ololiuqui-induced hallucination

   Ololiuqui is known under many names. It is also spelled as ololiüqui, ololiuhqui,and qloliuhqui. These names mean 'round thing' in the Aztec language Nahuatl, and refer to the small, brown, oval seeds of the American vine Rivea corym-bosa, which is also known as Turbina corymbosa, ololiuqui vine, and morning glory. The principal psychoactive compound of these seeds, discovered during the 1960s by the Swiss chemist and philosopher Albert Hofmann (1906-2008), is D-lysergic acid amide (LSA) or ergine, an ergot alkaloid that is chemically related to LSD, but is less potent. In prehispanic times, ololiuqui was used by the Aztecs for visionary, divinatory, aphrodisiac, and therapeutic purposes. The first Westerner who described the drug was the Spanish physician Francisco Hernandez (1515-1587). The botanical origin of ololiuqui has remained a mystery until well into the 20th century. In 1941 it was elucidated by the American father of eth-nobotany Richard Evans Schultes (1915-2001). Ololiuqui is obtained from the fresh or dried seeds of T. corymbosa. It is administered orally, dissolved in water or in an alcoholic beverage such as mescal or aguardiente.Its* hallucinogenic effects have sometimes been compared to those of LSD. However, according to the German anthropologist and ethnopharmacologist Christian Rätsch (b. 1957) ololiuqui tends to produce a hypnotic state rather than a psychedelic state, characterized by a trance or twilight sleep with lively * dream images. Acknowledging the visionary effects of the drug reported by shamans, Rätsch speculates that these may be due to cultural conditioning or to special skills known exclusively to shamans. A person intentionally employing ololiuqui for the purpose of exploring the psyche may be called a * psychonaut.

   References

   Rätsch, Chr. (2005). The encyclopedia ofpsy-choactive plants. Ethnopharmacology and its applications. Translated by Baker, J.R. Rochester, VT: Park Street Press.

   Rudgley, R. (1998). The encyclopaedia ofpsy-choactive substances. London: Little, Brown and Company.