Mushrooms are one of the naturally growing compounds with hallucinogenic compounds. They can either be cultivated in a garden or grown in the wild. Mushrooms containing hallucinogenic and psychoactive compounds are referred to as magic mushrooms.
Psilocybin is one of the components in mushrooms that is considered a substance that intoxicates. The FDA classifies psilocybin as a drug with extreme misuse potential. As a result, it is not regarded as a medical compound in the United States. This is despite the fact that it was discovered in the 1950s.
Preparation
The process of preparing mushrooms is straightforward. You can mix them with drinks and food, provided that you have dried them sufficiently. However, some people prefer to consume fresh mushrooms.
Mushrooms come in many shapes and forms, including philosophers’ stones, liberty caps, golden tops, and liberty caps.
Main Side Effects
Magic mushrooms can cause many side effects, including hallucinations, panic, paranoia, nervousness, and reflective experience.
Recognizing and Consuming Mushrooms
If you have decided to consume mushrooms, there are some things that you should know. First, you should know what they look like. Psilocybin mushrooms are slender and have long stems. Moreover, they have dark brown caps and some whitish-grey. When you dry them, they will adopt a rusty brown color.
According to Botanicam, you can mix mushrooms with food, drinks, or any other meal. It’s also possible to mix them with tobacco or CBD. You may also find liquid psilocybin and other psychedelic formats in the market. In any case, the liquid will have a clear brown color, and it usually comes in a small container.
What is the Use of Magic Mushrooms?
While some mushrooms, like shroom edibles online have nutritional benefits, magic mushrooms contain elements that can interfere with your nervous system. For example, they can make you feel, hear, and see things that don’t exist. Nevertheless, this varies from one mushroom to another.
For a long time, people have associated mushrooms with spiritual experiences and self-discoveries. Many cultures around the world regard the effect of mushrooms to be magical. Consequently, mushrooms were used in sacred rituals because people believed they provided sacred powers.
The introduction of mushrooms into the body activates the circulation of serotonin. When the amount of serotonin in the brain increases, information analysis changes radically. It will take about half an hour for the effects to start appearing. Once they start appearing, you will get intoxicated for about 6 hours. The six hours is the time it takes for the body to metabolize psilocin and remove it from the body.
Many factors will determine how mushrooms affect you. If you weigh more, the effect will be higher. Similarly, people with a history of mental illness may feel greater changes. The same is true for seniors.
Magic mushrooms induce confusion, paranoia, hallucinations, and anxiety. Consequently, many medical experts label magic mushrooms as a “bad trip.”
What is Psilocybin?
Psilocybin is a compound that interacts with nerve receptors in the brain—the interaction results in a change of perception, cognition, and mood. Psilocybin usually changes the prefrontal cortex’s operation, but it can also affect other parts of the brain. Nevertheless, that does not mean that it will cause hallucinations. Instead, you will have a different perspective of your environment when you consume psilocybin.
The dosage, history, and personal attitude play a key role in psilocybin absorption. Typically, the mushroom component enters the body via oral ingestion. Once it reaches the digestive system, it is converted into psilocin. From there, it will travel through the body through the bloodstream. Therefore, you should expect to see the effects about half an hour after ingesting the drug.
The effects can’t last more than 7 hours. However, there have been curious cases where some people regain their normal sensory perception after several days. Scientists are researching these isolated cases to provide more insights.
Preparation Method
You can easily identify psilocybin mushrooms because of their brown color. Unfortunately, there are so many mushrooms in the wild with a brown color. The abundance of brown mushrooms is responsible for the accidental consumption of poisonous mushrooms.
If you manage to get genuine psilocybin mushrooms, you can prepare them in some ways. Psilocybin mushrooms normally have bitter tastes. That is why some people put it in brewed tea to sweeten its taste. That being said, some manufacturers dry the mushrooms before crushing them into tiny pieces. The tiny pieces are then sold in capsules. You can consume these capsules with chocolate or any meal.
Potency
Each mushroom has its level of psilocybin. Consequently, factors such as species, location, time of harvesting, the concentration of ingredients, and preparation methods will affect the ultimate potency. Surprisingly, fresh mushrooms have a lower concentration of psilocybin than dried mushrooms.
Popularity
Using mushrooms for pleasure is not something new. However, the number of consumers has ballooned in the last two decades. That number increased to 8.5% of the world population in 2015. Many first-time users start using psilocybin due to peer pressure. For example, somebody may get their first dose of psilocybin in a club. A small number of people start consuming psilocybin in spiritual settings.
Psilocybin has also been introduced into the medical environment. Pioneer doctors claim that the drug can alleviate pain associated with depression, cancer, and headaches. It’s also a good remedy for anxiety disorders and stress. Nevertheless, these are fringe doctors’ findings, and the majority of the medical profession is cautious about using magic mushrooms.
Verdict
Magic mushrooms can cause intoxication in the short term, but their long-term effects are not clear. There are claims that people get flashback intoxications after consuming the mushrooms. This is a worrying discovery, although recent research has blamed the flashbacks on the use of other drugs or anxiety. Either way, the flashbacks won’t last more than 5 minutes.
If you decide to use magic mushrooms, you should be ready for unexpected episodes. Currently, veteran users warn against mixing the drugs with alcohol consumption. The best option is to consult a medical doctor before ingesting any hallucinogenic mushrooms.
