With the magic mushroom being the subject of clinical trials and serious studies around the world, it is making more and more headlines. More and more people want to know. Mr. and Mrs. everyone is interested in it. Because the statistics are there, we can finally prove it. Magic mushrooms can work wonders. In large or small doses, they provide either well-being, revelations, or simply an evening of laughter and delusions.
According to a recent study in the United States, conducted by YouGovAmerica, 72 million American adults (1 in 4 adults) had tried hallucinogenic substances (i.e. LSD, mescaline, magic mushrooms, MDMA (ecstasy), DMT, Ketamine (special K) or salvia at least once). The interest is there.
An increase in the use of hallucinogenic mushrooms for treatments
In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) already classified psilocybin as a “breakthrough therapy” for depression in 2018, a move that many see as paving the way for the drug’s eventual approval as a treatment for mental health conditions. Patients are already clamoring for the treatment, considered by many to be miraculous and spectacular results in a few sessions. Yet, the task is complex, psychiatrists and other clinicians must be trained to offer psychedelics as a treatment. Everyone agrees that this type of treatment is very different from other categories of drugs prescribed for mental health. Be continued.
What is a hallucinogenic mushroom?
The term “magic” is attributed to a mushroom with hallucinogenic or entheogenic properties. This altered state of consciousness is caused by several types of molecules specific to the plant consumed either orally or by smoking it.
We can agree that the hallucinogenic mushroom is a mushroom containing psilocybin and altering thinking and sensations. Once ingested, the body converts this molecule into psilocin.
Magic mushroom species
List of the most frequently marketed mushrooms
Here is a non-exhaustive list of the species of hallucinogenic mushrooms most often sold* on the web in the form of Growkit to grow at home:
Psilocybe cubensis Mexicana mushrooms
Psilocybe Cubensis McKennaii mushrooms
Psilocybe Cubensis Ecuador mushrooms
Psilocybe Cubensis Albino + (A+) mushrooms
Psilocybe Cubensis B+ mushrooms
Psilocybe Cubensis Golden Teacher mushrooms
Psilocybe Cubensis Thai mushrooms
Psilocybe Cubensis Mazatapec mushrooms
Psilocybe Cubensis Cambodian mushrooms
Psilocybe Cubensis Colombian mushrooms
Mushrooms P. Cubensis Moby Dick
*Note that mushrooms sold in growkit form are mostly Cubensis due to their ease and speed of cultivation.
A classification subject to debate
There are more hallucinogenic mushrooms than you think. A mushroom can be called hallucinogen by one and poison by the other. Not all hallucinogenic mushrooms provide the same visual hallucinations or side effects. Some mushrooms can have many more adverse effects than desirable ones.
In any case, there are at least 150 species of hallucinogenic mushrooms to date¹. Some of the classifications may be questionable. Depending on the environment in which a magic mushroom grows, the level of active ingredients can vary and cause, or not, a change in the condition in the user, which will determine its classification. Also, some components of fresh mushrooms can deteriorate once harvested. This is the case of certain Polypores (large family of lignicol fungi) which, for example, contain hordenine, N-methyltyramine or tyramine and in some cases cause mild neurotropic effects.
The nomenclature may also be different from one country to another. An exhaustive list can hardly be drawn up. Some Internet users list more than 200 species of fungi, but according to Régis Courtecuisse and Marc Deveaux, several of their choice could be revoked. In their book, Hallucinogenic Mushrooms of Europe and the Americas: A Mycological and Toxicological Development, they chose to keep only mushrooms containing psilocybin and psilocin in their list of mushrooms considered hallucinogens.
Despite this, very few of them are known. Only a few of them have been the subjects of study and even fewer of them are now commercialized. The best known and represented by many children’s illustrators is undoubtedly the fly agaric (amanita muscaria). It is, in our opinion, not the most prized for its psychedelic effects. Otherwise, as for the most consumed hallucinogenic mushroom, the mushroom Mexicana cubensis is most often heard.
Psilocybin and Psilocin
“Psilocin is the pharmacologically active metabolite of psilocybin. Because of its structural similarity to serotonin, psilocin stimulates serotonin receptors in the CNS.”⁵
According to a team of researchers at Jonh Hopkins University, more research is needed, but the results are promising. Psilocybin is one of the magic substances in magic mushrooms that could, among other things, help people get out of depression (combined with psychological counseling), help them quit smoking, and even allow those facing terminal cancer to make peace with death².
A bit of history about clinical studies of psychedelics
The 50s
Humans have been studying narcotics for millennia, but these substances first caught the attention of scientists in the 1950s when American banker R. Gordon Wasson and his wife V.P Wasson wrote in Life magazine about his experiences taking hallucinogenic mushrooms with a Mexican indigenous healer named Maria Sabina. Their research spawned several others, this time led by R. Heim and R. Callieux and A. Hofmann.
