Myths, Legends, and Cultural Narratives: Mushrooms in Folklore and Counterculture

1. “Lenin Was a Mushroom”: Sergei Kuryokhin’s Brilliant Hoax

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Context: USSR 1991 on the Brink of Collapse

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On May 17, 1991, Leningrad television aired an episode of “The Fifth Wheel” — a cult program of perestroika-era TV, where critical journalism mixed with avant-garde art. That evening, viewers witnessed an hour-long “scientific lecture” that would forever change the perception of media manipulation in Russia [1].

Structure of the Performance

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Host Sergei Sholokhov interviewed musician and artist Sergei Kuryokhin, who with the impassive demeanor of a scientist presented a “theory” according to which Vladimir Lenin was not human, but a mushroom and a radio wave. The program’s format mimicked serious scientific discussion — with archival photographs, “documentary evidence,” and pseudo-scientific argumentation [1].

Kuryokhin’s Key “Proofs”:

1. Etymological Analysis: If you read Ulyanov’s pseudonym backwards, you get “Ninel” — allegedly the name of a French mushroom dish [2]
2. Mexican Mushrooms: Lenin traveled to Mexico in his youth, where he consumed psilocybin mushrooms (Psilocybe mexicana), which gradually displaced his own personality [1]
3. Fungal Transformation: Over time, Lenin transformed into a “mycological organism,” which explains his paleness, baldness, and “unearthly” ideas of communism
4. Radio Wave Nature: A mushroom can receive and transmit radio signals, therefore Lenin = mushroom + radio wave

All argumentation was constructed as a parody of Soviet pseudoscience (Lysenkoism, Marrism) and the pseudo-documentaries that flooded the perestroika airwaves.

Audience Reaction: Mass Belief in the Hoax

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The effect exceeded the creators’ expectations. In the winter of 1991, crowds of puzzled viewers bombarded a Leningrad ideological official with questions: was it true that Lenin was a mushroom, not a human, as they heard on television? [1].

Those who believed the hoax included:

• Alla Pugacheva (singer)
• Konstantin Raikin (actor)
• Numerous “ordinary” Soviet viewers [1]

Sholokhov later recalled: “The more fools fall into the tenacious paws of the mushroom, the better for it” [3]. Kuryokhin didn’t just prank the public — he conducted a social experiment studying critical thinking in conditions of informational chaos.

Postmodernist Nature of the Hoax

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“Lenin Was a Mushroom” became the first viral media phenomenon in Russian television history, 10 years before the internet appeared [1]. This wasn’t just a joke — it was a statement about the nature of media and propaganda.

Key Layers of Meaning:

1. Parody of Personality Cult: If Soviet propaganda could turn Lenin into a demigod, why not turn him into a mushroom?
2. Critique of Credulity: Viewers who believed Soviet propaganda for 70 years just as easily believed absurdity
3. Media Philosophy: Television creates reality, regardless of the truthfulness of what’s broadcast. “If it was shown on TV — it must be true”
4. Postmodernist Play: Kuryokhin deconstructed the boundaries between truth, lies, art, and science

Literary scholar Mark Lipovetsky called the performance “a metaphor for total simulation” — Soviet ideology was as absurd as the idea of Lenin-as-mushroom, but was taken seriously by millions.

Influence on Media Culture

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Kuryokhin’s hoax anticipated:

• The culture of fake news and deepfakes in the 21st century
• The concept of “post-truth,” where emotional convincingness matters more than facts
• The phenomenon of trolling as a form of political statement

“Lenin Was a Mushroom” remains a teaching case in media literacy. Kuryokhin proved: in conditions of critical thinking deficit, any lie, delivered with sufficient confidence, becomes “truth.”

