Editing Amanita muscaria (section)

===Psychoactive===
[[File:Mushroom in the Hills of Adelaide.jpg|alt=Amanita muscaria in Mount Lofty, South Australia|thumb|Photographed in Mount Lofty Botanic Gardens, Adelaide Hills, South Australia]]

The wide range of [[Psychoactive drug|psychoactive]] effects have been variously described as [[depressant]], [[sedative]]-[[hypnotic]], [[Psychedelic drug|psychedelic]], [[dissociative]], or [[deliriant]]; [[Paradoxical reaction|paradoxical effect]]s such as [[Stimulant|stimulation]] may occur however. Perceptual phenomena such as [[synesthesia]], [[macropsia]], and [[micropsia]] may occur; the latter two effects may occur either simultaneously or alternatingly, as part of [[Alice in Wonderland syndrome]], collectively known as dysmetropsia, along with related distortions [[pelopsia]] and [[teleopsia]]. Some users report [[lucid dream]]ing under the influence of its hypnotic effects. Unlike ''[[Psilocybe cubensis]]'', ''A.&nbsp;muscaria'' cannot be commercially [[Fungiculture|cultivated]], due to its [[mycorrhiza]]l relationship with the roots of [[pine]] trees. However, following the outlawing of [[psilocybin mushroom]]s in the United Kingdom in 2006, the sale of the still legal ''A.&nbsp;muscaria'' began increasing.<ref name=EMC2006>{{cite book|title=Hallucinogenic mushrooms an emerging trend case study.|date=2006|publisher=European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction|location=Lisbon|isbn=978-92-9168-249-2|url=http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/attachements.cfm/att_31215_EN_TP_Hallucinogenic_mushrooms.pdf|page=17|access-date=2009-02-13|archive-date=2012-03-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120329044308/http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/attachements.cfm/att_31215_EN_TP_Hallucinogenic_mushroom.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[Marija Gimbutas]] reported to [[R. Gordon Wasson]] that in remote areas of [[Lithuania]], ''A.&nbsp;muscaria'' has been consumed at [[wedding feast]]s, in which mushrooms were mixed with [[vodka]]. She also reported that the Lithuanians used to export ''A.&nbsp;muscaria'' to the [[Sami people|Sami]] in the Far North for use in [[shamanic]] rituals. The Lithuanian festivities are the only report that Wasson received of ingestion of fly agaric for religious use in Eastern Europe.<ref name=Wasson1980>{{cite book |title=The Wondrous Mushroom: Mycolatry in Mesoamerica |last=Wasson |first=R. Gordon|year=1980|publisher=McGraw-Hill |isbn=978-0-07-068443-0|pages=43–44}}</ref>

==== Siberia ====
[[File:Amanita muscaria. Eastern Siberia.jpg|thumb|upright|''Amanita muscaria'', Eastern Siberia]]
''A. muscaria'' was widely used as an [[entheogen]] by many of the [[indigenous peoples of Siberia]]. Its use was known among almost all of the [[Uralic languages|Uralic]]-speaking peoples of western Siberia and the [[Paleosiberian]]-speaking peoples of the [[Russian Far East]]. There are only isolated reports of ''A.&nbsp;muscaria'' use among the [[Tungusic peoples|Tungusic]] and [[Turkic peoples]] of central Siberia and it is believed that on the whole entheogenic use of ''A.&nbsp;muscaria'' was not practised by these peoples.<ref name="nyberg1">{{cite journal |last1=Nyberg |first1=Harri |title=Religious use of hallucinogenic fungi: A comparison between Siberian and Mesoamerican cultures |journal=Karstenia |date=1992 |volume=32 |issue=2 |pages=71–80 |doi=10.29203/ka.1992.294 }}</ref> In western Siberia, the use of ''A.&nbsp;muscaria'' was restricted to shamans, who used it as an alternative method of achieving a [[trance]] state. (Normally, Siberian shamans achieve trance by prolonged drumming and dancing.) In eastern Siberia, ''A.&nbsp;muscaria'' was used by both shamans and laypeople alike, and was used recreationally as well as religiously.<ref name="nyberg1" /> In eastern Siberia, the [[shamanism|shaman]] would take the mushrooms, and others would drink his urine.{{sfn|Wasson|1968|p=161}} This urine, still containing psychoactive elements, may be more potent than the ''A.&nbsp;muscaria'' mushrooms with fewer negative effects such as sweating and twitching, suggesting that the initial user may act as a screening filter for other components in the mushroom.<ref name="Diaz">{{cite book|author=Diaz, J.|title=How Drugs Influence Behavior: A Neurobehavioral Approach|publisher=Prentice Hall|location=Upper Saddle River, N.J.|year=1996|isbn=978-0-02-328764-0 }}</ref>

