Psilocybin mushrooms, commonly known as magic mushrooms, are psychoactive mushrooms that can lead to intense hallucinations and dangerous experiences, making them illegal in many areas. Despite the risks, there is ongoing research into their potential benefits for mental health conditions. Knowing the unpredictable effects of these mushrooms is crucial to making informed decisions.
What are Psilocybin Mushrooms?
Shrooms, also known as magic mushrooms, are wild or cultivated mushrooms that contain psilocybin, a naturally occurring psychoactive and hallucinogenic compound. Some research suggests this substance may help relieve symptoms of some mental health conditions. However, shrooms are illegal in most places and carry risks that people should recognize.
Psilocybin is considered one of the most well-known psychedelics, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (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.
What to Know About Shrooms
While some cultures have used the hallucinogenic properties of mushrooms for centuries, psilocybin was first isolated in 1958 by Dr. Albert Hofmann, who also discovered lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD).
Magic mushrooms are often dried and mixed into food or drinks before consumption, although some people eat them fresh.
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: Shrooms can cause side effects, including nausea, yawning, drowsiness, nervousness, paranoia, panic, hallucinations, and psychosis.
How to Recognize Shrooms
Psilocybin mushrooms look like dried ordinary mushrooms with long, slender stems that are whitish-gray and dark brown caps that are light brown or white in the center. Dried mushrooms are a rusty brown color with isolated areas of off-white.
Shrooms can be eaten, mixed with food, or brewed like tea for drinking. They can also be mixed with cannabis or tobacco and smoked. Liquid psilocybin is also available, which is the naturally occurring psychedelic drug found in liberty caps. The liquid is clear brown and comes in a small vial.
What Do Shrooms 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 shrooms, 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 in the brain, leading to altered and unusual perceptions.