[FOLKLORE] Life After the Hoax

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The phrase “Lenin was a mushroom” entered the Russian language as an idiom denoting:

• Absurd conspiracy theories
• Media manipulation
• Postmodernist humor

In 2021, marking the hoax’s 30th anniversary, Lenta.ru published an analytical piece: “How the genius of hoax Kuryokhin deceived thousands of viewers and forever changed television in Russia” [1]. The performance became part of the cultural canon, studied in universities in media and cultural studies courses.

2. Stoned Ape Hypothesis: Psilocybin as Catalyst of Human Evolution

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Terence McKenna and “Food of the Gods” (1992)

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Terence McKenna (1946-2000) — American ethnobotanist, mystic, lecturer, author of books on psychedelics and consciousness evolution. In 1992 he published the book “Food of the Gods: The Search for the Original Tree of Knowledge,” where he laid out a radical hypothesis: psilocybin mushrooms accelerated the evolution of Homo sapiens [4].

Theory Essence:

Around 100,000 BC, when Africa’s climate was changing and savannas expanding, our ancestors (Homo erectus) began following herds of ungulates, eating their meat. Psilocybin mushrooms (Psilocybe cubensis) grew on ungulate dung. Mushroom consumption, according to McKenna, caused epigenetic changes that accelerated the transformation Homo erectus → Homo sapiens [4].

Proposed Effects of Psilocybin:

1. Visual acuity: improved vision helped in hunting
2. Social bonding: psychedelic experience enhanced empathy and group cohesion
3. Language: altered states of consciousness stimulated symbolic thinking and proto-language
4. Religious impulse: first shamanic rituals emerged from mushroom trips

McKenna claimed that psilocybin was an “evolutionary catalyst” from which language, imagination, art, religion, philosophy, science — all human culture — were born [4].

[UNVERIFIED] Critique: Unfalsifiable and Selection Bias

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The scientific community received McKenna’s theory extremely skeptically. Key problems:

1. Absence of Archaeological Evidence

There is no paleoanthropological evidence of psilocybin use by Homo erectus/Homo sapiens in the period 100,000-50,000 BC [5]. The oldest documented traces of psychoactive plant use:

• Rock art in Tassili (Algeria), 7000-9000 BC, possibly depicting mushrooms [folklore interpretation]
• Mescaline (peyote) in Mesoamerica, ~5,700 BC

2. Misrepresentation of Research

McKenna cited Fischer & Hill research, claiming psilocybin improves visual acuity. This is a distortion: the study showed that psilocybin alters perception, not objective visual acuity (the drug changes how things look, not how clearly they are defined) [5].

3. Counterexamples from Ethnography

Various indigenous peoples using psychedelics (Shipibo-Conibo in Amazonia, Huichol in Mexico) do not demonstrate the evolutionary advantages McKenna attributed to psilocybin [5]. If the theory is correct, why haven’t these populations surpassed the rest of humanity?

4. Unfalsifiability

Michael Pollan (“How to Change Your Mind”) called McKenna’s book “the epitome of all mycocentric speculation,” emphasizing that the premise itself is untestable or unfalsifiable [5]. This makes the theory pseudoscientific by Popper’s criterion (falsifiability as demarcation of science).

BUT: Inspiration for Neuroplasticity Research

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Despite scientific unsoundness, McKenna’s hypothesis influenced:

• Psychedelic Renaissance 2010-2020s: psilocybin research at Johns Hopkins, Imperial College London
• Neuroplasticity studies: psilocybin indeed promotes formation of new neural connections (dendritic sprouting) [6]
• Default Mode Network (DMN) research: psychedelics suppress DMN, allowing “novel communication patterns” between brain modules that don’t normally interact [7]

McKenna’s theory is speculative mythology, but it stimulated legitimate scientific research into psychedelic neurobiology.

