Michael Davis
Psilocybin, the main psychoactive ingredient in hallucinogenic mushrooms, also known as magic mushrooms or shrooms, has been consumed by people for thousands of years. While the compound was only isolated in 1957 and produced synthetically a year later, its use can be traced back to ancient rock art and sculptures in Africa, Europe, and the Americas. Today, psilocybin mushrooms are consumed in various forms, including fresh, cooked, brewed into tea, or dried and ground into capsules. Despite their illegal status in many places, these mushrooms have gained attention for their potential therapeutic effects, leading to decriminalization and controlled use in certain regions.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Main psychoactive ingredient | Psilocybin |
| Other names | Magic mushrooms, shrooms |
| Number of species with psilocybin | Over 100 |
| Potency | Varies across species |
| Legality | Illegal in the US, but decriminalized in some cities and states |
| Legality (Australia) | Legal for medical use |
| Forms | Fresh, cooked, brewed tea, dried, capsules, coated in chocolate |
| Effects | Hallucinations, perceptual changes, flashbacks, tolerance with continued use, withdrawal effects |
| Risks | Poisonous mushrooms may look similar, adverse effects with large doses |
| Treatment | National Alcohol and Other Drug Hotline: 1800 250 015 |
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What You'll Learn
How to identify drug mushrooms
It is important to be able to identify drug mushrooms, or magic mushrooms, as they are also known, because they look very similar to certain types of poisonous mushrooms which can cause sickness and even death.
Magic mushrooms are naturally occurring and are consumed for their hallucinogenic effects. They are psychedelic drugs, which means they can affect all the senses, altering a person's thinking, sense of time and emotions. They can be eaten fresh, cooked, or brewed into a tea. They can also be mixed with food to mask their bitter taste. The most common types in Australia are golden tops, blue meanies, and liberty caps.
Magic mushrooms contain the substances psilocybin and psilocin, which are hallucinogens that produce effects similar to LSD. When psilocybin is taken, it is converted in the body to psilocin, which is the chemical with psychoactive properties. As psychoactive substances, psilocybin and psilocin are controlled internationally under the United Nations Drug Control Conventions.
The effects of magic mushrooms usually begin in 30 minutes when eaten or within 5-10 minutes when taken as a soup or tea, and can last approximately four to six hours. The early effects typically include nausea and excessive yawning. After these initial effects, the "trip" begins. A trip might be mild, leaving a person feeling drowsy or relaxed. But higher doses or stronger mushrooms can bring on hallucinations, anxiety, paranoia, and nervousness. The person may have a distorted sense of time, place, and reality. Too large a dose can lead to a long-term mental health condition known as psychosis.
Some people who regularly use magic mushrooms may experience flashbacks involving a previous magic mushroom experience. These are usually visual distortions that involve changes in emotions or perception. Flashbacks can happen weeks, months, or even years after the drug was last taken.
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How to ingest drug mushrooms
Psilocybin mushrooms, also known as "shrooms" or "magic mushrooms", are mushrooms that contain the hallucinogenic drug psilocybin. They are mostly illegal in the United States, but some cities have decriminalised possession of small amounts. It is important to be aware of the legal status of psilocybin mushrooms in your location before considering their ingestion. Ingesting psilocybin mushrooms can lead to hallucinations, anxiety, psychosis, and other mental health issues. Consuming them can also have profound effects on the body and mind.
There are various ways to ingest psilocybin mushrooms, each with unique effects on how quickly and intensely the psilocybin will be absorbed by your body. Here are some of the most common methods:
Eating Them Whole
You can eat psilocybin mushrooms directly, but this method may not be palatable to some due to the taste and texture of the mushrooms. Eating them on an empty stomach can significantly speed up the onset of effects and intensify the experience, as the active compounds will be absorbed more quickly into the bloodstream. Consuming them after eating will lead to a milder and slower-onset high.
Mushroom Tea
Making tea with dried psilocybin mushrooms is a popular method of ingestion. This method improves the taste and bypasses the need to ingest chitin, a compound in mushroom cell walls that can cause nausea and stomach upset. To make mushroom tea, heat water to 70°C, grind or chop the mushrooms, and steep them in the hot water for around 20 minutes. You can also add lemon juice to the tea to convert the psilocybin into psilocin, making it more potent. However, do not heat the water above 70°C, as this will cause the psilocybin to degrade and reduce the desired effects.
