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THE PSILOCYBIN PRODUCERS GUIDE
------
How to produce 5000 doses of organic psilocybin
in a small room every week
------
by
Adam Gottlieb
1976
INTRODUCTION
If a person knows what he is doing, It's not difficult to cultivate
the mycelium of any of the psychoactive psilocybin bearing mushrooms.
The mycelium is the fibrous underground network of the mushroom. The
familiar stem and cap portions of the mushrooms are called carpophores.
The mycelium can be readily grown in ordinary Mason jars in a low
cost medium in 10 to 12 days and the active materials (psilocybin
and psilocin) can be easily extracted. This Guide shows how to carry
out all of these steps on a small or a large scale. Complete instruc-
tions are given for locating the mushrooms, developing stock cultures
for inoculation, cultivating, harvesting, and drying the mycelium,
extracting the active alkaloids, and using the existing cultures to
seed new cultures to keep an ongoing psilocybin farm yielding a
regular crop of the hallucinogenic mycelium. We also give directions
for setting up in a small workroom a large scale psilocybin factory
which can produce at least 5,000 doses of the drug every week.
PSILOCYBIN AND THE LAW
The present drug laws are a pathetic mess. The old adage that ignorance
of the law is no excuse becomes a ludicrous statement when the laws
themselves are rooted in ignorance. One classical example of this is
the classification of the stimulant Cocaine as a narcotic. One is
reminded of the King in Alice in Wonderland who made up his own language
as he went along with total disregard for the accepted definitions of
words. I will not even go into the question of whether any law enforcement
agency has the moral or Constitutional right to dictate what substances
we may or may not take into our own adult bodies. Any modern individual
whose mind is not immersed in the slavish dung pit of Dark Age unreasoning
knows that reliable education - not criminal penalization - is the answer
to whatever drug problems exist. Nevertheless, we must contend
realistically with the powers that unfortunately be at this time. They are
the ones with the badges, guns, gavels and goons.
Because of the afore mentioned ignorance of our lawmakers it is difficult
to determine how the use of certain hallucinogenic substances would be
treated in the courts. Possession of psilocybin and psilocin (misspelled
in the U.S. Code as psilocyn) is a felony under Title 21, Section I, (C)
of the United States Code (1970 Edition). Psilocybe Mexicana is also
illegal. There was sufficient ignorance on the part of the lawmakers
not to include the many other mushroom species containing psilocybin
and psilocin. Theoretically the possession of any psilocybin bearing
mushroom would be the same as possessing the alkoloid itself. But
when it comes to prosecution it does not necessarily work like that.
Lysergic acid amides, which occur in morning glory seeds, stems, and
leaves are also illegal, but there is no way to prevent gardeners from
raising this ornamental flower. It is also illegal for anyone in the
USA to possess mescaline. Peyote, which contains mescaline, is legal
for bonafide members of the Native American Church when used ritual-
istically, but no member may possess extracts of the cactus or the drug
mescaline. Peyote is illegal for non-members, but San Pedro and several
other species of Trichocereus cacti also contain mescaline and are
available from many legitimate cactus dealers. It would be clearly
illegal for anyone to extract the active principles from any of the above
mentioned plants. And it would be illegal for anyone to extract
psilocybin and psilocin from mushrooms or mycellium as described in this
guide. Anyone found operating a large scale mycelium farm could very
easily be prosecuted for intent to manufacture psilocybin and psilocin.
There are also many different state laws which must be considered before
doing anything psilocybin bearing mushrooms. There are, however many
Nations which have no laws regarding these substances. We are not judges
or attorneys and are not trying to offer clear interpretations of the
law. Rather we have mentioned these points to give some indication
of the legal pitfalls which surround the application of the activities
described in this guide. Furthermore, laws may have changed for better
or for worse. We, the author and publisher, are not recommending or
endorsing the application of the information in this guide especially
in places where there are laws proscribing these substances. We offer
this information for the sake of pure knowledge because it is our
Constitutional right to do so. We do not encourage the violation
of any existing laws.
FINDING THE MUSHROOM
All it takes is one mushroom or a few spores and from this one can
quickly develop a culture that will continue to produce as much
psilocybin as one desires for years to come. Because the common
San Ysidro mushroom, psilocybe cubensis ..Singer (Formerly
stropharia cubensis ..Earl) is the most easily obtainable, the most
readily cultivated, most disease resistant, and psychoactively
strongest species we have geared our instructions to it's use. There
are, however, numerous other species which contain psilocybin. In
case one of these is all that is available, we give for several of these
pertinent information such a relative potency, where and when to find
specimens, what growing conditions (medium, temperature, lighting, etc.)
it favors and how resistant it is to contamination. The states, provinces,
and regions named are by no means the only places where the species is to
found. They are places in which there have been numerous reports of
findings. They are given here to give a general idea of the type of
terrain and climate the species favors. In cases where ideal cultivation
temperatures and growing conditions are not given much can be surmised by
considering the environment in which that species thrives.
