychedelic experience have broughtabout some interest ing speculat ionsabout the nature of synchronicity andESP. But other problems came up:

By the end of 1966, there waslittle chance that psychedelics wouldbe used to investigate paranormalphenomena scientifically. Thousandsof students and artists were carrying

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out their own experiments.. . .whi lerespectable scientists could not obtain from Sandoz or the FDA (what)was available on the street corner.It was clear to me that psychedelicsprovided science an unparalleled opportunity to study human consciousness; as a result of Leary's radicalactions and the U.S. government's reactionary views, this opportunity wasl o s t .Krippner has noted that interest in

psychedelic experiences has stimulatedinterest in all forms of altered consciousness, and he is one author who hastried to understand how the psychedelicexperience fits in with other extraordinary experiences. He has done somequite interesting studies in fields suchas dream telepathy, hypnotic states,sensory deprivation, biofeedback, andpsychic healing. He has * conscientiouslytaken note of how frauds and charlatanstry to take advantage of people's sincereinterest in extraordinary^phenomena, andfor this reason is a bit hard-nosed inhis insistant stance about the use ofscientific method to study such matters.

However, such research has been hampered by the structure of the verymethods used to study them. It has onlybeen within the last quarter centurythat credible institutions are recognizing the hal t ing first steps of th isprotoscience. Stil l, there is a greatskepticism and reluctance to supportsuch fields of study. So what had motivated Dr. Krippner to maintain yearsof research working with shoestr ing

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budgets under constant heckling by arrogant "materialist" scientists?

I devoted 10 years to parapsychology research because of a lifetimecuriosity concerning the scope of human consciousness as well as a committment to the development of humanpotential. The findings suggest thatthere exists in the universe a dimension of existance (which) could teachus more than we know about time andspace. It could expand our development of intellect, emotion, intuitionand creativity. It might even demonstrate that human beings do not endat the boundries of their skin, butexist as part of a network of consciousness. ..

So consciousness research, however difficult, is worth the effort, and Song ofthe Siren is worth the reading.

Kitaro Ki by Kitaro. Canyon Records, 1982This is an easy listening selection

of electronic music nicely done on whatseems to be fair ly good recordingequipment. If you've been wearied by theoverbearing morbitities of Tomita or thefrivolous escapades of Synergy, you'llfind Kitaro Ki refreshingly different.

Kitaro does some interesting thingsin "Stream of Being" with signal splitting and time delays that can be enrapturing at an altitude of...Well, let'sjust say i t 's easi ly understood bypsychedelists. He also brings in an

7k

acoustic guitar which interfaces extrao rd ina r i l y we l l w i th the e lec t ron i cphonetics. A couple of the cuts are abit st i l ted, but on the whole, therecord is pleasing as background musicfor study, or just relaxing.* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Invitation for Contributory WorksThe Psychozoic Press is a non-profit

experimental project; an informationaladvisory and communication exchange paper. We welcome contributions andare always open to comments, criticisms,and suggestions on how to imporve thePress . Fac tua l i n fo rmat ion , poe t ry,opinion, short stories, essays, newspaperitems, and graphic works relevant topsychedelics would be acceptable. Contributors may wish to be recognized, remain anonymous, or use a pen name, andthe Press will comply with the wishes ofthe contributor in this respect. No articles on buying, dealing, or availabilityof illict drugs, please, though it's allright to talk about them. Contributionsv/ill become the property of theB?ess unless you already have copyright rights,in which case we can only reprint thearticle with your permission.* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

NoticeThis issue of the Psychozoic Press isprinted courtesy of International Oxidat ion Ins t i tu te .* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

75

IBEMAILBOX

The

Readers

Write

E l v i n ,Just a quick note to compliment you

for presenting an excellent showingin The Psychozoic Press #6. I enjoyedthe interview with Krippner, which musthave been interesting for you to do.Glad to see that Leary also may lend ahand sometime.

