Amanita muscaria, a well known psychotropic fungus

Amanita muscaria, fly agaric or "matamoscas" is a fungus that grows in the cold and temperate forests of Europe and Asia. It is a mushroom in the shape of an umbrella, red, and with white spots.
From the genetic and chemical point of view it is very variable. Some varieties produce an intense hallucinogenic effect, but others have a minor effect.
Pedological, climatic and geographic factors can affect their properties.
The active principles of Amanita muscaria are muscarine and muscimol.
Muscimol is the one that provides the visionary effect, while the muscarine seems to be responsible for its relative toxicity.
Amanita muscaria has been used until very recent times, and it is still consumed in many places, in Siberia and in the northern European regions. To a lesser extent it is also used in the mid-latitude Eurasian mountain regions.
The consumption of this fungus produces an emetic effect and almost immediate somnolence, sometimes associated with visions. After passing the drowsiness triggers a period of intense activity and loquacity, which can last for several hours.
It is customary in some consumer populations of amanita, particularly native Siberian communities, to prolong the effect of the fungus by drinking urine. In these ethnic groups it is often considered a courtesy to invite other people with their own urine so that they achieve a similar "drunkenness" effect.
As the reindeer consume the fungus even in winter through the snow, some reindeer-breeding Siberian peoples drink the reindeer's urine to obtain the effects sought to prolong the effects at a time when the fungus is not visible.
Although the contemporary consumption of this fungus is limited, Amanita muscaria was a very important visionary plant during most of the history of the Nordic and mountainous countries of Europe and Asia.
Many of the North European mythological traditions are related to the hallucinations produced by this fungus. The "gnomes" and goblins are frequently integrated into the unmistakable images of Amanita muscaria.
The characteristic white and red color of Amanita was incorporated into many modern traditions. One example is the marketed image of Santa Claus, who is dressed in a red and white dress, and who moves using a sleigh pulled by several reindeer that "fly"
European societies, at the request of official churches, both Catholic and Protestant, managed to exclude this fungus from the usual diet. In many places it was declared taboo, and in others, it was simply relegated to the "imaginary world" of childhood.
To a large extent, the stories of children that became popular in these continents, contain the visionary experiences of the fungus.
Amanita muscaria was a main ingredient used by magicians or shamans during the history of Europe. Surely the preparations of the medieval healers contained this fungus. For a long period, "medicinal women" were classified as "witches", stigmatized and, in many cases, condemned to the stake.
Due to the persecution suffered by the carriers of the traditional culture, many elements of the historical memory of the use of the fungus were lost. Already in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, its consumption had become very marginal, socially insignificant, and for that reason, little dangerous for the dominating society.
Perhaps, also for that reason, Amanita muscaria was not declared taboo, and its consumption has not been outlawed in contemporary times ...
Extracted from "Peoples, Drugs and Serpents", D.Antón, Piriguazú Ediciones