3. Soma and Amanita: R. Gordon Wasson and the Rig Veda

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Soma in Ancient Indian Tradition

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Soma — sacred drink praised in the Rig Veda (Hinduism’s oldest text, ~1500-1200 BC). An entire book (Mandala IX) is devoted to praising soma as a divine elixir granting immortality, wisdom, connection with gods. Effect descriptions:

• Euphoria and ecstasy
• Visionary states
• Enhanced physical strength
• Connection with cosmic order (rita)

Problem: soma’s botanical identity is lost. Vedic texts don’t give an unambiguous plant description.

R. Gordon Wasson and the Amanita muscaria Theory (1968)

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Robert Gordon Wasson (1898-1986) — American banker, amateur ethnomycologist, pioneer of ethnobotanical psychedelic research. In 1955 he and his wife Valentina participated in a velada (mushroom ritual) with María Sabina in Oaxaca (Mexico), becoming the first Westerners to document the use of psilocybin mushrooms in shamanic practice [8].

In 1968 Wasson published “Soma: Divine Mushroom of Immortality,” where he claimed: soma = Amanita muscaria (fly agaric) [8].

Wasson’s Arguments:

1. Absence of Roots/Stem: Rig Veda describes soma as a plant “without roots, without leaves, without flowers” — which corresponds to a mushroom
2. Red/Gold Color: soma’s color descriptions match fly agaric coloring
3. Divine Origin: Indra (Rig Veda’s principal god) is associated with soma; fly agaric grows under birch, the Indo-Europeans’ sacred tree
4. Siberian Parallels: Siberian shamans (Koryaks, Khanty) used fly agaric in rituals, drank urine after consumption (muscimol, the psychoactive substance, passes through the organism unchanged)

Critique of Wasson’s Theory

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1. Absence of Mycological Data in Texts

Vedic texts don’t describe the preparation process characteristic of fly agaric. Wasson didn’t explain why soma requires pressing and filtering if equivalent results are achieved by simple consumption of raw mushroom [8].

2. Alternative Candidates

• Ephedra: stimulant, grows in Aryan migration regions
• Cannabis: psychoactive properties known for millennia
• Syrian rue (Peganum harmala): contains harmaline, MAO inhibitor, used in rituals

3. Geographic Mismatch

Amanita muscaria is widespread in northern regions (Siberia, Scandinavia), but rare in South Asia, where Vedic Aryans lived.

Modern Consensus

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Wasson’s theory is widely accepted and fiercely contested [8]. Wendy Doniger, a leading Sanskritist, in later works supported Wasson’s conclusion that soma was a mushroom, but allowed uncertainty about the species and possibility of sacred plant shift with time and availability [8].

Ethel Dunn, Wasson’s colleague, categorically disagreed with conclusions about Amanita muscaria [8]. Currently the question remains open.

4. Eleusinian Mysteries and Kykeon: Ergotism in Ancient Greece

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Eleusinian Mysteries: Antiquity’s Most Famous Secret

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Eleusinian Mysteries — secret religious rituals honoring Demeter and Persephone, conducted in Eleusis (near Athens) from ~1500 BC to 392 AD (banned by Christian emperor Theodosius I). Participants (mystes) consumed the sacred drink kykeon and experienced life-changing experiences they were forbidden to speak of under pain of death [9].

Initiates’ Testimonies:

• Cicero: “We learned not only how to live, but also how to die”
• Pindar: “Blessed is he who has seen this before descending beneath the earth”
• Plato, Sophocles, Aristotle — all were initiated

“The Road to Eleusis” (1978): Wasson, Hofmann, Ruck

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In 1978 Robert Gordon Wasson, Albert Hofmann (inventor of LSD) and Carl Ruck (classical philologist from Boston University) published the book “The Road to Eleusis: Unveiling the Secret of the Mysteries,” proposing a radical hypothesis: kykeon contained ergot (Claviceps purpurea), a parasitic fungus of barley from which Hofmann synthesized LSD [9].

Ergot Chemistry:

Hofmann confirmed that barley ergot contains two psychoactive alkaloids:

• Ergonovine
• Lysergic acid amide (LSA) — natural precursor of LSD [9]

These substances are structurally similar to LSD, but less toxic than rye ergot alkaloids (causing ergotism / “St. Anthony’s fire”).

