Of Mycelia and Men
Emergency Medicine News – June 01, 2009
Source: OpenAlex
Summary
Surprisingly, a New York banker, R. Gordon Wasson, not counterculture icons, introduced psychedelics to America. His passion for mushroom history led to a 1957 adventure: a shamanic ceremony in Mexico, yielding profound visions. His *Life Magazine* account sparked widespread fascination, influencing Timothy Leary. Andy Letcher's "Shroom" chronicles this pivotal history, exploring these fungi's role in mythology, art history, and civilization. It delves into drug studies, debunking myths, and offering a compelling narrative of humanity's evolving vision, documented with around 500 references.
Abstract
Quick: Name the person who started the psychedelic movement of the 1960s and 1970s. Most people old enough to understand the question or who read Tom Wolfe's The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test would probably name Ken Kesey, Wavy Gravy, or perhaps Timothy Leary. But the surprising answer is that the concept of deliberately ingesting plants or chemicals to induce hallucinations was introduced into American culture by a New York banker. That myth and others are debunked in Shroom: A Cultural History of the Magic Mushroom (New York: Harper Perennial; 2008) by Andy Letcher, who wrote a fascinating account of the man behind hallucinogenic drugs. R. Gordon Wasson, the banker in question, was born in 1898 in Great Falls, Montana. After a career as an academic and a journalist, he became a vice president at J.P. Morgan & Co., the large commercial bank. His real passion, however, was studying the cultural role of mushrooms in the history of civilization. This avocation eventually led him to a remote village in Mexico, where, under the guidance of a shaman, he ingested Psilocybe mushrooms during a traditional healing ceremony. He described the experience in an article for — of all publications — Life Magazine, in its May 13, 1957, issue as part of the “Great Adventures” series: “[T]he visions came whether our eyes were opened or closed. They emerged from the center of the field of vision, opening up as they came, now rushing, now slowly, at the pace that our will chose. They were in vivid color, always harmonious…. Then I saw a mythological beast drawing a regal chariot. Later it was as though the walls of our house had dissolved, and my spirit had flown forth.” One can imagine the reaction this passage evoked as it was read in living rooms and dentists' offices across the land. Incidentally, an editor at Life titled Mr. Wasson's piece “Seeking the Magic Mushroom,” coining a phrase that was to echo throughout the psychedelic sixties. According to Mr. Letcher, Gordon Wasson and Allan Richardson, a photographer, became the first Westerners to eat a mushroom deliberately for its mind-altering properties. Prior to this in America and Western Europe, mushrooms were classified as poisonous or edible. After Mr. Wasson's trip to Mexico, a third category was added: hallucinogenic. Inspired by Mr. Wasson's article, Timothy Leary traveled to Mexico in August 1960, ingested some local mushrooms, and experienced what he described as “one flash glimpse down the cellular time tunnel.” In short order, Albert Hofmann (who had discovered LSD) isolated the active chemical, and the Sandoz Company went on to market it for research purposes under the trade name Indocybin.Figure: No Caption AvailableIn his book Shroom, Mr. Letcher presents an informative and at times obsessive history of the role psychedelic fungi have played in myth and history. There are two main categories of hallucinogenic mushrooms: the fly-agaric (Amanita muscaria) and the Psilocybes. The fly-agaric has a distinctive appearance, typically featuring a red cap dotted with white warty spots, and contains muscimol, a toxin with partial GABA agonist and antagonist activity. The fly-agaric also contains a complex and variable mix of other psychoactive substances, making the desired dose uncertain and the precise effect unpredictable. At Mr. Letcher puts it, “the fly-agaric is like a chemical cocktail shaker into which a blindfolded bartender has poured whatever ingredients come to hand — vodka, juice, or carpet cleaner.” The result is an experience that can often become quite unpleasant. Psychogenic effects typically include CNS excitation and changes in visual perception. In contrast, the Psilocybe species — the true magic mushrooms — contain a more predictable mix of psilocybin and psilocin. These tryptamine derivatives resemble serotonin, and probably act as agonists at the 5-HT2A receptors, which are especially plentiful in the areas of the brainstem and forebrain that process sensory input sent to the cerebral cortex. Effects include hallucinations, dysphoria, mydriasis, and so much loss of motor control that one dealer recommended that his customers not operate any machine more complex than a spoon. Shroom has a wealth of information about these psychogenic mushrooms. The bibliography, containing what I estimate to be about 500 references, is itself a valuable resource for anyone interested in the topic. Much of the book is devoted to debunking what Mr. Letcher convincingly claims are myths that have arisen around the fly-agaric and the Psilocybes. Some of these myths are quite colorful, such as the belief that the figure of Santa Claus was based on ancient Siberian memories of the fly-agaric. (Isn't Santa's suit red and white just like the cap of A. muscaria?) Some are all-encompassing, such as the idea that all major religions, including Judaism and Christianity, originated in ancient mushroom cults. Almost all are wacky, and many readers will lose patience following Mr. Letcher's arguments as he shoots down one deranged claim after another. Still, there's lots of intriguing stuff here, and Shroom can be recommended to anyone with an interest in the cultural history of drugs and toxicology. EMN Online Read Gordon Wasson's 1957 Life Magazine article, “Seeking the Magic Mushroom,” on EM-News.com. Go to EMN Online for June, and click on EMN Fast Links.