Psilocybin mushrooms (also called psilocybian mushrooms) are fungi that contain the psychedelic substances psilocybin and psilocin, and occasionally other psychoactive tryptamines. There are multiple colloquial terms for psilocybin mushrooms, the most common are magic mushrooms or 'shrooms.

Categorization:

Psilocybin mushrooms contain psilocybin and/or psilocin and psychedelic tryptamines that are structurally similar to serotonin, a strong regulator of mood, state of mind, and consciousness. Several species of Psilocybe also contain the alkaloid baeocystin, which is a demethylated derivative of psilocybin. Other genera that contain psilocybin include Conocybe, Copelandia, Gymnopilus, Inocybe and Panaeolus

History:

Several mesolithic rock paintings from Tassili n'Ajjer (a prehistoric North African site identified with the Capsian culture) have been identified by author Giorgio Samorini as depicting the shamanic use of mushrooms, possibly Psilocybe.This interpretation remains controversial, however.

Hallucinogenic species of Psilocybe have a long history of use among the native peoples of Mesoamerica for religious communion, divination, and healing, from pre-Columbian times up to the present day. Mushroom-shaped statuettes found at archaeological sites seem to indicate that ritual use of hallucinogenic mushrooms is quite ancient. Mushroom stones and motifs have been found in Mayan temple ruins in South America,[4] though there is considerable controversy as to whether these objects indicate the use of hallucinogenic mushrooms or whether they had some other significance with the mushroom shape being simply a coincidence.[citation needed] More concretely, a statuette dating from ca. 200 CE and depicting a mushroom strongly resembling Psilocybe mexicana was found in a west Mexican shaft and chamber tomb in Colima state.

Hallucinogenic Psilocybe were known to the Mexicans as teonanácatl (literally "god's mushroom" - agglutinative form of teó (god) and nanácatl (mushroom) in Náhuatl) and were reportedly served at the coronation of the Aztec ruler Moctezuma II in 1502. Aztecs and Mazatecs referred to psilocybin mushrooms as genius mushrooms, divinatory mushrooms, and wondrous mushrooms, when translated into English.Bernardino de Sahagún reported ritualistic use of teonanácatl by the Aztecs, when he traveled to South America after the expedition of Herando Cortés.

After the Spanish conquest, Catholic missionaries campaigned against the "pagan idolatry," and as a result, the use of hallucinogenic plants and mushrooms, like other pre-Christian traditions, were forcibly suppressed.[4] The Spanish believed the mushroom allowed the Mexicans and others to communicate with "devils". In order to gain control over the people they had to convert them to Christianity, and in doing so the Spanish pushed for a switch from teonanácatl to the Christian sacrament of the Eucharist. Despite this history, in some remote areas the use of teonanácatl has remained.

By the 20th century, hallucinogenic mushroom use was thought by non-Indians to have disappeared entirely. Some authors even held that Mesoamerican cultures did not use mushrooms as hallucinogens at all and that the Spanish had simply mistaken peyote for a mushroom. Later investigations by Blas Pablo Reko, Richard Evans Schultes, and R. Gordon Wasson demonstrated that hallucinogenic mushrooms were still widely used by several indigenous Mesoamerican peoples, particularly the Mazatecs of Oaxaca.
At present, hallucinogenic mushroom use has been reported among a number of groups spanning from central Mexico to Oaxaca, including groups of Nahua, Mixtecs, Mixe, Mazatecs, Zapotecs, and others. There has not, however, been any confirmed observations of hallucinogenic mushroom use among the Maya peoples, either in the pre-Columbian or post-Contact eras.

According to the BBC, the first documented use of psychedelic mushrooms was in the Medical and Physical Journal: In 1799, a man who had been picking mushrooms for breakfast in London's Green Park included them in his harvest, accidentally sending his entire family on a trip. The doctor who treated them later described how the youngest child "was attacked with fits of immoderate laughter, nor could the threats of his father or mother refrain him."
In 1955, Valentina and R. Gordon Wasson became the first Westerners to actively participate in an indigenous mushroom ceremony. The Wassons did much to publicize their discovery, even publishing an article on their experiences in Life in 1957.[6] In 1956, Roger Heim identified the hallucinogenic mushroom that the Wassons had brought back from Mexico as Psilocybe and in 1958, Albert Hofmann first identified psilocin and psilocybin as the active compound in these mushrooms.

