What would you think if your child received advice to “tune in, turn on, and drop out”? Would you think it was Timothy Leary, Ken Kesey and the ‘Merry Pranksters’ Haight-Asbury Bay hippies era revisited?
What would you think if your child’s attention span issues were being treated by well-intentioned district psychologists with a known hallucinogen from a mushroom called psilocybin?
Think again, because that’s almost the case in many American schools, as the pharmacy kit-bag opens further with speculative treatment therapies for teen attention deficit disorder. Wide spread medication of American kids and adults is based on use of amphetamines and stimulants, which in recent clinical research are shown to mimic some of the hallucinogenic properties of mushroom psilocybin.
Over 6 million Americans each day receive behavior modifying medications like Ritalin for alleged attention deficit disorder. Perhaps no wider spreading trend, beyond over-budgeted and under-performing schools themselves, should cause parents to wonder than the medicating of teenagers in the pursuit of “normative standards”.
Straight Talk On Attention Disorder In Young People. Asking whether teens have attention span issues is like asking whether the Pope is Catholic? Of course they do…but it’s a matter of degree when comparing “Jody can’t concentrate on her class work” to increasingly obtuse and theoretical concepts of the “normative standard” for teens.
Here’s the current list of “usual suspect” symptoms to look for if you think your child may have attention deficit disorder. He’ll be fidgety, squirmy, evidencing low concentration, bored, unable to complete assignments, forgets what was taught in class.
Psychiatric Meds – Anti Depression And Anti Anxiety… Once you “prime the pump” and commence use of neural-blockers you’re playing in a complex arena. 4 million miles of nerve fibers are imbedded within your brain’s neural architecture of over 10 billion cells. Is it any wonder that “psychiatric theory” comes unstuck in the “reality” of this complexity and the necessary uniqueness of each person?
Stimulants And Amphetamines – Major Chemical Interventions. Remarkably, a clinically observed “over-active” child showing alleged attention deficit hyperactivity disorder receives mood-altering powerful stimulants from the class known as methylphenidates under brand names including Ritalin and Concerta. Now to the stimulants add another potion from the class of legally approved amphetamines under labels such as Dexedrine or Adderall.
Ritalin Side Effects. It’s true that 70% or more of the “standard population” will respond favorably to Ritalin for attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder. However, that leaves a “big chunk of statistical change” or 20% or more of the same medicated population that runs the risk of becoming seriously and psychiatrically unglued by the experience.
* Hyper-Nervous Jitters. Physical manifestations of Ritalin abuse can include profound states of agitation and “jittery feeling”. Doctor’s response? Take another intervention drug or beta blocker blood pressure med…so you now have two powerful drugs interacting.
* Irritability And Relapse Depression. As powerful attention disorder meds wear off, people can experience anger, irritability and a form of ‘rebound’ short-term depression. Solution? Other drugs may be prescribed such as serotonin or the class of alpha agonist medications.
* Stomach And Digestive Disorders And Headaches. It’s a known fact that amphetamines and stimulants, including Ritalin, can cause appetite suppression. Solution? While avoiding Ritalin abuse, users may be asked to time their meds, in order to “wear off” just before meal times. Other Ritalin users experience stomach irritability that takes months to control, accordingly are instructed to “take your meds with your meals”.
* Sleeping Disorder. “Short” and “long” acting stimulants remain neural-blockers, not matter which way you look at it. Not surprisingly, the chemically induced stated of “controlled stimulation” carries some unwanted baggage, such as sleeping disorders. Reduced meds may be a partial solution.
* Increased Blood Pressure And Blood Glucose. Borderline diabetics may trigger adult onset diabetes due to elevated blood glucose. Similarly, these stimulants and amphetamines meds stimulate all sorts of metabolic activity, including blood pressure.
* Nervous Tics Exacerbated. If a patient normally exhibits the sort of patterned nervousness and “tics”, then these drugs will amplify these tics as well as the underlying attention span disorder complex.