The [[Koryaks|Koryak]] of eastern Siberia have a story about the fly agaric (''wapaq'') which enabled Big Raven to carry a whale to its home. In the story, the deity ''Vahiyinin'' ("Existence") spat onto earth, and his [[spittle]] became the ''wapaq'', and his saliva becomes the warts. After experiencing the power of the ''wapaq'', Raven was so exhilarated that he told it to grow forever on earth so his children, the people, could learn from it.{{sfn|Ramsbottom|1989|p=45}} Among the [[Koryaks]], one report said that the poor would consume the urine of the wealthy, who could afford to buy the mushrooms.{{sfn|Wasson|1968|pp=234–235}} It was reported that the local reindeer would often follow an individual intoxicated by the muscimol mushroom, and if said individual were to urinate in snow the reindeer would become similarly intoxicated and the [[Koryaks|Koryak]] people's would use the drunken state of the reindeer to more easily rope and hunt them.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lee |first1=MR |last2=Dukan |first2=E |last3=Milne |first3=I |title=Amanita Muscaria (Fly Agaric): From a Shamanistic Hallucinogen to the Search for Acetylcholine |journal=Journal of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh |date=March 2018 |volume=48 |issue=1 |pages=85–91 |doi=10.4997/jrcpe.2018.119 |pmid=29741535 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

==== Recent rise in popularity ====
{{See also|Mushroom edible}}
As a result of a lack of regulation, the use of ''Amanita muscaria'' as a popular legal alternative to [[Hallucinogen|hallucinogens]] has grown exponentially in recent years. In 2024, [[Google Trends|Google]] searches for Amanita muscaria rose nearly 200% from the previous year, a trend that an article published in the [[American Journal of Preventive Medicine|American Journal of Preventative Medicine]] correlated with the sudden commercialization of ''Amanita muscaria'' products on the internet.<ref name="Leas-2024">{{Cite journal |last=Leas |first=Eric |date=June 10, 2024 |title=Need for a Public Health Response to the Unregulated Sales of Amanita muscaria Mushrooms |journal=[[American Journal of Preventive Medicine]]|volume=67 |issue=3 |pages=458–463 |doi=10.1016/j.amepre.2024.05.006 |pmid=38864780 |pmc=11832274 }}</ref>

While Amanita mushrooms are unscheduled in the United States, they are listed as a poison by the FDA.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Bad Bug Book |publisher=[[Food and Drug Administration]] |year=2012 |isbn=978-1973853237 |edition=2nd |location=United States |pages=222}}</ref> Amanita mushrooms and muscimol are not approved as an ingredient in food,<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Program |first=Human Foods |date=2024-12-18 |title=FDA Alerts Industry and Consumers about the Use of Amanita Muscaria or its Constituents in Food |url=https://www.fda.gov/food/hfp-constituent-updates/fda-alerts-industry-and-consumers-about-use-amanita-muscaria-or-its-constituents-food |journal=FDA |language=en}}</ref> with some drawing comparisons to the controversial legal status of [[Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018|hemp-derived cannabinoids]].<ref name="Leas-2024" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Miller |first=Patricia |date=2024-01-25 |title=Can Brands Create Quality, Compliant Amanita Mushroom Products? |url=https://cannatechtoday.com/can-brands-create-quality-compliant-amanita-mushroom-products/ |access-date=2024-07-15 |website=Cannabis & Tech Today |language=en-US}}</ref> The FDA is currently evaluating the use of ''Amanita muscaria'' and its constituents in dietary supplements, reminding manufacturers to ensure their ingredients meet safety standards and encouraging them to consult the Office of Dietary Supplement Programs with any questions.<ref name="FDA2024b" />

