Step 1) Find your dirtiest friend
April 15, 2016 11:35 AM Subscribe
"This is a very light overview of some information you may want to know for your first mushroom trip." Comedian Ari Shaffir may not resemble Bill Hicks (more) in nearly any other way but he has become this comedy generation's mushroom advocate despite having had some questionable trips. Shroomfest is a thing that happens once a year in Telluride, Colorado.
A great primer. It has been years since I've had a visit with our friends the shrooms, but one thing they can teach is that the feeling is never far away, especially when reading others' trip reports. I'm just eating a sandwich right now and after visiting that primer have a shadow of that special feeling.
Of course you can just throw them down your gullet, but since aesthetics matter, you could do worse than powderizing them in a coffee grinder, disappearing the powder in some local honey, putting the whole mess in a Ziploc bag and, after you've hiked to your favorite spot, tear open that baggie and start licking.
posted by vverse23 at 12:47 PM on April 15, 2016
Of course you can just throw them down your gullet, but since aesthetics matter, you could do worse than powderizing them in a coffee grinder, disappearing the powder in some local honey, putting the whole mess in a Ziploc bag and, after you've hiked to your favorite spot, tear open that baggie and start licking.
posted by vverse23 at 12:47 PM on April 15, 2016
Hmm. I would not recommend doing shrooms alone, at least the first time. The only bad trips I've had on shrooms were when I was alone, but YMMV. Bad trips are temporary, although it may not seem like it while it's happening. So, having trusted friend(s) around can help. Also, while you can do shrooms in many locations, I highly recommend being outside, like in a forest, away from other people and city noise and distraction.
You can smoke shrooms, but it tastes like fish, and the effects ramp up and down much faster. Not sure I'd recommend it, but I did it with a big bag of weak shrooms and a group of friends. It was not quite like any other trip, but not in a negative sense. Just different and very fishy.
BTW, the spores are legal in most places. Cultivation is not, but it is easy to do (and far less obvious than cannabis). Spores can easily be found online and in some head shops. But if you're buying shrooms, you might not want to settle for your "dirtiest" friend for a hookup. Be discriminating, but it's true that persistence will eventually work.
According to Terence McKenna's brother, TM actually had a very bad experience on shrooms that scared him enough to stop taking them. He never really talked about this before he died (nor did his brother), as it wasn't supposed to happen that way for an experienced cosmonaut. I guess he felt ashamed enough to keep it a secret. It can happen to anyone, and there is no shame in it, although there is nothing wrong with making different choices either. Life presents many teachers and opportunities to learn and grow.
posted by krinklyfig at 12:48 PM on April 15, 2016 [1 favorite]
You can smoke shrooms, but it tastes like fish, and the effects ramp up and down much faster. Not sure I'd recommend it, but I did it with a big bag of weak shrooms and a group of friends. It was not quite like any other trip, but not in a negative sense. Just different and very fishy.
BTW, the spores are legal in most places. Cultivation is not, but it is easy to do (and far less obvious than cannabis). Spores can easily be found online and in some head shops. But if you're buying shrooms, you might not want to settle for your "dirtiest" friend for a hookup. Be discriminating, but it's true that persistence will eventually work.
According to Terence McKenna's brother, TM actually had a very bad experience on shrooms that scared him enough to stop taking them. He never really talked about this before he died (nor did his brother), as it wasn't supposed to happen that way for an experienced cosmonaut. I guess he felt ashamed enough to keep it a secret. It can happen to anyone, and there is no shame in it, although there is nothing wrong with making different choices either. Life presents many teachers and opportunities to learn and grow.
posted by krinklyfig at 12:48 PM on April 15, 2016 [1 favorite]
As a decorated veteran of the Head Wars in the late 60's and early 70's at Berkeley East (UT Austin) I can assure you that shrooms are ne plus ultra. ACCEPT NO SUBSTITUTES...
posted by jim in austin at 1:00 PM on April 15, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by jim in austin at 1:00 PM on April 15, 2016 [3 favorites]
I don't think I have any dirty friends. Then again, I've never asked...
posted by Greg_Ace at 1:01 PM on April 15, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Greg_Ace at 1:01 PM on April 15, 2016 [1 favorite]
around 5 grams is a threshold that I'd recommend most people do not cross.
Ego death is real, but you have to prepare for it.
Beyond 7 grams for only people with a super high tolerance, you may feel like you are going insane and you may lose control of your bodily functions, but you will definitely learn something.
If you are combining substances it anecdotally feels better if you take the natural thing first.
It's like being transported from a very Tolkien Lord of the Rings world into a harder edged Cyberpunk adventure. Big fun.