Non Pharmaceutical Alternatives. Fortunately, families can now turn back into time, and begin selective use of various herbs like St. Thomas Wort, nature’s valium, rosemary, ginseng, centella asiatica as well as to an evolving class of exercise and visual programming aids that allegedly can actually train the ADD-HD person to create new neural pathways (think brain right and left hemispheres) to adjust for certain imbalances.
Mescaline is an illegal hallucinogen that can be found naturally in certain cacti species, including the peyote cactus and the San Pedro cactus. The top of the cactus is cut close to the ground and then dried. The small button like crowns of the plant can be eaten or soaked in water, but, because of the unpleasant, bitter taste, mescaline is most often ground into a fine powder and placed into capsules for easier consumption. Mescaline can also be produced synthetically and is often used to make psychedelic tea.
Mescaline users typically ingest four to twenty buttons, or capsules, per dose. The average effective dosage is 500 mg, but hallucinations can begin after 300 mg. A typical high can last up to twelve hours. Mescaline is, however, much less potent than similar hallucinogens, like LSD and psilocybin. This drug is popular because of the altered, dreamy state of consciousness it produces, along with visual and audible hallucinations, often said to be enlightening and enjoyable.
Besides intense hallucinations, mescaline users may also experience a number of other side effects. Uncontainable laughter and dreamy visions with the eyes both open and closed are common, as well as new and unusual thinking processes. Euphoric and psychedelic states are also experienced under the influence of mescaline. Users usually have dilated pupils while on the drug, and may feel hot and cold sensations.
Mescaline can also cause users to become irrational in their thinking or the user may experience feelings of anxiety and waves of hatred. Headaches, dizziness, and nausea are common side effects as well. Mescaline use can also accelerate the users heart rate, sometimes to an unhealthy level that could be fatal. Large doses of mescaline can lower the body’s glucose level, possibly causing unconsciousness, or can induce convulsions, heart failure, and death due to respiratory failure.
Although mescaline does not create a physical dependency in users, the drug can be moderately addictive because of the possibility of psychological dependency. There are a number of organizations available to help those who have problems with mescaline addiction, as well as other drugs. These organizations understand the problems caused by both physical and psychological substance dependencies, and treat the addiction accordingly.
There are endless and usually raging debates about some plants that exist in nature, which are somehow associated with psychoactive elements or even drugs. One of them is Peyote, a small cactus that seems to contain a strong hallucinating ingredient, the very known, in medical circles, as mescaline.
Peyote has caused some serious controversy, not only because it is considered to be illegal for public and individual use, but also because the legal system in the USA has been quite ambiguous about it.
Peyote is the part of the cactus that can be seen on the ground. Its main part is called button and it’s the one that contains the mescaline element. According to studies and research the oral consumption of peyote can cause some kinds of hallucinations, spiritual blankness and general distortion. This is why this particular plant has been a popular and common part of many rituals in the US, prior to its declaration as illegal. Especially in Texas, there are proves that the peyote was in use the last 400 years by the Native Americans and other tribes of the region.
What is interesting is that today the largest amount of known and frequent users of the peyote cactus is members of the Native American church. They use it during their holy rituals, and it plays a vital and central role to their meetings and gatherings. This is something completely known to everyone, although peyote is officially illegal in all states of the country.
This is something that raises a serious constitutional issue; why did the American Government declared as illegal something that is openly used for many centuries in one of the most known religions in the country? How can a drug, which is considered to be so dangerous, is not that dangerous when used by a certain group of people? What is exactly the purpose of allowing those people to use the peyote drug, but prohibiting everyone else? Is it discrimination or a simple hole in the legal system?
If you have ever heard of the Psychedelic Toad or about people licking toads to get high, it is most likely they were talking about Bufo Alvarius. Also called the Sonoran Desert toad and the Colorado River toad, Bufo Alvarius is unique because of its venom. These large toads have glands that produce a milky white venom that is composed of as much as fifteen percent the alkaloid 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (5-MEO-DMT). This is a powerful hallucinogen, the mind altering effects of which were discovered in the late 1950s. 5-MEO-DMT is the active ingredient of hallucinogens used traditionally by several South American tribes.