Psilocybe cubensis can be found in many parts of the United States,
Mexico, Colombia, Australia, and even Southeastern Asia. It is usualy
found growing on or near cow dung in pastures during warm rainy periods
from February to November. There are several species of mushroom which
occur on cow dung, but fortunately none of these bear much resemblance
to the San Ysidro.
There are numerous toxic mushrooms growing around us. Some of these could
be mistaken for some of the other psilocybin fungi mentioned in this
guide. It is essential that the mushroom hunter learn to use an
identification key. A key is a listing of the various features which
will positively identify a given species. If a specimen does not confirm
in every respect to the key, it must not be used. There are several
excellent keys to be found on most library shelves. One that we
recommend is "Keys to Genera of Higher Fungi" by R. Shaffer, 2nd ed.
(1968) Published by the University of Michigan Biological Station at
Ann Arbor. We also recommend a thorough reading of the most helpfull
book "Poisonous and Hallucinogenic Mushrooms" by Richard and Karen
Haard, available for $3.95 from Nature Study Institute, PO Box 2321,
Bellingham, Washington 98225. It is further suggested that after
identifying the specimen it should be brought to an expert mycologist
to be absolutely certain of it's identity.
Many books on hallucinogenic mushrooms suggest a simple test for
psilocybian species which involves breaking the flesh of the specimen
and waiting about 30 minutes for a blueing reaction to take place. The
blueing is due to the oxidization of indole based substances in the
fungus. Although it is true that most of the psilocybin-bearing
mushrooms will respond positively to this test, other species may do
the same. The poisonous Eastwood Boletus blues upon exposure of the
inner tissues to oxygen as well as does any psilocybin mushroom.
Another test which is often given in mushroom manuals is treating the
exposed tissues with Metol, a chemical used in photo developers. It
hastens the blueing of psilocybin mushrooms, and supposedly one can do
a blueing test with it in a few minutes that would otherwise take 30
minutes or more. Any mushroom, however, which contains indolic
substances of any sort will respond positively to this test. Since
indole-based amino acids such as tryptophan are found in most living
organisms this test is rather useless.
There is actually no field test for psilocybin mushrooms. There is
however, a relatively simple test for the presence of psilocin and
psilocybin that can be carried out at home by anyone who has some
familiarity with paper chromatography. The mushroom sample is dried,
pulverized, and extracted into a small amount of unheated methanol by
shaking for half an hour. After the debris in the methanol has
settled the paper is spotted with the top fluid in a zone about 2mm.
After treating the the spotting zone with water saturated butanol for
about two hours, the solvent front 7-8 cm from the spotting zone would
contain the psilocin and psilocybin if they were present in the specimen.
After drying the paper with a hair dryer on warm, this outer zone is
sprayed lightly with a saturated solution of p-dimethyl-aminobenzaldehyde
in alcohol and then again with 1 N hydrochloric acid. The paper is then
dried again as before. Where psilocybin is present a reddish color will
develop. The presence of psilocin will be indicated by a blue-violet
zone.
DATA ON VARIOUS PSIOCYBIAN SPECIES
CONOCYBE CYANOPES:
Found from May through September usualy in dense shade scattered among
mosses, and in wet soil around bogs, swamps, and ditches in the
northwestern USA and as far east as Michigan. Carpophores grow well
in sphagnum moss having a range of pH 7-8.
COPELANDIA CYANESCENS:
Found in early summer through late autumn scattered, grouped, or clustered
on cow dung, or rich soil in Florida and other southern states. Spores
germinate easily easily on all agar media. Optimum growth occurs on
MEA at 80 degrees F. Carpophores can be produced on uncased compost
or on rye.
PANAEOLUS FOENISECII:
(Also known as PANEAOLINA FOENISECII or PSILOCYBE FOENISECII, and commonly
known as haymower's mushroom or harvest mushroom)
Found in late spring and early summer, or in July, August, and September
during cool, wet seasons scattered or grouped in large numbers on lawns,
pastures, and other grassy places throughout the USA and in Quebec. Tests
on specimens found in Washington revealed no psilocybin, but eastern
specimens were potent.
PANAEOLUS SPHINCTRINUS:
Found in summer and autumn in small groups in forests, pastures, fields,
and roadsides almost always on cow dung in many temperate parts of
the world.
