Why does LSD often get more praise, recognition, and notoriety than psilocybin?

[shortjazzdude]

There are many urban legends surrounding LSD usage, yet I can't think of many surrounding psilocybin. This is from snopes:

http://search.atomz.com/search/?sp-...date-range=-1&sp-x=any&sp-c=100&sp-m=1&sp-s=0

LSD is also seen as the quintessential psychedelic. This is quoted from Erowid:

"LSD is the best known and most researched psychedelic. It is the standard against which all other psychedelics are compared..."

Albert Hoffmann, the creator of LSD, had this to say:

“I think that in human evolution it has never been as necessary to have this substance LSD. It is just a tool to turn us into what we are supposed to be.”

People have been using psilocybin for thousands of years. LSD was invented in the early 20'th century. Yet LSD is more famous, widely recognized, and controversial. I have used both substances and in my opinion, they are of relative equal magnitude even though they are somewhat different.

 

[LSD Cruiser]

I hear a lot of people say they're afraid of acid because it will make them crazy, but they don't mind mushrooms because they're "natural" (8)).

 

[Solipsis]

It has a different history with different myths to go with that history?

The effects are also a bit different in my opinion, supporting different sorts of opinions that may become integrated in culture in some way. I would say that mushrooms are more of an unforgiving but ultimately disciplining and effective teacher and it does a lot more with my intuition and emotions, it is easy to go on an emotional rollercoaster. For me LSD is more rational and it doesn't present itself much as a character or teacher and at low to medium doses I find it more transparent and clean and relatively easy to handle. It is worth noting that there are plenty of people who feel exactly the opposite about it but I always explained that with the dichotomy of predominantly emotional vs. predominantly rational people.

Anyway at high doses LSD can do at least everything mushrooms can - good and/or bad.

Regardless of the classic natural vs. synthetic argument I find tryptamines, even synthetic 4-HO tryptamines to feel very benign while LSD can occasionally be rough. I'm not sure if LSD acts on more different receptors than 4-HO tryptamines do or what the explanation is but physically for some reason I would trust tryptamines over LSD. I would ask: if it is all psychosomatic then why do a lot more people get physically agonizing trips on LSD than on mushrooms (or is that not true at all?). Take the vasoconstriction for one thing, I have been strung out after an acid trip plenty of times but even if mushrooms annihilate me, the worst I get physically is some stomach discomfort probably from mushroom fibres (it is not there with synthetic trypts), rubbery legs and the illusion that I wet myself.
However mentally I think mushrooms are much more often brutal and I think a lot of people got that backwards in their expectations. They also sometimes fear the longer duration, which in my opinion is much less important than how brutal a trip tends to be.
For example I find mescaline very easy, organic and pleasant even if it lasts all day, but DPT jars me beyond belief.

 

[Black Rabbit of Inle]

The effects are also a bit different in my opinion, supporting different sorts of opinions that may become integrated in culture in some way. I would say that mushrooms are more of an unforgiving but ultimately disciplining and effective teacher and it does a lot more with my intuition and emotions, it is easy to go on an emotional rollercoaster. For me LSD is more rational and it doesn't present itself much as a character or teacher and at low to medium doses I find it more transparent and clean and relatively easy to handle. It is worth noting that there are plenty of people who feel exactly the opposite about it but I always explained that with the dichotomy of predominantly emotional vs. predominantly rational people.

I can't remember who said it but this sums up the effects of both mushrooms and LSD IME:

Science is cold and logical, whereas Nature is abstract and beautiful. Mess with Science and you know what to expect, mess with Nature and you're in for a surprise

 

[mission780]

I'd say LSD is better than shrooms as it gives a more clear head effect.
I found shrooms to be a bit confusing, something like a mix of LSD effects and cannabis effects in one.

 

[flat-line]

I think LSD is socially more versatile people take it and dance, party, solo experiences, group experiences, etc

For most people shrooms can be very introverted experiences that do not go well with crowds of people or fast paced venues.

 

[Help?!?!]

IMO it comes down to the fact that for most a solid dose of strong mushrooms is like an assured ego bashing roller coaster ride, where as dose dependent LSD can be calm as all fuck and completely serene, while at most points mushrooms/etc. tend to be much more confronting at all times and generally chaotic. Personally I only ever really enjoyed being graced with 12mgs of synth 4-HO-DMT, only time ever out of many many attempts that we got along, whereas i've dosed LSD hundreds of times and never really had what I would "consider" a "bad" trip! LSD is more like smooth jazz whereas mushrooms are skeet boxing reggae!

 

[Ismene]

It's because LSD has always been far more widely available than mushrooms. Apart from the golden period in UK history from 2004-2007 when mushrooms were available fresh.

 

[Solipsis]

I can't remember who said it but this sums up the effects of both mushrooms and LSD IME:

Science is cold and logical, whereas Nature is abstract and beautiful. Mess with Science and you know what to expect, mess with Nature and you're in for a surprise

That resounds with me yeah :D

I'd say LSD is better than shrooms as it gives a more clear head effect.
I found shrooms to be a bit confusing, something like a mix of LSD effects and cannabis effects in one.

I actually agree, at first glance it would seem to oversimplify but adding cannabis to LSD can also make the sum effects more dreamy and confused and there are plenty of other commonalities with mushrooms, let alone mushrooms plus cannabis. Then again cannabis during the afterglow complements mushrooms immensely even compared to other psychedelic cannabis combo's which kinda makes sense.

It's because LSD has always been far more widely available than mushrooms. Apart from the golden period in UK history from 2004-2007 when mushrooms were available fresh.

So how exactly does a quantitative difference become this qualitive difference?

