In experienced users, Amanita muscaria and Amanita 
pantherina taken orally produce physical symptoms of rapid 
onset, usually in less than 30 minutes. These may include, 
nausea, drowsiness, muscle spasms and weakness, loss of 
balance and coordination, and a laxative effect, although some 
users report no unpleasant symptoms. As the intoxication 
progresses, a state of great relaxation and dreamy stupor de- 
velops, akin to hypnotic trance. Dream images may be promi- 
nent. Some users liken this state to the combined effects of 
psilocybin and opium. The pull in the direction of sleep is 
distinct from psilocybin intoxication, and although Amanita 
eaters sometimes report visual hallucinations they seem to 
mean enhanced mental imagery rather than the visual changes 
induced by psilocybin and other indole hallucinogens. Effects 
of Amanita may last from four to 12 or more hours, depending 
on dose and individual sensitivity. 
The popularity of Amanita , especially the panther fungus, is 
definitely on the increase in the Pacific Northwest, and there is 
much active experimentation to find out how best to prepare 
and use these mushrooms. 
V. 
The consequences of the explosion of use of psychoactive 
mushrooms in the Pacific Northwest and other parts of North 
America remain to be seen. Mycologists express great concern 
about the possibility of epidemics of mushroom poisoning with 
sO many untrained persons combing the fields and forests in 
search of new highs, but it may be that mycologists tend to be 
overcautious. Certainly there are dangers in eating wild mush- 
rooms, chiefly from the deadly species of Amanita, such as 
A. verna (Bull. ex Fr.) Pers. ex Vitt. and A. phalloides (Vaill. 
ex Fr.) Secr., and from several small mushrooms in the genus 
Galerina that contain the same toxins as the deadly Amanitas. 
It is unfortunate that some mycologists continue to call the 
panther fungus a deadly species: this misinformation may en- 
courage some panther eaters to sample the really deadly ones. 
So far this has not happened. Species of Galerina present some 
danger to people looking for psilocybin mushrooms in woods, 
because they are inconspicuous, brown mushrooms that grow 
on wood or buried wood. People who confine their collecting of 
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