[UNVERIFIED] Preparation Method: Lye Treatment

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Key problem: raw ergot is toxic (vasoconstriction, gangrene, convulsions). How did ancient Greeks bypass this?

Recent research (2026) provided experimental confirmation: treating ergot with lye (sodium hydroxide from wood ash) destroys toxic substances while preserving psychoactive properties [9]. Researchers treated ergot with lye and showed toxins degrade while LSA remains.

This aligns with kykeon description in the Homeric Hymn to Demeter: the drink was prepared from barley flour, water and mint (possibly to mask bitterness).

Critique and Alternatives

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Absence of Direct Evidence:

• No archaeological finds of ergot at Eleusis
• Ancient authors don’t describe psychedelic visuals (possibly due to disclosure taboo)

Alternative Theories:

• Opiates: poppy was used in Demeter cult (archaeological finds of poppy heads)
• Simple Suggestion: mystical experience achieved through ritual, fasting, sensory deprivation, without psychoactive substances

Significance for Psychedelic Science

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The Wasson-Hofmann-Ruck hypothesis stimulated:

• Research of LSA and ergonovine as therapeutic agents
• Interest in entheogenic traditions (use of psychedelics in religious context)
• Rethinking the role of psychoactive substances in Western civilization formation (philosophy, theater, democracy developed parallel to Eleusinian Mysteries)

5. Santa Claus and Fly Agaric: [FOLKLORE] Debunked

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Theory: Siberian Reindeer Shaman → Santa Claus

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One of the most popular “mushroom” theories claims: the Santa Claus image derives from Siberian shamans who consumed Amanita muscaria [10].

“Proof” Elements:

1. Red-and-White Suit = Fly Agaric: Santa’s red hat and white beard allegedly copy Amanita muscaria coloring
2. Chimney Entry: Sámi shamans entered yurts through chimneys in winter when doors were snowed in, delivering gifts (dried fly agarics)
3. Flying Reindeer: northern reindeer actually eat fly agarics [11] and afterward behave strangely (jump, “dance”), which allegedly spawned the flying reindeer myth
4. Urine as Filter: shamans drank urine of people/reindeer who ate fly agaric, since muscimol (psychoactive substance) passes through the organism while toxins (ibotenic acid) metabolize [11]

Debunking: Sámi Scholars Categorically Refute

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1. No Evidence of Fly Agaric Use by Sámi Shamans

Sámi researchers state: “I’ve never heard a Sámi person suggest there is any credibility to this story. It’s a story invented by outsiders that enlists elements of Sámi culture and transforms them into something they’re not” [10].

Sámi noaiddit (shamans) induced trance through:

• Music (joik — ritual singing)
• Drums (runebomme)
• Sometimes alcohol or pain techniques

No ethnographic evidence of Amanita muscaria use in Sámi rituals [10].

2. Santa Claus = 19th Century American Invention

“The Santa Claus we know and love was invented by a New Yorker, it really is true. It was the work of Clement Clarke Moore, in New York City in 1822, who suddenly turned a medieval saint into a flying, reindeer-driving spirit of the Northern midwinter” [10].

The poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas” (1823, Clement Clarke Moore) created the modern Santa image. Before this St. Nicholas was an ascetic 4th-century bishop from Myra of Lycia (modern Turkey).

3. Red-and-White Suit = American Flag

Thomas Nast’s illustrations (1863) depicted Santa in a red-white-blue suit — American flag colors [10]. Red-and-white coloring became established later, partly thanks to Coca-Cola advertising (1930s), though Coca-Cola didn’t create the image but popularized an already existing one.

4. Reindeer Eat Fly Agarics — True, But…

Northern reindeer indeed consume Amanita muscaria and “have been observed behaving in unusual ways, from exhibiting erratic movements to what has been described by some Siberian herders as ‘flying’ or leaping and dancing in a state of apparent euphoria” [11].