 

[Black Rabbit of Inle]

Then again cannabis during the afterglow complements mushrooms immensely even compared to other psychedelic cannabis combo's which kinda makes sense.

No matter what, every time I take mushrooms as soon as the peak is over cannabis will have zero effect on me until I've slept, even if I leave it for hours. I can't think of why this would happen, but it's not just a once off, it's been every single time I've taken mushrooms and had cannabis. I can't smoke during the comedown/afterglow as it's just a waste of pot.

 

[my3rdeye]

It's because LSD has always been far more widely available than mushrooms. Apart from the golden period in UK history from 2004-2007 when mushrooms were available fresh.

Even if you can't get mushrooms you can grow your own, you can't make your own LSD. There are very few places where LSD is easy to get and mushrooms difficult.

I just like LSD better myself. There used to be a good mushroom urban legends, that they are poisonous and the tripping is your body fighting the poison. Or the police one that all mushrooms on the street are store bought with LSD on them.

 

[mission780]

IMO it comes down to the fact that for most a solid dose of strong mushrooms is like an assured ego bashing roller coaster ride, where as dose dependent LSD can be calm as all fuck and completely serene, while at most points mushrooms/etc. tend to be much more confronting at all times and generally chaotic. Personally I only ever really enjoyed being graced with 12mgs of synth 4-HO-DMT, only time ever out of many many attempts that we got along, whereas i've dosed LSD hundreds of times and never really had what I would "consider" a "bad" trip! LSD is more like smooth jazz whereas mushrooms are skeet boxing reggae!

Isn't it just a dose dependent thing? Different LSD doses produce different effects. The changes are not only quantitative, but also qualitative in a big way!

 

[Lysergamided]

Personally why I prefer LSD over psilocybin is the fact that LSD in mid-high doses doesn't produce people speaking in alien tongue like 2.5 grams of mushrooms did for me. I never found shrooms euphoric or dysphoric. It was mentally challenging when facing your emotional problems/challenges. Which is something I am not use to, because I am an intellectual person and thus LSD is my drug of choice.

 

[mission780]

I actually agree, at first glance it would seem to oversimplify but adding cannabis to LSD can also make the sum effects more dreamy and confused and there are plenty of other commonalities with mushrooms, let alone mushrooms plus cannabis. Then again cannabis during the afterglow complements mushrooms immensely even compared to other psychedelic cannabis combo's which kinda makes sense.

I believe you must mean adding cannabis during the first 4-5 hours of LSD trip. Honestly I've never tried it, but intuitively I am almost sure that for me it would have the effect that you describe, too - it would only introduce a confused/dreamy state (which is normally much less desirable for me as I appreciate the LSD clear headed state the most and wouldn't like to ruin it with cannabis).

But, if cannabis is taken first and then LSD, LSD normally overcomes most of cannabis effects, kind of removing the cannabis' from my system first, making its way from confusion to clear headed state.

If cannabis is taken at the end of LSD trip (let's say after 7-8th hour), then it seems to prolong the trip effects, although I have to research it more but recently I started to suspect that this prolonging of LSD trip by cannabis is only conceptual, it doesn't really bring back the real LSD experience, it can only 'simulate' LSD 'way' of thinking as it's only/mainly conceptual.

 

[Help?!?!]

Isn't it just a dose dependent thing? Different LSD doses produce different effects. The changes are not only quantitative, but also qualitative in a big way!

Somewhat but i'm really as experienced as they come in terms of LSD/mushrooms/4-HO-DMT/4-AcO-DMT/plain DMT and its something everyone has really agreed with. I do find it odd but for me personally, it was that I could never find a "perfect" level with mushrooms/4-AcO-DMT. It would always be to easy going or it would be a more white knuckled roller coaster ride. Surely LSD has a pretty steep dose response curve but its even, IMO, more "tame" than any of the things i've listed, its simply in today's world you just don't know what doses your getting. If everyone had crystal LSD and sub mg balance then I bet the majority of the people could easily and fairly quickly find some level that they can consistently handle, whereas mushrooms/etc are just much more unpredictable in their effects.

 

[Psychonautical]

One Name, and One Name alone rings a bell in my Canoodle.

Timothy Leary,
Ya see, Timothy Leary thought it was wise to Market LSD like an Actual Product,
Which could be enjoyed by every single man woman and child in 'Murika without any
Prescience or Real Thought put into it.

While it would be an immensely good idea to dose everyone all at once, simultaneously.

I assume where you see the fault lines lay in that critical assumption.

 

[.:Holy::Toast:.]

LSD is better in my opinion, mainly because it lasts longer. Mushroom trips never last long enough

 

[Shee-un]

Panaeolus Cyanescens mushrooms come pretty close to LDS is terms of effects...

 

[Sir Ron Pib]

Pan. Cyanescens is still psilocybin/psilosin nothing like acid - maybe LDS but I'd have to bow to your knowledge on that whatever it is
I think acid is just miles better than psilocybin; not everyones going to agree
There was a poll here and acid came out just ahead - not very scientific and the result surprised some (unless it chanced) - for me psilocybins not as profound much more "hey nonny" - it can be rather dark - it's still good but acids the one; like I said some will disagree

 

[EarthBounded]

Why does LSD often get more praise, recognition, and notoriety than psilocybin?

My beliefs are Psilocybin are the first coming of man ( Stoned ape theory ) and LSD is the second coming ( the discover of DNA )
Not to mention it is the worlds Rarest, most expensive drug ( by gram ), and the hardest drug to synthesize.

Now Psilocybin wasn't brought into popular culture until the discovery of LSD. Which could throw some debate up.

Psilocybin is natures gift, Man has to work within the chemical world to synthesize LSD it has redefined science ten times over.