At very high doses, they can cause hallucinations and a complete dissolution of your ego. I don’t think people should be able to just walk into a store and buy them. In the research setting, patients start with preparatory sessions, then they have a dosing session with two "minders," or guides, to monitor for side effects or adverse events and to help with safety concerns. I do worry about what will happen when these substances are being administered more broadly, because these patients are in a very vulnerable state.

They can be eaten raw, dried, cooked, stewed, brewed in tea taking as a capsule or as a liquid.People don’t tend to eat fly agaric mushrooms raw as they can make you feel very sick. The first psilocybin-producing mushrooms likely arose as a wood-decomposing group, then transitioned to the soil after the split, with some species such as Psilocybe cubensis transiting to growing on herbivore dung. Previous studies identified the cluster of four core genes that produce psilocybin based on genomic analysis of three Psilocybe species. This study’s expanded genomics of 52 specimens of Psilocybe revealed a second distinct pattern.

At least in the cancer realm, we’re looking at three small studies involving about 20 to 30 patients each. It’s certainly not enough where we would say, "This definitely has efficacy." There is more research that needs to be done. Psilocybin can cause symptoms such as dilated pupils, increased heart rate, nausea, vomiting, and muscle weakness. In addition to the psychological effects of psilocybin mushrooms, which are often why people use them, they can also produce many unwanted physical effects. It’s crucial to address the growing concern of psilocybin mushroom abuse among younger populations through education, prevention efforts, and early intervention.

This might involve unpleasant physical symptoms such as nausea, chills, vomiting, or headaches. The user might also experience negative psychological effects such as paranoia, anxiety, or even extreme terror. Indeed, as a journalist and the co-founder of psychedelic magazine DoubleBlind, I've been reporting on psilocybin for over half a decade, and experimented with my own first hand experiences for even longer. I've interviewed scientists, researchers, therapists, policy wonks, attorneys, and shamans about the history of magic mushrooms, how to use them safely, and what the potential benefits and risks are. Like the endless mycelial networks that thread through our planet’s ecosystems, magic mushrooms are now thoroughly entangled in 21st century culture. Shrooms—defined by their main psychedelic compound, psilocybin—are the new weed, and the act of taking consistent, sub-perceptible doses of them (microdosing) is now a common way to dip your toes in psychedelic waters.