5 ms·

I rember the day in the UK when you could no longer walk into the shop with alien shaped bongs in the window and come out with a bag full of Thai magic mushroo

by nanna 5y ago

I rember the day in the UK when you could no longer walk into the shop with alien shaped bongs in the window and come out with a bag full of Thai magic mushrooms. The politicians said they were a slippery slope to hard drugs. As if. Shrooms make you see the world in a different light, a very colourful and fluid one, they don't make you want to smoke a crack pipe. Idiots. Fifteen odd years of lost visions. When can we have them back, damnit.

GordonS 5y ago
Why would you buy Thai mushrooms? I grew up in rural Scotland, and in Autumn mushrooms were everywhere. Seriously, in any park, field of grass, or area given over to wilderness. We'd forage for only an hour or so, and come back laden with hundreds of them. I understood from friends down south that it was the same situation there.
- pmoriarty 5y ago
  I know why I don't pick them: I'm afraid of getting poisoned. I don't buy them or grow them either: afraid of getting arrested. I suffer from debilitating depression, anxiety, burnout, social phobia, and suicidal ideation, and the many therapists I've gone to over the decades haven't helped. I look forward to when psychedelic therapy, which has evidence of being much more effective than conventional therapy for some conditions (like treatment-resistant depression) is legal and I don't have to risk getting thrown in jail, being poisoned by buying mystery drugs, or getting my life ruined with a felony conviction in order to get the healing that I desperately need. If psychedelics were legal all along maybe I could have gotten some effective treatment and maybe my life would not be as fucked up as it is right now.
  - pbk1 5y ago
    I don't know where you live but it's been decriminalized in plenty of places in the West, so even if it's not fully legalized the worst you face would be a nominal fine, not getting arrested.
    - katbyte 5y ago
      you can easily buy them online in canada now
      - teawrecks 5y ago
        Legally?
        katbyte 5y ago
        does it matter? been able to buy pot at a physical storefront in dt vancouver since around 2002 and currently for the last couple years can go to a website and have mushrooms shipped nextday to my door. if the police wanted to shut either down they would, but they don't.
    - teawrecks 5y ago
      Decriminalizing them is one thing, but what if I'm someone who doesn't make a habit of consuming random substances from strangers? I would rather them be well researched, responsibly sourced, and professionally prescribed. AFAIK the only reason they are a controlled substance in the first place dates back to the War on "Drugs". "Drugs" of course being shorthand for anti-war protesters and blacks.
  - hnuser847 5y ago
    Out of curiosity, do you drink alcohol or smoke weed? If so, how often? I had horrible anxiety (and even agoraphobia) in my 20s and the thing that finally fixed it for me was quitting alcohol completely. I experimented with all sorts of psychedelics in my 20s, grew mushrooms, tripped with friends, tripped alone, tripped in the woods, read the Doors of Perception, etc. I bought into the whole psychedelic culture and truly believed that they were making me “better” in some way. I actually felt a bit superior to other people who weren’t “experienced” like I was. But at the end of the day it didn’t really change my life or personality. I don’t regret having those experiences but the hype around psychedelics is totally overblown. Shrooms won’t magically fix you.
    - pmoriarty 5y ago
      "do you drink alcohol or smoke weed? If so, how often?" Maybe one glass of wine every year or two. I've gone many, many years without smoking weed, and smoked a bit of it when it became effectively legal for medical purposes, but never became a regular user. Curiously, it was a deeply emotional experience on cannabis edibles that made me seek and get therapy after intending to but not doing it for more than a decade. Cannabis also helped with my creativity (hadn't made art in more than a decade as well until starting to smoke cannabis), and allowed me to cry after keeping my feelings in for many years as well. I view cannabis as potentially very healing and sacred, but it has to be used with respect and intention to get the full benefit. If you're habitually smoking it just to get fucked up and watch cartoons you're probably going to miss out and may suffer negative effects in the long run. Not that there's anything wrong with having fun with it -- food can taste much better, music can sound better, sex while high is great -- but it's easy to slip in to dependency and abuse with it if that's all you ever do on it. "at the end of the day it didn’t