Psilomethoxin #

Introduction #

Psilomethoxin (Pm) offers soothing comfort similar to MDMA, but without MDMA’s stimulant-like effects.¹ Pm might be an incredibly important discovery because it might be the ideal complement to psychotherapy.²

For more information, read my case report.

Credit: Christopher Scott

Contraindications #

Since psilomethoxin is similar to 5-MeO-DMT, it is prudent to regard contraindications for 5-MeO-DMT as contraindications for psilomethoxin until we have more data.

• Allergy to Psilocybe mushrooms³
• Epilepsy (a strong contraindication for 5-MeO-DMT)
• 5-MeO-DMT interacts with CYP2D6 and monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitors.
  • CYP2D6 inhibitors such as Paroxetine, Bupropion, Quinidine, etc
  • MAO inhibitors such as beta carbolines, harmala alkaloids, moclobemide, etc
• Serotonin reuptake inhibitors
• Lithium
• Pregnancy or breastfeeding

Sources for this information include:

• F.I.V.E.’s Risks and Cautions
• Evidence and Data Regarding the Safety of Psilomethoxin Sacrament

Suggestions for Initial Use #

There can be a lot of anxiety associated with the first use of a substance. The goal of this brief guide is to help you enjoy Pm, for the first time, with the least amount of risk. Since Pm blunts anxiety, it is particularly important not to put yourself in a situation that stokes anxiety.

Storage #

If you have dried Psilocybe mushroom powder, store it at room temperature in a dark place. Storage in a refrigerator or freezer is not recommended because low temperatures can cause water to condense and the water can cause degradation.

Cooking #

Pm is sensitive to heat. This is thought to be one reason why Pm has not yet yielded to scientific analysis. To mix the powder with chocolate, use the lowest possible temperature.

Dosage #

Start with a low-to-medium psycholytic dose. In this dose range, there is practically no visual or cognitive distortion. The most obvious subjective effects are that you can no longer feel anxiety or boredom and a reduced interest in multitasking.

To make the discussion less cumbersome, refer to the following abbreviations:

A journey can benefit from a pm savvy guide because Pm is amenable to emotional contagion and coherence. For this reason, a pm savvy guide should use the same or similar dose as the friend companion. A sober trip sitter is of little benefit. If a pm savvy guide is not available then a group of two or more naïve persons can work together to stabilize the emotional coherence.

Amounts are in mg of dried Psilocybe mushroom powder.

Timing #

Consume Pm at breakfast or lunchtime. The effects of Pm are best appreciated in the daytime because of the contrast to typical daytime mood. At night, there is already a natural tendency to feel somewhat similar to the effects of Pm, making the contrast less vivid.

Food? #

In contrast to alcohol, the effects of Pm seem mostly unaffected by recently eaten food. If you take Pm in a capsule, chew the capsule before swallowing; there have been reports of 1-2 hour delays possibly caused by consuming intact capsules on an empty stomach. Taking a little food with Pm seems to speed absorption. If you struggle with nausea then you may prefer to eat less food or use an antiemetic.⁴ I suspect any nausea is mostly associated with anxiety. So you may feel more nausea during the initial journey but no nausea from larger doses, once you get comfortable with Pm.

Administration #

Once you decide on a dose, take the whole dose at once, or maybe within 5-10 minutes, if you want to try a tiny bit and then finish the rest. Don’t use Pm more than once per day; to get familiar with the substance, you want to feel the subjective effects from the peak all the way through the afterglow and back to baseline. The mild lingering afterglow can last for 3-12 hours.⁵

Set & Setting #

The subjective effects of Pm are not like coffee. With coffee, you drink your first cup and immediately notice increased alertness, wakefulness, and improved cognitive performance. In addition, you may notice enhanced mood and reduced anxiety, but with another cup or two you may notice a rebound in anxiety along with jitters, insomnia, and headaches. In contrast, the effects of Pm can be surprisingly subtle. You may notice no difference and doubt whether Pm has any effect whatsoever. You could take a higher dose for more dramatic effects, but it is safer to be as receptive as possible with a lower dose.

To sensitize yourself to the effects of Pm, select a boring environment. You might go for a walk in the park during the first hour of the journey, but after that, you should sit down somewhere isolated. Find an environment where you can test whether you can still feel boredom. If you are a restless impatient person, this is actually an advantage because it will be easier to notice when you cannot feel boredom.

Suppose the subjective experience of Pm can be reduced to a slope (see above). Pm is a psychoactive chameleon in the sense that its effects are strongly influenced by expectation and the user’s state of mind. If you bring the appropriate expectation, the experience can feel similar to nitrous oxide (laughing gas) or psilocybin. To really understand the effect, it is important to sample Pm at different dosages. This helps constrain the slope. If you only try a dose of 500mg then there is a lot of uncertainty about what the subjective effects actual are (lightly dotted lines). If you try 500mg and 1g then that narrows down the subjective effects somewhat (dashed lines). If you try 500mg, 1g, and 2g then you can look for commonalities across your experiences to refine your understanding of the effect (thick line).

Activity is another variable. Whereas I recommend starting with a boring environment, it is also interesting to experiment with deliberate combinations of Pm with various activities:

• A group might plan a hikrodose that consists of consuming a microdose and then hiking through nature together.⁶
• Tour museums
• Receive a massage
• Physical activities (e.g., lift weights, hatha yoga, dance)
• Music appreciation (e.g., concert, soundbath)
• Play video games
• Go beyond boring environments with formal meditation.
• Pm is well suited to talk therapy because of the wide psycholytic dosage range. IFS therapists are experimenting with using Pm in the therapist role. Pm might also be used by the client, or by both the therapist and client simultaneously.

Notes #