Author: Alexander Braim

Psychedelic mushrooms, also known as “magic mushrooms” or “shrooms”, are a natural fungi that contain hallucinogens that will noticeably impact the senses of a human being when consumed. This is due to the mushrooms containing a naturally occurring compound called psilocybin, which can be found in over 200 different species of fungi. The Government of Canada warns people of the risks surrounding psychedelic mushrooms outside of the actual “trip” experience, such as the facts that “the production, sale and possession of magic mushrooms are illegal in Canada,” and that “it is possible for people to consume poisonous mushrooms, mistaking them for magic mushrooms,” since many of the species look similar. After taking mushrooms, the body converts the psilocybin into psilocin, which is what affects the brain. Generally, the user will experience an altered state of consciousness after 15-45 minutes, and the effects will last for four to six hours. It can cause the user to have hallucinations, either seeing something that isn’t there, or seeing things that are there being drastically altered. It can have an extreme impact on all five senses, causing noticeable differences in mental response to sound, taste, smell, and touch. According to The Government of Canada, the strength of magic mushrooms and their effects from person to person can widely vary. This is one of the most important risks surrounding psychedelic mushroom consumption, as nobody truly knows how they will be affected until their trip begins.

When it comes to actually taking the mushrooms, there are two ways that the substance can be obtained. They can either be gathered naturally or purchased illegally, each coming with its own separate risks. Picking your own mushrooms could result in you accidentally eating a poisonous fungi, and purchasing it from someone else means that it is untested and you are unaware of exactly what you’re getting, whether it’s the strength, ingredients, or how that particular strain will affect you. Mushrooms are commonly sold in a variety of different forms, such as dried whole mushrooms, powder, tablets or capsules, and gummies. The Government of Canada acknowledges the various ways that people consume psychedelic mushrooms, including “eaten raw or cooked, ground up and used to make tea or mixed in a beverage, swallowed as capsules, or sniffed up the nose (snorted), when in a powder.” However, it is also made clear that “mushrooms should never be injected intravenously,” as there have been extremely serious and harmful cases involving the injection of mushrooms, “including septic shock and multi-system organ failure.” 

The way that psychedelic mushrooms are consumed can affect the trip experience, as making tea versus simply ingesting the dried mushroom will generally provide a notable difference in effects. Eating the actual mushroom will result in a more visual and significant experience, while the tea will be more subtle and internal. It simply depends on the personal preference of the user. The amount of mushrooms consumed will also have an extremely significant impact on the user experience, with an increased dose resulting in a more powerful trip. Mike Riggs states that “If you are very nervous about using shrooms, I recommend you start with 1 gram dried,” as “ingesting this amount will feel mostly like a new kind of buzz that simply lasts a long time.” However, “the “heroic dose” popularized by psychonaut Terence McKenna is 5 grams. People who have taken this amount say the trip is very psychologically

taxing but also provides the longest-lasting increase in emotional well-being.” A dose like this is definitely a significant risk, as it could easily result in an extremely detrimental trip. Another important indicator of a positive or negative experience is the user’s “set and setting”. Ido Hartogsohn defines set and setting as “a term which refers to the psychological, social, and cultural parameters which shape the response to psychedelic drugs.” The user’s mind“set” and the physical and social environment, or the “setting”, that they are in when consuming the substance play an important role in the quality of their experience. A positive set and setting will often result in a positive trip and vice versa. Madelene Palmer and Olivia M. Maynard noted in their study that participants found the psychedelic experience to be dependent on set and setting, “such that it could be “scary if you feel alone” or “at a club this could be disorienting””, and that you should be “making sure you are in a good mood before tripping.” Mike Riggs recommends that users “choose a space you can occupy for the day and where you feel comfortable, safe, and secure,” considering that “some folks prefer the privacy and comfort of their own homes,” while “others like a secluded spot in nature.” 

There are clearly a significant number of factors that can influence the result of a mushroom trip, and when these determinants are not aligned properly to create a positive experience, it may lead to something known as a “bad trip”. This can occur from taking too strong of a dose, having an unfavourable mental state at the time of consumption, or being in an uncomfortable environment when tripping. A bad trip can also start happening at any point during the psychedelic experience, and can be provoked by anything such as a difficult situation or intrusive thought. When under the influence of mushrooms, your brain and body responds differently to almost everything, and a bad trip is when this change in mental state and physical responses is too intense to handle, and can provoke severe anxiety, fear, and other various

negative emotional responses. It can be extremely hard to endure a bad trip, as the experience will likely last multiple hours and can be physically and mentally exhausting. It can sometimes even have lasting effects on the human brain after the psychedelic experience is over. Although it’s impossible to completely eradicate the chance of a bad trip before consuming mushrooms, the possibility can be severely minimized by taking precautions before, such as consuming a reasonable dosage and ensuring a positive set and setting. 

Although bad trips can be harmful and dangerous to psychedelic mushroom users, a positive experience can bring great joy to the user, as many find the increase in senses to be enlightening. Mike Riggs states that “shrooms can be a useful tool for testing connections between ideas,” because “many of us believe things about ourselves and the world that make our lives harder than they have to be. Shrooms can evaporate those beliefs and render superior ideas stickier and more influential.” A constructive mushroom trip “can illuminate your outlook for months afterward.” 