PANAEOLUS SUBALTEATUS:
Found from spring to autumn grouped or clustered often in rings up to
two feet in diameter on open ground, freshly manured lawns, straw piles,
all types of compost, dung piles, and roadsides in Ontario and throughout
the USA (especially in Massachusetts, Maryland, New York, Ohio, Michigan,
Washington, and Oregon). Optimum growth on MEA is at 86 degrees F.
It occasionally occurs as a weed mushroom in commercial mushroom houses.
PHOLIOTINA CYANOPODA:
Found in August through September solitary to clustered on lawns in such
diverse parts of the USA as New York, Washington, and Colorado.
PSILOCYBE BAEOCYSTIS:
Found in autumn and winter, solitary, grouped, or clustered on earth,
lawns, mulch, and decomposing forest wood near scattered trees especially
conifers - in western Oregon and Washington. It does well on Agar media
at 77 degrees F. This is a potent species containing Psilocybin, psilocin,
baeocystin, and nor-baeocystin. Perhaps it is because of the latter two
alkaloids that it is the most visually hallucinogenic of the psilocybin
mushrooms. There is a report that in 1960 a six-year old boy died after
eating a large number of these mushrooms. There has never been any other
indication that these alkaloids are dangerous. Until there is further
clarification of this question, we advise that anyone using this species
proceed with caution by starting with small doses and progressing gradually
to larger ones. This is especially important when using the extracted
crude alkaloids which may contain large concentrations of the baeocystin
alkaloids.
PSILOCYBE CAERULESCENS:
Found in the summer during rainy season, grouped or clustered but
rarely solitary, mostly in shady places on soil, sugar cane mulch,
recently turned earth or stream banks - in Alabama, northern Florida
and Mexico. The Mexican variety P. CAERULESCENS var. MAZATECORUM is
known locally as "Durrumbe", which means "landslides." There it is
often found among landslides, or near corn or coffee plantations.
The mycelium does best on MEA at 81 degrees F. Thermal death occurs
at 95 degrees F. It is almost impossible to produce carpophores
on sterilized rye medium. They can be grown on vegetable compost in dim
light, but the incubation period is long (55-85 days). Although this
species is resistant to white mold it's long incubation period leaves it
prone to other diseases. It is not one of the more potent species.
PSILOCYBE CAERULIPES:
Found in summer and occasionally autumn solitary or clustered on
decomposing logs and debris of hardwood trees (especially birch and
maple) in New York, New England states, Ohio, Michigan, North Carolina,
Tennessee and Ontario.
PSILOCYBE CUBENSIS var. CYANESCENS ..SINGER (formerly STROPHARIA CUBENSIS
..EARL):
Found from February to November in compact groups in clearings outside
forest areas, on cow dung, or horse dung, in rich pasture soil, on straw,
or on sawdust/dung mixture in Mexico, Cuba, Florida and other southern
states. It grows well on MEA at 86 degrees F. Carpophores appear in
4-8 weeks. Thermal death occurs at 104 degrees F. Carpophores larger
than wild specimens can be produced by inoculating vegetable compost in
clay pots with agar grown mycelium, casing with silica sand/limestone
mix, and incubating 4-6 weeks in daylight at 68 degrees F. It does
poorly in darkness. It is a potent mushroom and very resistant to
contaminants.
PSILOCYBE CYANESCENS:
Found in autumn scattered, grouped, or clustered in woods, on earth,
among leaves and twigs, and occasionally on decomposing wood - in
northwestern USA.
PSILOCYBE MEXICANA:
Found from May to October isolated or sparsely at altitudes from 4500 to
5500 feet, especially in limestone regions, among mosses and herbs, along
roadsides, in humid meadows, in cornfields, and near pine forests in
Mexico.
PSILOCYBE PELLICULOSA:
Found September to December scattered, grouped, or clustered on humus and
debris, in or near conifier forests in northwestern USA and as far south
as Marin County, California. This is a small but potent species.
PSILOCYBE QUEBECENCIS:
Found from summer to late October scattered in shady areas at forest
edges, on sandy soil containing vegetable debris regularly inundated
by river flooding, and on decomposing wood and debris (especially birch,
alder, fir, and spruce) in the Quebec area. It thrives at lower
temperatures than other psilocybe species and produces carpophores at
air temperatures of 43 to 59 degrees F.
PSILOCYBE SEMILANCEATA:
Found August through September often in large groups on soil, among
grasses, in clearings, pastures, meadows, forest edges, open conifier
woodlands, and on roadsides - but never on dung - in New York, northern
USA, British Columbia, and Europe. Generally regarded as one of the less
potent species, but is sometimes quite potent.
