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Ergot and the Salem Witch Trials...??

Samadhi

Bluelight Crew
Joined
Oct 21, 2000
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I found a very interesting article regarding the connection between Ergot and the Salem Witch trials...
Claviceps purpurea is a fungus found on certain grasses such as rye, which is not bad in itself...the problem is caused by ergot alkaloids (ergotamine and ergonovine) which create Ergot (pronounced air-got). These chemicals can also be used to make LSD. It has been documented that the problem occurerd, when people would harvest rye and other grasses, the fungus would be mixed with the non-contaminated rye and cause what is called Ergotism...symptoms include vomiting, diarrhoea, hallucinations, and may lead to gangrene in serious cases. People have died from ergot poisoning...
During the Salem witch trials in the 1600's people were tried for "witchcraft "...in 1692 over twenty people were put to death. They all displayed similar symptoms : manic melancholia, psychosis, delirium, crawling sensations of the skin, vertigo, headaches, vomiting and diarrhoea. These are the same symptoms as ergot poisoning.
There have also been many other cases of ergot poisoning, as recently as 1951
In 1951, in Pont-St. Esprit, a small town in France, there was an outbreak of the disease. First a bit of background-- in Europe it is the custom to buy fresh bread nearly every day. Much more civilised than our American custom of buying bread with preservatives in it that allow it to last several weeks. In this small town there was only one bakery and everyone bought bread from it. Strange things started happening. People developed a burning sensation in their limbs, began to hallucinate that they could fly, did strange things to their dogs with forks and in general acted weirdly. This outbreak is chronicled in a marvellous (but out of print) book called "The day of St Anthony's Fire" by John Grant Fuller. St. Anthony is the patron saint of lost causes (incidentally I went to St. Anthony's church until I was about 18 ) . When all of the other saints have failed, St. Anthony is the one you are supposed to pray to. And St. Anthony's fire was rampant in the town that day. Similar outbreaks probably occurred throughout the world wherever the conditions were right for the growth of Claviceps purpurea. The chemical responsible for the hallucinations is actually LSD! lysergic acid.
I've included the links to the pages i found...
what's your poison?
Tom Volk's Fungus of the Month for October 1999
The second link contains alot of interesting info on the link between how LSD affects the brain and schizophrenia, and that people who have schizophrenia have been found to produce an excess amount of DMT as well...
K :)
[ 13 September 2002: Message edited by: samadhi ]
[ 13 September 2002: Message edited by: samadhi ]
 
I think the link between excess DMT and schizophenia was proven to be incorrect. Seems it may have been MAOIs the patients received which increased levels in urine
From Tihkal #06
Thanks to the existence of ever-increasingly sensitive scientific instruments, the search of body fluids for possible psychedelics has brought forth a number that appear to be natural components of the human animal. DMT has been reported to be in the urine of schizophrenic patients, and so have 5-MeO-DMT, bufotenine, and its demethylated homologue N-methylserotonin. The levels are increased with the administration of monoamineoxidase inhibitors. A methylating enzyme has been found in blood, capable of forming DMT in plasma, and it is present in both normal subjects and schizophrenics. It is not surprising that studies comparing DMT blood levels between patients (psychotic depression, acute and chronic schizophrenia) and normal subjects have shown no differences.
[ 13 September 2002: Message edited by: phase_dancer ]
 
Originally posted by Cowboy Mac:
this has been previously discussed in another thread, cant find it tho.
...Hence the reason i posted it...i couldn't find another thread addressing this subject.
 
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