The letter in #6 concerning long-termstorage of LSD was interesting. Thereare several other gasses that displaceoxygen so Sandoz could have used heliumor any inert gas. No oxygen,better method which wouldbreakdown of the LSD wouldsome anhydrous ethanol and x_dissolve samples of LSD in ethanol. Anycuts in the LSD such as sugar or starch76

> However, aprevent anybe to getproceed to

(found in microdot) or paper (in blotter)will sink away from the LSD. Three cc ofalcohol would cover 100 blots. Now toget your dose back, take a pin and dip.One drop will form on the head and witha little sampling you can adjust. Thealcohol will knock out light, heat, andoxygen, the three factors that cause destruction. What's left and how well itholds up depends on the natural stability of the molecules in the LSD. Therate at which molecules naturally breakapart is probably only available fromStoll or Hofmann. The half-life (deterioration time) estimated by Sandozshould be multiplied tremendously withthis method.(XXXXXX)((The ethanol will not filter out potentially harmful light, but it could bekept in a dark bottle. Interesting.))Dear PP,Do you know where I can get DET or DPT?According to Stafford, these may stillbe legal.Dear Press,How about harmaline or harmine? I thinkthese are not yet on the controlled substances list.Dear Elvin,

Greetings from Boston (cold andsnowy)J Again you have asked me a question for which I cannot seem to find avery good answer. DMT, DET, and DPT are

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all controlled, Schedule I Federally andin most states. Some of their intermediates are available through chemicalsupply houses (and the DEA through entrapment ads in High Times and elsewhere) . Of course, these chemicals areclosely watched (even though they may belegal to purchase), similar to the situation with precursors for synthesizingPCP. This approach can be time-consuming,costly, and a bit hairy with regard todifferent regulatory agencies.

Harmine, harmaline, and others area different story. They don't appear to becontrolled, but then I can't find themin the few chemical supply cataloges Ichecked. I have never heard mention oftheir availability in any media or sub-cultural publ icat ions ( including legaland herbal high booklets). Yaje (Bani-steropsis cappi) from v/hich they allderive, is also quite rare up here. Manypeople say that the plant has to befreshly cut to be potent, and others saythat only the extracted or synthesizedsubstances make it up here. I have onlyrun into yaje once, when a friend ofmine brought some back from a trip toBrazil, never since.S incer l y,Dr. Michael Montagne

((Dr. Dennis McKenna, who is one of thecountry's foremost authorities on harmalaalkaloids, has recently informed me

. . . r a t h e r h e f t y d o s e s o f b e t a -carbolines are required in order for

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them to be hallucinogenic by themselves (ca. 500-1000 mg). Their rolein the ayahuasca brew is probablybased on their activity as MAO inhibitors (which they are in much lowerdoses, probably one-tenth to one-hundredth of the i r ha l luc inogenicdose); thus they could prevent oxidative deamination of the DMT in ayahuasca (provided by the admixtureplants, Psychotria viridis and relatedsp.) by liver MAO and thus enable itto become orally active.

Pegnam harmala does have some potential as an hallucinogen, but Iwould say the way to use it would bein combination with some other tryp-tamine containing plant...Dr. McKenna also provided a copy of

"The Simple Beta-Carboline Alkaloids,"(Allen and Holmstead, Phytochemistry,1980, vol. 19, pp 1537-1582) which lists6k kinds of B-carbolines. These simpleB-carbolines have a widespread taxonomicdistribution (about 100 sp.) which un-doubtably reflects their ease of formation from precusor compounds.

The B-carbolines, which include theharmala alkaloids mentioned previously,are among the most interesting of psychedelics to study because it has beenshown that they are also synthesizedendogenously within the human brain,along with certain tryptamines (C. Nar-anjo). More on this in later issues.))

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Dear Sir,Do you know anything about IT-290? Thiswas mentioned in Tom Wolfe's book aboutKen Kesey as one of the experimentaldrugs at the veteran's hospital.((I've never seen any reference to itbesides the one you mentioned. I didwrite to Kesey about it but received nor e p l y. ) )

Dear Hipsters,Here I ponder the forthcoming psyche

delic revolution with a devotion beyond exploration motives. I t 's quitestrange being born fifteen years toolate for the first Owsley Pink Wedgesand Batman blotter, but, living only 30miles from Kent State, I discoveredleftover freaks with lots of cool trip!Yes, these college journeys every weekend to my enlightened counterparts werenonetheless "consciousness expansion experiments." But it must have been allthe weird music or the four-way tabs ofDragon that produced the lingering lustsfor visionary quests.