PSILOCYBE STRICTIPES:
Found in October rather clustered on soil or on decomposing wood and
debris, on conifiers and some other trees in northwestern USA (especially
in Oregon). It closely resembles P. Baeocystis, but has a longer stem.
It tends to be as visually hallucinogenic as that species and probably
contains the same or similar baeocystin alkaloids.
PSILOCYBE SYLVATICA:
Found in September and October in small compact but unlustered groups
in woods on leaf mold, debris (especially beech wood), around stumps
and logs, but not usually on them - from New York to Michigan and as
far north as Quebec and Ontario. This mushroom is small and is often
mistaken for P. Pelliculosa.
The species discussed above are only some of the more commonly known ones
with hallucinogenic properties. There are recognized among the psilocybin
bearing mushrooms 40 species of Conocybe usually ocuring in forests,
pastures, gardens, dung areas, sandy soil, ant hills, decayed wood, and
charcoal and having a cosmopolitan range; 20 species of Panaeolus found on
soil and dung and having a cosmopolitian range; 40 species of Psilocybe
found on soil, moss clumps and organic substrata such as dung, rotting
wood, bagasse, and peat ranging from the artic to the tropics; and 9
species of Stropharia found on soil, dung and sometimes on leaf mulch
and rotting wood and having a fairly cosmopolitian range.
PURE CULTURE TECHNIQUE
The most difficult part of psilocybin mushroom cultivation is the
observance of the rules of pure culture technique. These are the
sanitary code of mushroom cultivation. There are usually many varieties
of bacteria and fungal spores in our environment; floating in the air,
clinging to our hands and clothing, issuing from our mouths with every
exhalation. Extreme measures must therefore be taken to keep these out
of our mycelial cultures, which they would rapidly overrun. The following
points should be diligently observed. Work in a clean, uncluttered, dust
free room. Immediately before work wash the work table and spray the room
with disinfectants. Scrub arms, hands, and nails with disinfectant soap.
Wear simple clothing. A freshly cleaned short-sleeve T-shirt is ideal.
Gargle with antiseptic mouthwash and cover the mouth and nose with a clean
cloth or disposable surgery mask. Cover the hair with a surgical cap or
shower cap. Allow no drafts in the room. close all doors and stuff all
door jambs. Let no flies, animals, or unnecessary people in the room. Let
only sterilized equipment touch the medium or inoculum. Don't lean over
your work. Avoid all swift movements that may cause a draft. If possible
have a hood constructed around the work table or a screen or curtain
surrounding it. Be neat and keep all materials within reach. Keep all
equipment about three feet away from the work. Do not permit anyone to
enter the room while work is in progress.
STERILIZATION
All utensils used in the cultivation of mycelia must be sterilized by
heat before use. Glassware must be boiled in water for 30 minutes.
Metalware used repeatedly must be held in a flame until glowing and
then allowed a moment to cool before making contact with any cultures
or specimens. When the inoculation loop has been used to transfer a
fragment of mycelium it must be flame sterilized again before touching
the next fragment. All medium containers must be sterilized after the
medium has been poured. This process is known as autoclaving. Containers
no more than half full with medium are placed in a canning type pressure
cooker. The lids of these must be loose enough to allow escape of
internal pressures. Otherwise the containers may crack. Seal the lid of
the pressure cooker. Keep the stopcock valve open. Using high heat bring
the cooker to boiling so that thick steam comes through the vent. Close
the stopcock and let the pressure rise to 15-20 pounds. (250 Degrees F.)
for 30 minutes. This should be enough to destroy any foreign spores or
lifeforms. Any higher temperature or longer period would cause the
dextrose or maltose sugars to carmelize. This would inhibit growth and
psilocybin production of the mycelium. When the autoclave period is up
turn off the heat and let the cooker cool to room temperature. Do not
release the stopcock until everything has thoroughly cooled or the
sudden change in pressure will cause the containers to boil over. Discard
any containers that have cracked during sterilization. Keep all containers
of medium at room temperature for three days to see if any foreign
molds develop. If they do occur discard the medium in the contanminated
jars and thoroughly clean and sterilize such jars before using again.