If you have any doubts or anxiety, bring a sober friend who has a grounding presence. Then you don't have to rely on the "high logic" of your trip mates.
Here in California, there are a few variations on synthetic psilocybin (and while some may consider that heresy) you don't have to eat the mushrooms, the dosage is much more predictable and it's a cleaner in and a super clean out. just sayin'
posted by bobdow at 1:05 PM on April 15, 2016 [5 favorites]
Ego death is real, but you have to prepare for it.
Beyond 7 grams for only people with a super high tolerance, you may feel like you are going insane and you may lose control of your bodily functions, but you will definitely learn something.
If you are combining substances it anecdotally feels better if you take the natural thing first.
It's like being transported from a very Tolkien Lord of the Rings world into a harder edged Cyberpunk adventure. Big fun.
If you have any doubts or anxiety, bring a sober friend who has a grounding presence. Then you don't have to rely on the "high logic" of your trip mates.
Here in California, there are a few variations on synthetic psilocybin (and while some may consider that heresy) you don't have to eat the mushrooms, the dosage is much more predictable and it's a cleaner in and a super clean out. just sayin'
posted by bobdow at 1:05 PM on April 15, 2016 [5 favorites]
There was an experienced guy who just walked along with us and didn't partake. Didn't say much, just was a calm presence. I was very glad he was around.
It does turn out that you cannot actually stand on one of those playground zip-lines.
On the plus side, I will forever understand dog-nature to a deep degree.
posted by Mei's lost sandal at 2:20 PM on April 15, 2016 [1 favorite]
It does turn out that you cannot actually stand on one of those playground zip-lines.
On the plus side, I will forever understand dog-nature to a deep degree.
posted by Mei's lost sandal at 2:20 PM on April 15, 2016 [1 favorite]
but since aesthetics matter, you could do worse than powderizing them in a coffee grinder, disappearing the powder in some local honey, putting the whole mess in a Ziploc bag and, after you've hiked to your favorite spot, tear open that baggie and start licking.
I grind them into a store-bought juice smoothie, myself. Drink 'em right down and you don't taste a thing. (Note: Do not soak the shrooms in the smoothie for long periods beforehand. It does not make for a pleasant-tasting infusion...)
posted by mykescipark at 2:29 PM on April 15, 2016 [1 favorite]
I grind them into a store-bought juice smoothie, myself. Drink 'em right down and you don't taste a thing. (Note: Do not soak the shrooms in the smoothie for long periods beforehand. It does not make for a pleasant-tasting infusion...)
posted by mykescipark at 2:29 PM on April 15, 2016 [1 favorite]
but since aesthetics matter, you could do worse than powderizing them in a coffee grinder, disappearing the powder in some local honey, putting the whole mess in a Ziploc bag and, after you've hiked to your favorite spot, tear open that baggie and start licking.
After the hike? Friends... had great success using that honey on the hike and then peaking while peaking.
posted by carsonb at 2:48 PM on April 15, 2016 [1 favorite]
After the hike? Friends... had great success using that honey on the hike and then peaking while peaking.
posted by carsonb at 2:48 PM on April 15, 2016 [1 favorite]
I won't admit to have spent a very sort of misty moist pre-dawn April morning crawling across a Texas cow pasture with a couple of guys I met in college who knew exactly what we should be looking for and having a bag and finding a fuckton of these things and harvesting them and putting them in the bag and maybe eating one or two fresh cut [UTTERLY DISGUSTING, BUT WOW] and spending hours out there getting filthy and ending up with a sizable amount of these things that we dried and either sold or consumed and it was a fun night and the full moon and cow shit and grass, once you get used to them all it is a universe you can explore forever, because cow shit is basically just grass anyway, and there are layers and layers under the moonlight and eventually it was dawn.
posted by hippybear at 2:51 PM on April 15, 2016 [13 favorites]
posted by hippybear at 2:51 PM on April 15, 2016 [13 favorites]
The udderly disgusting pun was there for the taking.
posted by pappy at 2:59 PM on April 15, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by pappy at 2:59 PM on April 15, 2016 [2 favorites]
Yup. Very sound advice, imho. All things considered, my experience has been that shrooms are the easiest of the popular "drugs" to handle. I've always had a lovely, yet epic, experience. YMMV, of course.
....................
I have some stuff lying around I've been meaning to get into, but am waiting for the time when I know I am ready for it. I've done this enough, I know NOW is not the time. But soon... soon....
Hang on...lemme give you my phone number...
posted by Thorzdad at 3:06 PM on April 15, 2016 [1 favorite]
....................