Inspired by the Wassons' Life article, Timothy Leary traveled to Mexico to experience hallucinogenic mushrooms firsthand. Upon returning to Harvard in 1960, he and Richard Alpert started the Harvard Psilocybin Project, promoting psychological and religious study of psilocybin and other hallucinogenic drugs. After Leary and Alpert were dismissed by Harvard in 1963, they turned their attention toward evangelizing the psychedelic experience to the nascent hippie counterculture.

The popularization of entheogens by Wasson, Leary, and others has lead to an explosion in the use of hallucinogenic Psilocybe throughout the world. By the early 1970s, a number of psychoactive Psilocybe species were described from temperate North America, Europe, and Asia and were widely collected. Books describing methods of cultivating Psilocybe cubensis in large quantities were also published. The relatively easy availability of hallucinogenic Psilocybe from wild and cultivated sources has made it among the most widely used of the hallucinogenic drugs.

Effects:

When psilocybin is ingested, it is broken down to produce psilocin, which is responsible for the hallucinogenic effects.

As with many psychoactive substances, the effects of psychedelic mushrooms are subjective and unpredictable. A common misconception, even seen in the professional environment, is that the effects experienced from psilocybin are due to a poisonous nature of the compound, yet the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, a branch of the Center for Disease Control, rated psilocybin less toxic than Aspirin or Nicotine.[8] The intoxicating effects of psilocybin-containing mushrooms typically last anywhere from 4 to 7 hours.
The experience is typically inwardly oriented, with strong visual and auditory components. Visions and revelations may be experienced,and the effect can range from exhilarating to distressing. There can be also a total absence of effects, even with large doses. This depends on the strain of mushroom, the quality of the yield and conditions of growth.
As with other psychedelics such as LSD, the experience, or "trip," is strongly dependent upon set and setting. A negative environment could likely induce a bad trip, whereas a comfortable and familiar environment would allow for a pleasant experience. In a shamanic setting, the Mazatecs purify themselves before a velada (or "vision quest") by abstaining from meat, eggs, alcohol, and sex for four days. The veladas are always done in the dark, in a protected and sealed space which no one may enter or leave until all have regained their composure. Modern psychonauts often speak of "packing for the trip," by which is meant a loading of information into the brain prior to "departure," for example, by reading a philosophical writing or indulging in a thought provoking document or film in the days prior to a planned experience.
There have been calls for medical investigation of the use of psilocybin-containing mushrooms for the treatment of chronic cluster headaches, following numerous anecdotal reports of benefits.
Physical:

Typical doses may cause a number of small effects, such as loss of appetite. Higher doses (typically 2½ grams and above) cause numerous effects such as feelings of coldness,numbness of the mouth and adjacent features,nausea, weakness in the limbs (making locomotion difficult), excessive yawning which usually occurs during the come-up, swollen features, pupil dilation,and stiffness in points of the body, often the result of the users staying in awkward positions because of their inability to accurately judge the flow of time and their level of fatigue.

Sensory:

As with many hallucinogens, the sensory effects are often the most dramatic of the experience. Common doses cause effects such as a noticeable feeling of heaviness, relaxation, enhancement and contrasting of worldly colors, strange light phenomena (such as auras around lights sources), surfaces that seem to ripple, shimmer, or breathe, and other such visual hallucinations.
Higher doses elicit a variety of intensified and distinct perceptual changes: complex open and closed eye visuals of form constants or images,objects that warp, morph, or change solid colors (juxtaposed with the free-flowing colors of LSD), a sense of melting into the environment, trails behind moving objects, and auditory hallucinations.

Natural and artificial sounds seem to be heard with increased clarity; music, for example, can often take on a profound sense of cadence and depth. Intriguingly, some users speak about the feeling of their senses overlapping or synesthesia, a rather interesting experience wherein the user perceives, for example, a visualization of color upon hearing a particular sound. The surface detail of everyday objects is viewed with increased acuity. Unusual natural designs, such as wood grain, flow like rivers. Interesting textures can be quite stimulating to some users. A simple action such as pouring water into a glass can be extremely visually stimulating.
Dr. Frank van der Heijden at the Vincent van Gogh Institute for Psychiatry in the Netherlands claims brief psychotic disturbances, such as transient hallucinations and dysperceptions are more common in psilocybin mushroom users than in nonusers.