really change my life or personality. I don’t regret having those experiences but the hype around psychedelics is totally overblown. Shrooms won’t magically fix you" But did you use psychedelics with intention and in a therapeutic context? Did you work on integrating the insights you got during the trips in to your ordinary life after the trip? A lot of people are disappointed that psychedelics don't magically fix them, but that's because most of them expect the psychedelics to do all the work, while what psychedelics mostly do is just show you what you have to do yourself. If you yourself do nothing about what you've learned then nothing will get done. One thing I want to add, though, is that psychedelics can also offer (usually temporary) relief from the darkness and despair of some mental illness like depression. During or in the afterglow of a psychedelic experience the world can appear fresh and new, one can appreciate beauty, find forgiveness for yourself and others, melt or open a heart that's been frozen for decades. It can (at least temporarily) turn darkness and despair in to light and hope. As fleeting as such a life preserver might be to someone in the depths of depression, it might be enough for them to finally seek help or have the energy and hope to start doing the work to change their life around as they no longer see it as hopeless and themselves as doomed. It's not a panacea, and there are no guarantees that this will happen, but when it happens -- even for a brief time -- it's amazing.
  - scns 5y ago
    Maybe this book can help you: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Feeling-Good-New-Mood-Therapy-ebook/dp/B009UW5X4C/ https://www.amazon.co.uk/Feeling-Good-New-Mood-Therapy-ebook... Those UK prices are pretty ridiculous, maybe you can find it used for cheap. All the best.
  - filoeleven 5y ago
    Ketamine treatment for depression is available in the UK via https://www.oxfordhealth.nhs.uk/ketamine-service/pricing/ https://www.oxfordhealth.nhs.uk/ketamine-service/pricing/ assuming you’re in UK based on this thread. In the US, mindbloom is an option https://www.mindbloom.com/ https://www.mindbloom.com/ Edit: the studies of ketamine treatment for depression are quite positive. It’s not a classic psychedelic and I haven’t compared results with e.g. psilocybin but it could be worth looking into since it is legally sanctioned.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
MeinBlutIstBlau 5y ago
My cousin got pretty messed up by them and lost a great apprenticeship job. I'm not entirely blaming Joe Rogan, but he definitely did not help.
- InvertedRhodium 5y ago
  On the flip side, the first time I took LSD I realized I hated my job and it was what put me into the lucrative path I ended up in. Personally, I use psychedelics to gain (what I perceive to be) a potentially more honest perspective on who I am and how I feel about things. Some of the least enjoyable trips I've had resulted in the more profound positive impacts in my life, but I realize that's not going to be the case for everyone.
  - pmoriarty 5y ago
    "Some of the least enjoyable trips I've had resulted in the more profound positive impacts in my life" This is something that really needs to be understood and appreciated more -- especially among those who have little experience with psychedelics. So many people are afraid of "bad trips", but those kinds of trips can be some of the most healing and instructive of all, if we can bear to face our own demons and try to learn something from the experience instead of just running away.
    - InvertedRhodium 5y ago
      I agree, to a certain extent - sometimes "facing your demons" isn't the best course of action in all instances and being self-aware enough to recognise that you're not in a position to do so will probably reach a better outcome than trying to do it anyway.
    - MeinBlutIstBlau 5y ago
      The main issue with drugs isn't the drug. It's the peer group who tend to do those drugs. My cousin didn't hang out with bad kids, but they were like the enlightened Joe Rogan types that understand the system is corrupt but don't realize yet (because they're too young and inexperienced) that you can't do anything about it or "armchair activism" as you will. So go figure these people live in the present and ignore the repercussions for the future. On paper Joe Rogan is right in many things he says. To an untrained and inexperienced mind, you should definitely not take anything he says without understanding: he didn't start taking drugs till he had a solid career, he only did them with trusted friends, he did them when they wouldn't affect his job, he has a safe supply that he can get, on top of having a safe space to be when he does them. Not exactly the same experience as someone who can lose a job over it or go to prison for possession.