I have some stuff lying around I've been meaning to get into, but am waiting for the time when I know I am ready for it. I've done this enough, I know NOW is not the time. But soon... soon....
Hang on...lemme give you my phone number...
posted by Thorzdad at 3:06 PM on April 15, 2016 [1 favorite]
The commute is a bit hellish, but I'd have you over for that anytime. :)
posted by hippybear at 3:15 PM on April 15, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by hippybear at 3:15 PM on April 15, 2016 [1 favorite]
The rise of psychedelic truffles in Amsterdam.
posted by Pirate-Bartender-Zombie-Monkey at 4:02 PM on April 15, 2016
posted by Pirate-Bartender-Zombie-Monkey at 4:02 PM on April 15, 2016
item: "I can't speak for recent mushroom experiences but let's just say that attending a Napalm Death show while on LSD a few weeks ago was a life-changing experience."
Glad that you actually survived. Damn.
posted by Splunge at 4:05 PM on April 15, 2016
Glad that you actually survived. Damn.
posted by Splunge at 4:05 PM on April 15, 2016
Entirely true story -- Mumford & Sons "Gentlemen Of The Road" show in Walla Walla... there with a buddy... we're talking to some friends of his and this guy suddenly appears *poof* like The Great Gazoo at my shoulder...
"Hey, want any mushroom chocolates?"
My first question is not "how much", it is "how many do we need for two of us".
I buy one. Looks like a poorly molded Whitmans heart chocolate. I figure, either we're going to have a great night, or else I just got duped for $25.
Let's just say, my buddy had to go see Foo Fighters AGAIN a couple of weeks later because he couldn't remember any of the show. I remember it all, and it was glorious fun.
posted by hippybear at 5:12 PM on April 15, 2016 [3 favorites]
"Hey, want any mushroom chocolates?"
My first question is not "how much", it is "how many do we need for two of us".
I buy one. Looks like a poorly molded Whitmans heart chocolate. I figure, either we're going to have a great night, or else I just got duped for $25.
Let's just say, my buddy had to go see Foo Fighters AGAIN a couple of weeks later because he couldn't remember any of the show. I remember it all, and it was glorious fun.
posted by hippybear at 5:12 PM on April 15, 2016 [3 favorites]
you could do worse than powderizing them in a coffee grinder, disappearing the powder in some local honey, putting the whole mess in a Ziploc bag and, after you've hiked to your favorite spot, tear open that baggie and start licking.
That's how you get hippybears.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 5:27 PM on April 15, 2016 [11 favorites]
That's how you get hippybears.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 5:27 PM on April 15, 2016 [11 favorites]
No one else for tea? I generally prefer shroom tea - the trick is a little lemon juice, or a Lemon Zinger teabag if you're feeling your celestial seasonings. Grind them up nicely, infuse and steep in boiled but not boiling water. Lemon juice to taste (another one of those anecdotal "it increases absorption" things.) Best use of a french press I've ever seen.
Last time I did that, wow, I had just gotten the Animatrix on DVD from HMV. Had a very enjoyable afternoon in a cuddle pile watching robots take over the Earth.
posted by the uncomplicated soups of my childhood at 6:13 PM on April 15, 2016 [4 favorites]
Last time I did that, wow, I had just gotten the Animatrix on DVD from HMV. Had a very enjoyable afternoon in a cuddle pile watching robots take over the Earth.
posted by the uncomplicated soups of my childhood at 6:13 PM on April 15, 2016 [4 favorites]
Did a mushroom and San Pedro cactus tea one time... slow simmered on the stove with a lot of weird spices and stuff. (I didn't make it, no idea what all was in there.)
I spent some time in conversation with the Great White Light Of The Universe. Good times.
posted by hippybear at 6:16 PM on April 15, 2016 [2 favorites]
I spent some time in conversation with the Great White Light Of The Universe. Good times.
posted by hippybear at 6:16 PM on April 15, 2016 [2 favorites]
Haha, one of my dear old friend's fondest memories was at a party where she came into the room to see where I was and I was sitting there with a bottle of finest chilean champag-ne and said something like *muffled with chipmunk cheeks* "cant talk mouth full of shrooms."
Had a great guy back in those days, real fancy type, his car had automatic seatbelts which I recall being REALLY COOL.
I think I may just need to see a guy about a thing soonish, and maybe get out the ol backpacking gear this summer.
posted by the uncomplicated soups of my childhood at 6:29 PM on April 15, 2016 [1 favorite]
Had a great guy back in those days, real fancy type, his car had automatic seatbelts which I recall being REALLY COOL.