Emotional:

Feelings of bliss, relaxation, wonder, anxiety, sadness, or fear have all been reported.Some users may experience intense episodes of hilarity, such as laughing for the duration of the psychedelic experience. Emotions can be experienced with increased sensitivity.

Higher doses carry the increased possibility of a surreal event known as ego death,whereby the user loses the sense of boundaries between their self and the environment, creating a sort of perceived universal unity. Users may experience intense feelings of connectivity with a higher power. Contradictory emotions, such as euphoria and despair, can be experienced

simultaneously. A sense of paranoia may be present,and if provoked enough, could culminate into a bad trip. However, the possibility of a bad trip happening can be reduced by a comfortable set and setting.

In 2006, a government funded, randomized and double-blinded study by Johns Hopkins University, studied the spiritual effects of psilocybin mushrooms. The study involved 36 college-educated adults who had never tried psilocybin or had a drug abuse history and had religious or spiritual interests; the average age of the participants was 46 years. The participants were closely observed for eight-hour intervals in a laboratory while under the influence of psilocybin mushrooms. One-third of the participants reported the experience was the single most spiritually significant experience of their lifetimes and more than two-thirds reported it was among the top five most spiritually significant experiences. Two months after the study, 79 percent of the participants reported increased wellbeing or satisfaction; friends, relatives, and associates confirmed this. The study also found "about a third of subjects reported significant fear, with some also reporting transient feelings of paranoia."

Psychological:

Common experiences typically exhibit changes such as an increased ability to concentrate on memories, feelings of time dilation,abstract and distractive thought patterns (can cause indecisiveness),phonetic experimentation with vowels, consonants, or click consonants (known as glossolalia), and epiphanies about life.In a way, mushrooms allow what would typically be bypassed by the brain's own natural filters to be magnified, along with the ideas and emotions that may accompany such thoughts. This can be seen as both good and bad, as it may allow for an ease of the ability to focus on stressful matters, or it could also lead to a bad trip.
As dose increases, so do the alterations in perception and consciousness. Significant amounts of time can be spent in deep philosophical or introspective silence.This introspective mindset, if negative, can often be painful and uncomfortable for the user to experience and can last minutes to hours. Users can lose touch with reality in varying degrees, and their egos may undergo a number of separations. The loss of reality can be quite intense if a large amount has been taken; often users will attempt to describe the experience, but will be frustrated by the lack of proper words.

Dosage:

Dosage of mushrooms containing psilocybin depends on the potency of the mushroom (the total psilocybin and psilocin content of the mushrooms), which varies significantly both between species and within the same species, but is typically around 0.5-2% of the dried weight of the mushroom. A typical dose of the rather common species, Psilocybe cubensis, is approximately 1 to 2 grams, corresponding with 10 to 25 milligrams psilocybin and psilocin, while about 2½ to 5 grams,dried material or 25 to 50 milligrams of psilocybin/psilocin is considered a heavy dose. Fresh mushrooms are approximately 90% water. Drying the mushrooms breaks down the psilocin much faster, thus shifting the psilocybin/psilocin ratio. Exposure to heat generally breaks down the psychoactive ingredients. When eaten dry, 1 to 1.5 grams of mushrooms provide a small "trip" that can last up to 3 hours. The effects then are relatively mild, depending on the tolerance of the subject. With 3 to 3.5 grams one experiences a strong and solid trip which can last more than 5 hours

Legal status:

Psilocybin and psilocin are listed as Schedule I drugs under the United Nations 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances.Schedule I drugs are drugs with a high potential for abuse that have no recognized medical uses. Parties to the treaty are required to restrict use of the drug to medical and scientific research under strictly controlled conditions. Most national drug laws have been amended to reflect this convention (for example, the US Psychotropic Substances Act, the UK Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, and the Canadian Controlled Drugs and Substances Act), with possession and use of psilocybin and psilocin being prohibited under almost all circumstances, and often carrying severe legal penalties.

