Our take on Amanita muscaria

This exciting release falls at a strange time,  when Amanita has only recently received a Non-GRAS (generally regarded as safe) rating from the FDA. This is due to misreporting and false claims of Amanita's presence in recreational products. Because of this, there is a possibility that this product may soon be added to our limited menu, accessible only to our 21+ Patreon community lovingly referred to as the MycroVerse.

Dear Dr. Bose,

My name is Andrea Shuman, and I am the owner of Mycrodrops.com. 

I have recently read your article on Amanita Muscaria and your suggestion for greater regulation. I appreciate that you took the time to understand the components from a botanical perspective, so I would like to talk with you about my perspective, which is experiential as well as lab-tested. I would also like to offer some comments on my personal experience both producing and using Amanita products:

First, I would like to commend you for your concern over what is being seen in the marketplace and advertised as amanita muscaria, and let you know that I share many of your concerns. I do, however, differ from your conclusions in a significant way. I trained as an Ayurvedic Practitioner at the California College of Ayurveda and have practiced herbal and botanical medicine since 2005. I am an experienced formulator and am fastidious about the safety of my customers. I have been honing my Amanita Recipe for quite some time and would gladly offer it up for study as I am confident in its safety. My experience is highly practical and clinical. I use 3rd party testing. 

Many of the reports on "Amanita" products in the market are not even verified to actually contain muscimol or ibotinic acid and, even further, are not proven to have come from amanita muscaria. Products such as "Diamond Shruums Microdosing bars"(<--click to see pharmacological evaluation) which sent people to the hospital, in best cases, and killed more than one person, in worst cases, were NOT found to have amanita AT ALL, but its presence in even a few bars saw amanita roundly blamed for it.  Prescription drugs, including pregabalin and other misused and highly concentrated plant and synthetic substances were found in the bars affecting sickened customers. The article and all of the research on what was used are not set up in such a way as to implicate Amanita as the reason these people fell ill. Kavalactones found in the bar represent another case of "how you use something determines its safety". KavaKava is also not dangerous when used appropriately. The point is that in these deadly incidents, we are looking at a mixed pharmacological effect, and some of the bars in question, which caused harm, didn't even contain Amanita. 

In addition to muscimol, FDA analyses of Diamond Shruumz-brand Chocolate Bar, Infused Cone, and Gummies samples identified the presence of the following compounds:]

• Acetylpsilocin (also known as 4-acetoxy-N, N-dimethyltryptamine, 4-acetoxy-DMT, O-acetylpsilocin or psilacetin) was found in nine (9) Chocolate Bar samples, five (5) Infused Cone samples, and 14 gummy samples;

• Psilocin, a Schedule I-controlled substance, was found in four (4) Chocolate Bar samples, five (5) Infused Cone samples, and 14 gummy samples;

• Pregabalin, a prescription drug, was found in three (3) Chocolate Bar samples, five (5) Infused Cone samples, and four (4) gummy samples;

• Desmethoxyyangonin, dihydrokavain, and kavain (kavalactones found in the kava plant), were all present together in 18 Chocolate Bar samples, all 10 of the Infused Cone samples, and 11 gummy samples;

• Ibotenic acid and muscimol were detected in the raw ingredient that was reportedly used in the manufacturing of some Diamond Shruumz-brand products."

Amanita is a class of mushrooms that goes from edible to incredibly toxic and everything in between. Amanita MUSCARIA, however, enjoys the status of being one of the oldest entheogens on the planet and has been used successfully in many cultures for myriad health complaints. I use CAREFULLY PROCESSED Amanita myself for sleep, and it has been revolutionary. My watch data shows improved REM and DEEP sleep, and I am sharper, calmer, and more productive when I use it for sleep. Amanita CHANGES depending on how it is made! Like Pufferfish is toxic before the toxin is removed, but a sushi delicacy, once processed, is really about how it is made. Heat in the process of water extraction and acid (to lower PH) assist the conversion of Ibotenic Acid to Muscimol. Muscimol is NOT overtly toxic and, like anything, is DOSE DEPENDENT. Just like chugging a bottle of Ibuprofen can be toxic, so can taking too much ibotenic acid (primarily, as it is much more of a toxin than muscimol). When the liver hits the load, the rest is toxic. However, the amounts required for toxicity far exceed the amounts required for a dose. Small amounts of lithium are non-toxic, and large amounts are deadly. Even a super small amount of pure nicotine or caffeine can be deadly, and neither of those substances are banned. One person's medicine is indeed another's poison, but so much of it matters if you have conflicting medications or are imbibing it in concert with myriad other substances, as is the case for most complaints on so-called amanita-containing products on the market. 

With Amanita Muscaria, it is not the what but the HOW it is produced. When synthetic muscimol is deployed in large amounts with the intention of getting people HIGH, there is potential for danger. When mixed with Barbituates or Benzos, there is a high potential for danger. The reality is though, that this mushroom has been used safely for centuries. 

The traditional way to use Amanita is speculated to be a simple broth (or by drinking the filtered urine of the raindeer that consumed it!).  During the process of boiling for 30 minutes and adding an acid (I choose ascorbic acid with organic bioflavonoids), my broth renders Ibotenic acid UNDETECTABLE and no longer an issue. I use 1-3mg muscimol per serving. This comes from approximately 1-3 grams by dry weight of amanita muscaria, boiled and strained. 

How Amanita has improved my life are hard to convey. I cannot believe how much better my sleep is. I am much more patient and calm in the morning after utilizing only 2mg muscimol. We use REAL amanita, which is species verified. This matters. Not all species of Amanita contain muscimol! Many species are extremely toxic. Amanita muscaria is not when prepared correctly. If you pass by a FRESH amanita in the woods and eat it, you will likely go on one hell of a ride, which may include being sick, and in rare cases, there have been deaths, but this is NOT HOW IT IS MEANT TO BE USED. Like the pufferfish, it requires proper preparation. Amanita muscaria is even a traditional FOOD in many places, including Japa,n and food prep is yet even a different process. Decarboxylation is indeed what determines the ratio of ibotenic acid to muscimol, BOTH of which can have positive effects depending on the amount and ratio used. 

We need to stop demonizing entire species because of fear. The real solution for this is proper TESTING and proper formulation. Regulation is also what I seek, but I do not believe we need to leave this only to pharmaceutical companies (who are researching muscimol for healing as we speak) but create common sense regulation including testing. WHAT is in the products? Let's lay it bare! I would put my beautiful Amanita Muscaria Instant broth up for examination alongside gummies and bars claiming this is what they contain. If you are interested in speaking or taking me up on this challenge, I would LOVE to be part of it. This is not a mushroom to be feared but to be respected and used with care. It is a mushroom that can be revolutionary for the sleep-deprived, having the wonderful benefit of improved sleep QUALITY, not just knocking you out. You wake up from Amanita refreshed and often with a few fewer hours of sleep but feeling more rested. It is truly incredible, so let's not axe it before we have a chance to understand it. We have hundreds of people who have tested these products and LOVE them. I go back and forth on the recent FDA letter saying that Amanita is nonGRAS. Indeed, it is NOT ALWAYS safe outside of its appropriate administration, but it is the emoji mushroom for a reason. It has long held use from northern and eastern Europe to India, and it grows all over the world. I would put my formula against nearly any sleep aid on the market where safety and addiction are concerned. 

I would love the opportunity to speak more with you on this and see if there is a place of mutual experimentation that we could set up to further this conversation. 

 

Sincerely, 

 

Andrea Shuman

Founder/CEO Mycrodrops.com