by nanna 5y ago

GordonS 5y ago

Why would you buy Thai mushrooms? I grew up in rural Scotland, and in Autumn mushrooms were everywhere. Seriously, in any park, field of grass, or area given over to wilderness. We'd forage for only an hour or so, and come back laden with hundreds of them. I understood from friends down south that it was the same situation there.

pmoriarty 5y ago
I know why I don't pick them: I'm afraid of getting poisoned. I don't buy them or grow them either: afraid of getting arrested. I suffer from debilitating depression, anxiety, burnout, social phobia, and suicidal ideation, and the many therapists I've gone to over the decades haven't helped. I look forward to when psychedelic therapy, which has evidence of being much more effective than conventional therapy for some conditions (like treatment-resistant depression) is legal and I don't have to risk getting thrown in jail, being poisoned by buying mystery drugs, or getting my life ruined with a felony conviction in order to get the healing that I desperately need. If psychedelics were legal all along maybe I could have gotten some effective treatment and maybe my life would not be as fucked up as it is right now.
- pbk1 5y ago
  I don't know where you live but it's been decriminalized in plenty of places in the West, so even if it's not fully legalized the worst you face would be a nominal fine, not getting arrested.
  - katbyte 5y ago
    you can easily buy them online in canada now
    - teawrecks 5y ago
      Legally?
      - katbyte 5y ago
        does it matter? been able to buy pot at a physical storefront in dt vancouver since around 2002 and currently for the last couple years can go to a website and have mushrooms shipped nextday to my door. if the police wanted to shut either down they would, but they don't.
  - teawrecks 5y ago
    Decriminalizing them is one thing, but what if I'm someone who doesn't make a habit of consuming random substances from strangers? I would rather them be well researched, responsibly sourced, and professionally prescribed. AFAIK the only reason they are a controlled substance in the first place dates back to the War on "Drugs". "Drugs" of course being shorthand for anti-war protesters and blacks.
- hnuser847 5y ago
  Out of curiosity, do you drink alcohol or smoke weed? If so, how often? I had horrible anxiety (and even agoraphobia) in my 20s and the thing that finally fixed it for me was quitting alcohol completely. I experimented with all sorts of psychedelics in my 20s, grew mushrooms, tripped with friends, tripped alone, tripped in the woods, read the Doors of Perception, etc. I bought into the whole psychedelic culture and truly believed that they were making me “better” in some way. I actually felt a bit superior to other people who weren’t “experienced” like I was. But at the end of the day it didn’t really change my life or personality. I don’t regret having those experiences but the hype around psychedelics is totally overblown. Shrooms won’t magically fix you.
  - pmoriarty 5y ago
    "do you drink alcohol or smoke weed? If so, how often?" Maybe one glass of wine every year or two. I've gone many, many years without smoking weed, and smoked a bit of it when it became effectively legal for medical purposes, but never became a regular user. Curiously, it was a deeply emotional experience on cannabis edibles that made me seek and get therapy after intending to but not doing it for more than a decade. Cannabis also helped with my creativity (hadn't made art in more than a decade as well until starting to smoke cannabis), and allowed me to cry after keeping my feelings in for many years as well. I view cannabis as potentially very healing and sacred, but it has to be used with respect and intention to get the full benefit. If you're habitually smoking it just to get fucked up and watch cartoons you're probably going to miss out and may suffer negative effects in the long run. Not that there's anything wrong with having fun with it -- food can taste much better, music can sound better, sex while high is great -- but it's easy to slip in to dependency and abuse with it if that's all you ever do on it. "at the end of the day it didn’t really change my life or personality. I don’t regret having those experiences but the hype around psychedelics is totally overblown. Shrooms won’t magically fix you" But did you use psychedelics with intention and in a therapeutic context? Did you work on integrating the insights you got during the trips in to your ordinary life after the trip? A lot of people are disappointed that psychedelics don't magically fix them, but that's because most of them expect the psychedelics to do all the work, while what psychedelics mostly do is just show you what you have to do yourself. If you yourself do nothing about what you've learned then nothing will get done. One thing I want to add, though, is that psychedelics can also offer (usually temporary) relief from the darkness and despair of some mental illness like depression. During or in the afterglow of a psychedelic experience the world can appear fresh and new, one can appreciate beauty, find forgiveness for yourself and others, melt or open a heart that's been frozen for decades. It can (at least temporarily) turn darkness and despair in to light and hope. As fleeting as such a life preserver might be to someone in the depths of depression, it might be enough for them to finally seek help or have the energy and hope to start doing the work to change their life around as they no longer see it as hopeless and themselves as doomed. It's not a panacea, and there are no guarantees that this will happen, but when it happens -- even for a brief time -- it's amazing.
- scns 5y ago
  Maybe this book can help you: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Feeling-Good-New-Mood-Therapy-ebook/dp/B009UW5X4C/ https://www.amazon.co.uk/Feeling-Good-New-Mood-Therapy-ebook... Those UK prices are pretty ridiculous, maybe you can find it used for cheap. All the best.
- filoeleven 5y ago
  Ketamine treatment for depression is available in the UK via https://www.oxfordhealth.nhs.uk/ketamine-service/pricing/ https://www.oxfordhealth.nhs.uk/ketamine-service/pricing/ assuming you’re in UK based on this thread. In the US, mindbloom is an option https://www.mindbloom.com/ https://www.mindbloom.com/ Edit: the studies of ketamine treatment for depression are quite positive. It’s not a classic psychedelic and I haven’t compared results with e.g. psilocybin but it could be worth looking into since it is legally sanctioned.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]