Possession and use of psilocybin mushrooms, including the bluing species of Psilocybe, is therefore prohibited by extension. However, in many national, state, and provincial drug laws, there is a great deal of ambiguity about the legal status of psilocybin mushrooms, as well as a strong element of selective enforcement in some places. The legal status of Psilocybe spores is even more ambiguous, as the spores contain neither psilocybin nor psilocin, and hence are not illegal to sell or possess in many jurisdictions, though many jurisdictions will prosecute under broader laws prohibiting items that are used in drug manufacture. A few jurisdictions (such as the US states of California, Georgia, and Idaho) have specifically prohibited the sale and possession of psilocybin mushroom spores. Cultivation of psilocybin mushrooms is considered drug manufacture in most jurisdictions and is often severely penalized, though some countries and one US state have ruled that growing psilocybin mushrooms does not qualify as "manufacturing" a controlled substance.

British Virgin Islands:

In the British Virgin Islands, where the mushrooms grow naturally, it is legal to possess and consume psilocybin mushrooms; however, their sale is illegal.

Bulgaria:

In Bulgaria, possession and consumption of hallucinogenic mushrooms is legal, but psilocybin in its pure form is considered a "Class 1" drug.

Canada:

Mushroom spore kits are legal and are sold openly in stores as the spores themselves are not illegal. Psilocybin and psilocin are illegal to produce, sell, or possess because it is a schedule III controlled substance.

Czech Republic:

In the Czech Republic, a law legalizing the possession of small amounts of psilocybin mushrooms for personal use has been passed by the Czech Parliament and is considered likely to be signed by the Czech president. If passed, the law will go into effect in 2007.

Denmark:

The sale, possession, and consumption of psilocybin have long been illegal; however the sale, possession, and consumption of psilocybin mushrooms was not illegal until July 1, 2001, when the Danish Ministry of Health prohibited them.

Japan:

Prior to 2002, psilocybin mushrooms were widely available in Japan and were often sold in mail-order shops, online vendors and in head shops throughout Japan; according to Hideo Eno of Japan's Health Ministry narcotics division, prior to 2002, "You can find them [psilocybin mushrooms] anywhere."In June 2002, Japan Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry added psilocybin mushrooms to Schedule Narcotics of Narcotic and Psychotropic Drug Control Law, possibly in preparation for the World Cup, and in response to a widely reported case of mushroom poisoning. Use, production, trafficking, growing or possession of psilocybin mushrooms is now illegal in Japan.

Mexico:

Psilocin and psilocybin are prohibited under the Ley General de Salud of 1984, which also specifically mentions psilocybin-containing fungi as being covered by the law, and mentions Psilocybe mexicana and Psilocybe cubensis in particular.However, these laws are rarely, if ever, enforced against indigenous users of psychoactive fungi. The Mexican government has also specifically taken the position that wild occurrence of Psilocybe does not constitute drug production.

The Netherlands:

In the Netherlands, unprocessed psychoactive mushrooms are legal to possess, are treated as soft drugs under the Netherlands' drug policy, and can be obtained in "smart shops" which specialize in ethnobotanicals.

Psychoactive mushrooms, whether dried or fresh were legal until 2001, when the Supreme Court of The Netherlands ruled dry mushrooms to be an illegal preparation of psilocybin and psilocin. The limitation to fresh mushrooms (which go bad quite fast) is severely reducing the export of psychoactive mushrooms. In a series of court cases during 2003-2005 this was challenged by a Dutch mushroom wholesaler.The vice president of the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) of the UN testified to the court that the UN does not see dried or prepared psilocybin mushrooms as a controlled substance. Explanation: Psilocybin mushrooms are not listed as controlled substances, therefore preparations are also not controlled. Preparations of the controlled substances psilocybin and psilocin (i.e. tablets, etc) are controlled. Various mushroom experts have testified that there is no way to see the difference between passively and actively dried mushrooms. The court decided to agree to other viewpoints of De Sjamaan in order not to touch the subject of the UN's stance. The court also decided not to publish the testimony of the vice president of the INCB. The high court ruled that:

a. There is no definition in regards to water content, which differentiates between a dry mushroom and a fresh mushroom.

b. Passively dried mushrooms (natural desiccation) are legal.

c. A police officer is not skilled to differentiate between a fresh and dry mushroom.

New Zealand:

In New Zealand, psilocybin mushrooms are class A drugs, putting them in the highest class of illicit compounds along with heroin and LSD. They do not have to be prepared in any way for possession to be illegal.