I think I may just need to see a guy about a thing soonish, and maybe get out the ol backpacking gear this summer.
posted by the uncomplicated soups of my childhood at 6:29 PM on April 15, 2016 [1 favorite]
When I first moved to the taint of America's Wang, I met up with the right people (this was in '94 when it rained for a non-contiguous hour or three almost every day) who took me to the right cow pasture, and there were pounds and pounds of the things every weekend. Tea. Pizza. Stir-fry. Sandwiches. Just fresh out of the bag. In honey. In milkshakes. Too abundant to even care if what we tried with them made them less effective, because there were more. All summer long. And through mid-fall, too. At the beach. By the river. In grody apartments. At clubs. Just walking around downtown.
22 years later, I can still feel the muscles in my face that used to hurt from laughing.
I don't even know where I would find six or eight hours to carve out these days. But I've had my fair share plus.
posted by Cookiebastard at 6:31 PM on April 15, 2016 [6 favorites]
22 years later, I can still feel the muscles in my face that used to hurt from laughing.
I don't even know where I would find six or eight hours to carve out these days. But I've had my fair share plus.
posted by Cookiebastard at 6:31 PM on April 15, 2016 [6 favorites]
I have never had the least desire to do these but really enjoy reading other people talking about doing them.
posted by emjaybee at 6:57 PM on April 15, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by emjaybee at 6:57 PM on April 15, 2016 [1 favorite]
...someone dirty on here, memail me?
...not you, jessamyn.
posted by not_on_display at 7:55 PM on April 15, 2016 [3 favorites]
...not you, jessamyn.
posted by not_on_display at 7:55 PM on April 15, 2016 [3 favorites]
Beyond 7 grams for only people with a super high tolerance, you may feel like you are going insane and you may lose control of your bodily functions, but you will definitely learn something.
I had 7 grams and then my minder was an asshole and let me get heat stroke. Although it has been almost 5 years, it's hard to forget the terrifying kaleidoscope fever dreams. Probably lost plenty of brain cells. Might explain why the memory has faded, despite not disappearing.
posted by constantinescharity at 8:10 PM on April 15, 2016
I had 7 grams and then my minder was an asshole and let me get heat stroke. Although it has been almost 5 years, it's hard to forget the terrifying kaleidoscope fever dreams. Probably lost plenty of brain cells. Might explain why the memory has faded, despite not disappearing.
posted by constantinescharity at 8:10 PM on April 15, 2016
It's sort of funny to me that this post shows up. Never done shrooms, never done acid, never done pot, never done nothing stronger than single malt Scotch. Not that the curiosity was never there - but in my 20s there was a long period where I was kind of a mess in my life and had a serious hunch that if I engaged with any substances that it could easily and rapidly head in a bad direction. (i.e., I was pretty sure if I sampled anything possibly addictive, I was pretty sure I'd head toward actual addiction in short order.) So I stayed clear of all of it. Then years later with a more solid head on my shoulders I began to explore decent booze and proper classic cocktails, and that's been my vice ever since.
But here I am in my mid 40s and recently have begun to be friends with some guys well younger than I am, and it turns out that a few of them are regular 420 users. And I'm still so square I have no idea how anyone gets the stuff. Hell I've never smoked a common cigarette so if I ever got my hands on a joint I wouldn't even know how to smoke it. I've openly shared all this with these guys and they're all like "oh, we totally have to get you stoned, we totally want to see what you're like stoned..." yet for various bumbling reasons it hasn't happened yet. Oh, and just earlier this evening the subject came up with one of them I ran into and he said "You are so NOT the kind of person I would think would be up for this." And I just felt sad for a moment that apparently I've built this box around me, and all anyone sees is the box, not the me inside who wants out of it. And between this post and the one the other day about the brain scans of people on LSD, and other recent articles and podcasts about "LSD microdosing" it's almost like a synchronicity thing where the universe is suggesting something that might be a worthwhile new experience?
posted by dnash at 8:31 PM on April 15, 2016 [9 favorites]
But here I am in my mid 40s and recently have begun to be friends with some guys well younger than I am, and it turns out that a few of them are regular 420 users. And I'm still so square I have no idea how anyone gets the stuff. Hell I've never smoked a common cigarette so if I ever got my hands on a joint I wouldn't even know how to smoke it. I've openly shared all this with these guys and they're all like "oh, we totally have to get you stoned, we totally want to see what you're like stoned..." yet for various bumbling reasons it hasn't happened yet. Oh, and just earlier this evening the subject came up with one of them I ran into and he said "You are so NOT the kind of person I would think would be up for this." And I just felt sad for a moment that apparently I've built this box around me, and all anyone sees is the box, not the me inside who wants out of it. And between this post and the one the other day about the brain scans of people on LSD, and other recent articles and podcasts about "LSD microdosing" it's almost like a synchronicity thing where the universe is suggesting something that might be a worthwhile new experience?
posted by dnash at 8:31 PM on April 15, 2016 [9 favorites]
I'm pretty sure most people who don't know me *extreeeemely* well would not put me on their list of "dirty" friends. In fact, I've gathered that I'm often viewed as conservative, maybe even straight-laced, maybe because I'm an introvert.