1950-1970
Following these publications, the use of magic mushrooms began to increase more and more in North America and then in France. More than 1,000 studies on psychedelics were launched between the mid-1950s and early 1970s, but the drug’s association with hippies and Harvard psychologist counterculture icon Timothy Leary sparked fear and condemnation. In 1970, President Richard Nixon signed the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act, which banned psilocybin, LSD and other hallucinogens and ended drug research for more than two decades. It can be said that the popularity of psychedelics declined during these years as did clinical advances. It was not until the 90s that they came back in force, where we saw its consumption democratized and its popularity increase. Among other things, through its marketing in smartshops in the Netherlands and on the web.
The 90s
In 1993, David Nichols, then a professor of psychopharmacology at Purdue University, established the Heffter Research Institute to support plans to revive studies of psychedelics. And in 2000, Roland Griffiths, a Hopkins professor of psychiatry and neuroscience received FDA approval to begin studying psilocybin at Hopkins. In the decades since, Griffiths created protocols for the use of the hallucinogenic drug in clinical settings and led dozens of studies demonstrating psilocybin’s safety and efficacybin. The Center for Psychedelic & Consciousness Research opened in Hopkins in 2019 with Griffiths at the helm. More than 40 researchers are currently working at the Center for Studies on the Effects of Psilocybin on anorexia, smoking, major depressive disease, Alzheimer’s disease and other conditions.
The psychedelic effects of the hallucinogenic mushroom
The effects of hallucinogenic mushrooms have been documented over the past centuries by several researchers and users.
No two experiences are the same, but here is a list of possible effects:
Impaired perception
Elevated blood pressure
Elevated heart rate
Perception of time and altered space
Increased body temperature
Visual hallucinations
Auditory hallucinations
Undesirable side effects
Consuming hallucinogenic mushrooms can lead to unwanted side effects, including abdominal pain, nausea, and even a bad trip.
Being accompanied by a friend or trusted person is essential. Mainly to help or enlighten you in case your trip does not go as hoped. If you are accompanied, it can make all the difference for you to feel better until the moment of descent.
Consumption of hallucinogenic mushrooms
What is the difference between dry mushrooms and fresh mushrooms?
Many users will tell you that it is best to consume your mushrooms fresh to benefit from all their power. The biggest constraint in this case is conservation. You cannot accurately control the day your mushrooms are harvested. Ideally, they should be harvested when the majority of mushrooms are ripe, but before the skirt (veil) peels off and releases the spores. However, it is not very practical to plan the day of your consumption according to the day of maturity. To slow down the development of your mushrooms, you can put your growkit in the refrigerator. You can also store them in the refrigerator right after picking them for 5-7 days, just like the button mushroom. But still… So here’s why most people consume their dried mushrooms.
The advantage of dried mushrooms is that they can keep longer. Once dried, the magic mushroom can keep for a very long time. The problem is that it must be completely dry, otherwise at the slightest trace of moisture, psilocybin degrades. To dry them, the best is silica gel (small granules found in the dehumidification bags of shoe boxes). Then the second option for drying them is to use a dehydrator. And finally, it is always possible to let them dry in the open air. The secret is to dry them completely so that they crack and break when you fold them. In addition, it will ideally be necessary to leave a bag of silica gel if you keep them in an airtight container to prevent them from taking moisture. Otherwise, you can vacuum them with a machine provided for this purpose. You will be able to consume them at the chosen time.
How to consume mushrooms?
The most common and documented way to consume hallucinogenic mushrooms is orally. How to do this will depend on the level of discretion you desire, how often you consume them, and your tolerance to its moldy taste.
Chewing and swallowing
The most common is to simply swallow it. It is very important to chew it so that the fungus mixes with your saliva. This makes it possible to predigest it.
In one capsule
This is the method most often used for those who do microdosing. First, grind your magic mushrooms with a small food processor. Then put the mushroom powder in the capsule. It is possible to do it with a small piece of paper, but it is a bit painful. The ideal is to do this with a capsule machine. You will just have to swallow it and you will save yourself its little taste oh! How unpleasant.
How many magic mushrooms to consume?
Difficult to measure
First, it is important to know that the estimated dose of psilocybin is very difficult to estimate. It can vary from one specimen to another depending on growing conditions. It also inevitably varies from one species of fungi to another. On the other hand, it is easier to predict with a little more accuracy the dose of some species most often traded. This is the case of Psylocybe Cubensis for whom it is easier to draw up a thumb ruler. The golden rule here is to start with a low dose and increase quietly from one time to the next. Do not make the mistake of applying this dosage chart if you are taking Copelandia (a much more potent type of mushroom).
