Lowell Lecture
Much Ado About Mushrooms
Date & Time
June 28, 2022
Location
Virtual
, MA
Driving Directions
Speaker(s)
Giuliana Furci, Chile’s first female mycologist, founded the Fungi Foundation, the first NGO in the world working solely for the protection and promotion of fungi, with offices in Chile and the USA. Her work triggered the inclusion of fungi in Chilean environmental legislation and made it possible to assess the conservation status of over 80 species of fungi. Furci has described several species of fungi and conducted mycological expeditions in close to 20 countries.
Presenting Organization
Contact
Mary Stack (director@cambridgeforum.org, 617 495 2727)
Psilocybin mushrooms have been part of religious rituals for thousands of years. The Aztecs referred to these mushrooms as “God’s flesh” in homage to their believed sacred power. In 1957, Albert Hoffman, a Swiss chemist working for the pharmaceutical company Sandoz, isolated psilocybin from a mushroom and unleashed all sorts of interesting discoveries. During the 60s, Sandoz sold psilocybin and LSD for research in medical trials, but the substances were soon outlawed after they became associated with Timothy Leary and the 60’s counterculture.
Now Psilocybin is making a steady comeback within the medical community who have conducted clinical trials showing remarkable success in treating patients with severe depression, anxiety and PTSD. Many individuals speak of life-changing experiences during a single session and emerge with new-found awareness.