What are Magic Mushrooms and Psilocybin?

The types of mushrooms which contain psilocybin, are known as magic mushrooms. They are wild or cultivated mushrooms. Psilocybin is a schedule-I controlled component, which means it has a high potential for misuse and serves no legitimate medical purpose. Magic Mushrooms are also known as shrooms, blue meanies, mushies, golden tops, liberty caps, liberties, Amani, philosopher’s stones, and agaric.

Shrooms containing psilocybin provide feelings of euphoria and sensory distortion, which are common effects of hallucinogenic drugs. Users also can experience disturbing hallucinations, panic, and anxiety after using the drug.

Important Facts of Psilocybin

• Psilocybin may cause both positive and negative physical and psychological effects.
• The drug can trigger psychotic episodes
• Psilocybin is not an addictive substance
• People with a family history of schizophrenia or early-onset mental illness face an increased risk of an adverse psychiatric reaction to psilocybin

What is Psilocybin?

Psilocybin is a psychedelic that works by stimulating serotonin, most probably in the prefrontal cortex. This part of the brain causes mood, perception, and cognition. Psychedelics also stimulate the other parts of the brain that regulate arousal and panic responses. It doesn’t necessarily that psilocybin always causes active visual or auditory hallucinations. Instead, it falsifies how some individuals that use the drug perceive objects and people already in their environment.

The effects of Psilocybin depend on the amount of the drug consumed by the users, past experiences, and expectations of how the experience will take shape.

When people consume psilocybin and it absorbs in the body, the body converts it to psilocybin. It is observed that the hallucinogenic effects of psilocybin mostly occur within 30 minutes of ingestion and last between 4 to 6 hours. But in some people, the changes in sensory perception and thought patterns can last for several days.

The varieties of mushrooms that contain psilocybin are small and brown or tan in appearance. Still, in the wild, most people often mistake identifying a psilocybin-containing mushroom and choose other poisonous mushrooms.

People usually consume psilocybin as a brewed tea or prepare it with a food item to cover up its bitter taste. Psilocybin is also taken as capsules, manufacturers crush dried mushrooms into a powder and prepare them in capsule form.

The efficacy of a mushroom relies on its species, origin, growing conditions, harvesting process, whether it is consumed fresh or dried. The amount of the active ingredients in dried mushrooms is about 10 times higher than the amount found in their fresh counterparts.

Common Names of Psilocybin by Drug Dealers

Drug dealers often sell psilocybin under its real name like:

• Magic Mushrooms
• Shrooms
• Boomers
• Zoomers
• Mushies
• Little smoke
• Simple Simon
• Purple passion
• Sacred mushrooms
• Cubes
• Mushroom soup

Effects of Psilocybin

The most probable effects of Psilocybin are euphoria, peacefulness, spiritual awakening, a sudden change in emotions, hallucination, depersonalization, distorted thinking, visual distortion and alteration, dizziness, drowsiness, dilated pupils, muscle weakness, impaired concentration, unusual body sensations, nausea, paranoia, confusion, lack of coordination, vomiting, yawning and frightening hallucinations.

The effects may vary people to person, it depends on the mental state of the users, past experiences, personality, and the present environment. If the recreational user experiences issues with mental health or feels distressed about using the drug, they are at a higher risk of facing any bad experience. It can take the form of extreme anxiety or short-term psychosis.

Is Psilocybin a treatment for Depression?

Discussions are on-going about whether psilocybin can be used as a treatment for depression or not.

As per the two recent studies “psilocybin as a treatment for depression or not” one study examined that psilocybin has the efficacy of reducing depression symptoms without dulling emotions, and the other assessed the relationship between any positive therapeutic result and the nature of psilocybin-inferred hallucinations. However some researchers are looking into some therapeutic uses of psilocybin, they still, at present, look psilocybin as illegal and unsafe.

Addiction

Can Psilocybin be addicted? Usually, Psilocybin is not addictive, but if any individual consumes it with LSD, he can become tolerant to the effects quite quickly- and that means he’ll need to take more amount of psilocybin to get the same effect as before.

Abuse Potential of Psilocybin

Psilocybin doesn’t make people addicted, and no physical symptoms occur after stopping its use. Still, if individuals consume it regularly, they become tolerant to the effects of psilocybin. So, individuals who take these drugs must wait at least several days between doses to experience the full effect. After several days of psilocybin use, individuals might experience psychological withdrawal and have difficulty adjusting to reality.