Magic mushrooms, not just for psychonauts?

Shrooms. Magic mushrooms. Sherm.

We all know them as a recreational drug, but do they serve a greater purpose?

Information has come to light in recent years indicating that psilocybin mushrooms are an effective treatment for cluster headaches. Cluster headache sufferers are characterized by having a series of short, but extremely painful headaches every day for a period of weeks or months at a time. Think of a typical migraine on steroids. Their cause is unknown, except that the trigeminal nerve located in the face is involved. There is no one treatment that works for every "clusterhead."

When one looks into treatments for cluster headaches, you stumble upon a surprising amount of anecdotal evidence that those funny blue mushrooms so loved by psychedelic enthusiasts are extremely effective in relieving, and in some cases preventing, the symptoms.

Psilocybin and psilocin (the active ingredients in magic mushrooms) are indole ring molecules, which are shaped to fit certain receptors in the brain that influence serotonin levels. Serotonin levels are thought to have some effect on cluster headaches. Another theory states that due to psilocin, being a vasoconstrictor, it keeps the carotid artery from expanding and pressing on the trigeminal nerve. Either way, this treatment seems to work for most people who suffer from cluster headaches.

The glaring problem with this treatment is that psilocybin and psilocin are illegal basically everywhere. They are legal in the Netherlands, but even that is subject to change. So how will sufferers manage to get their hands on this life changing medicine?

There are a few options. "Shrooms" are easy to find in cow pastures, forests, and swamps but that is risky. There are other species of mushrooms that can easily be mistaken for psilocybin mushrooms, but can be deadly. Picking wild mushrooms for medicine is only advisable if one is an accredited mycologist. There is also the black market, which comes with its own risks. The only really safe way to obtain magic mushrooms is to grow them yourself. Growing mushrooms can be tricky, but there are techniques designed to minimize the difficulty (see: www.erowid.org). However, even that carries the risk of a felony charge.

There are no reliable reports of anyone dying from ingesting psilocybin mushrooms. A lethal dose would be measured in pounds, or kilograms while medicinal doses range from .5 grams to 1 gram.

Tryptamines (psilocybin and psilocin) are the only treatment we currently have that actually prevents cluster cycles; some people have gone years without an attack as a result of dosing themselves with mushrooms just before they are due for their next cycle.

Even at the low dosages associated with medicinal treatment of cluster headaches, it is important to keep in mind the rules well known by all psychonauts; set and setting. Before dosing, your mindset and environment must be positive, and it is smart to have someone else watch over you for the duration of the psychoactive effects.