But I'm a big shroom fan and have hookup for that and other things. I don't love that the myth of dirty hippies=drug users is being perpetuated in this article.
posted by mysterious_stranger at 9:43 PM on April 15, 2016 [5 favorites]
But I'm a big shroom fan and have hookup for that and other things. I don't love that the myth of dirty hippies=drug users is being perpetuated in this article.
posted by mysterious_stranger at 9:43 PM on April 15, 2016 [5 favorites]
The thing about mushrooms and cow pastures is...trespassing. And farmers. With shotguns. And barbwire fences. That catch on your jeans. That get left behind. As you run pantless. With the shrooms. Never leave the shrooms.
posted by bonefish at 12:12 AM on April 16, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by bonefish at 12:12 AM on April 16, 2016 [1 favorite]
I recommend that anyone seriously interested in mushrooms check out Baja, California: American Museum of Natural History Expedition Spring 1957, Huautla Mexico: Seeking the Sacred Mushroom with Gordon Wasson Summer 1957 by Oakes A. Plimpton (George's brother). This account of first contact with the powerful hallucinogen is fascinating, especially in illustrating the spiritual role mushrooms have played for many peoples for centuries.
Here is Plimpton's "poem" (his quotes) about the experience of using mushrooms for the first time:
The Divine Mushroom
Padre Nuestro--Padre Nuestro--Padre Nuestro
The chant, a melody--the musical talk, the staccato chitchat;
Tobacco, aguardiente, incense, children sleeping in the corner;
The darkness, the rhythmical clapping, the handshake reaching across the abyss.
The Shaman erect, supernatural, gypsy, vibrant;
Her daughter Indian, impish, suckling her baby--the answering voice--
And the mushroom and an indescribable feeling of bliss!
A shade was drawn across the trivia, the countless sidetracks, worries and anger.
I am in a fairyland of rushing Byzantium designs in pinks and purples and greens and reds;
A fairyland where all is in superlatives like Alice's Woderland or the City of Oz.
A fairyland or perhaps Heaven on Earth for words fail to describe the feeling.
I shall never ever be so happy!
And toward the end I felt purged.
I was pure as a saint and one with God (if there is one),
And one with the primitive Shaman, who for all her sorcery, earthly spitting, foul aguardiente,
Was next to Truth and so was I!
I once consumed a 1 oz bag of dried mushrooms in one morning. The experience was transformative and dramatic, but not one I'd recommend for everyone. It included a vivid sensation of passing through a door or portal into an alternative reality, not distorted or hallucinogenic particularly, but inexpressibly vibrant and intense while at the same time feeling impossibly still and clear. Many speak of shattered boundaries and destruction of ego, and I would say I experienced both that day. It was harrowing, it was joyous. Every day I feel profound gratitude for the lessons learned.
posted by kinnakeet at 5:05 AM on April 16, 2016 [2 favorites]
Here is Plimpton's "poem" (his quotes) about the experience of using mushrooms for the first time:
The Divine Mushroom
Padre Nuestro--Padre Nuestro--Padre Nuestro
The chant, a melody--the musical talk, the staccato chitchat;
Tobacco, aguardiente, incense, children sleeping in the corner;
The darkness, the rhythmical clapping, the handshake reaching across the abyss.
The Shaman erect, supernatural, gypsy, vibrant;
Her daughter Indian, impish, suckling her baby--the answering voice--
And the mushroom and an indescribable feeling of bliss!
A shade was drawn across the trivia, the countless sidetracks, worries and anger.
I am in a fairyland of rushing Byzantium designs in pinks and purples and greens and reds;
A fairyland where all is in superlatives like Alice's Woderland or the City of Oz.
A fairyland or perhaps Heaven on Earth for words fail to describe the feeling.
I shall never ever be so happy!
And toward the end I felt purged.
I was pure as a saint and one with God (if there is one),
And one with the primitive Shaman, who for all her sorcery, earthly spitting, foul aguardiente,
Was next to Truth and so was I!
