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TranscendentPretzel t1_jant4cq wrote

Reply to comment by Shadow3114 in Seeking psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy by [deleted]

I tried this a couple of years ago. It was hard, especially since spore syringes and spore prints (the only legal way of acquiring mushroom DNA) tend to also be sources of contamination. If you are super depressed, starting a new hobby like this, which requires time, resources, and the ability to stick to a schedule is really difficult. After a few failures due to contamination I gave up. I have had one mushroom experience that did more to help me deal with trauma and CPTSD than any of the hours (and $$$) spent with mental health professionals and on many many anti-depressants. I'd really love to continue that work legally. It sucks that legislators voted against bills to legalize therapeutic psilocybin. While they take their sweet ass time getting comfortable with the idea of a controlled-substance as scientifically proven medicine, people continue to suffer and seek illegal ways to self-medicate, which is bullshit. Sorry about the rant.

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Shadow3114 t1_janumpz wrote

I’m not sure if sterilization has gotten better with spore syringes, but with ~5 mins a day of effort, I’ve gotten more than I can reasonably consume. I do agree though, not sure how these harmless little fungi can be prohibited. It’s a literal plant, with very real mental health benefits.

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TranscendentPretzel t1_janvo3w wrote

I used a pressure canner and made agar dishes and sterilized my substrate. The agar dishes that I didn't inoculate stayed contam free, so I'm pretty certain it was the syringes. But I'm sure it depends on who prepares them. All the cleaning and sterilizing I did before actually doing the 5 minutes/day of work was what was overwhelming for me. To still get contam after that was just too demoralizing. I might try again sometime with commercially-prepared substrate/spawn.

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