Author: Alex Thompson

Shrooms Psilocybin Mushrooms: History, Types & Effects

DMT was found to be more likely to elicit a mystical experience, bringing about an encounter with some otherworldly entity. Those who trip on shrooms commonly report changes in perception and time, including dream-like feelings, illusions, hallucinations, and synesthesia, or a mixing of the senses, such as sounds triggering color and other visuals. Taking a moderate dose, the experience usually lasts between 4-6 six hours, with the peak occurring 2-3 hours after consumption. The use of magic mushrooms in rituals and ceremonies has been woven throughout history. Evidence reaching back to 10,000 BCE in the form of mushroom art on rocks in Kimberley, Australia, points to psilocybin use.

People usually consume psilocybin as a brewed tea or prepare it with a food item to mask its bitter taste. Manufacturers also crush dried mushrooms into a powder and prepare them in capsule form. In the wild, people may mistake mushrooms containing psilocybin for any number of other mushrooms that are poisonous. Results are also promising for the use of psilocybin in reducing cancer-related anxiety and treatment-resistant depression — two areas where there is a huge need for better treatment options, Johnson said.

More People Are Microdosing for Mental Health. But Does It Work?

Psilocybin is a hallucinogen that people can ingest through certain types of mushrooms. Psilocybin is a Schedule I substance, meaning that the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) believes it has a high potential for abuse and serves no legitimate medical purpose. Depression and anxiety run in Joseph’s family, and he’d been prescribed Prozac as a kid. But when symptoms of depression returned in his early 30s, he didn’t want to go back to a prescription drug. Other drawings show mushrooms positioned behind anthropomorphic figures — possibly a nod to the fact that mushrooms grow in dung. The mushroom figures have also been interpreted as flowers, arrows or other plant matter, however, so it remains an open question whether the people who lived in the ancient Sahara used ‘shrooms.

1. Researchers are also picking up where Leary, Hofmann, and other psychedelic trailblazers left off in the late sixties by further uncovering the therapeutic uses of this remarkable molecule.
2. Often called “magic mushrooms,” psilocybin mushrooms produce two primary psychoactive compounds, psilocybin and psilocin, which are responsible for their mind-altering effects.
3. Those who trip on shrooms commonly report changes in perception and time, including dream-like feelings, illusions, hallucinations, and synesthesia, or a mixing of the senses, such as sounds triggering color and other visuals.
4. Small studies of psilocybin have also suggested benefits as a treatment for alcohol addiction and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
5. The men publicized the fungi’s consciousness-expanding properties, which are somewhat similar to synthetic drugs such as LSD.

These altered patterns of brain activity contribute to a person’s profound change in consciousness. Studies suggest that psilocybin can temporarily disrupt communication among regions of the brain known as the default mode network, which is most active when we self-reflect. Reducing a person’s sense of self-awareness may lead to a greater feeling of openness and increased connectedness to the world. Because hallucinogenic and other poisonous mushrooms are common in most living environments, people should regularly remove all mushrooms from areas where children are routinely present to prevent accidental consumption.

However, in 2020, Oregon became the first state to establish a legal framework for receiving psilocybin therapeutically. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted breakthrough-therapy status to psilocybin-assisted therapy. This designation aims to improve the research process and hasten the development of drugs that show great promise in treating serious illnesses. In 2018, researchers from Johns Hopkins University recommended reclassification of psilocybin from Schedule I to Schedule IV in order to allow for medical use. Magic mushrooms have been used for thousands of years for both spiritual and medicinal uses among indigenous people of America and Europe. Liquid psilocybin is also available, which is the naturally occurring psychedelic drug found in liberty caps.