I once consumed a 1 oz bag of dried mushrooms in one morning. The experience was transformative and dramatic, but not one I'd recommend for everyone. It included a vivid sensation of passing through a door or portal into an alternative reality, not distorted or hallucinogenic particularly, but inexpressibly vibrant and intense while at the same time feeling impossibly still and clear. Many speak of shattered boundaries and destruction of ego, and I would say I experienced both that day. It was harrowing, it was joyous. Every day I feel profound gratitude for the lessons learned.
posted by kinnakeet at 5:05 AM on April 16, 2016 [2 favorites]
Be careful. I wouldn't be too confident if one of your stoner friends says he knows how to tell which mushrooms are the right ones. Yes there are guides, perhaps accurate. But here in FL, there are lots of mushroom varieties which can be found in cow patties and the mushroom you want is rather mundane in appearance. I have cared for young experimenters who ate the wrong ones and ended quite sick, a few with severe liver disease and even transplant.
The best approach, and this may be true of all things in life, is to never be the first to do anything.
If your friend took the mushrooms and had a safe trip (and it can take up to 96 hours for hepatotoxicity to clinically manifest), then at least the canary in the mine is still singing. That's no guarantee your experience will be a glimpse of nirvana. There is little downside storing the mushrooms for 3-4 days after harvest before use.
posted by sudogeek at 5:31 AM on April 16, 2016 [1 favorite]
The best approach, and this may be true of all things in life, is to never be the first to do anything.
If your friend took the mushrooms and had a safe trip (and it can take up to 96 hours for hepatotoxicity to clinically manifest), then at least the canary in the mine is still singing. That's no guarantee your experience will be a glimpse of nirvana. There is little downside storing the mushrooms for 3-4 days after harvest before use.
posted by sudogeek at 5:31 AM on April 16, 2016 [1 favorite]
And then there is A Field in England, the low-budget batshit crazy English civil war film that gets regularly mentioned here. Though most known for the infamous tent scene, a key part of the film are the effects of mushroom consumption. In fact some viewers connect with the film more deeply while watching it on mushrooms...
posted by Wordshore at 5:50 AM on April 16, 2016
posted by Wordshore at 5:50 AM on April 16, 2016
I don't love that the myth of dirty hippies=drug users is being perpetuated in this article.
Yeah I think that is part of the comic effect aspect to it (that I definitely highlighted in this post title) but I agree with you. The reason the dirty hippie stereotype perpetuates is, to a decent extent just confirmation bias. And the hippies you know maybe don't have the same boundaries about talking about it. I'm often the person with the hookup in my community (not holding per se but I know where to get most things ranging from drugs to software to various kinds of "fixing") and people are often surprised. One of the positive side effects to legalization, besides all the other ones, is that you get an idea of just how much of a range there is in casual and medicinal drug users. All sorts of people take "illegal" drugs, for various reasons, and recreational drug users are a much more diverse group than you'd previously thought.
posted by jessamyn at 6:29 AM on April 16, 2016 [4 favorites]
Yeah I think that is part of the comic effect aspect to it (that I definitely highlighted in this post title) but I agree with you. The reason the dirty hippie stereotype perpetuates is, to a decent extent just confirmation bias. And the hippies you know maybe don't have the same boundaries about talking about it. I'm often the person with the hookup in my community (not holding per se but I know where to get most things ranging from drugs to software to various kinds of "fixing") and people are often surprised. One of the positive side effects to legalization, besides all the other ones, is that you get an idea of just how much of a range there is in casual and medicinal drug users. All sorts of people take "illegal" drugs, for various reasons, and recreational drug users are a much more diverse group than you'd previously thought.
posted by jessamyn at 6:29 AM on April 16, 2016 [4 favorites]
If you remember, play Black Sabbath’s “Paranoid” in it’s entirety
Hell. Fucking. Yes.
posted by lost_cause at 6:33 AM on April 16, 2016
Hell. Fucking. Yes.
posted by lost_cause at 6:33 AM on April 16, 2016
SUsed to have a dirty friend who could deliver the goods. Used to call it "businessman's LSD" because I could dose right after 5 and still get to bed by midnight, ready to roll the next day.
