Psilocybin mushroom

After the Spanish conquest, Catholic missionaries campaigned against the cultural tradition of the Aztecs, dismissing the Aztecs as idolaters, and the use of hallucinogenic plants and mushrooms, together with other pre-Christian traditions, was quickly suppressed.[6] The Spanish believed the mushroom allowed the Aztecs and others to communicate with demons. Despite this history, the use of teonanácatl has persisted in some remote areas.^[1]

Modern

The first mention of hallucinogenic mushrooms in European medicinal literature was in the London Medical and Physical Journal in 1799: A man served Psilocybe semilanceata mushrooms he had picked for breakfast in London's Green Park to his family. The apothecary 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."^[9]

In 1955, Valentina Pavlovna Wasson and R. Gordon Wasson became the first known European Americans to actively participate in an indigenous mushroom ceremony. The Wassons did much to publicize their experience, even publishing an article on their experiences in Life on May 13, 1957.^[10] In 1956, Roger Heim identified the psychoactive mushroom the Wassons brought back from Mexico as Psilocybe,^[11] and in 1958, Albert Hofmann first identified psilocybin and psilocin as the active compounds in these mushrooms.^[12][13]

Inspired by the Wassons' Life article,

Non-Psilocybe species of psilocybin mushroom include Pluteus salicinus (left), Gymnopilus luteoviridis (center), and Panaeolus cinctulus, formerly called Panaeolus subbalteatus (right)

In a 2000 review on the worldwide distribution of psilocybin mushrooms, Gastón Guzmán and colleagues considered these distributed among the following genera: Psilocybe (116 species), Gymnopilus (14), Panaeolus (13), Copelandia (12), Pluteus (6) Inocybe (6), Pholiotina (4) and Galerina (1).^[17][18] Guzmán increased his estimate of the number of psilocybin-containing Psilocybe to 144 species in a 2005 review.

Many of them are found in Mexico (53 species), with the remainder distributed throughout Canada and the US (22), Europe (16), Asia (15), Africa (4), and Australia and associated islands (19).

Psilocybin

Psilocin

The effects of psilocybin mushrooms come from psilocybin and psilocin. When psilocybin is ingested, it is broken down by the liver in a process called

As with many psychedelic substances, the effects of psychedelic mushrooms are subjective and can vary considerably among individual users. The mind-altering effects of psilocybin-containing mushrooms typically last from three to eight hours, depending on dosage, preparation method, and personal metabolism. The first 3–4 hours after ingestion are typically referred to as the 'peak'—in which the user experiences more vivid visuals and distortions in reality. The effects can seem to last much longer for the user because of psilocybin's ability to alter time perception.[33]

Sensory

Sensory effects include visual and auditory hallucinations followed by emotional changes and altered perception of time and space.^[34] Noticeable changes to the auditory, visual, and tactile senses may become apparent around 30 minutes to an hour after ingestion, although effects may take up to two hours to take place. These shifts in perception visually include enhancement and contrasting of colors, strange light phenomena (such as auras or "halos" around light sources), increased visual acuity, surfaces that seem to ripple, shimmer, or breathe; complex open and closed eye visuals of form constants or images, objects that warp, morph, or change solid colors; a sense of melting into the environment, and trails behind moving objects. Sounds may seem to have increased clarity—music, for example, can take on a profound sense of cadence and depth.^[34] Some users experience synesthesia, wherein they perceive, for example, a visualization of color upon hearing a particular sound.^[35]

Emotional

As with other

The dosage of mushrooms containing psilocybin depends on the psilocybin and psilocin content, which can vary significantly between and within the same species but is typically around 0.5–2.0% of the dried weight of the mushroom.^[38] Usual doses of the common species Psilocybe cubensis range around 1.0 to 2.5 g, while about 2.5 to 5.0 g dried mushroom material is considered a strong dose.^[39] Above 5 g is often considered a heavy dose, with 5.0 grams of dried mushroom often being referred to as a "heroic dose".^[40][41]

The concentration of active psilocybin mushroom compounds varies from species to species but also from mushroom to mushroom within a given species, subspecies or variety.^[42] The species Psilocybe azurescens contains the most psilocybin (up to 1.78%).

Toxicology

The species within the most commonly foraged and ingested genus of psilocybin mushrooms, the psilocybe, contains two primary hallucinogenic toxins; psilocybin and psilocin.^[43] The median lethal dose, also known as “LD50”, of psilocybin is 280 mg/kg.^[44]

From a toxicological profile, it would be incredibly difficult to

Neurotoxicity-induced fatal events are uncommon with psilocybin mushroom overdose, as most patients admitted to critical care are released from the department only requiring moderate treatment.^[45] However, fatal events related to emotional distress and trip-induced psychosis can occur as a result of over-consumption of psilocybin mushrooms. In 2003, a 27-year-old man was found dead in an irrigation canal due to hypothermia. In his bedroom was found two cultivation pots of psilocybin mushrooms, but no report of toxicology was made.^[47]

Clinical research

Due partly to restrictions of the

The legality of the cultivation, possession, and sale of psilocybin mushrooms and psilocybin and psilocin varies from country to country.

After Oregon Measure 109, in 2020, Oregon became the first US state to decriminalize psilocybin and legalize it for therapeutic use. However, selling psilocybin without being licensed may still attract fines or imprisonment.^[51] In 2022 Colorado legalized consumption, growing, and sharing for personal use,^[52] though sales are prohibited while regulations are being drafted.^[53][54] Other jurisdictions in the United States where psilocybin mushrooms are decriminalized include Ann Arbor and Detroit, Michigan; Oakland and Santa Cruz, California; Easthampton, Somerville, Northampton, and Cambridge, Massachusetts; Seattle, Washington; and Washington, DC.^[55]

Furthermore, buying spores of mushroom species containing psilocybin online in the United States is legal in all states except Georgia, Idaho and California.^[56] This is because fruiting mushrooms and mycelium contain psilocybin, a federally banned substance.^[57] A technical caveat to consider, however, is that the distributed spores must not be intended to be used for cultivation, but allowed for microscopy purposes.^[58]

United Nations

Internationally, mescaline, DMT, and psilocin, are Schedule I drugs under the Convention on Psychotropic Substances. The Commentary on the Convention on Psychotropic Substances notes, however, that the plants containing them are not subject to international control:^[59]

"The cultivation of plants from which psychotropic substances are obtained is not controlled by the Vienna Convention... Neither the crown (fruit, mescal button) of the

Psilocybe mushrooms themselves are included in Schedule 1, but only their respective principals, mescaline, DMT, and psilocin

."

• Psilocybin
• List of psilocybin mushroom species
• List of psychoactive plants, fungi, and animals
• Mushroom tea
• Psilocybin decriminalization in the United States
• Stoned ape theory

Citations