Magic Mushrooms: Everything You've Been Afraid to Ask

Magic mushrooms are wild or cultivated mushrooms that contain psilocybin, a naturally occurring psychoactive and hallucinogenic compound. Psilocybin is considered one of the most well-known psychedelics according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administrations (SAMHSA).1

Psilocybin is classified as a Schedule I drug, meaning that it has a high potential for misuse and has no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States.

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Although certain cultures have been known to use the hallucinogenic properties of some mushrooms for centuries, psilocybin was first isolated in 1958 by Dr. Albert Hofmann, who also discovered lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD).

Magic mushrooms are often prepared by drying and are eaten by being mixed into food or drinks. Although, some people eat freshly picked psilocybe mushrooms.

Also Known As: Magic mushrooms are also known as shrooms, mushies, blue meanies, golden tops, liberty caps, philosopher's stones, liberties, amani, and agaric.

Drug Class: Psilocybin is classified as a hallucinogen.

Common Side Effects: Magic mushrooms are known to cause nausea, yawning, feeling relaxed or drowsy, introspective experience, nervousness, paranoia, panic, hallucinations, and psychosis.

What Do Magic Mushrooms Do?

Magic mushrooms are hallucinogenic drugs, meaning they can cause you to see, hear, and feel sensations that seem real but are not. The effects of magic mushrooms, however, are highly variable and believed to be influenced by environmental factors.2

A number of factors influence the effects of magic mushrooms, including dosage, age, weight, personality, emotional state, environment, and history of mental illness.

While psilocybe mushrooms are often sought out for a peaceful high, shrooms have been reported to induce anxiety, frightening hallucinations, paranoia, and confusion in some.3 Hospital admissions related to the use of magic mushrooms are often connected to what is known colloquially as a "bad trip."

What the Experts Say

Magic mushrooms have been used for thousands of years for both spiritual and medicinal uses among indigenous people of America and Europe.

Shrooms have a long history of being associated with spiritual experiences and self-discovery. Many believe that naturally occurring drugs like magic mushrooms, marijuana, and mescaline are sacred herbs that enable people to attain superior spiritual states. Others take magic mushrooms to experience a sense of euphoria, connection, and a distorted sense of time.

The psilocybin found in shrooms is converted to psilocin in the body and is believed to influence serotonin levels in the brain, leading to altered and unusual perceptions. The effects take 20 to 40 minutes to begin and can last up to 6 hours—the same amount of time it takes for psilocin to be metabolized and excreted.4

Potential Benefits of Magic Mushrooms

While some people take magic mushrooms solely for their peaceful high, they may also provide a few benefits that are more medicinal in nature.

Medical Use

Can magic mushrooms help with medical conditions? Some say yes. In 2018, researchers from Johns Hopkins University recommended reclassification of psilocybin from Schedule I to Schedule IV in order to allow for medical use.

Researchers at Johns Hopkins found that psilocybin was an effective treatment for depression and nicotine and alcohol addictions, as well as other substance use disorders.5 Studies have also shown that magic mushrooms were effective for relieving the emotional distress of people with life-threatening cancer diagnoses.6

The Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research at Johns Hopkins is also researching how psychedelics affect a variety of conditions such as:

• Alzheimer's disease
• Anorexia nervosa
• Opioid addiction
• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• Post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome
  

Microdosing

One study found that people who self-medicated with small dosages of psilocybin were able to relieve cluster headaches while avoiding any psychoactive effects of the drug.7 This type of practice is often referred to as microdosing, or taking very small amounts of a drug to test its benefits while minimizing unwanted side effects.

It should be noted that researchers tend to advise against self-medicating with psilocybin because, outside of a clinical setting, it may be harder to manage your anxiety while under the influence (potentially leading to a bad trip), you may take too high of a dosage, and it's hard to know the purity of the drug if you're purchasing it from an unregulated source.8

In addition, people with pre-existing mental health conditions may be more likely to experience adverse effects from psilocybin.