MAKING A SPORE PRINT
A spore print is a collection of spores on a flat surface. It can serve
several purposes. It can be used to assist identification of the
specimen by observing its color or if made on a glass slide, by
studying the shapes of the spores under a microscope. Mycological
identification keys include descriptions of spore prints and microscopic
spore features for different species. Spore prints are also the standard
method of collecting spores for later germination on agar media. A print
from a single mushroom cap contains millions of spores. Many mushroom
lovers are now making spore prints on paper from species available in
their locales and mailing them to cultivators in other areas where such
species are not found. Secret spore exchange correspondence clubs are
becoming quite the vogue and will probably be more common in the very
near future. A word of caution regarding this practice should be given,
however. Do not assume that spores received in this manner are from the
species the sender claims they are. If the sender has misidentified the
specimen and the recipient cultivates and ingests mycelia or extractions
therefrom, the result may be disasterous. Furthemore, I would not put it
past some anti-drug fanatic to purposefully disseminate spore prints of
dangerous mushrooms to amateur cultivators. This could result in sickness
and death for thousands of persons.
To make a spore print take a mushroom with it's cap fully opened and gills
exposed. With a sharp sterilized blade cut off the stem as close to the
gills a possible. Place the cap gills-down on a clean, white sheet of
paper, or on a sheet of glass that has just been swabbed with alcohol, or
on two or four sterilized microscopic glass slides. Cover the cap with a
clean, inverted bowl or bell jar to prevent drying of the cap and intrusion
of foreign organisms. Let this stand as such for 24 hours. If a good spore
print has not been formed after this time, tap the cap lightly with the
flat side of a knife or spatula. This should shake loose many spores. If
the print is made on glass, cover it with another glass sheet immediately
after removing the cap to prevent contamination. If microscopic slides
are used, place two face to face and seal the edges with tape. If paper
is used. fold it several times so that the print is well inside.
PREPARATION OF MEDIA
PDA (Potato Dextrose Yeast Agar): Wash 250 grams of unpeeled potatoes
and slice them 1/8 inch thick. Wash these several times in cool tap
water until the water is clear. Drain the slices in a collander and rinse
once with distilled water. Cook the potato slices in distilled water until
tender. Strain the cooking liquids through a flannel cloth or several layers
of cheesecloth and collect the liquid in a flask. Rinse the boiled potatoes
several times with distilled water, add these rinse waters to the liquid in
the flask, and discard the potatoes. Add enough distilled water to the flask
to make one liter. Bring the liquid to a boil and add 15 grams of agar, 10
grams of dextrose, and 1.5 grams of yeast extract. The agar must be added
slowly and carefully to prevent boiling over. While the liquid is hot, pour
it into petri dishes or other culture containers. Each should be filled half
way.
PDY (Potato Dextrose Yeast broth): PDY broth is made in exactly the same
manner except the agar is omitted. Mason jars are filled half way with the
hot or cool liquid.
MEA (Malt Extract Agar): To one liter of gently boiling water (distilled)
add 20 grams of malt extract, 20 grams of agar (slowly, carefully to prevent
boiling over), 100 mg of potassium phosphate dibasic (K2HPO4), and 100 mg
of calcium carbonate. While still hot pour the liquid into the culture
dishes.
EQUIPMENT
Most of the equipment described in this guide is readily available at
reasonable prices. One quart size mason jars can be purchased from many
stores including Sears for about $2.98 a dozen. If a large scale Psilo-
cybin farm is being set up, a greater number of jars could be obtained
from a Wholesale outlet or bought at a discount from the retailer.
Pipettes, inoculating loops, petri dishes, agar, and other materials
(including pre-mixed media) are found at many scientific supply houses or
can be ordered from Difco Laboratories, Inc., Detroit, Michigan 48201.
If Petri dishes are not on hand, there are several other containers that
can substitute. Baby food jars 1/4 filled with agar media are excellent.
Test tubes can be filled 1/3 with hot agar medium, stopped with cotton,
autoclaved and allowed to cool while standing at a 17 degree angle. These
are known as slants and permit a maximum surface area. A wooden rack can
be easily constructed to hold slants at this angle. Baby bottles with a
steam sterilizer can be bought almost anywhere. These come in sets of nine
or ten bottles. The tip of the rubber nipple should be cut off and a wad
of clean cotton pulled through from the inside leaving about 1/2 inch
sticking out. The bottles are filled 1/3 with agar medium. After sterili-
zing the bottles should be kept at a 17 degree angle. A large pressure
cooker - the type used for canning and jarring - can be used for autoclaving
mason jars of broth medium.