The fact that a toad secretes a substance that can alter the human mind may lead to speculation about the “Frog Prince” fairy tale. In this folk legend, a woman finds a frog in the wild, kisses it, and it turns into a handsome prince. Could this ancient tale actually be based on fact? After all, if someone were to lick not a frog but the right kind of a toad, perhaps she might experience hallucinations that made her imagine the amphibian was transforming into a handsome prince. This theory is merely speculation, of course. In reality, licking the venom of toads or any other animal may be highly dangerous and is certainly not recommended.
Albert Most, the author of “Bufo Alvarius: The Psychedelic Toad of the Sonoran Desert” does not discuss the licking of toad venom in his text. Rather, his information involves drying and then smoking the toad venom in order to achieve what he calls “almost overwhelming psychedelic effects.” These effects are evidently not unlike those generated by LSD, in which hallucinations, visual illusions and distortions of the perception occur. The episode is relatively short, however, perhaps as little as fifteen minutes, after which, Most writes, “There is no hangover or harmful effect.”
It has been reported that Bufo Alvarius toads have been an element in the rituals of native shamans for hundreds of years. Returning to ancient European folklore, witches are often associated with toads. Toads supposedly give warts to people, and witches were frequently portrayed with large warts. In our more enlightened age, it is now known that so-called witches were more like wise women, possessing useful knowledge about medicinal herbs and plants. Could it be that these wise women were also aware of the powerful effects of toad venom?
Literature published by the California State Department of Fish and Game states that the problem of people trying to become intoxicated from licking the skin of toads or smoking dried toad venom is sufficiently extensive that laws against toad licking have been passed by some states, and that toad venom is currently classified as a controlled substance.
The reason why someone may want Bufo Alvarius toads may surprise you. It is to milk them. Perhaps the idea of milking a toad may seem like a joke. You may even have already thought that the punch line to the “how do you milk a toad?” joke would be “First you get a very small stool.” But you may be assured this is no joke. People actually do milk Bufo Alvarius toads.
What is toad venom used for? The milky white venom of the Bufo Alvarius toad contains the alkaloid 5- methoxy- N,N- dimethyltryptamine (5-MEO-DMT) which has very powerful hallucinogenic properties. Although there have been rumors and urban legends about people licking toads to get high, those who use toad venom do not actually ingest it. Rather, they have been known to dry the venom and then smoke precisely measured quantities of it.
How do you get one of these remarkable toads? If you live in or wish to visit the southwest United States, the toad, known both as the Colorado River toad and the Sonoran Desert toad, is found mainly in the Sonoran Desert. Their known range reaches from the south east of California into lowland Arizona and extreme southwestern New Mexico, at elevations that vary from sea level all the way up to over 1500 meters.
Once you get to this area, you will want to know what to look for. The Bufo Alvarius is a large toad, the largest species native to North America. Their leathery skin coloration varies from olive brown to black, with warts colored pale orange and a beige colored undercarriage. It is remarkable for the large, unique oval to sausage-shaped glands on the upper sides of its arms and legs and on its neck. These are the glands that are milked for their venom.
A nocturnal amphibian, Bufo Alvarius spends most of the day under the ground and away from the bright sun and high temperatures of the Sonoran Desert. As darkness falls, they move outside and hang around moist areas near rivers and irrigation ditches. The best time to find them is during the breeding season, from May through July. Toad hunters should equip themselves with a cloth carrying sack and a good flashlight.
For someone who is interested in owning a Bufo Alvarius toad, whether for the purpose of milking its hallucinogenic venom or simply to have a fascinating and unusual pet, there is an alternative to making a trek to the Sonoran Desert and splashing around irrigation ditches with a flashlight after dark. That option is to purchase one, or perhaps a male and female pair of adult Colorado River toads. One company that offers these toads for sale, along with other ethnobotanical products, is Bounding Bear Botanicals. The company is based in Lawrence, Kansas, not the Sonoran Desert, but they have a convenient on-line system that allows customers to make purchases via the Internet. It should be noted that Bufo Alvarius toads are sold with the caution that they are poisonous, and should be kept away from children and animals.
