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hanuman
Stranger

Registered: 07/24/09
Posts: 10
Loc: Sweden
Last seen: 13 years, 3 months
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is there a psilocybin field test kit
#10769530 - 07/30/09 03:59 PM (14 years, 6 months ago) |
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hi,
is there a field test kit that can test for psilocybin content in a mushroom?
if the cops arrest someone w/ a bag of mushrooms how do they determine if there is psilocybin present? do they have to send it to a lab or are they able to test it in house?
it would save a lot of questions of whether a mushroom is magic or poisonous.
thanks.
-------------------- Legalize it!
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CureCat
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Registered: 04/19/06
Posts: 14,058
Loc: clawing your furniture
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Re: is there a psilocybin field test kit [Re: hanuman]
#10769573 - 07/30/09 04:04 PM (14 years, 6 months ago) |
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Quote:
hanuman said: is there a field test kit that can test for psilocybin content in a mushroom?
No.
Quote:
hanuman said: do they have to send it to a lab or are they able to test it in house?
Yes.
Quote:
hanuman said: it would save a lot of questions of whether a mushroom is magic or poisonous.
Sure would. You wouldn't have to learn much at all, except maybe where to find them.
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hanuman
Stranger

Registered: 07/24/09
Posts: 10
Loc: Sweden
Last seen: 13 years, 3 months
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Re: is there a psilocybin field test kit [Re: CureCat]
#10769677 - 07/30/09 04:22 PM (14 years, 6 months ago) |
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thanks,
it's not about not having to learn about mycology as you put it. you might think of it more like having a compass to determine North than using the stars to navigate.
nicely put though, although a tad passive aggressive.
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CureCat
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Registered: 04/19/06
Posts: 14,058
Loc: clawing your furniture
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Re: is there a psilocybin field test kit [Re: hanuman]
#10769805 - 07/30/09 04:47 PM (14 years, 6 months ago) |
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Hahaha. It makes it easier, and it would be a nice tool in addition to learning how to positively identify mushrooms.
I remember when I asked if metol tests work, for the same reason. so I see where you are coming from... It can also be a little unnerving the first couple times you try a new species! It would be nice to have a test to tell you you definitely won't die.
But having learned how to positively identify active mushrooms, I don't think that it is really that hard. It just takes time and focus.
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Alan Rockefeller
Mycologist


Registered: 03/10/07
Posts: 48,311
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Re: is there a psilocybin field test kit [Re: hanuman]
#10770793 - 07/30/09 08:19 PM (14 years, 6 months ago) |
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Quote:
is there a field test kit that can test for psilocybin content in a mushroom?
There are none commercially available.
However you can test them with p-dmab (paradimethylaminobenzaldehyde). I got some at my local chem supplier. Its a general test for the presence of indoles so there may be some false positives. Which can be mitigated somewhat via chromatography.
For more info on that, search the advanced mycology forum for p-dmab.
There is a youtube video about paradimethylaminobenzaldehyde. You are lucky that I can't find it. Its really bad.
Actually your luck has run out, I just found it.
Quote:
if the cops arrest someone w/ a bag of mushrooms how do they determine if there is psilocybin present? do they have to send it to a lab or are they able to test it in house?
They have to send it to the crime lab, where they run it through GC/MS. The process is rather long and annoying, therefore it is often possible to convince the cops that you are not picking actives even when you are. Don't act guilty, if you act like you are picking edibles they are very unlikely to send it to the lab. If you are coming out of a cow field at 2am, good luck with that.
Quote:
it would save a lot of questions of whether a mushroom is magic or poisonous.
I used to really want to test random mushrooms for psilocybin. But that is before I knew much about mushrooms. Now I can usually tell if its an active species by looking at it. Chemical tests are still helpful in some cases, especially wrt Gymnopilus.
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quadracer
Porcini Hunter



Registered: 12/14/08
Posts: 596
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Last seen: 1 month, 6 days
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Quote:
Alan Rockefeller said: There is a youtube video about paradimethylaminobenzaldehyde. You are lucky that I can't find it. Its really bad.
Actually your luck has run out, I just found it.
Wow I have to admit that I enjoyed that. Thanks Alan.
Also thanks for all the good info.
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hanuman
Stranger

Registered: 07/24/09
Posts: 10
Loc: Sweden
Last seen: 13 years, 3 months
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Re: is there a psilocybin field test kit [Re: quadracer]
#10772242 - 07/31/09 01:41 AM (14 years, 6 months ago) |
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that's great. thanks for your help.
i live in Sweden and around here I think that the Semilenceata is all you can really find. I haven't seen them growing yet though. Should be a few weeks away still.
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koraks
Registered: 06/02/03
Posts: 26,689
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Re: is there a psilocybin field test kit [Re: hanuman]
#10772490 - 07/31/09 02:58 AM (14 years, 6 months ago) |
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Quote:
hanuman said: it would save a lot of questions of whether a mushroom is magic or poisonous.
I doubt it. I do think it would change the nature of the questions from 'are these active?' to something on the lines of '(how) do/should I test this shroom for psilo?' It would also introduce new risks of people getting false positives when testing potentially poisonous species. It might lead to the discovery of the first deadly, active species. Perhaps a deadly inocybe that also contains psilocybin. Academically interesting, but also a potential personal tragedy.
Anyway, if you know your active species, there's no need for any testing. You know it's active 'cause it's an active species.
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CureCat
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Registered: 04/19/06
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Re: is there a psilocybin field test kit [Re: koraks]
#10774030 - 07/31/09 11:09 AM (14 years, 6 months ago) |
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Quote:
koraks said: It might lead to the discovery of the first deadly, active species. Perhaps a deadly inocybe that also contains psilocybin. Academically interesting, but also a potential personal tragedy.
There are a couple of active Galerina species. G. steglichii is a bluing, psilocybin containing species; whether or not it also contains alpha-amanitin, like G. marginata, is not known.
It would be cool to use the Meixner test and the p-dmab test on some of the bluing Galerina species.
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koraks
Registered: 06/02/03
Posts: 26,689
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Re: is there a psilocybin field test kit [Re: CureCat]
#10774947 - 07/31/09 02:03 PM (14 years, 6 months ago) |
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Yeah, it would be interesting. It might shed some more light on the function of psychoactive compounds in mushrooms, especially regarding the question what role they play in the organism's defense mechanism.
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