116 lines
6.4 KiB
Plaintext
116 lines
6.4 KiB
Plaintext
IPOMOEA PURPUREA: A NATURALLY OCCURRING PSYCHEDELIC
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Charles Savage, Willis W. Harman and James Fadiman
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From "Altered States of Consciousness, A Book of Readings"
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edited by Charles Tart BF311.T28
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Of the naturally occurring plant alkaloids used in ancient and modern
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religious rites and divination one of the least studied is ololiuqui. The
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earliest known description of its use is by Hernandez, the King of Spain's
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personal physician, who spent a number of years in Mexico studying the
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medicinal plants of the Indians and "accurately illustrated ololiuqui as a
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morning glory in his work which was not published until 1651" (Schultes,
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1960). In his words, "When a person takes ololiuqui, in a short time he loses
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clear reasoning because of the strength of the seed, and he believes he is in
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communion with the devil" (Alacon, 1945). Schultes (1941) and Wasson (1961)
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have reported in detail on the religious and divinatory use of two kinds of
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morning-glory seeds, Rivea corymbosa and Ipomoea violacea, among the Mazatec
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and Zapotec indians. The first of these is assumed to be the ololiuqui of the
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ancient Aztecs.
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In 1955 Osmond described personal experiments with Rivea corymbosa seeds and
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reported that the effects were similar to those of d-lysergic acid
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diethylamide (LSD-25). He suggeted (1957) that the word psychedelic (meaning
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mind-manifesting) be used as a generic term for this class of substances to
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refer to their consciousness-expanding and psychotherapeutic function as
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contrasted with the hallucinogenic aspect. In 1960 Hoffman reported that he
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had isolated d-lysergic acid amide (LA) and d-isolysergic acid amide from the
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seed of both Rivea corymbosa and Ipomoea violacea. LA is very similar to LSD
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in its psychological and physiological manifestations but is reported to have
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about one twentieth the psychological effectiveness of LSD (Cerletti &
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Doepfner, 1958).
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The work of these investigators led us to a preliminary study of the
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psychedelic properties of species of Ipomoea which are commonly found within
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the continental United States. The seeds of Ipomoea purpurea, the common
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climbing morning glory, resemble the seeds of Ipomoea violacea and have been
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found to have similar psychedelic properties. Recent analysis by Taber et al.
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(1963) has verified that LA is present in the varieties used and is probably
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the primary active agent.
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The effects of the seeds of Ipomoea purpurea (varieties Heavenly Blue and
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Pearly Gates) in a total of 45 cases are summarized below. The subjects are
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all normally functioning adults and the majority had previous experience with
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LSD. The onset of effects is about half an hour after the seeds have been
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chewed and swallowed and they last from five to eight hours.
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Low Dose, 20-50 Seeds (11 Subjects)
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This dosage rarely produces any visual distortions, although with eyes
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closed there may be beginning imagery. Restlessness, evidenced by alternating
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periods of pacing about and lying down, may be present. There tends to be a
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heightened awareness of objects and of nature, and enhanced rapport with
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other persons. A feeling of emotional clarity and of relaxation is likely to
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persist for several hours after other effects are no longer noticable.
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Medium Dose, 100-150 Seeds (22 Subjects)
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In this range the effects resemble those reported for medium-dose (75-150
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micrograms) LSD experiences, including spatial distortions, visual and
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auditory hallucinations, intense imagery with eyes closed, synaesthesia and
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mood elevation. These effects, which occur mainly during the period of 1 to 4
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hours after ingestion, are typically followed by a period of alert calmness
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which may last until the subject goes to sleep.
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High Dose, 200-500 Seeds (12 Subjects)
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In this range the first few hours may resemble the medium-dose effects
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described above. However, there is usually a period during which the
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subjective states are of a sort not describable in terms of images or
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distortions, states characterized by loss of ego boundaries coupled with
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feelings of euphoria and philosophical insight. These seem to parallel the
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published descriptions of experiences with high doses (200-500 micrograms) of
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LSD given in a supportive, therapeutic setting as reported by Sherwood et al.
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(1962).
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All the subjects who had previous experience with LSD claimed the effects of
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the seeds were similar to those of LSD. Transient nausea was the most
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commonly reported side effect, beginning about one half hour after ingestion
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and lasting a few minutes to several hours. Other reported side effects not
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commonly found with LSD were a drowsiness or torpor (possibly due to a
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glucoside also present in the seeds) and a coldness in the extremities
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suggesting that the ergine content of the seeds may be causing some vascular
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constriction. (If this is the case, there may be some danger of ergot
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poisoning resulting from excessive dosages of the seeds.) The only untoward
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psychic effect was a prolonged (eight hours) disassociative reaction which
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was terminate with cholorpromazine [Thorazine]. The possibility of prolonged
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adverse reactions to the psychological effects of the seeds is essentially
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the same as with LSD, and the same precautions should be observed (Cohen &
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Ditman, 1963).
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----------------------
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IPOMOEA.003 7-MAY-90
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Additional Notes:
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Ipomoea purpurea is sold as the "Heavenly Blue" variety of morning glory.
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"Ipomoea tricolor" is the trade name used for that variety. It is identical
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with the species of morning glory described above.
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The seeds must be chewed or ground in order to be effective. Soaking the
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ground seeds in water for several hours, filtering out the grounds,
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and then drinking only the water portion of the mixture can reduce
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some of the stomach-upset symptoms if such occur.
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Unpleasant LSD and morning glory trips can be smoothed out or even
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stopped by taking niacin (in the form of nicotinic acid, vitamin B-3 or
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"niacin"). Vitamin C has been shown to reduce the incidence of paranoia and
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prevent depletion of the vitamin from the adrenal glands during LSD trips.
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There have been reports that commercially available packets of morning
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glory seeds from some distributors are coated with fungicides or
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other chemicals to increase shelf life or discourage the practice
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of eating them. Seeds from plants grown in one's own garden will
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be safe as long as you do not spray them with insecticides.
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