Description
Magic mushrooms is the popular term for mushrooms or toadstools that contain active drugs. A number of different species of mushrooms contain active hallucinogenic chemicals, but the ones most commonly used in the UK are from the psilocybe genus. Probably the best known species is psilocybe semilanceata, or the ‘Liberty Cap’ mushroom. Other groups, such as panaeolus, copelandia and amanita, also have hallucinogenic properties.
Desirable Effects
- Senses become distorted.
- Changes to time, space and meaning – ‘trips’ can be ecstatic experiences
Undesirable Effects
- Distortions or ‘trips’ can be also be frightening like paranoid nightmares – ‘bad trip’
- Can negatively affect people who have mental health problems
What does it look like?
Mushrooms grown in the UK are small cream to brown coloured with a nipple at the peak of the cap.
Method of Use
Smoked: When dried, they can be smoked in a joint or a pipe.
Swallowed: certain mushroom types can be eaten raw (such as Liberty Caps).
They also can be dried out and stored. They are often drunk by brewing them in a cup of tea.
Pharmacology
The active alkaloids in Psilocybe mushrooms (principally psilocybin, psilocin and baeocystin) are the main components responsible for the entheogenic effects. Of these, psilocybin is the most sought after and most stable psychedelic compound, although it is converted to psilocin in the body after ingestion.
Psilocybin and psilocin are both indolealkylamines and structurally similar to the neurotransmitter serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine or 5-HT). Psilocin is a mixed receptor agonist, and mostly interacts with the 5-HT1A, 5-HT2A and 5-HT2C receptor subtypes, though unlike LSD not the dopamine receptors.
It is the 5-HT2-receptors in the body that are thought to be largely responsible for the psychedelic effects of consuming mushrooms, as they are particularly receptive to the hallucinogens found within them, although their role may not be greatly more significant than any other of the 5-HTs.
For Fly Agaric (amanita muscaria), the main active agents are muscimol (a psychoactive alkaloid not unlike psilocybin, but an agonist of the GABAA receptors) and the neurotoxin ibotenic acid; this can also produce entheogenic effects at higher doses, but the majority of it is excreted unaltered in urine.
Harm Reduction
There are many dozens of species of mushroom, both native and introduced, that grow wild in the UK. Some are edible, a few have hallucinogenic properties, but many are highly toxic to humans. If eaten, they can cause any number of health problems, from mild stomach cramps to coma and, in extreme cases, even death. It is therefore extremely dangerous to pick them, and you should never do so unless you’re with someone who knows exactly what species they are.
- If you are taking them already prepared, make sure you start with very small amounts until you learn your own dose tolerance.
- Remember that Fly Agaric is considerably more potent than Psilocybe), so take this into account when dosing (use smaller amounts).
Try to make sure you’re with friends or people you trust, or at least make sure someone knows where you are.
History
Most psilocybe mushrooms are native to the Central and Southern Americas, where they have been used for a variety of reasons, primarily shamanistic though also recreationally, for hundreds (probably thousands) of years. Europeans first encountered them when Spanish missionaries started cataloguing the religious practices of Central and South American tribes. Their popularity increased after the author and botanist Robert Gordon Wasson published his account of his experiments (including his own experiences) with the mushrooms. Psilocybin and psilocin were isolated as the active hallucinogenic ingredients in the 1960s, and they were controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.
Fly Agaric (amanita muscaria) is found in the Northern hemisphere, and is known in both the Old and New Worlds- it has been used as a hallucinogenic by native populations from the Dogrib Athabascan of the Mackenzie Mountains in north-western Canada, to the Koryak of Siberia, and from north India to Finland.
Psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy in the 21st century
The US FDA granted breakthrough therapy designation for psilocybin-assisted therapy for treatment-resistant depression in 2018. The early 2020s saw increased, but still limited, medical access to psilocybin for clinicians in certain countries, though it remains illegal in most places. In 2022, the Canadian government began issuing special access programme authorisations to practitioners conducting activities with psilocybin and MDMA. In 2023, the Australian government reclassified MDMA and psilocybin to enable access for use in psychotherapy for specific treatment-resistant mental health conditions. In 2026, Rucker and colleagues published the results of the UK’s first publicly-funded psilocybin-assisted therapy trial, showing promise as an intervention for treatment-resistant depression.
Law
- Class A (both fresh and prepared)
- Schedule 1
Possible offences
- Possession
- Maximum sentence – 7 years imprisonment, a fine, or both
- Possession With Intent To Supply
- Maximum sentence – life imprisonment, a fine, or both
- Supply (including being concerned in supply, conspiracy to supply, aggravated supply and offer to supply)
- Maximum sentence – life imprisonment, a fine, or both
- Production
- Maximum sentence – life imprisonment, a fine, or both
In practice maximum sentences are rarely used, for more detailed and accurate information go to our sentencing page.
Original page link here – https://www.release.org.uk/drugs/mushrooms
Wondering if this needs a note about the spores/growing as well?
If so, cannabis also could use this re. seeds.