Republic of Ireland:

Until 31 January, 2006, unprepared psilocybin mushrooms were legal in the Republic of Ireland. On that date they were made illegal by a ministerial order. This decision was partly based on the death of Dubliner Colm Hodkinson, age 33, at a Halloween party on 30th October 2005, after consuming legally purchased magic mushrooms and jumping off of a balcony .[23]. This was given as the spur for the sudden ban (introduced without prior notice being given to retailers). It was debated (particularly in student newspapers) whether or not this may have been simply an excuse for the ban, as Hodkinson had been consuming cannabis as well as alcohol during the day, which could have combined towards his death. Afterwards, at the inquest into Hodkinson's death, the results of the toxicology report revealed that the level of alcohol in his system was below the legal driving limit. The report also concluded that minimal traces of cannabis had been consumed and that psilocybin was the only substance that had been consumed in any significant volume.

United Kingdom:

As of 18 July 2005, both dried and "prepared" (that is, made into a tea) psilocybin mushrooms were made illegal in the United Kingdom. Prior to this date, fresh mushrooms were widely available (even in city centre shops), but Clause 21 of the Drugs Bill 2005 made fresh psychedelic mushrooms ("fungi containing psilocin"), a Class A drug.Prior to these laws being passed, possession and use of psilocybin and psilocin was prohibited, but courts had ruled the law did not apply to naturally-occurring substances containing these compounds, and for a brief period Psilocybe cubensis and other psilocybin mushrooms were sold in farmers markets. Mushrooms spores are not illegal, due to the fact they do not carry psilocin until they are cultivated.

United States of America:

In the United States, possession of psilocybin-containing mushrooms is illegal because they contain the Schedule I drugs psilocin and psilocybin. Spores, however, which do not contain psychoactive chemicals, are only explicitly illegal in California, Idaho, and Georgia; however, in California, mushroom spores are legal to possess if they are not intended for use in cultivation and if they are not imported from outside California.[25] The Florida Supreme Court in 1978 ruled that possession of wild psilocybin mushrooms is not illegal;however, whether knowingly gathering wild psilocybin mushrooms for later use is illegal or not was not addressed in the decision.

In all states, except New Mexico, growing psilocybin-containing mushrooms from spores is considered manufacture of a controlled substance.[26] In New Mexico, on June 15, 2005, the New Mexico appeals court ruled that growing psilocybin mushrooms for personal use is not manufacture of a controlled substance.

Drug trade:

Production:

It is not difficult to cultivate Psilocybe mushrooms (esp. Psilocybe cubensis). The legal availability of spores and mycelium varies by country and state. Most of the other supplies needed for mushroom cultivation (mason jars, potting supplements, rye, brown rice flour) are easily obtained. One can also purchase kits through the mail or Internet that include everything one needs for personal growing. These grow kits are often used by amateur growers, with varying rates of success and yields; contamination of the supplies is a common problem.

Trafficking:

Because mushrooms can be grown indoors (namely Psilocybe cubensis and Panaeolus cyanescens), they are generally grown within the same national borders as they are sold. There have been few high-profile cases of mushroom producers and traffickers being caught or prosecuted.

While mushrooms may be distributed by organized crime, more often they are moved by informal affiliations of acquaintances and fellow users, and do not often travel long distances. They are sold in plastic bags containing either whole dried or powdered, sometimes crushed, fungi, and are generally sold by weight. They are sometimes incorporated into chocolate or baked into brownies, cakes, or muffins. The typical price for an ounce of dried mushrooms can range from as little as $70 to $400 depending on the quality of the product, as well as their availability in the area. The quality of the product is generally about the same, varying only as can be expected with a non-synthetic psychedelic. The major factor in the quality of this drug is how well they have been stored, with well dried whole mushrooms kept in cool dark places being ideal. Contaminated grows yield poor quality, possibly toxic mushrooms. One should be extremely cautious of any mushrooms which have unusual growths or mold, as well as any mushrooms which may have been harvested from the same grow as mushrooms with these growths.

The potency of mushrooms can vary greatly depending on the growing conditions, and buyers of mushrooms run the risk of ingesting a poisonous, mis-identified species, or being cheated by substitutions or cutting of the mushrooms with other, non-psychedelic varieties, or by non-psychedelic varieties laced with other psychedelics, most often LSD.