Psychedelic-Assisted Psychotherapy

Some psychedelic agents are currently being investigated for their benefits when used in combination with psychotherapy. Psilocybin is one that is being considered as a psychedelic therapeutic for both addiction and anxiety associated with terminal illness.9

This therapy may work, in part, through its effects on personality. One small-scale study involving subjects with treatment-resistant depression found that, after engaging in psilocybin therapy, their neuroticism scores decreased while their scores in extraversion, openness, and conscientiousness increased.10

Common Side Effects of Psilocybin Mushrooms

All hallucinogens carry the risk of triggering mental and emotional problems and causing accidents while under the influence. Among adolescents, magic mushrooms are frequently taken in combination with alcohol and other drugs, increasing the psychological and physical risks.

Consuming shrooms can result in a mild trip, with feelings of relaxation or drowsiness, to a frightening experience marked by hallucinations, delusions, and panic. In the worst-case scenario, magic mushrooms have even been known to cause convulsions.11

Side effects of magic mushrooms can include both physical and mental effects.

Physical effects of psilocybin mushrooms include:

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

Mental effects of shrooms are:

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

More research is needed on the long-term, lasting side effects of magic mushrooms. But it has been reported that people can experience long-term changes in personality, as well as flashbacks, long after taking mushrooms.

Since magic mushrooms look similar to poisonous mushrooms, poisoning is yet another potential risk of taking these drugs. Mushroom poisoning can cause severe illness, organ damage, and even death.

It's also common for magic mushroom products to be contaminated. A study of 886 samples alleged to be psilocybin mushrooms were analyzed by Pharm Chem Street Drug Laboratory. Only 252 (28%) were actually hallucinogenic, while 275 (31%) were regular store-bought mushrooms laced with LSD or phencyclidine (PCP) and 328 (37%) contained no drug at all.12

Signs of Magic Mushroom Use

If your loved one is using shrooms, they may be nauseous or appear nervous or paranoid. In the case of drug use, it's always important to pay attention to any changes in sleep and eating patterns, as well as shifts in mood, personality, and social activities.

There are rare but potential long-term side effects of hallucinogens, including disorganized thinking, mood changes, paranoia, and/or visual disturbances.

Hallucinogen persisting perception disorder (HPPD) occurs when a person experiences hallucinations or visual disturbances long after using a hallucinogenic drug. These are also known as "flashbacks" and can be mistaken for a brain tumor or a stroke.13

You may notice that your loved one is experiencing dissociative effects of hallucinogens, which may include:

• Amnesia
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Difficulty breathing
• Hallucinations
• Inability to move
• Increase in blood pressure, heart rate, and/or body temperature
• Loss of coordination
• Loss of memory
• Mood swings
• Numbness
• Panic
• Psychotic symptoms
• Seizures
• Speech difficulties
• Suicidal thoughts or attempts
• Weight loss

If your loved one is taking mushrooms, they might display unusual behavior such as jumping out of a window or other dangerous actions.

If the mushrooms were contaminated or mixed with other drugs, they may show signs of poisoning, including tachycardia (heart beating too fast), hypertension (high blood pressure), hyperthermia (body tissue becomes too hot), nausea, or vomiting.14

Magic Mushroom Tolerance, Dependence, and Withdrawal

Like most drugs, the more you use magic mushrooms, the more tolerance you develop. Tolerance also develops quickly with regular use, meaning that with regular use, a person will need more of the drug to achieve the same effect.

Developing a tolerance can be especially risky with shrooms because consuming a large amount can result in overdose symptoms which, while not fatal, can include:

• Agitation
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Muscle weakness
• Panic or paranoia
• Psychosis
• Seizures

How Long Does Psilocybin Stay in Your System?

The short-term effects of magic mushrooms typically wear off in 6 to 12 hours.4 But people can experience long-term changes in personality and flashbacks long after taking the drug.

The typical urine drug screening for employment does not test for psilocybin, but there are specific tests that can be ordered to test for it. Like many other drugs, magic mushrooms can be found in hair follicles for up to 90 days.15

Addiction

Psilocybin is not addictive and does not lead to compulsive use. This is partly because the drug can cause an intense “trip.” Plus, people can build a tolerance to psilocybin fairly quickly, making it hard to have any effect after several days of repeated use.

Withdrawal

While people rarely report physical symptoms of withdrawal when they stop using the drug, some experience psychological effects, which may include depression.

How to Get Help for Magic Mushroom Misuse

If you suspect a loved one is experimenting with or regularly using magic mushrooms, consider having a firm yet loving conversation with them about the risks of psychedelics—especially when combined with alcohol or other drugs. At this time, it’s also important to emphasize that you are there to help and support them.