Now that I have departed my discreetmidwestern locality, I realize horrifi-cally that Las Vegas is totally irrelevant to psychedelics It seems thatthis city is based on 2k hours of fast-paced amphetamine consumption.

I'm definitely ready for any "Zenmodifiers" that may be available. Although I s t i l l r ece ive in te rm i t ten tdoses of blotter, it's not the same as

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having cool mind-manifesting compoundshandy! So I pass the time listening tomy "Dead" albums wishing for liquid essence to inhibit my stash. No such luck!What a drag!

I'll bet you folks up in Oregon havelots of cool shroom and blots. Don'tdeny the allegation; I'm not the CIAbut merely a twisted character cravinga good trip. Yes, even if I could somehow get you people to percieve that Ireally am desperate for any mind altering compound—yes, send them anonymouslyso you don't feel entrapped. I'll gladlysend (anonymously) cool indica. AlthoughI know that decriminalized states suchas yours have vast quantities of jammin'buds, Nevada does too! But you have tobe discreet or you will be incarceratedfor a paltry amount of green vegetablematter. That's right! This ironic legalsystem will imprison an individual withmurderers and rapists for just possessing a Holy Sacrament. So please havemercy on a psychotic (as seen throughmoral majority rule for altering my consciousness) . Send me just a couple tabsor shrooms anonymously marked IFIF.—A True Tripster

((Nah!))Dear Elvin,

Greetings and congratulations! Anotherissue; just a quick note here. Lookingforward to browsing through this latest

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Psychozoic Press. Had a chance so far toread your adventure to Arizona PeyoteWay Church. The prose in this story isexcel lent ly wri t ten.

A mailing address for Dr. Leary wouldbe appreciated. I'm in the midst of sending these memorandums around to interested parties.Best Wishes,Ethan

((Ethan Marcano is one of the Directorsof The Fane of the Psilocybe MushroomAssociation. The memorandum to which herefers is involved with the legal problems about having the mushroom declaredexempt from the drug control laws. TheFane may have a chance to accomplish thisbecause they were using the mushroombefore the laws in their home countrywere passed. A brief article on the Faneappeared in PP #3-

I do not hand out addresses or mailing lists, but if anyone wants to contact others to whom the Press is beingmailed, I will forward mail for you.Then if the recipient wants to respond,give his address or not, any further communication would be at his option.))Dear Elvin,

Since no radical or hip movementgroups are doing anything to legalizechemical accomodation, by use of LSD, orwhatever chemicals needed by prescriptionto restore my, and other peoples, eyesight to normal, I'm doing it myself.

My goal is to legalize LSD to the82

point where anyone can get a prescription, by the same criteria that eyeglasses are prescribed today. Of course,I want my eyesight restored to 20/20,wouldn't you?

I live in a state where prisonersare blinded in headache glasses; whereschool districts covertly have juvenilede l i nqu in t s l i ke myse l f b l i nded to20/780 at age 16; 20/ZfOO at age 10. Thisis my autobiography in half a sentence.Presumably to wear ridiculously thickheadache glasses for the rest of myl i f e .

On August 9 9 1983» I strung a banneracross the steps of the federal buildingand courthouse in Binghamton, NY. I donot remember the exact wording of thebanner, which was made of adding machinetape, attached to the staircase banister in front of the building.

In the message, I stressed that chemical accomodation should be available toall persons without regard to race,color, creed, behavior, or criminal record.

Disparaging and encouraging commentsare split fifty-fifty by ordinary peopleI meet. Could this mean one-half of thepeople are ready for LSD and other psychedelics to assume their rightful placein the pharmacopeia, as marijuana hasbegun to be used for cancer chemotherapy,nausea relief and glaucoma treatment insome states?Sincerly,J.S.* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

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Sinsemillamm m

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