A recent outbreak of poisonings and at least one death associated with products containing ''Amanita muscaria'' extracts has sparked debates regarding the [[Drug prohibition|regulatory status]] of Amanita mushrooms and their psychoactive constituents, prompting an FDA ban of their use in food products in December 2024.<ref name="Leas-2024" /><ref name="Blum-2024">{{Cite news |last=Blum |first=Dani |date=2024-06-10 |title=Mushroom Edibles Recalled After Spate of Serious Illnesses |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/10/fda-microdose-chocolate.html |access-date=2024-07-14 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> These products often use misleading advertising, such as erroneous comparisons to [[Psilocybin mushroom|Psilocybin mushrooms]] or simply not disclosing the inclusion of Amanita mushrooms on the packaging.<ref name="Blum-2024" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Schuster-Bruce |first=Catherine |title=A legal psychedelic mushroom species is being sold in the US. It can cause euphoria — or 'temporary insanity' |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/legal-psychedelic-mushroom-amanita-muscaria-sold-us-euphoria-temporary-insanity-2022-10 |access-date=2024-07-14 |website=Business Insider |language=en-US}}</ref>

==== Other reports and theories ====
The Finnish historian [[T. I. Itkonen]] mentions that ''A.&nbsp;muscaria'' was once used among the [[Sámi peoples]]. Sorcerers in [[Inari, Finland|Inari]] would consume fly agarics with seven spots.{{sfn|Wasson|1968|p=279}} In 1979, Said Gholam Mochtar and [[Hartmut Geerken]] published an article in which they claimed to have discovered a tradition of medicinal and recreational use of this mushroom among a [[Parachi]]-speaking group in [[Afghanistan]].<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.erowid.org/plants/amanitas/references/journal/1979_mochtar_afghanistan1.shtml|title=The Hallucinogens Muscarine and Ibotenic Acid in the Middle Hindu Kush: A contribution on traditional medicinal mycology in Afghanistan|author1=Mochtar, S. G. |author2= Geerken, H.|translator=P. G. Werner|year=1979|journal=Afghanistan Journal|volume=6|pages=62–65|language=de|access-date=2009-02-23| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090217163249/http://www.erowid.org/plants/amanitas/references/journal/1979_mochtar_afghanistan1.shtml| archive-date= 17 February 2009 | url-status= live|quote=Several Shutulis asserted that Amanita-extract was administered orally as a medicine for treatment of psychotic conditions, as well as externally as a therapy for localised frostbite.}}</ref> There are also unconfirmed reports of religious use of ''A.&nbsp;muscaria'' among two Subarctic [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native American]] tribes. [[Ojibwa]] ethnobotanist [[Keewaydinoquay Peschel]] reported its use among her people, where it was known as {{transliteration|oj|miskwedo}} (an abbreviation of the name {{transliteration|oj|oshtimisk wajashkwedo}} (= "red-top mushroom").<ref>{{cite book|author =Peschel, Keewaydinoquay|author-link=Keewaydinoquay Peschel|title= Puhpohwee for the people: a narrative account of some uses of fungi among the Ahnishinaubeg|publisher=Botanical Museum of Harvard University|location=Cambridge, MA|year=1978|isbn=978-1-879528-18-5}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Navet, E. |year=1988 |title=Les Ojibway et l'Amanite tue-mouche (''Amanita muscaria''). Pour une éthnomycologie des Indiens d'Amérique du Nord |journal=Journal de la Société des Américanistes |volume=74 |issue=1 |pages=163–80 |doi=10.3406/jsa.1988.1334 |language=fr }}</ref> This information was enthusiastically received by Wasson, although evidence from other sources was lacking.{{sfn|Letcher|2006|p=149}} There is also one account of a Euro-American who claims to have been initiated into traditional [[Tlicho]] use of ''Amanita muscaria''.<ref>{{cite book|author=Larsen, S.|title=The Shaman's Doorway|publisher=Station Hill Press|location=New York, NY|year=1976|isbn=978-0-89281-672-9}}</ref> 

Mycophilosopher Martijn Benders has proposed a novel evolutionary theory involving ''Amanita muscaria''. In his book ''Amanita Muscaria – the Book of the Empress'', Benders argues that a precursor of ibotenic acid, a compound found in the mushroom, was present in ancient seaweed and played a significant role in the evolution of life. According to this hypothesis, the compound influenced the twitching movements of early aquatic organisms, leading to the development of behaviors such as jumping onto land—a crucial step in the evolution of terrestrial species.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.martijnbenders.nl/whats-inside-the-book/ |title=Amanita Muscaria – the Book of the Empress |last=Benders |first=Martijn |date=2024 |website=martijnbenders.nl |access-date=2025-01-08}}</ref>

