MalargueZiggy wrote:Good information in this thread guys.
Am I right in thinking drinking your urine would work to save other chems as well, e.g mdma? Why do people say it's important for fly agaric in particular?
Yep, you can drink your urine to recycle any drug that the kidneys can efficiently clear from the bloodstream before the liver gets involved in metabolizing it. This includes both MDMA and psilocin.
The reason that urinary drug recycling has only been associated with the fly agaric is mostly a matter of circumstance... and reindeer seem to be the cause of it! Here's an excerpt from a monograph I'm writing:
Quote:Reindeer are a crucial resource in many parts of northern Siberia where the mushrooms are used, so the indigenous people are familiar with reindeer's habits and behaviors. It is well-known that reindeer love fly agarics, and become inebriated after eating them, just as humans do. It might well be that humans in the region thousands of years ago first learned of the mushroom's psychoactive effects effects by watching the reindeer.
But reindeer also have a great thirst for human urine, especially in the wintertime, presumably because it contains essential minerals lacking from their meager diet. This is well-known by the locals, who will urinate as a means of rounding up reindeer that have strayed from the herd, and the reindeer apparently even fight over which gets to lap up the yellow snow. It is not so far-fetched to imagine that the connection between the reindeer, the mushrooms, and human urine somehow led to the discovery that the urine of one who has eaten the fly agaric is nearly as potent as the fly agaric itself. (Letcher 2007) Perhaps some reindeer were observed to be intoxicated after drinking urine from a celebration where the guests were drinking mushroom liquor. Or perhaps some shaman, inebriated by the mushrooms and channeling the spirit of the reindeer, decided to consume his own urine in immitation, and found the property that way. This is all simply speculation, but the pieces seem to fit. Nowhere else in the world does the practice of drinking urine seem to be catching on, although contemporary reports indicate that the occasional intrepid psychonaut isn't averse to trying it.
MalargueZiggy wrote:Any idea on what kind of Fly Agaric you'd be getting in England? They sell it in head shops, pre-dried.
I'd assume they're probably local, but who knows. For whatever reason, I've consistently found that mushrooms ordered online are much less enjoyable and much less reliable than ones I pick myself. I don't know what the difference is. Some people say it's the bond you form with the mushroom when you pick it, but I'm not generally inclined towards metaphysical explanations. But regardless, I always recommend anyone who lives where they grow should try harvesting their own (a whole lot cheaper that way too). Keep an eye out for them when they come in season (late August/early September in the UK if I recall right)
MalargueZiggy wrote:My real problen with this is convincing my gf that the side effects could be avoided. At the moment she's really against the idea, but I'm intrigued by it.
There's no real way to be sure without trying. What you might want to do is get enough for 3 doses, powder them all together (to make the material as homogenous as possible), and try one dose yourself. If there's no side-effects, there's enough left for the two of you to dose together.
While I enjoy the heavy dissociated dream/fugue state occasionally, maybe once a year, I really like the mushrooms best as a daily tonic... low doses (1-2 Tbsp fresh, or 1-2 tsp dry) are nicer than coffee as a relaxing pick-me-up and mood-lifter!