Magic mushrooms, and the psychoactive compound in them, psilocybin, activate specific serotonin receptors in the brain, causing changes in mood, thoughts, feeling, or behavior. Incredibly, there are more than 100 varieties of psychedelic mushrooms growing wild on every continent except Antarctica. There are over 180 species of mushrooms that contain the chemicals psilocybin or psilocin. Like the peyote (mescaline), hallucinogenic mushrooms have been used in native or religious rites for centuries. There have been reports that psilocybin bought on the streets can actually be other species of mushrooms laced with LSD.

Fast facts on psilocybin

Drugs in this category are believed to have a “high potential for abuse” as well as “no accepted medical use,” according to the DEA. Psilocybin mushrooms have long, slender stems topped by caps with dark brown edges, according to the DEA. In the U.S., magic mushrooms are found in the Southeast and Pacific Northwest often growing in pastures on cow dung, Johnson told Live Science.

For instance, in a clinical setting, a 155-pound man might take 20 milligrams of psilocybin for a full psychedelic experience. At that level, taken several times a week, some claim the drugs improve their mood, boost their creativity and give the world a brighter, shinier quality, like it’s in high-definition. Reportedly, cancer can leave patients with this type of psychiatric disorder, feeling that life has no meaning. However, use of a single dose of synthetic psilocybin reversed the distress felt by the patients and was a long-term effect.

Someone on psilocybin may experience synesthesia, or the mixture of two senses, such as feeling like they can smell colors. In February 2023, Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration announced that psychiatrists would be able to prescribe psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression. However, the drug will only be allowed to be used in a very limited way and remains otherwise prohibited in the country. Gauging by this fast-tracking research, psilocybin looks set to play a role in shaking up and transforming the mental health landscape in the years to come.

Can science keep up with designer drugs?

Some advanced cancer patients described the effect from the drug as if “the cloud of doom seemed to lift.” A “bad trip”, or a unpleasant or even terrifying experience, may occur with any dose of psilocybin. In general, dried mushrooms contain about 0.2% to 0.4% psilocybin and only trace amounts of psilocin. The typical dose of psilocybin used for recreational purposes varies, with peak effects occurring in 1 to 2 hours, and lasting for about six hours.

Consumption can lead to symptoms such as euphoria, hallucinations, and sensory distortion. Finally, though the risk is small, some psilocybin users risk accidental poisoning from eating a poisonous mushroom by mistake. Some people who take psilocybin may experience persistent, distressing alterations to how they see the world.

“Magic Mushrooms” have long, slender stems which may appear white or greyish topped by caps with dark gills on the underside. Dried mushrooms are usually a reddish rust brown color with isolated areas of off-white. Mushrooms are ingested orally and may be made into a tea or mixed into other foods. People who use these drugs should wait at least several days between doses to experience the full effect. Symptoms of mushroom poisoning may include muscle spasms, confusion, and delirium. In modern times, psilocybin use may be recreational at dance clubs or by people seeking a transcendent spiritual experience.

Long-Term Effects of Shrooms

Hoffmann isolated psilocybin from the mushroom Psilocybe mexicana in 1957, and he developed a way to produce a synthetic version of the psychedelic compound a year later. Neurogenesis is a fundamental aspect of neuroplasticity, with new brain cells created when we learn something new or engage in activities that stimulate our brain. In healthy brains, neurogenesis occurs throughout life, but can be impaired by factors such as a poor diet, alcohol, insufficient sleep, stress and mental illness.

Psilocybin mushroom, any of several species of hallucinogenic fungi found across a number of genera, especially Psilocybe mexicana and P. cubensis. Often called “magic mushrooms,” psilocybin mushrooms produce two primary psychoactive compounds, psilocybin and psilocin, which are responsible for their mind-altering effects. Many psilocybin mushrooms have a long history of traditional use and are popular as recreational drugs. In a small study, full doses of the drug helped cancer patients cope with depression and anxiety. Then he read anecdotes of Silicon Valley influencers claiming increased energy from taking tiny doses of psychedelics. So he decided to start microdosing a few times a week, eating a “small nibble” — about half an inch — of mushrooms to see if it would improve his mood.