Psilocybin is the primary ingredient of note in magic mushrooms, often just called “Shrooms,” is often taken to help people have an amazing experience. It’s often described as transcending both space and time, but it can also turn into a bad trip. Too much psilocybin can cause anxiety and fear, causing someone to act out in unnatural, violent tendencies.
Facts About Magic Mushrooms
1. 61% of volunteers in a recent study considered the psilocybin experience during either or both of the highest dosage sessions they received to have been the single most spiritually significant of their lives.
2. 83% of people said that shrooms gave them a Top 5 lifetime spiritual experience.
3. 94% of those who have taken shrooms said that the experience altered their life in a positive way.
4. 89% rated moderate or higher changes in positive behavior and these rates were consistent after a 14 month follow-up period.
5. 9.2% of high school seniors in the United States used hallucinogens other than LSD at least once in their lives, a category that includes shrooms.
6. 20 minutes. That’s how long it takes for the effects of magic mushrooms to begin kicking in. The effects can last for up to 6 hours.
7. There are more than 14,000 different known species of mushroom on Earth, and only a tiny fraction of these are psychedelic. At least 144 species of mushroom contain the psychoactive ingredient psilocybin that are known.
8. Hallucinogens are the least frequently seen drug in rehabilitation centers in west and central Europe, accounting for just 0.3% of treatment requests.
9. 7.2% of the 16-59 year old population in England and Wales admitted taking magic mushrooms at some point in their lives. That’s 25% higher than 20 years ago.
10. 0.1% of the general population said that they had taken in magic mushrooms during the last 30 days. In the 16-24 age demographic, there was a 3x higher response rate for recent shrooms use.
11. Magic mushrooms are not known to be addictive like other drugs in the same classification tend to be.
12. LSD is 100x more potent than the average dose of shrooms.
13. In Canada, a 1999 survey of high school students in Ontario found that 13.8% reported having tried “hallucinogens other than LSD or PCP such as psilocybin or mescaline.”
14. Men are 3x more likely to regularly use shrooms than women.
15. While under the influence of the shrooms, the brain synchronizes activity among areas that would not normally be connected.
16. Mice given magic mushrooms were less likely to freeze in fearful situations than mice than not tripping on the shrooms. It is thought that small doses of shrooms could be useful in treating PTSD, especially in combat veterans.
17. Only 4 species of magic mushrooms grow in Africa. Latin America and the Caribbean have the most, with over 50 different fungi species.
The results of taking too many shrooms can be deadly. Tony Robinson of Madison, WI was killed by police after allegedly assaulting others and darting dangerously in and out of traffic. When the correct amount of shrooms is ingested, then it can be a life altering experience. When the wrong amount is ingested, someone might just do something crazy, attack someone, and wind up paying with their life.
Are the drugs to blame for a bad trip? Or is it the decisions made that lead to taking too many shrooms in the first place?
What Could Shrooms Do For People?
When carefully controlled, research has consistently indicated that shrooms can change people’s lives in a positive way. Before the substances were banned in the US, research at Harvard was similar to what recent research has indicated. When people take low doses of magic mushrooms, they have long-term memories that are more positive and spiritually emphasized.
The facts about shrooms show that they seem to have become a victim on the war on drugs just like marijuana. Although cases like those in Madison, WI highlight the dangers of an overdose on shrooms, the positive impact they can make cannot be ignored. In the Harvard studies, people 6 months later fondly recalled having intense experiences at church after taking shrooms. Current research shows positive memories linger 14 months or longer.
It could even change how PTSD is treated. Shrooms might be able to create fear, but we shouldn’t be afraid of how they are abused. We should instead be looking at how we can use them for the benefit of all.