Dry mushroom or fresh mushroom?
You should know that when a mushroom is dried, it loses 90% of its initial weight in water. That is, the fungus decreases its mass, and the active components are more concentrated. You will therefore have to adjust your dose according to the type of mushroom chosen. You need far fewer grams of dried mushrooms to get the same level of psilocybin as in fresh mushrooms. To calculate a dose, we can use the number of grams of dried mushrooms suggested for a dose and multiply it by 9 to know the weight of fresh mushrooms needed for your trip. Ex. 1 gr dried = 9gr fresh
MicroDose
Dose: can range from 0.05g to 0.3g of dried mushrooms
The purpose of the Microdose is to enjoy the benefits of psilocybin without giving you hallucinations or harming the perception of time. The ideal here is to consume mushrooms in the form of drugs such as capsules for example.
Effects: improved mood, better ability to concentrate, increased mental stamina
Low dose
Dose: 0.3 to 0.75 g dried
psilocybe mushrooms First, be aware that a low dose is NOT a Microdose. A low dose will give you an alteration of reality even if it will not give you a visual hallucination.
Effects: slight feeling high, slight euphoria, greater visual sensitivity, perception of altered noises.
Average dose
Dose: 0.75 g to 1.5 g dried psilocybe mushrooms The average dose won’t give you the internal journey of a lifetime, but it’s enough for an evening of laughter in rainbow colors
. Effects: Colors become more vivid, light visual effects with both eyes closed and open, fascination with visual details such as
patterns, euphoria.
High dose
Serving size: 2 g to 3.5 g dried psilocybe mushrooms
Rest assured of an intense psychedelic experience. You may find it difficult to strike up a conversation. You will probably remember this journey that transformed you. It is not recommended to experiment with such a dose without being accompanied and supervised. It is better to provide a very comfortable place where you can lie down since there is a good chance that you will spend your time lying down.
Effects: Caught in a kaleidoscope visual, sustained hallucinations, loss of sense of time
Ultra-high dose
Dose: 3.5 g to 5 g dried psilocybe mushrooms
Even the most experienced psychonauts very rarely take an ultra-strong dose. You have to have a lot of experience, have a guide and an ultra-supervised environment to embark on this kind of trip.Effects: Complete modification of the
senses, total disconnection with reality, division of body and mind.
Prepare yourself before
The state we are in?
Also to take into account: the physical and mental state in which you feel, since it plays a significant role on the trip you are going to live. Did you sleep well today? Have you eaten enough? Are you stressed? If you have never taken hallucinogenic mushrooms, it is best to start slowly the first time. See very gently.
Never take magic mushrooms if you don’t feel well!
Inside or outside?
Prepare. Plan where you’re going to trip. It is always better to be indoors, in a controlled place. Set up your space. You can experience your trip with psychedelic elements and creating a pleasant atmosphere. E.g:
Books with colorful graphics and shape
A kaleidoscope
Musical instruments
Pleasant lighting (ideally not big lighting with neon lights)
Background music such as Tibetan, African, new age, etc.
A comfortable place to sit, see lie down.
Paper and pencils
Spending your trip outdoors can bring you different visual effects, different sensations, but there are many unpredictable elements and the environment is not controlled. It is reserved for veterans. You have to be used to it and know perfectly your behavior under the effects of hallucinogenic mushrooms.
Two is better
It is also always better to live your trip accompanied by someone you trust, someone with whom you feel good. Ideally someone who has already taken magic mushrooms. If the purpose of your trip is to explore the benefits of magic mushrooms on mental health, talk to your therapist beforehand, he may enlighten you on the issue.
How long before psychedelic effects appear?
Allow a minimum of 30 minutes for the effects to appear. But it may take up to 90 minutes. So, be patient before you resume. You will be at the top of your trip about 2 hours after ingestion. A trip can last from 4 to 6 hours. But there can be impaired perception and other side effects that last between 6 and 12 hours. This is why it is important to give yourself the necessary time after consuming hallucinogenic mushrooms (do not plan to work after 6 hours of trip).
Microdose
Between 2018 and 2020, Forbes magazine and the New York Times made several articles that introduced microdosing. By touting the benefits of magic mushrooms (psilocybin and psilocin) on the brain, they made searches jump on the Google search engine.
Microdosing is often described by experts as “taking 5% to 10% of a normal dose of psychedelic”. In the case of the magic mushroom, it is common to see doses between 0.05 and 0.3g per capsule. It takes 10 times more to get hallucinations.