Lemon Tekking
Lemon tekking involves soaking dried, ground psilocybin mushrooms in lemon or lime juice before consumption. The citric acid in the juice breaks down and partially digests the mushrooms, resulting in a shorter but more intense psychedelic experience. This method can reduce the onset of the trip from one to two hours to just minutes on an empty stomach. Some users report the experience to be two to three times stronger when using this method.
Baked Goods, Pills, and Powders
Psilocybin mushrooms can also be ingested by incorporating them into baked goods, pills, or powders. However, it is important to note that consuming psilocybin mushrooms in any form carries risks and potential side effects. Always approach their use with caution and respect, starting with a low dose and gradually increasing if needed. It is recommended to ingest psilocybin mushrooms in a safe and supportive environment, preferably with a trusted person or healthcare professional present.
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The history of drug mushrooms
Psilocybin mushrooms, commonly known as magic mushrooms or shrooms, are hallucinogenic mushrooms that contain the prodrug psilocybin, which turns into the psychedelic psilocin when ingested. The history of their use as a drug goes back thousands of years.
Evidence suggests that psilocybin mushrooms were used in spiritual and healing ceremonies by indigenous people in Central America as far back as 3000 BC. They may also be depicted in Stone Age rock art in Africa and Europe, but their use is more certainly represented in pre-Columbian sculptures and glyphs seen throughout the Americas. In the 16th century, Spanish chroniclers first documented their use in Mesoamerica.
In 1958, the Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann isolated psilocybin and psilocin from the Psilocybe mexicana mushroom. Sandoz, his employer, marketed and sold pure psilocybin to physicians and clinicians worldwide for use in psychedelic therapy.
In the early 1960s, psilocybin mushrooms became popular in the United States when American researchers began studying their healing properties and medical applications. Timothy Leary, a psychology professor at Harvard, became interested in magic mushrooms after reading an article about R. Gordon Wasson's experience with them during a trip to southern Mexico. Inspired by Wasson, Leary travelled to Mexico to experience psilocybin mushrooms himself. When he returned to Harvard in 1960, he and Richard Alpert started the Harvard Psilocybin Project, promoting psychological and religious studies of psilocybin and other psychedelic drugs.
Leary and Alpert conducted experiments with psilocybin on prisoners in the 1960s, testing its effects on recidivism. They found that the recidivism rate decreased beyond their expectations, below 40%. Leary and Alpert were dismissed from their jobs by Harvard in 1963 and turned their attention toward promoting the psychedelic experience to the nascent hippie counterculture. They encouraged the use of the hallucinogenic drug with the phrase "turn on, tune in, and drop out". The hippie movement of the 1960s, partly led by Leary, popularised the use of magic mushrooms, threatening the traditional understanding of society in America.
In response, President Richard Nixon began the War on Drugs, a program designed to decrease drug use and counter the effects of the hippie movement. Nixon declared Leary the "most dangerous man in America" due to his widespread endorsement of hallucinogenic drugs. The War on Drugs led to the classification of psilocybin mushrooms as a Schedule I substance, ending all research on the drug and creating the belief that psychedelics were dangerous.
Despite their illegal status, psilocybin mushrooms became widely collected and used in the early 1970s, with many species described from temperate North America, Europe, and Asia. Books were published describing methods of cultivating large quantities of Psilocybe cubensis. Today, psilocybin mushrooms are one of the most widely used psychedelic drugs, with ongoing research into their potential clinical applications.
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The effects of drug mushrooms
Perceptual and Hallucinogenic Effects
Drug mushrooms, also known as magic mushrooms, contain psilocybin, a hallucinogen that binds to and activates serotonin receptors in parts of the brain that affect mood, cognition, and perception. This can result in perceptual changes, such as visual and auditory hallucinations, distorted perception of objects and people in the environment, and an altered perception of time and space. These hallucinations can be pleasant or disturbing, leading to a "bad trip". The risk of a bad trip may increase with higher doses or feelings of anxiety before taking the drug.