The flying [[reindeer]] of [[Santa Claus]], who is called [[Joulupukki]] in [[Finland]], could symbolize the use of ''A.&nbsp;muscaria'' by Sámi shamans.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Xulu|first=Melanie|date=2017-12-12|title=Santa Claus the Magic Mushroom & the Psychedelic Origins of Christmas|url=https://moofmag.com/2017/12/12/santa-claus-the-magic-mushroom-the-psychedelic-origins-of-christmas/|access-date=2020-12-26|website=MOOF|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Magic mushrooms & Reindeer - Weird Nature - BBC animals - YouTube|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkCS9ePWuLU |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/MkCS9ePWuLU| archive-date=2021-12-11 |url-status=live|access-date=2020-12-26|website=www.youtube.com| date=26 January 2009 }}{{cbignore}}</ref>{{sfn|Feeney|2020|p={{pn|date=December 2024}}}} However, Sámi scholars and the Sámi peoples themselves refute any connection between Santa Claus and Sámi history or culture.<ref name="Campbell 2023">{{Cite magazine|last=Campbell|first=Olivia|journal=National Geographic|date=Dec 21, 2023|title=What does Santa have to do with … psychedelic mushrooms?|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/santa-claus-magic-mushroom-legend |access-date=2023-12-22}}</ref><blockquote>"The story of Santa emerging from a Sámi shamanic tradition has a critical number of flaws," asserts Tim Frandy, assistant professor of Nordic Studies at the University of British Columbia and a member of the Sámi descendent community in North America. "The theory has been widely criticized by Sámi people as a stereotypical and problematic romanticized misreading of actual Sámi culture."<ref name="Campbell 2023" /></blockquote>

===== Vikings =====
The notion that [[Viking]]s used ''A.&nbsp;muscaria'' to produce their [[berserker]] rages was first suggested by the Swedish professor Samuel Ödmann in 1784.<ref>{{in lang|sv}} Ödmann S. (1784) Försök at utur Naturens Historia förklara de nordiska gamla Kämpars Berserka-gang (An attempt to Explain the Berserk-raging of Ancient Nordic Warriors through Natural History). ''Kongliga Vetenskaps Academiens nya Handlingar'' '''5''': 240–247 (In: {{harvnb|Wasson|1968|p={{pn|date=December 2024}}}}</ref> Ödmann based his theories on reports about the use of fly agaric among [[Shamanism in Siberia|Siberian shamans]]. The notion has become widespread since the 19th century, but no contemporary sources mention this use or anything similar in their description of berserkers. Muscimol is generally a mild relaxant, but it can create a range of different reactions within a group of people.<ref name="HofferOsmond1967">{{cite book | author1=[[Abram Hoffer]] | author2=[[Humphrey Osmond]] | chapter=Chapter IV - Indole Hallucinogens Derived from Tryptophan | pages=443–516 (443–454) | chapter-url=https://bitnest.netfirms.com/external/Books/TheHallucinogens#page=451 | title=The Hallucinogens | publisher=Elsevier | date=1967 | isbn=978-1-4832-3296-6 | doi=10.1016/B978-1-4832-3296-6.50008-2 | lccn=66030086 | oclc=332437 | ol=OL35255701M  | url=https://bitnest.netfirms.com/external/Books/TheHallucinogens}}</ref> It is possible that it could make a person angry, or cause them to be "very jolly or sad, jump about, dance, sing or give way to great fright".<ref name="HofferOsmond1967" /> Comparative analysis of symptoms have, however, since shown ''[[Hyoscyamus niger]]'' to be a better fit to the state that characterises the berserker rage.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Fatur |first1=Karsten |title=Sagas of the Solanaceae: Speculative ethnobotanical perspectives on the Norse berserkers |journal=Journal of Ethnopharmacology |date=November 2019 |volume=244 |pages=112151 |doi=10.1016/j.jep.2019.112151 |pmid=31404578 }}</ref>

