DOSE:

4.0 g

oral

Mushrooms - P. cyanescens

BODY WEIGHT:

165 lb

I have been reading through your 'Families & Psychoactives' section, and I really encourage and support what Erowid is trying to do with this. I thought I could help spread the message by submitting my own brief description/explanation of experiences I have had on psychoactives while with a family member.

The experience I would like to tell you about has occurred with my younger brother.

To start off with, I am an 18 year old male, and my younger brother is 14. I began my experimentation with 'drugs' at the tender young age of 12 when I first smoked marijuana. I was instantly in love with the effects of the Ganja. As many cannabis users can explain, it brought the most wonderful feeling of mellowness and often euphoric laughter. More importantly though, it brings people together. (I would like to add here that, marijuana is not necessary for these things, i.e. mellowness, togetherness, it is just another way of obtaining them). Ganja, as I like to call it, is something I 'grew up' with in a certain era of my life with my friends. We became closer and grew to know each other in different ways through the Ganja. And so, from age 12 I grew and matured with marijuana as a part of my life. I had my difficulties 'growing up', and I still do, we all have challenges to face. Although I will say that marijuana was never the cause of anything negative in my life.

It is true that Ganja magnifies my current state of being, and so if I am already in a 'bad' mental space in life, marijuana is not going to make things better. The reason I mention this is because I am so sick and tired of hearing the hawks against drug use say how negative weed is, how it causes depression, detachment, anxiety, so on and so forth. This is absolute nonsense, take a young man's word for it. These things (depression, anxiety) are caused by our society and by our parents. Marijuana often enough is a way for us to forget about that bullshit. I could go on for days about this subject, but I will move on. Having said that, I am now 18, and I consider myself an experienced user of both cannabis and mushrooms, and I hope to expand my expertise as well.

It was about 2 years ago, when I first introduced my kid brother to marijuana. At the time, he was still 'just a kid', being only 12 himself. At first I felt very apprehensive toward asking him if he wanted to try it. In fact, for about the 3 years or so I'd been using it, I hid the fact from him (and my entire family), not because I thought it was bad, but because they might. When I finally got him into it, I kept wondering if I was doing something wrong, if I was corrupting my 'good little brother'. I eventually came to terms with this. In any case, I had a party one night, and my young bro had his first 'high'. He loved it instantly as well.

From that time on, he began using it here and there, just as I did when I first started, and as time went on, he decided to use it more frequently. Things got interesting because in the summer of 2001 I decided to move away to live with my father. My sister had already moved (both of us had reasons for leaving that house), so that left just my brother and mother living together. He began to come into the age where you discover alot about yourself, and started taking a similar path as me, and while I was gone he became an independant pot smoker himself. It was interesting when I returned the following summer to find my 'little bro' was just like me, he loved the Ganja, smoked it often, and he could smoke with the best of us.

It was the same summer then, when I introduced B to mushrooms. I had already done it many times, upwards of about 50, which is sufficient to wise me up to how it works and what it's like. All of my trips had been before I moved, which he had not known about until I returned in the summer of 2002. By this time I was very open with him about my drug use and had no doubts about it. He was very interested and fascinated by my stories of mushroom trips so I knew he wanted to try it. It was not long before some old companions of mine and myself had planned it out, and my brother had his first mushroom trip. I feel my brother is a very lucky kid, and has many advantages at a younger age that I did not have. He has had the chance to learn alot of the stuff I did, only younger. As well, he has an older brother to guide him, and to learn from, whether it be by my successes or my fuck ups.

My brother and I have always been very close, so it's not like we had any amazing breakthroughs while on mushrooms, other than the fact that it was our first time on it together. However, I really think that under that right circumstances, under the right set/setting, 'mushroom therapy' is something that could be very effective in helping solve any kind of problem, bringing family members closer together, etc. In fact, this could work with a number of different psychoactives. I think it is important to hear such reports as this from young people. I keep reading articles, and seeing shows on 20/20 about the 'dangers of drugs'. No one seems to mention the 'danger of PEOPLE who use them', and we need to ask the question, why are certain people 'dangerous' anyway? Instead of listening to all the 'experts', listen to me, listen to us, listen to the youth. If you'd like to read more about my mushroom experience, in particular one I had with my brother, you can look under mushroom experiences here on Erowids vaults. It is called 'Daemon Journey'. I think you'll enjoy it. Well, I hope my contribution has helped you, whoever you may be. God Speed.

For more discussion about families, see the Families & Psychoactives Vault

Exp Year: 2002	ExpID: 18422
Gender: Male
Age at time of experience: Not Given
Published: Oct 24, 2002	Views: 28,334
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Mushrooms - P. cyanescens (67) : Small Group (2-9) (17), Families (41)