MeinBlutIstBlau 5y ago

My cousin got pretty messed up by them and lost a great apprenticeship job. I'm not entirely blaming Joe Rogan, but he definitely did not help.

InvertedRhodium 5y ago
On the flip side, the first time I took LSD I realized I hated my job and it was what put me into the lucrative path I ended up in. Personally, I use psychedelics to gain (what I perceive to be) a potentially more honest perspective on who I am and how I feel about things. Some of the least enjoyable trips I've had resulted in the more profound positive impacts in my life, but I realize that's not going to be the case for everyone.
- pmoriarty 5y ago
  "Some of the least enjoyable trips I've had resulted in the more profound positive impacts in my life" This is something that really needs to be understood and appreciated more -- especially among those who have little experience with psychedelics. So many people are afraid of "bad trips", but those kinds of trips can be some of the most healing and instructive of all, if we can bear to face our own demons and try to learn something from the experience instead of just running away.
  - InvertedRhodium 5y ago
    I agree, to a certain extent - sometimes "facing your demons" isn't the best course of action in all instances and being self-aware enough to recognise that you're not in a position to do so will probably reach a better outcome than trying to do it anyway.
  - MeinBlutIstBlau 5y ago
    The main issue with drugs isn't the drug. It's the peer group who tend to do those drugs. My cousin didn't hang out with bad kids, but they were like the enlightened Joe Rogan types that understand the system is corrupt but don't realize yet (because they're too young and inexperienced) that you can't do anything about it or "armchair activism" as you will. So go figure these people live in the present and ignore the repercussions for the future. On paper Joe Rogan is right in many things he says. To an untrained and inexperienced mind, you should definitely not take anything he says without understanding: he didn't start taking drugs till he had a solid career, he only did them with trusted friends, he did them when they wouldn't affect his job, he has a safe supply that he can get, on top of having a safe space to be when he does them. Not exactly the same experience as someone who can lose a job over it or go to prison for possession.