STARTING THE CULTURE
Upon obtaining one or more specimens of a psilocybin bearing mushroom one
can begin to cultivate as much of the hallucinogen as is desired. Any part
of the fungus can be used for inoculation. If the spores are used, consider-
ation must be given to the natural life cycle of the mushroom. A single cap
contains millions of spores, and any one of these will germinate in the
medium to form a mycelium. But this mycelium will consist of what is known
as monokaryotic tissue. Such a mycelial organism will grow for a while,
but unless it mates with another compatible monokaryotic mycelium and forms
a dikaryotic structure it will eventually perish. To develop a culture from
spores proceed as follows: Scrape the spores from the print into about 10
ml of sterilized water. Shake well. Add 90 ml of sterilized water and shake
again. There will be millions of spores in this solution. Have ready several
petri dishes or other suitable containers as described previously containing
sterilized agar medium. Lift the lid slightly on each container and with a
sterilized pipette or syringe place a drop of this spore water on three or
four different parts of the agar surface, then cover the container immediat-
ely. Let the dish stand at room temperature for 3-5 days. Radial growths
of monokaryotic mycelium will occur at each inoculation point. When any two
mycelia have grown to the point of making contact with each other mating
(somatogamy) has taken place and within a few days these united mycelia will
have become dikaryotic organisms. Any portion of this mycelial tissue can
now be used to seed new cultures as described later.
If a portion of one of the carpaphores gathered in the field is used to
inoculate the agar, mating is not required. The tissue of mature fungus is,
of course, already dikaryotic. To avoid contamination only inner tissue is
used. Place the mushroom cap gills-down on a clean work area at least three
feet away from any equipment. Wipe all dirt an slime from the cap with a
Q-tip and swab it's whole surface with a seven percent iodine solution.
Pin the cap to the Table top by inserting three disecting needles at
equilateral points. Sterilize an X-acto blade in a flame, let it cool for
a moment, then carve the outer skin of the mushroom. Cut out tiny pieces of
the inner mushroom flesh each the size of a match head. Spear each piece
with the blade point, raise the lid of the petrie dish slightly, press the
tissue firmly into the agar surface, and close the lid immediately. Place
all dishes so inoculated on the incubation shelf at room temperature. The
mycelium must breath as it grows, so do not cap the lids too tightly.
When the radial growth of the mycelia appear on the agar surface (3-5 days)
these stock cultures are ready for transferring to the broth jars. If any
stock cultures are not going to be used immediately, tighten their lids and
place them under refrigeration. They can be kept this way for about a year.
RAISING CROP CULTURES OF MYCELIA
The task now is to select the most vigorous appearing mycelia in the dishes.
This means the largest and fastest growing specimens and, of course, those
not contaminated by foreign molds. Contaminants are not difficult to detect
because their appearance differs greatly from that of the mycelia. Mycelia
are pure white fibrous mats sometimes having a light bluish tinge.
Contaminants may appear as rapid-growing, tiny, white circular spots with
blue-green centers, or as surface scums or fuzzy clusters of either gray,
black, yellow, green, or blue color. If any contamients appear in any of
the culture dishes, discard those cultures. When the dishes containing
the choicest mycelia have been selected the mycelia can be transferred from
the agar-based stock cultures to the liquid broth cultivation jars. These
jars should have been prepared and sterilized three days before transferring
and allowed to stand at room temperature during this time to test the effec-
tivness of sterilization by observing if contaminates appear. Discard all
broths which contain growths. The uncontaminated jars are now ready for
inoculation. Spray the room and clean the work area as described under
pure culture techniques. Also spray the outside parts of the stock dishes
and culture jars. Lift the lid of a stock dish just enough and pick up a
fragment of mycelium with an inoculation loop that has been flame sterili-
zed and allowed a moment to cool. Lift the cover of the jar, place the
mycelium fragment in the broth and cover the jar immediately. Repeat this
until all jars have been inoculated. Refrigerate all unused stock cultures.
Tighten the jar covers and shake well to disperse the inoculum throughout
the broth. This also aerates the medium; the mycelium needs oxygen for life
support and growth. Loosen the lids again and place the jars on the growing
shelf for 10-12 days at 70-75 degrees F. If other species than Psilocybe
cubensis are used, adjust the temperature accordingly. Every 2-3 days tighten
the jar covers, shake to aerate and disperse mycelium, reloosen the covers,
and return the jars to the shelf.
The process of growth can be followed with a saccharimeter. The maximum
growth and highest percentage of psilocybin occurs about four days after all
of the broth's sugar content has been used up. The mycelium should be
harvested at this time. Any jars that cannot be harvested on that day should
be refrigerated until this can be done.
HARVESTING AND DRYING
Filter the medium of each jar through a clean flannel cloth, collect the
mycelial material from the cloth, and place it in a pyrex baking dish. Do
the same with each jar of mycelium until each baking dish is about 1/3 full
with mycelia. Dry these in an oven at no higher temperature than 200 deg F.
