From: riburr@shentel.net   
      
   mimus wrote:   
   > dwheeler wrote:   
   >   
   >   
   >>Scott L wrote:   
   >>   
   >>   
   >>>"Stands Alone" wrote:   
   >>>   
   >>>>Soma is legal (unscheduled) in the US to the best of my knowledge. Am I   
   >>>>mistaken¿   
   >>>   
   >>>It's considered a toxin (rightfully so), not a drug, so it is not   
   >>>scheduled. If you sell it with the implication that it is a food   
   >>>product, you might get in some trouble with the FDA I would imagine,   
   >>>but otherwise, no issue.   
   >>>   
   >>>I love this mushroom for its beauty but have never considered eating   
   >>>it. Seems a shame to pick such a thing of beauty. Too bad when people   
   >>>see them they kick them down.   
   >>   
   >>It depends on what you consider SOMA. If Amanita muscaria, it is   
   >>mildly poisonous in the US and very poisonous in the USSR, especially   
   >>in the Kamchatka peninsula, where it is known to have caused several   
   >>hundred fatalities.   
   >>   
   >>To my knowledge, it has never caused a fatality in the US. But do read   
   >>Benjamin's "Mushrooms: Poisons and Panaceas" before doing anything,   
   >>including taking my word for it.   
   >   
   >   
   > I've read there's a hydridization problem with _A. pantherina_ in Western   
   > North America, with _pantherina_ having an even wonkier rep than _muscaria_.   
   >   
   > Amanitas are for lookin' at, in my book.   
   >   
      
   I have dried and powdered Amanita muscaria var. formosa, and used the   
   powdered mushroom as a flavor enhancer.  It noticeably increases the   
   savoriness of meat, fish and soups.  The mushroom contains ibotenic   
   acid.  This chemical has flavor enhancing properties equal to or better   
   than monosodium glutamate (MSG).   
      
      
   --   
   I can tell your future just look what's in your hand...   
      
   - Robert Hunter   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)