There have even been various experiments conducted to test whether or not psilocybin can positively affect mental health conditions such as PTSD or depression, and the results have shown promise. According to Canada’s Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, “1 in every 5 Canadians experiences a mental illness.” When it comes to mental health, the topic is much less researched and established than physical health, a dilemma that has been addressed for decades longer with the administering of pharmaceutical drugs, regardless of the risks they pose. Psychedelic mushrooms, like mental health, have been misunderstood and suppressed by society, and they are also one of the most intriguing potential solutions to it. Mushrooms are nothing short of controversial, but are swarmed with unjustified stigma that is based on little to no empirical evidence. The world’s mental health crisis is a real issue that needs to be addressed as

soon as possible, and psychedelic substances may be a possible answer. Mental health issues and mental illness come in many different forms, including addiction, mood disorders, anxiety, and depression. Those who suffer from mental health challenges often do not receive the care and support they need, which can lead to further consequences such as homelessness or inability to find work. This problem needs to be addressed immediately, and scientists and researchers have found a truly interesting option in psychedelics. Magic mushrooms can give the user a variety of different experiences, with the most intriguing being “the most remarkable potential benefit” of psychedelics according to Vox, an experience known as “ego-death”, which has been reported to have allowed users to “detach themselves from worldly concerns like a fear of death, addiction, and anxiety over temporary — perhaps exaggerated — life events.” This could be the factor that brings light to the darkness that many people experience in their life. For those suffering from a terminal illness such as late-stage cancer, mental health complications such as anxiety and depression are common. This often stems from an existential “fear of death”, which frequently leads to a negative mental state and quality of life before death. However, a four year study conducted by UCLA professor Charles Grob brings a glimmer of hope to this difficult topic. He and his research group administered psilocybin, the psychedelic content of magic mushrooms, to terminal cancer patients, and the results were astounding. According to Grob, “The reports [he] got back from the subjects, from their partners, from their families were very positive — that the experience was of great value, and it helped them regain a sense of purpose, a sense of meaning to their life. The quality of their lives notably improved.” The fact that mental health has only begun to have its importance recognized in recent years is simply unacceptable, and this is also the case for psychedelics. They were labeled as extremely dangerous to the human population based solely on extremes instead of evidence. And they were classified as a Schedule 1 Drug

which only added to the negatives, increasing the stigma surrounding the substances and decreasing the research and evidence by not letting them be studied by professionals. Psychedelic mushrooms are an intriguing possibility that, like mental health, have been inefficiently researched and studied in the past, but the current evidence points towards massive opportunity. The fact that mushrooms were banned from medical research and testing is completely unjustified, as the substance is actually very low risk compared to many other drugs, and it presents significant possibilities for helping people. 

Due to the fact that psychedelic mushrooms are a naturally occurring psychedelic, instances of addiction or fatal overdose are almost nonexistent. According to The Government of Canada, “there is little evidence that people can become physically or psychologically dependent 

on magic mushrooms.” Although evidence shows that addiction is not a risk when consuming mushrooms, “it is possible to become tolerant to the drug’s effects with regular use,” but all this means is that “the drug will no longer produce the desired effect” when consumed. The Desert Hope Treatment Center states that “You can overdose on mushrooms, but you are not likely to die.” Some of the symptoms caused by overdose can be quite severe, but it is extremely unlikely to die from consuming too many mushrooms. “Typical signs of psychedelic mushroom overdose include: anxiety and panic attacks, vomiting and diarrhea, agitation, paranoia, psychosis, seizures, [or even going into a] coma.” An article from the Guardian about 2016’s Global Drug Survey found that out of more than 12,000 users who took psilocybin, only 0.2% reported emergency medical treatment. That rate is 5 times lower than MDMA (Ecstasy), LSD, and cocaine,” which are all other Schedule 1 drugs in Canada, indicating that mushrooms do not belong in the same tier.

However, that doesn’t make this substance risk free. Users who are predisposed to or with existing psychiatric conditions may experience forms of psychosis or schizophrenia, which can completely alter their mental state for an extended period of time. Franz X. Vollenweider details the risks of using psilocybin, as the indoleamine hallucinogen “produces a psychosis-like syndrome in humans that resembles first episodes of schizophrenia.” Although considered a relatively “low-risk” drug due to the rarity of severely negative outcomes after using, psilocybin can cause a life-altering bad trip or even induce schizophrenic symptoms that had previously been dormant. However, Fairmount Behavioural Health System makes sure to emphasize the fact that “how hallucinogens and schizophrenia affect the brain is still widely unknown,” due to them being regulated as a Schedule 1 drug so “there are hardly any studies that investigate their effects on the human brain.” Nevertheless, “studying the effects of classic hallucinogens on the brain may be the key to unlocking this mystery and helping many people with this chronic mental health disorder.” 

Psychedelic mushrooms can affect the human brain in a variety of ways, including serious risks and promising opportunities, neither of which should be ignored. One of the main takeaways, however, is that their effect is extremely dependent on how they are consumed or administered as treatment. When used correctly, psychedelics can bring a positive experience to anyone that needs it, but if misused, serious consequences can follow.