BUT: this observation has no connection to Sámi culture and Santa Claus. This is post-hoc rationalization — an attempt to fit facts to a desired theory.

Conclusion: Romanticized Mythology

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“While it’s possible, even likely, that Sámi people formerly used amanita, it’s unlikely that this had any meaningful impact on Christmas lore in Europe” [10].

The shaman-Santa theory is an example of cultural appropriation and orientalism (exoticization of foreign culture). It’s a beautiful story, but nothing more.

6. Mushrooms in Counterculture: From the 1960s to the Psychedelic Renaissance of the 2020s

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Timothy Leary and the Harvard Psilocybin Project (1960-1963)

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Timothy Leary (1920-1996) — clinical psychologist from Harvard University who became the “High Priest” of the psychedelic revolution. In 1960 Leary ate psilocybin mushrooms in Mexico and experienced “the deepest religious experience of my life” [12].

Returning to Harvard, Leary founded the Harvard Psilocybin Project (1960-1963) with colleagues:

• Aldous Huxley (“The Doors of Perception,” 1954 — mescaline experience)
• Richard Alpert (later Ram Dass)
• Ralph Metzner
• Frank Barron

Experiments:

• Concord Prison Experiment: psilocybin therapy for prisoners, recidivism reduction (results later disputed)
• Good Friday Experiment (1962): theology students took psilocybin in church and reported profound religious experiences

In 1963 Harvard fired Alpert for giving psilocybin to a student off-campus. Leary was fired next, project closed [12].

“Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out”: Leary as Counterculture Icon

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Leary became the public face of the psychedelic revolution, popularizing catchphrases:

• “Turn on, tune in, drop out”
• “Set and setting” (mindset and environment — critical for psychedelic experience)
• “Think for yourself and question authority”

Richard Nixon called Leary “the most dangerous man in America.” Leary became a martyr of the movement: arrested for marijuana possession (1965), imprisoned (1970), escaped with Weather Underground help, lived in exile in Algeria and Switzerland, extradited to USA (1973), released (1976).

McKenna, Huxley and Psychedelic Philosophy

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Aldous Huxley — British writer, author of “Brave New World” (1932). In 1953 he took mescaline under psychiatrist Humphry Osmond’s supervision and wrote the essay “The Doors of Perception” (1954), where he described psychedelic experience as “opening the reducing valve of consciousness.” Huxley claimed: ordinary consciousness filters reality for survival; psychedelics remove the filter, opening access to “Mind at Large.”

Terence McKenna (see https://lucerna.folkup.app/studies/mushroom-brain-overview/) was a rock star of the psychedelic lecture scene in the 1980s-90s. His performances at Esalen Institute, Burning Man, rave parties attracted thousands. He popularized concepts:

• Novelty Theory: time accelerates toward singularity (Timewave Zero, end in 2012 — didn’t happen)
• Machine Elves: autonomous entities encountered in DMT trips
• Heroic Dose: 5+ grams of dried psilocybin mushrooms for deep experience

Psychedelic Renaissance 2020s: From Counterculture to Clinical Trials

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Johns Hopkins Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research (founded 2019, $17M from private donors) became the world’s largest psychedelic research center [13]. In 2021 NIH issued the first grant in 50 years for therapeutic psilocybin research (Johns Hopkins, tobacco addiction) [13].

Clinical Trials 2020-2024:

• Compass Pathways: two Phase III trials of psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression
• Usona Institute: Phase III trial for major depressive disorder (started May 2024)
• Lykos Therapeutics (formerly MAPS): MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD — FDA rejected in August 2024, requiring additional Phase III study [14]

Market Estimates: psychedelic market valued $10+ billion by 2027 [12]. Millions of dollars flowing into startups (Atai Life Sciences, Cybin, MindMed).