I'm too big of a square to run with this crowd anymore -- I get my weed at a dispensary these days -- but would love to somehow take psychedelics again as a fortysomething adult.
posted by porn in the woods at 9:54 AM on April 16, 2016 [2 favorites]
I'm too big of a square to run with this crowd anymore -- I get my weed at a dispensary these days -- but would love to somehow take psychedelics again as a fortysomething adult.
posted by porn in the woods at 9:54 AM on April 16, 2016 [2 favorites]
a very enjoyable afternoon in a cuddle pile
Why would anyone want to go outside? No towel to gnaw on, no beer, no cartoons. Fuck that, much more convenient to become one with the universe buried in comforters in the safety of your living room.
posted by Meatbomb at 10:14 AM on April 16, 2016 [3 favorites]
Why would anyone want to go outside? No towel to gnaw on, no beer, no cartoons. Fuck that, much more convenient to become one with the universe buried in comforters in the safety of your living room.
posted by Meatbomb at 10:14 AM on April 16, 2016 [3 favorites]
Only tried 'em once. On a beach. Had a conservative amount in an omelet for breakfast. It was not enough for full flight, from what I gather from the preceding, but there was a real clarity to everything, a lift. Super enjoyable, now decades back. Have not revisited, though I'd love to.
posted by the sobsister at 10:20 AM on April 16, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by the sobsister at 10:20 AM on April 16, 2016 [1 favorite]
"The reason the dirty hippie stereotype perpetuates is, to a decent extent just confirmation bias."
As evidence, the subtle career shift of Bob Denver from 1959 to 1967.
posted by clavdivs at 10:39 AM on April 16, 2016
As evidence, the subtle career shift of Bob Denver from 1959 to 1967.
posted by clavdivs at 10:39 AM on April 16, 2016
I read that as John Denver, and then spent a minute thinking about how the Rocky Mountain High album was recorded basically without using a drum kit at all, and was wondering if John was doing shrooms at any point. I mean, like, all his songs about gardens growing and eagles soaring and stuff... like, how much was he communing with nature, really?
posted by hippybear at 10:45 AM on April 16, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by hippybear at 10:45 AM on April 16, 2016 [1 favorite]
Why would anyone want to go outside?
While every trip is the best trip ever, my favorite best trip happened on a week-long backpacking excursion. On day five my buddy says, "I brought shrooms, who wants some?" It was fantastic, it's really amazing getting silly in the woods when all we had to worry about was the most primal of human experiences: walking, eating, looking at scenery, and socializing. I love me some good tunes, the internet, a bed, and a hot tub if possible, but out in the woods you can have an exceptionally good time when your only trip toys are some pine cones and a couple of good friends.
posted by peeedro at 12:36 PM on April 16, 2016 [4 favorites]
While every trip is the best trip ever, my favorite best trip happened on a week-long backpacking excursion. On day five my buddy says, "I brought shrooms, who wants some?" It was fantastic, it's really amazing getting silly in the woods when all we had to worry about was the most primal of human experiences: walking, eating, looking at scenery, and socializing. I love me some good tunes, the internet, a bed, and a hot tub if possible, but out in the woods you can have an exceptionally good time when your only trip toys are some pine cones and a couple of good friends.
posted by peeedro at 12:36 PM on April 16, 2016 [4 favorites]
Funny how there is a "button text" placeholder left in the middle of their home page. I know its a mistake but I keep clicking it expecting it to do something.
Maybe... they meant for it to be there. And I'm here to, like, figure it out.
posted by hal9k at 7:30 PM on April 16, 2016
Maybe... they meant for it to be there. And I'm here to, like, figure it out.
posted by hal9k at 7:30 PM on April 16, 2016
I am not (any longer) a spiritual or religious person; I am pretty solidly atheist if I have to stick a label on myself. But I have had some experiences in life that have forced me to reevaluate my concept of...reality, let's say. One of them is psylocybin mushrooms, which more than once I concluded must be the physical manifestation of some kind of god or advanced intelligence or...something. I've been rewarded for taking mushrooms with a sense of humility and adventure. And I've been slapped down for taking mushrooms with a sense of selfishness and entitlement and escape; i.e. a bad trip.
In short, psylocybin mushrooms are *special*. Terrance McKenna proposed the theory that mushrooms were ingested by pre-humans and brought about human evolution (improved eyesight, imagination, critical thinking (?)). Every time I tried them, I was improved somehow. I would have an anti-hangover--I felt demonstrably *better* the next day. Think of any substance that does that for ya. And it carried over for days or even weeks later, in that I was happier, more thoughtful and compassionate of others, more creative...the list goes on.
Anyway, not sure my point here other than I can understand why Jesus was probably actually a mushroom cult.
posted by zardoz at 4:47 AM on April 17, 2016 [2 favorites]
In short, psylocybin mushrooms are *special*. Terrance McKenna proposed the theory that mushrooms were ingested by pre-humans and brought about human evolution (improved eyesight, imagination, critical thinking (?)). Every time I tried them, I was improved somehow. I would have an anti-hangover--I felt demonstrably *better* the next day. Think of any substance that does that for ya. And it carried over for days or even weeks later, in that I was happier, more thoughtful and compassionate of others, more creative...the list goes on.