Use an oven thermometer. Do not rely upon the temperature indications on
the oven knob as these may vary from accuracy. Check the baking dishes
periodically. When the material first appears to have dried shut off the
heat and let the dishes stay in the oven until it has cooled. This ensures
the evaporation of residual moisture. Each cultivation jar should yield
50-100 grams of wet mycelium. Fresh mycelium contains about 90 percent
water, so this much would dry down to 5 to 10 grams of crumbly material.
Each baking dish would contain a dozen or more mycelia.
EXTRACTION
Crumble and pulverize the dried mycelial material and combine each 100 mg
of this material with 10 ml of methanol. Place the flask in a hot water
bath for four hours. Filter the liquids with suction through a filter paper
in a buchner funnel with Celite to prevent clogging. Collect and save the
filtrate liquids. Heat the slurry (the mush in the filter paper) two more
times in methanol as before, filter, and accumulate the liquids of the three
extractions. To be certain that all of the alkaloids have been extracted do
a small extraction with a portion of the used slurry and test with Keller's
reagent (glacial acetic acid, ferrous chloride, and concentrated sulfuric
acid). If there is a violet indication, alkaloids are still present and
further extraction is in order.
In an open beaker evaporate the liquids to total dryness with a hot water
bath or by applying a hair dryer. Be certain that all traces of methanol
have been removed. The remaining residue should contain 25-50 percent
psilocybin/psilocin mixture. Greater purification can be achieved, but would
require other solvents and chromatography equipment and is hardly necessary.
Each 100 grams of dried mycelium should yield about 2 grams of extracted
material. This should contain at least 500 mg of psilocybin/psilocin mixed
or about fifty 10 mg doses. Theoretically psilocin should have the same
effect upon the user as psilocybin. The only difference between the two is
that the later has a phosphate bond which disappears immediately after
assimilation in the body. In other words, in the body psilocybin turns into
psilocin. Psilocybin is a fairly stable compound, but psilocin is very
susceptible to oxidization. It is best to keep the extracted material in a
dry air tight container under refrigeration. A sack of silica-gel can be
placed in the container to capture any moisture that may enter.
DOSAGE
The standard dose of psilocybin or psilocin for a 150 lb person is a
6-20 mg dose. We will figure the average dose as 10 mg. The crude alkaloid
extraction process given here yields a brownish crystalline powder that is
at least 25 percent pure. Each mason jar should contain at least 50 grams
of wet mycelium. After drying this would be about 5 grams of material. The
crude material extracted from this should contain 25-30 mg of psilocybin/
psilocin or roughly 2-3 hits. This yield may very to some extent depending
upon several factors. Many of these species contain less of these alkaloids
than dose Psilocybe cubensis and the alkaloidal content of this species may
very in different strains. Cultivation conditions have alot to do with yield
too. Higher temperatures (75 degrees F.) cause more rapid growth but lesser
psilocybin content than do lower temperatures (70 degrees F.) One must test
each new batch of extracted material to determine the proper distribution
of dosages. Depending on the potency of the mycelia and how well the
extraction was conducted the dose may range between 25 and 100 mg. Also
bear in mind that the dose varies for different individuals.
LARGE SCALE PRODUCTION
The techniques and procedures described in this guide can be employed to
cultivate modest supplies of psilocybin for personal use, or they can be
expanded to apply to the large scale production of many thousand doses per
week. A small 10 x 15 foot room with standard 8 foot ceilings can be set
up to produce an unending yield of at least 5000 doses per week. The stock
culture shelves here are 1 foot deep and 5 feet long. Each could hold
twenty 15 cm petri dishes. If shelving is spaced six inches apart, there
can be as many as 16 shelves stacked in this space. This would allow for
up to 300 stock culture dishes going at one time. The crop culture shelves
can be stacked ten inches apart, accommodating one quart size mason jars and
giving ten levels. With the dimensions of the room as mentioned this much
shelving could hold about 2800 jars (3 deep and 3 per running foot). The
entire room - walls, ceiling, and shelving - should be painted with a white,
glossy kitchen enamel. This is not only an important sanitary measure, but
also improves the efficiency and even distribution of light in the room.
Lighting should be provide by a few banks of wide spectrum fluorescent tubes
fairly evenly distributed across the ceiling and turned on for 10-12 hours
regularly each day. These are great dust catchers, however, and must be
wiped clean periodically. The work table should also be painted with a hard
smooth, white finish. If the table is metal, a small, clean cutting board
must be provided on which to pin down mushroom caps when disecting them.
Shelf boards on the wall next to the table may be extended above the table
to provide space for storage of work equipment and ready containers. A hood
should be constructed around the table to protect it from dust, etc. A fume
hood with a flu vent and spark-free exhaust fan should be constructed over
the extraction area to remove toxic and combustible methanol vapors.
