Mushrooms, also known as fungus or toadstools, contain psilocybin or psilocin, two mind-altering chemicals. Hallucinations are induced by these medicines. Psilocybin is also available in capsule form as a powder. Psychedelic mushrooms found in nature and cultivation include both wild and cultivated varieties that include psilocybin. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, psychedelic mushrooms including psilocybin are one of the most well-known psychedelics.

Psilocybin is a Schedule I narcotic, which means it has a high potential for abuse and currently lacks accepted medical usefulness.

Mushrooms are used in dishes like dips, sauces, and soup stock. Fresh or dried mushrooms may be eaten. Powdered psilocybin is available for snorting or injection. Mushrooms can also be used to make these items:

• steeped into tea
• added to cooked foods
• added to fruit juice (if powdered)

Mushrooms that resemble psilocybin mushrooms are not healthy to eat. If you consume a poisonous mushroom, your liver may be harmed or even destroyed. It is against the law to cultivate, sell, or transport mushrooms. You may face fines or jail time if you are discovered doing so.

Risks

Users who have taken psilocybin in uncontrolled circumstances are more likely to engage in hazardous behaviors such as driving while intoxicated. After taking a hallucinogen, some individuals may perceive the world differently. These effects are frequently visual and can last for months or years after usage.

The visual effects of psilocybin are similar to those that can be seen in people who have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Psilocybin brings about vivid, recurring images in the tripper’s mind. These visuals are known as hallucinogen persisting perception disorder (HPPD), also known as a flashback. A flashback is an unpleasant recollection of a traumatic episode. During hallucinogen use, a bad trip or a frightening vision

Hallucinations are just one of the numerous distressing adverse effects that can occur. Nausea, vomiting, dizziness, tiredness, behavioral changes, anxiety, paranoia, mania, or depression might all induce an emergency department visit in certain people.

Benzodiazepines are frequently used to treat anxiety and panic attacks. In most cases, a doctor will give you medicines such as benzodiazepines to address these problems. The impact of the medication typically wears off after 6 to 8 hours, at which point the medicine’s effects should no longer be noticeable.

Last but not least, while the danger is minor, some psilocybin users might be poisoned by mistake by eating a poisonous species. Muscle cramps, bewilderment, and delirium are all symptoms of mushroom poisoning. If these indicators occur, go to an emergency department right away.

A person should remove all mushrooms from settings where children gather on a regular basis to avoid accidental ingestion, since hallucinogenic and other poisonous mushrooms are found in every region. Gastroenteritis is the most frequent type of mushroom sickness, with the most severe instances necessitating hospitalization.

How to Recognize Shrooms

Mushrooms with psilocybin in them tend to have long, thin stems and whitish-gray to dark brown caps with a light center. Mushrooms are discolored rusty brown with white spots.

Mushrooms, like other psychedelics, may be eaten, combined with foods or brewed into a tea. They may also be used in conjunction with cannabis or tobacco to produce a joint. Liquid psilocybin is also available and comes from the natural psychedelic component found in liberty caps. It’s a clear brown liquid that’s packaged in a tiny bottle.

What Do Magic Mushrooms Do?

Mushrooms that contain psilocybin or psilocin are hallucinogenic. They may cause you to see, hear, and feel things that are real but not physical. The effects of magic mushrooms, on the other hand, are highly influenced by external factors.

Mushrooms have long been associated with mystical experiences and self-discovery. Many people believe that naturally occurring chemicals such as magic mushrooms, marijuana, and mescaline are holy plants that help people reach higher spiritual states. Others use magic mushrooms to experience a sense of euphoria, togetherness, and a distorted perception of time.

Psilocybin is the psychoactive component in magic mushrooms. Psilocin is generated from psilocybin in the body and is supposed to change serotonin levels in the brain, causing altered perceptions. The effects can last up to six hours, which is approximately how long it takes for psilocin to be broken down and eliminated.

The impact of magic mushrooms is determined by a variety of factors, including dosage, age, weight, personality, emotional state, environment, and prior mental illness

.What are the short-term effects of mushrooms?

Physical and psychological effects are possible side effects of magic mushrooms.

Physical effects:

• Dilated pupils
• Drowsiness
• Headaches
• Increased heart rate, blood pressure, and temperature
• Lack of coordination
• Muscle weakness
• Nausea
• Yawning

Mental effects:

• Distorted sense of time, place, and reality
• Euphoria
• Hallucinations (visual or auditory)
• Having introspective (spiritual) experiences
• Panic reactions
• Paranoia
• Psychosis
• Nervousness

Possible effects of psilocybin include:

• euphoria
• peacefulness
• spiritual awakening
• quickly changing emotions
• derealization, or the feeling that your surroundings are not real
• depersonalization, or a dream-like sense of being disengaged from your surroundings
• distorted thinking

The effects of psilocybin are dependent on the user’s mental state and personality, as well as the current environment. Users who are worried about taking psilocybin or have issues with their mental health face an increased danger of having a bad trip.