Although more studies are still needed to confirm the exact effects of microdosing, the news bodes well. Small studies already show an increase in productivity and concentration and a better mood. Many people who have suffered concussions in the past and have found no other way to remedy their suffering have turned to microdosing. According to Mike Brodeur, former hockey player, interviewed by Radio-Canada⁴, this treatment has even changed his life.
Many other patients who do not have among other effective remedies in pharmacology, resort to magic mushrooms. This is the case, among others, for people suffering from the rare condition Cluster headache (AVF)³. Depending on the country they are in, access to the only effective remedy for their pain is difficult and often illegal.
Cooking with the hallucinogenic mushroom
The psilocybin molecule destroyed from 180°C myth or reality?
It would seem according to several sources of information found on the web that the psilocybin molecule of magic mushrooms would be altered when exposed to a heat source of 180 ̇C or more. That is, the hallucinogenic substances that are active in the mushroom would deteriorate if it is heated too much. However, it seems that this information is not based on any scientific study.
On the other hand, we find on the site Erowid.org scientific data from the reference book Merck Index 12th Edition (the reference in terms of scientific data on drugs) telling data:
PSILOCYBIN
MUSHROOM CHEMISTRY Name: Psilocybin
Chemical Name: 3-[2-(Dimethylamino)ethyl]-1H-indol-4-ol dihydrogen phosphate ester
Alternative chemical names: O-phosphoryl-4-hydroxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine; Indocybin
Melting Point: 220-228°C (Crystals from boiling water)Melting Point: 185-195°C (Crystals from methanol)
Most importantly. According to K. Mandrake, famous author of the book The Psilocybin Mushroom bible, by K. Mandrake and The Psilocybin Chef Cookbook (you speak from experience!), the power of magic mushrooms is not altered even when cooked.
Camouflage the taste of the magic mushroom
In any case, we will not hide it, magic mushrooms are anything but delicious. It is possible to ingest them dried, crushed and in a capsule to avoid its moldy taste, but the effects will necessarily take longer to appear after ingestion. (10 min is a long time!) So, take the opportunity to hone your culinary skills and impress your friends? Stir your mushrooms into a high-flavor dish that will camouflage its earthy taste.
For example, it is possible to add it to a pesto and then put them on toast or pasta.
Careful! It is not advisable to eat magic mushrooms without the knowledge of your guests. This experience to be dangerous!
Here is a simple recipe to start in the psychedelic culinary world. The recipe for magic mushroom pesto is perfect since it does not require cooking, and therefore respects even people who are doubtful about the destruction of the active ingredients (psilocybin) of the magic mushroom at high temperatures. The use of lemon in this recipe helps in the transformation of psilocybin into psilocin before ingestion. This leads you faster to the climb. Use pesto in a good salad or on pasta.
PESTO RECIPE FOR 2 PEOPLE
List of Ingredients:
2 light doses of magic mushrooms, i.e. 1.5 g (to be dosed according to the desired experience)
1 teaspoon (5ml) lemon juice
1 cup fresh basil well packed
2 tablespoons chopped roasted pine nuts or cashews
1/4 teaspoon salt (1.5 g)
1/2 clove garlic, chopped
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese (45 g)
1/3 cup olive oil
Preparation:
In a small food processor, grind your mushrooms first.
Then stir in the nuts, basil and salt. Pulse a few times.
Add the oil and garlic. Pulse again to mix well.
Add the Parmesan cheese and mix.
Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
Attention! The world of hallucinogenic mushrooms is fascinating, but it is illegal to grow it in some countries and it is often part of the list of narcotics and drugs prohibited for consumption. Check the laws in your area before you start consuming or growing it!
Bibliography
Annales de Toxicologie Analytique, Vol XVI no. 1, p 36
Preparing for a new era of psychedelic treatment. Jonh Hopkins University. https://hub.jhu.edu/2022/09/07/new-era-of-psychedelic-treatment/
Sewell R, Halpern J, Pope H, “Response of cluster headaches to psilocybin and LSD”, Neurology, vol.66, No. 12, June 2006, p.1920–2 (PMID 16801660, DOI 10.1212/01.wnl.0000219761.05466.43) – a Brief Communications, also presented as:
Sewell, R. Andrew, M.D.; Halpern, John M., Mr.D. “The Effects Of Psilocybin And LSD On Cluster Headache: A Series Of 53 Cases.” Abstract. Presented to the National Headache Foundation’s Annual Headache Research Summit. February, 2006Microdosing magic mushrooms has yet to prove itself. Alex Tardieu. 2022. https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1859838/microdosage-champignons-magiques-psychedeliques-etudes
Birgit Puschner, in Veterinary Toxicology (Third Edition), 2018