Extraction is preferably conducted in another room. If the cultivation room
is used for extraction while the cultures are growing, care must be taken
that the heat from the extraction process does not alter the room temper-
ature. The fume hood will help by carrying off most of the heat. A vinyl
shower curtain should be hung around the work table to shield the area of
breezes when anyone enters or exits the room. Another vinyl curtain can be
hung just inside the entrance to serve as a dust trap. A person entering
the room would close the door behind him before pulling the curtain aside
- and vice versa on exiting. The floor should be white vinyl or asphalt
tile or painted white and coated with verathane or polyurethane. There
should be no cloth or carpeting in the room except for a supply of clean
worl clothing and surgical masks. The only other items in the room would
be a stool at the work table, a three step ladder for reaching the upper
shelves, and a small table on rollers on which to place jars and dishes
when making the rounds of the shelves.
Unless one has a large staff of assistants it would be impossible to
inoculate 2800 jars in one work session. After getting used to the work
one could do about 100 jars an hour. The best procedure is to set up a
continuous rotation of inoculations. Working about three hours a day about
235 jars could be inoculated each session. All 2800 jars could be inoculated
in 12 days. Sections of shelving would be divided into groups of 235 jars,
and these sections would be labled with the date and approximate time of
inoculation. The work schedule for cultivation would be as follows:
DAY INOCULATE SHAKE HARVEST REINOCULATE
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mon Group A
Tues B
Wed C Group A
Thurs D B
Fri E A and C
Sat F B and D
Sun G A, C, and E
Mon H B, D, and F
Tues I A, C, E, and G
Wed J B, D, F, and H
Thurs K A, C, E, G, and I
Fri L B, D, F, H, and J
Sat Commence
Reinoculation
See Col. 5 C, E, G, I, and K Group A Group A-2
Sun D, F, H, J, and L B B-2
Mon E, G, I, K, and A-2 C C-2
Tues F, H, J, L, and B-2 D D-2
etc. etc. etc. etc.
This would represent the first 2 weeks of the continuous cultivation cycle.
The continuation of this schedule is obvious: shaking every other day,
harvesting approximately every 12 days, and resterilizing, refilling with
fresh medium, autoclaving, and reinoculating the jars liberated by the days
harvest. If the total number of jars is 2800, each group would consist of
235 jars. The same schedule could, of course, be adapted to any number of
jars. Drying of the mycelia should be done within a few hours after harvest-
ing. Otherwise enzymes in the material will begin to destroy the active
alkaloids. Once dried the material can be stored in cool, dark, dry place
until enough daily harvests have been accumulated to do an extraction. If
the mycelia can not be dried right away it can be kept in a refrigerator for
a day or two, or longer times in a freezer.
MAINTAINING A PERPETUAL PSILOCYBIN FARM
Fresh inoculum can come from stock culture dishes kept under refrigeration.
If these should become depleted, healthy strains of mycelium from the crop
cultures can be used to inoculate sterilized agar media in dishes. To do so
shake the crop culture jar violently to break up the mycelium. Then transfer
drops of the liquid into autoclaved petri dishes of unused agar medium with
a sterilized pipette and let it grow as before. If this reinoculation of
stock cultures from existing crops is continued over a long period of time,
the strain will eventually weaken due to what is known as the senescence
factor. To avoid this alternate the media used in the stock dishes. That is:
if PDA is used the first time, use MEA the second time and PDA again the
next time, etc.
RECOMMENDED READING
If you cannot find these books in a bookstore, they can be ordered by mail
from their publishers:
HOMEGROWN HIGHS
M.J. Superweed, 1972. High potency cultivation techniques for several
psychoactive plants including peyote, San Pedro, coleus, and morning glory;
plus a special medium formula and practical method for maximum mcycelial
growth and extra-high psilocybin yield. The formula can be used in
combination with the large-scale production methods in our guide.
Send $1.50 plus .50 handling to: Flash Mail Order Post Express, 9926
Haldeman Ave, Suite 3B, Philadelphia, Pa. 19115
PSILOCYBIN - MAGIC MUSHROOM GROWERS GUIDE. O.T. Oss and O.N. Oeric, 1976.
Excellent guide for those who wish to cultivate carpophores of Stropharia
Cubensis. Nicely illustrated with black and white and color photographs.
Send $4.95 plus .50 handling to: Flash Mail Order Post Express, 9926
Haldeman Ave, Suite 3B, Philadelphia, Pa. 19115.
Two other highly recommended books - Keys to Genera of Higher Fungi and
Poisonous and Hallucinogenic Mushrooms are discussed earlier in this
guide.