From Leary to FDA: 60 Years’ Journey

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“Sixty years after Leary’s departure, Harvard is again part of the conversation around the future of psychedelics” [12]. But now it’s a medical, not cultural revolution. Psychedelics are transitioning from counterculture sphere to evidence-based medicine.

7. Microdosing Myths: Steve Jobs, Survivorship Bias and Publication Bias

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[FOLKLORE] “Steve Jobs Credited His Creativity to LSD”

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One of Silicon Valley’s most enduring legends: Steve Jobs attributed his creativity to LSD. Jobs indeed said that taking LSD was “one of the two or three most important things I had done in my life” [15]. Between 1972 and 1974 he used LSD 10-15 times before stopping [15].

Daniel Kottke, Jobs’ college friend and early Apple employee: “He was very forthcoming about that, about psychedelics being very helpful for getting him in touch with creativity” [15].

BUT: No Scientific Evidence of Causal Link

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There’s no definitive scientific evidence that LSD or other hallucinogens improve creativity [15]. Research by Dr. Robin Carhart-Harris (Imperial College London) showed: psychedelics dismantle ‘well-worn’ networks, allowing brain modules that don’t normally interact to communicate [15]. This is a correlational, not causal finding.

Confounders:

• Jobs relied on eye for design, intense drive, ability to hire talent, sales skills (“reality distortion field”) [15]
• LSD was part of 1960-70s cultural context, not an isolated intervention
• Post-hoc attribution: Jobs interpreted his success through the lens of psychedelic experience, but this doesn’t prove causality

A researcher who interviewed computer industry pioneers: “I didn’t find much evidence of LSD, pot, or other drugs having contributed to great breakthroughs” [15].

Survivorship Bias: We Don’t Hear About Failures

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Survivorship bias — systematic error when we focus on “survivors” (successful) and ignore the “fallen” (unsuccessful). How many people took LSD in the 1960-70s and didn’t become Steve Jobs? Millions.

We hear stories:

• Steve Jobs + LSD = Apple
• Francis Crick + LSD = DNA structure (disputed claim)
• Cary Grant + LSD therapy = personal transformation

We don’t hear stories:

• John Doe + LSD = dropout, drug addiction, psychiatric hospitalization
• Jane Smith + LSD = nothing changed

Publication Bias: Positive Results Published, Negative Ones Aren’t

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Publication bias — journals’ tendency to publish studies with positive results and reject studies with null findings. This creates an illusion of efficacy.

2024 meta-analysis on microdosing: “Only a small number of controlled studies exist, studies have had small sample sizes, and studies so far have been susceptible to selection bias” [16]. Most “evidence” is self-reports from observational studies, where participants:

• Decided themselves whether to take substance
• Chose dosage themselves
• Assessed effects themselves
• Had optimistic expectations (expectancy bias)

Result: “Microdosing users make up a self-selected sample with optimistic expectations about the outcome, and this positivity bias, combined with low doses and self-assessment via scales and questionnaires, paves the way for a strong placebo response” [16].

Silicon Valley Mythos: From Reality to Legend

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Silicon Valley romanticizes psychedelics as “success secret.” But this is post-hoc narrative, not evidence-based causality. True success factors:

• Access to venture capital
• Network effects (Stanford, Y Combinator)
• Timing and market fit
• Exceptional execution

LSD may be a catalyst for personal insights, but doesn’t replace hard work, skill and luck.

8. Mushrooms in Russian Culture: From “Third Hunt” to Anti-Psychedelic Conservatism

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Mushroom Hunting as National Sport

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Vladimir Solukhin (1924-1997) — Soviet writer, author of the essay “Third Hunt” (1967), where mushroom gathering is called “silent hunt” [17]. The term stuck and became synonymous with mushroom hunting in Russian culture.

Solukhin wrote: “Of all forest gifts in Russian forests only mushrooms can deserve high honor and be called an object of hunting on par or almost on par with game and fish” [17]. Historically hunting, fishing, forest gathering was not entertainment but everyday life, routine, life itself.