Emotional and Mood Changes
The use of drug mushrooms can cause intense changes in mood and feelings. Some users may experience extreme fear, anxiety, panic, or paranoia during their hallucinogenic experience. Flashbacks involving previous drug mushroom experiences can occur weeks, months, or even years later, often triggered by using other drugs, stress, tiredness, or exercise. These flashbacks can be disturbing, especially if they recall a frightening experience or hallucination.
Physical Effects
While psilocybin has a low level of toxicity and is not considered addictive, there can be some physical effects. Delayed headaches may occur after taking drug mushrooms, usually lasting less than a day. Additionally, there may be mild psychological effects or feelings of tiredness upon discontinuation. In rare cases, accidental poisoning can occur from misidentifying and consuming toxic mushrooms instead of those containing psilocybin.
Therapeutic and Spiritual Effects
Drug mushrooms have been used in various cultures and settings for thousands of years, including in religious, spiritual, and therapeutic contexts. Some people seek transcendent spiritual experiences through drug mushrooms, while researchers are exploring their potential in treating mental health disorders such as substance use disorders, depression, anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. However, it is important to note that the use of drug mushrooms outside of supervised clinical settings may carry a higher risk of poor mental health outcomes.
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The legality of drug mushrooms
In the United States, psilocybin and psilocin have been listed as Schedule I substances by the Drug Enforcement Association (DEA) since 1970. Despite this, recent clinical trials have found psilocybin to be a promising therapy for treatment-resistant anxiety and depression. The FDA has granted some scientists permission to use psilocybin in research, but recreational use is illegal. However, its illicit use has been decriminalized in some cities, including Denver and Oakland, California, and other cities are working on similar measures. In November 2020, Oregon became the first state to make "magic mushrooms" legal for mental health treatment in supervised settings. In 2022, Colorado became the second state to decriminalize psilocybin mushrooms.
In Canada, the possession and use of psilocybin are prohibited under almost all circumstances, and often carries severe legal penalties. However, in January 2023, the province of Alberta announced it would be among the first to regulate and allow the use of psilocybin for medicinal purposes in drug-assisted psychotherapy.
In the United Kingdom, magic mushrooms are illegal under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. In Germany, the sale and possession of psilocybin mushroom spores have been illegal since 1998.
On the other hand, some countries have legalized or decriminalized psychedelics, including magic mushrooms, for therapeutic use. Switzerland has had an exceptional use program in place since the 1980s, with the most recent law in effect since 2014, making them the first country in the modern era to legalize psychedelic therapy. Israel approved a compassionate use program in 2019 for the therapeutic use of MDMA in people with PTSD. Jamaica is a popular place for psychedelic tourism due to its lack of laws surrounding psilocybin. Magic mushrooms have never been illegal in the country. In Nepal, psilocybin is not explicitly mentioned in the country's Narcotic Drugs (Control) Act 2033, and is therefore legal.
As of 2024, some psychedelics have been given a legal or decriminalized status in parts of Central Africa (Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon, and the Republic of the Congo), South Africa, Australia, the Bahamas, Brazil, the British Virgin Islands, Costa Rica, Panama, Peru, Samoa, Spain, and more. Australia was the first country to legalize the use of psilocybin for medical use in February 2023, allowing psychiatrists to prescribe the substance for depression. However, possession and recreational use remain criminalized.
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Frequently asked questions
Magic mushrooms, also known as shrooms, are a type of hallucinogenic mushroom that contains the prodrug psilocybin, which turns into the psychedelic psilocin upon ingestion. There are over 100 species of mushrooms that contain psilocybin.
Magic mushrooms are available fresh or dried and are typically taken by mouth. They may be eaten raw, cooked, brewed into a tea, or added to other foods to mask their bitter flavour. They can also be dried and ground into a powder, then put into capsules or coated in chocolate.
The effects of magic mushrooms vary from person to person and can include hallucinations, perceptual changes, an altered perception of time, and an inability to distinguish fantasy from reality. The effects usually begin within 30 minutes when eaten, or within 5-10 minutes when taken as a soup or tea, and can last approximately four to six hours.
The main risk of taking magic mushrooms is that some look very similar to certain types of poisonous mushrooms, so it's important to know what you're taking. Tolerance develops rapidly with continued use, and there is a risk of experiencing flashbacks or a "'bad trip". Although rare, fatal events related to trip-induced psychosis can occur as a result of over-consumption of magic mushrooms.