===== Soma =====
{{See also|Botanical identity of Soma-Haoma}}

In 1968, [[R. Gordon Wasson]] proposed that ''A.&nbsp;muscaria'' was the ''[[Soma (drink)|soma]]'' talked about in the [[Rigveda]] of India,{{sfn|Wasson|1968|p=10}} a claim which received widespread publicity and popular support at the time.{{sfn|Letcher|2006|p=145}} He noted that descriptions of ''Soma'' omitted any description of roots, stems or seeds, which suggested a mushroom,<ref>Wasson, ''Soma'', p. 18.</ref> and used the adjective ''hári'' "dazzling" or "flaming" which the author interprets as meaning red.{{sfn|Wasson|1968|pp=36–37}} One line described men urinating ''Soma''; this recalled the practice of recycling urine in Siberia. Soma is mentioned as coming "from the mountains", which Wasson interpreted as the mushroom having been brought in with the Aryan migrants from the north.{{sfn|Wasson|1968|pp=22–24}} Indian scholars Santosh Kumar Dash and Sachinanda Padhy pointed out that both eating of mushrooms and drinking of urine were proscribed, using as a source the ''[[Manusmṛti]]''.{{sfn|Letcher|2006|p=146}}
In 1971, Vedic scholar John Brough from Cambridge University rejected Wasson's theory and noted that the language was too vague to determine a description of Soma.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Brough |first1=John |title=Soma and Amanita muscaria |journal=Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies |date=June 1971 |volume=34 |issue=2 |pages=331–362 |doi=10.1017/S0041977X0012957X }}</ref> In his 1976 survey, ''Hallucinogens and Culture'', anthropologist Peter T. Furst evaluated the evidence for and against the identification of the fly agaric mushroom as the Vedic Soma, concluding cautiously in its favour.{{sfn|Furst|1976|pp=96–108}} Kevin Feeney and Trent Austin compared the references in the Vedas with the filtering mechanisms in the preparation of Amanita muscaria and published findings supporting the proposal that fly-agaric mushrooms could be a likely candidate for the sacrament.{{sfn|Feeney|2020|p={{pn|date=December 2024}}}} Other proposed candidates include ''[[Psilocybe cubensis]]'', ''[[Peganum harmala]]'',{{sfn|Flattery|Schwartz|1989|p={{pn|date=December 2024}}}} and ''[[Ephedra (genus)|Ephedra]].''

===== Christianity =====
[[File:A detail from part of an early 4th century AD mosaic depicting a basket of mushrooms belonging to the floor of the Theodorian transversal hall, Basilica di Santa Maria Assunta, Aquileia, Italy (21409510664).jpg|thumb|[[Mosaic]] of red mushrooms, found in the Christian [[Basilica di Santa Maria Assunta, Aquileia|Basilica di Santa Maria Assunta]], in [[Aquileia]], northern Italy, dating to before 330 CE]]
Philologist, archaeologist, and [[Dead Sea Scrolls]] scholar [[John Marco Allegro]] postulated that early Christian [[theology]] was derived from a fertility cult revolving around the [[entheogen]]ic consumption of ''A. muscaria'' in his 1970 book ''[[The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross]].''<ref>
{{cite book | author = Allegro, J. | year = 1970 | title = The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross: A Study of the Nature and Origins of Roman Theology within the Fertility Cults of the Ancient Near East | publisher = Hodder & Stoughton | location = London| isbn = 978-0-340-12875-6}}</ref> This theory has found little support by scholars outside the field of [[ethnomycology]]. The book was widely criticized by academics and theologians, including [[Godfrey Rolles Driver|Sir Godfrey Driver]], emeritus Professor of Semitic Philology at [[Oxford University]] and [[Henry Chadwick (theologian)|Henry Chadwick]], the Dean of [[Christ Church, Oxford]].{{sfn|Letcher|2006|p=160}} Christian author John C. King wrote a detailed rebuttal of Allegro's theory in the 1970 book ''A Christian View of the Mushroom Myth''; he notes that neither fly agarics nor their host trees are found in the [[Middle East]], even though cedars and pines are found there, and highlights the tenuous nature of the links between biblical and Sumerian names coined by Allegro. He concludes that if the theory were true, the use of the mushroom must have been "the best kept secret in the world" as it was so well concealed for two thousand years.<ref>{{cite book|author=King, J. C. |title=A Christian View of the Mushroom Myth|publisher=Hodder & Stoughton|location=London|year=1970|isbn=978-0-340-12597-7}}{{pn|date=December 2024}}</ref>{{sfn|Letcher|2006|p=161}}