Anyway, not sure my point here other than I can understand why Jesus was probably actually a mushroom cult.
posted by zardoz at 4:47 AM on April 17, 2016 [2 favorites]
I find Shaffir's comedy crude and lacking in clever subtlety, yet this passage from his essay regarding the trip itself I find thoughtful:
"Everything is beautiful. This is why you shouldn’t be around your cell phone. You will think about people you know and you will only be able to concentrate on their best qualities and moments. That time your 7th grade buddy picked you first in basketball will seem like a tremendous kindness. You’ll want to properly thank him for it.
These are the moments that I like to try to take back with me. If I think of the kindness of an old friend, I will try to write them a text or a facebook message shortly after I’m back. The instincts you get during the everything is beautiful phase are wonderful instincts that, if followed, WILL improve the overall quality of life on earth. I do not use those words lightly. I mean that."
posted by Tube at 7:53 AM on April 17, 2016
"Everything is beautiful. This is why you shouldn’t be around your cell phone. You will think about people you know and you will only be able to concentrate on their best qualities and moments. That time your 7th grade buddy picked you first in basketball will seem like a tremendous kindness. You’ll want to properly thank him for it.
These are the moments that I like to try to take back with me. If I think of the kindness of an old friend, I will try to write them a text or a facebook message shortly after I’m back. The instincts you get during the everything is beautiful phase are wonderful instincts that, if followed, WILL improve the overall quality of life on earth. I do not use those words lightly. I mean that."
posted by Tube at 7:53 AM on April 17, 2016
I find Shaffir's comedy crude and lacking in clever subtlety
Yeah I started listening to some of his podcast and wound up listening to him and a female Lyft driver (reason for the podcast was nominally "What's it like to be female and drive for Lyft?") talking about rape accusations and "affirmative action" for female comics (she held her own but he was sort of what you might expect a male early 30s comic with moderate success on Comedy Central would be like). But he did talk about his "social media addiction" and how he just uses a flip phone now which was sort of funny.
posted by jessamyn at 8:16 AM on April 17, 2016
Yeah I started listening to some of his podcast and wound up listening to him and a female Lyft driver (reason for the podcast was nominally "What's it like to be female and drive for Lyft?") talking about rape accusations and "affirmative action" for female comics (she held her own but he was sort of what you might expect a male early 30s comic with moderate success on Comedy Central would be like). But he did talk about his "social media addiction" and how he just uses a flip phone now which was sort of funny.
posted by jessamyn at 8:16 AM on April 17, 2016
Why would anyone want to go outside?
Because the sun was warm and the bush smelled of honey and the ocean sparkled and after dark there was phosphorescence in the breakers and our footprints glowed blue in the wet sand.
That's why.
posted by flabdablet at 10:59 AM on April 17, 2016 [4 favorites]
Because the sun was warm and the bush smelled of honey and the ocean sparkled and after dark there was phosphorescence in the breakers and our footprints glowed blue in the wet sand.
That's why.
posted by flabdablet at 10:59 AM on April 17, 2016 [4 favorites]
Fuck that, much more convenient to become one with the universe buried in comforters in the safety of your living room womb.
posted by rifflesby at 1:14 PM on April 17, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by rifflesby at 1:14 PM on April 17, 2016 [1 favorite]
I think the most important thing that psychedelics can do for a person is to break down whatever part of you it is that separates you from everything else there is and bring you to a place where you are Made Out of Everything.
I think that if you have felt that, you're a little less inclined to be a jerk. Especially if you have the sense that the only thing separating you from everything else is some tiny switch in your brain.
posted by deadbilly at 7:00 PM on April 17, 2016 [3 favorites]
I think that if you have felt that, you're a little less inclined to be a jerk. Especially if you have the sense that the only thing separating you from everything else is some tiny switch in your brain.
posted by deadbilly at 7:00 PM on April 17, 2016 [3 favorites]
I think he meant dirty as in "ridin' dirty", not dirty as in "dirty hippies". But I could be wrong.
posted by ambulocetus at 2:52 PM on April 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by ambulocetus at 2:52 PM on April 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
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I have some stuff lying around I've been meaning to get into, but am waiting for the time when I know I am ready for it. I've done this enough, I know NOW is not the time. But soon... soon....
posted by hippybear at 12:18 PM on April 15, 2016 [3 favorites]