The most typical negative consequence of psilocybin use is psychological stress. This anxiety can be severe or fleeting psychosis. Long-term, permanent personality change and flashbacks have been reported after ingesting magic mushrooms, although more research is necessary on the long-term, persistent side effects of magic mushrooms.

Psilocybin poisoning is a possible danger of eating psilocybin. Mushrooms that resemble poisonous mushrooms have the potential to harm people. Mushrooms may induce severe illness, organ damage, and even death in some individuals.

It’s also common for psychedelic mushroom items to be mistaken. According to a study published in 2014, just 252 (28 percent) of 886 specimens claimed to be psilocybin mushrooms tested by Pharm Chem Street Drug Laboratory were genuine hallucinogenic, while 275 (31%) were store-bought mushrooms containing LSD or phencyclidine (PCP), and 328 (37%) had no drug at all.

Mushrooms start to work after around 30 minutes and continue for anywhere from 3 to 6 hours. During the first 3 to 4 hours, the effects are at their most powerful (the peak).

Mushrooms alter your perception in a variety of ways, including changing how you see, smell, hear, taste, and feel (for example, music may appear). Your body weight could be normal or abnormal. You may believe you are experiencing a heavenly or religious experience. While under the influence of mushrooms, you might have any of the following:

• have a faster heart rate
• feel dizzy or light-headed
• shiver and have the chills
• feel anxious
• have an upset stomach (nausea) or vomit
• have a numb tongue and mouth

Some people’s minds may be impacted by mushrooms in a negative way (a terrible trip). If someone is having a bad experience, try to soothe them with soothing words.

What are the long-term effects of mushrooms?

Do not eat mushrooms if you are expecting. It’s unclear how mushrooms affect expectant moms and their growing babies. Mushrooms may interact negatively with a variety of medications, including some antibiotics. If you mix mushrooms with other medicines or alcohol, there’s a greater chance you’ll develop another health concern.

Psilocybin binds to serotonin receptors in the brain, with the greatest impact on the prefrontal cortex. This part of the brain has an influence on mood, thinking, and perception.

Hallucinogens have the capacity to activate areas of the brain that are concerned with arousal and anxiety. Psilocybin does not always result in active visual or aural hallucinations. Rather, it distorts how some people who take it view objects and people present in their surroundings. The amount of psilocybin administered, past experiences, and expectations regarding how the event will play out can all influence its impact.

Psilocybin is converted to psilocybin by the gastrointestinal tract after it has been absorbed and processed. Psilocybin’s hallucinogenic effects usually show in less than 30 minutes and last for approximately 4-6 hours.

The duration of psilocybin’s effects varies considerably from one person to another. Psilocybin-containing mushrooms are tiny, brownish or golden in color, and are frequently mistaken for poisonous varieties. Many people mistake mushrooms containing psilocybin for other types of poisonous mushrooms in the woods.

Mushrooms are dried, ground, and encapsulated in capsules. Psilocybin is usually taken as a tea, but it may also be combined with other items to make it more appealing. Manufacturers produce encapsulated powders of powdered mushrooms after the mycelium has been crushed into a powder and encased in capsules. Chocolate is frequently used to cover psilocybin-rich mushrooms. A mushroom’s potency is determined on by:

• the species
• origin
• growing conditions
• harvest perio
• whether a person eats them fresh or dried

The amount of active components in dried mushrooms is ten times higher than the same component present in fresh mushrooms.

Extent of use

Between 2009 and 2015, approximately 8.5 percent of people in the United States have used psilocybin at some point in their life, according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH). It is more popular among dancers or certain congregations seeking a spiritual epiphany.

Psilocybin has been investigated in the treatment of cluster headaches, end-stage cancer anxiety, depression, and other anxiety disorders at hospitals. Researchers have questioned the drug’s efficacy and safety as a therapeutic therapy.

Street names for psilocybin

Psilocybin is a psychedelic with hallucinogenic effects. It’s often called “magic mushrooms.” Because of its legal status, it is most commonly known as “magic mushrooms,” even though they’re technically not known as such in scientific literature. The drug is mostly referred to by the following names:

• magic mushrooms
• shrooms
• boomers
• zoomers
• mushies
• simple Simon
• little smoke
• sacred mushrooms
• purple passion
• mushroom soup
• cubes

Psilocybin for depression

The legality of hallucinogenic mushrooms and other psychedelics as a treatment for sadness is an open question.

Two recent studies have investigated psilocybin as a therapy. One study sought to see whether psilocybin alleviates depression symptoms while maintaining emotions, whereas the other looked at the link between any therapeutic benefits and the type of psilocybin-induced experiences. Although some researchers are looking into various psilocybin-based treatments, they still consider it to be hazardous and illicit.