Psilocybin Mushrooms
Timeline
| 1000 - 500 BCE | Central American cultures build temples to mushroom gods and carve "mushroom stones" found in Mexico & Guatamala. 1 | |
| 13th - 15th Century | Vienna Codex depicts the ritual use of mushrooms by the Mixtec gods, showing Piltzintecuhtli and 7 other gods holding mushrooms in their hands. (The Wondrous Mushroom) | |
| 16th Century | Xochipilli statue carved. Aztec statue depicts the Prince of Flowers decorated with 6 psychoactive plants: mushrooms, tobacco, morning glory, sinicuichi, cacahuaxochitl, and one identified. | |
| Jun 15, 1521 | The use of mushrooms and peyote are driven underground as use of "non-alcohol" intoxicants is forbidden by Europeans in Mexico. Catholic priests punish the use of entheogens by native people. | |
| 1560 | Spanish priest Bernardino de Sahagún writes in his Florentine Codex about the use of peyote and hallucinogenic mushrooms by the Aztecs. He estimates peyote has been in use since at least 300 B.C. 2 | |
| Oct 3, 1799 | First documented pschedelic mushroom experience takes place in London. 3 | |
| Mid 1800s | Xochipilli statue discovered by Europeans in central Mexico. | |
| 1938 | Schultes and Reko travel to Mexico and collect specimens of several psychoactive mushroom species which are deposited in the Harvard herbarium. | |
| Jun 29, 1955 | R. Gordon Wasson participates in a mushroom velada led by Maria Sabina. | |
| May 13, 1957 | Wasson publishes an article about psychoactive mushrooms in Life Magazine, the first popular media coverage of their existence. | |
| 1958 | Psilocybin is first isolated by Albert Hofmann. 4 | |
| 1960 | Timothy Leary ingests psychoactive mushrooms for the first time in Mexico. 5 | |
| 1960-1961 | Timory Leary and Richard Alpert begin a series of experiments on Harvard graduate students, using pure psilocybin. 4 | |
| 1960s | Psilocybin pills being produced by Sandoz. | |
| 1960s | Hofmann gives synthetic psilocybin to Maria Sabina. | |
| Apr 1962 | Good Friday Experiment - 20 students at Boston University participate in a psilocybin ritual/experiment. [More Info] | |
| 1963 | Leary and Alpert were dismissed from their academic positions at Harvard due, at least in part, to their continued experiments with students and psychedelics. 4 | |
| Oct 24, 1968 | Possession of Psilocybin & Psilocin become illegal. | |
| Oct 27, 1970 | The Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act is passed. Part II of this is the Controlled Substance Act (CSA) which defines a scheduling system for drugs. It places most of the known hallucinogens (LSD, psilocybin, psilocin, mescaline, peyote, cannabis, & MDA) in Schedule I. It places coca, cocaine and injectable methamphetamine in Schedule II. Other amphetamines and stimulants, including non-injectable methamphetamine are placed in Schedule III. | |
| 1960-1977 | Psilocybin is studied as a psychotherapeutic medicine through the 1960's and 1970's. The last FDA approved research until the late 1990's ends in 1977. | |
| Jun 5, 2002 | Japan. Psilocybin mushrooms become illegal to sell in Japan. Although already illegal to eat, Japanese head shops had previously been allowed to sell mushrooms. |
References
- Schultes RE, Hofmann A. Plants of the Gods. Inner Traditions, 1992.
- Stafford P. Psychedelics Encyclopedia. Ronin, 1992.
- Ott J. Pharmacotheon. Natural Product Co., 1993.