Why “Third”?

• First hunt — traditional (Aksakov, “Notes of a Gun Hunter”)
• Second — fishing
• Third — mushrooms

Mushroom hunting in Russia is:

• Family tradition passed through generations
• Meditative practice (“forest therapy”)
• Culinary culture (pickling, drying, salting)
• Social ritual (competition for who gathers more)

Mushrooms in Russian Folklore

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Russian fairy tales and proverbs abound with mushroom symbolism:

• “Every mushroom is picked up, but not every one put in the basket” (caution, discernment)
• Fly agaric as Baba Yaga’s dwelling (Bilibin’s illustrations)
• “Where there’s one mushroom, there’s another” (abundance)

Borovik (porcini) — king of mushrooms, symbol of luck. Fly agaric — dangerous deceiver, beautiful but poisonous (though edible with proper preparation, known to Siberian Old Believers).

[UNVERIFIED] Psychedelics in USSR: Esoteric Pursuits

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In the USSR official statistics claimed: “neither drugs nor drug addicts exist” until mid-1980s [18]. Reality: drug addicts existed, but their percentage against universal alcoholism was small.

Soviet psychedelia differed from Western:

• Americans: LSD as counterculture tool, mass raves, communes
• Soviet psychonauts: “special states of consciousness” as path to spiritual seeking. Hallucinogenic mushrooms or LSD were used not as ends in themselves, but as tools for transition to other states [18]

In the 1960s-70s “esoteric pursuits” occurred in the USSR parallel to Western psychedelic revolution, but underground [18]. Main regions of psilocybin mushroom distribution:

• Karelia
• Komi Republic
• Leningrad Region (uncultivated fields) [18]

Antagonism Toward “Non-Traditional” Mushrooms

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Paradox of Russian mushroom culture: worship of edible mushrooms + fear of psychoactive ones. Fly agaric is perceived as a children’s fairy tale (picture for kids), but not as object of serious interest.

Reasons:

• Soviet anti-drug propaganda of 1980s-90s
• Orthodox conservatism (altered states of consciousness = demonic possession)
• Absence of ethnobotanical tradition (unlike Siberia, where Koryaks and Khanty used fly agaric)

Today in Russia psilocybin mushrooms are banned (included in narcotic substances list, Government Resolution #681 from 30.06.1998). Possession, cultivation, consumption — criminal offense.

Sources

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[1] Lenta.ru: “Lenin Was a Mushroom” How the genius of hoax Kuryokhin deceived thousands of viewers and forever changed television in Russia [2] Wikipedia: Lenin Was a Mushroom [3] Sobaka.ru: Journalist Sergei Sholokhov about the Lenin-mushroom meme [4] Wikipedia: Stoned ape theory [5] Sam Woolfe: A Critique of Terence McKenna’s ‘Stoned Ape Theory’ [6] Psychology Today: The Stoned Ape Theory Revisited [7] Big Think: A new spin on the “Stoned Ape Hypothesis” [8] R. Gordon Wasson - Wikipedia [9] Kykeon - Wikipedia [10] Lucid News: The Myth of the Psychedelic Santa [11] Live Science: Magic Mushrooms May Explain Santa & His ‘Flying’ Reindeer [12] Harvard Crimson: At Harvard, Psychedelic Drugs’ Tentative Renaissance [13] Johns Hopkins Medicine: Johns Hopkins Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research [14] NPR: FDA rejects MDMA, disappointing drugmaker Lykos and psychedelics industry [15] CNN Money: When Silicon Valley takes LSD [16] Frontiers in Psychiatry: Keeping the promise: a critique of the current state of microdosing research [17] Vladimir Solukhin: Third Hunt (text online) [18] Lenta.ru: Soviet Acid. Unknown history of drug addiction in the Soviet Union

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