Health Benefits of Magic Mushrooms: Uses, Risks, and Safety

Reduction of clinical symptoms has been shown to last up to 33, 61,2, and 128 months after 1 to 3 psilocybin administrations. Despite these promising advances, the neural and psychological mechanisms underlying the enduring therapeutic effects of psychedelic drugs are not well-understood. Two possibly interactive trans-diagnostic targets that may be affected by psilocybin are negative affect and brain network plasticity. Research interest in the potential of psychedelic drugs to treat mental health conditions including depression, anxiety, existential distress in serious medical illnesses, post-traumatic stress disorder, and addiction has been growing.

1. In many studies, psilocybin is used as a single dose treatment, with long-term effects.
2. Measure 109 will be enacted after a developmental stage is completed, expected to be a two year process.
3. Ketamine is an anesthetic that healthcare providers use for surgery on humans and animals.
4. Today, in the United States, psilocybin is considered a psychedelic drug—a type of drug that affects how the brain processes a chemical called serotonin.
5. Once LSD was banned, most countries made other serotonergic psychedelics illegal as well (Nutt et al., 2013; Rucker et al., 2018).

Physical Side Effects

Looking at psilocybin, Gable (1993) concluded that it carries a lower dependence risk than caffeine, and being among the lowest risks of death of all major substance abuse categories. In relation to ayahuasca, Gable (2006) found no evidence of abuse potential and compared its safety margin to codeine, mescaline or methadone. Rather, long-term psychological benefits have been documented ketamine withdrawal symptoms and recovery when ayahuasca is used in a well-established social context. Similarly, administration of LSD results in high acute drug liking ratings but no craving (Holze et al., 2021; Schmid et al., 2015). Assessing the risks of psychedelic use is challenging, as there are many different substances, applications, environments and population groups in this rapidly developing field.

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Currently, the Drug Enforcement Administration lists psilocybin as a Schedule 1 controlled substance and possessing it is illegal at the Federal level in the United States. A Schedule 1 controlled substance is a drug that has been determined to lack safety even under medical supervision, has no currently accepted medical use, and has a high potential for abuse. Psilocybin can be consumed by eating fresh or dried psilocybin-containing mushrooms. Although bitter, they can be eaten alone, mixed with food, or made into a tea. Generally, the nonmedical use of psilocybin refers to mushrooms containing psilocybin; synthetic production of psilocybin is complicated and expensive.

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Aggression and violence are uncommon, but these side effects do occur, according to a 2016 study published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology. Several participants in the study also reported self-harm or suicide attempts. “Prior to our study, essentially nothing was known about the effects of psychedelic microdosing on animal behaviors,” explains the lead researcher.

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Nonetheless, the safety and efficacy of psilocybin treatment must still be satisfactorily proved to the FDA, which, thus far, it has not. “The thing that we have the most evidence for is cancer-related depression and anxiety. That seems really strong, and I’d be surprised if those results didn’t hold up,” Johnson said, who was part of that research.

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Since then, several other cities, including Detroit, Washington, D.C., and Seattle, have also decriminalized psilocybin. Cognitive and sociability tests, on the other hand, did not reveal any effects of DMT. The easiest way to lookup drug information, identify pills, check interactions alcoholism and anger management and set up your own personal medication records. Always consult your healthcare provider to ensure the information displayed on this page applies to your personal circumstances. Washington, DC also decriminalized psilocybin in Nov. 2020, and San Francisco, CA in 2022.

Extent of Hallucinogenic Mushroom Use

Although evidence and human rights arguments led to exemptions for specific indigenous groups, the laws and biases against peyote remained in place and were then extended to other psychedelics. It’s thought that people get “stuck” because the brain is designed to be good at developing habits, said Chris Tuell, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral neuroscience and director of addiction services at the University of Cincinnati’s College of Medicine. Animal studies have shown that psychedelics can make axons, the long threadlike fibers that transmit messages between nerve cells, start to make new connections, he explained. “We have had very good outcomes in our trials,” said psychiatrist Dr. Joshua Woolley, director of the translational psychedelic research program at the University of California, San Francisco. The percent of hallucinogen users among young adults aged 18 to 25 (7.3% or 2.4 million people) was higher than the percentages among adolescents aged 12 to 17 (1.5% or 370,000 people) or adults aged 26 or older (2% or 4.3 million people).

In November 2019, the FDA designated psilocybin therapy as a “breakthrough therapy” for depression to the Usona Institute, an action the agency uses to speed up development and review of investigational drugs. Breakthrough therapies are expected to provide a major improvement addiction and recovery over currently available agents for an unmet medical need. Additional studies with psilocybin are expected, and one is comparing the chemical against a leading traditional antidepressant. In many studies, psilocybin is used as a single dose treatment, with long-term effects.

However, there are some risks to be aware of, and only a few U.S. cities where use is legal. Additionally, studies show that the psychological effects of psilocybin can be unpredictable. This also makes it tough to say if magic mushrooms are 10/10 effective way to treat PTSD. In a 2022 study, researchers analyzed the effects of psilocybin — the psychedelic compound found in shrooms — in 27 folks with a long history of depression. Participants were given two doses of psilocybin every 2 weeks between August 2017 and April 2019.

Six months after the experience, 80 percent of the Johns Hopkins participants showed significant decreases in symptoms of depression and anxiety, as measured by what’s considered a gold standard psychiatric evaluation. Currently, in most of the U.S., psilocybin mushrooms are still illegal, both medically and recreationally. This means it’s illegal to have, sell, or give away psilocybin mushrooms for any reason. There are significant legal penalties imposed on both the possession and selling of mushrooms.

A 2021 study in 59 people with depression concluded that psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy did not reduce symptoms better than escitalopram, an antidepressant medicine, and psychotherapy. If the mushrooms were contaminated or mixed with other drugs, they may show signs of poisoning, including tachycardia (heart beating too fast), hypertension (high blood pressure), hyperthermia (body tissue becomes too hot), nausea, or vomiting. One study found that people who self-medicated with small dosages of psilocybin were able to relieve cluster headaches while avoiding any psychoactive effects of the drug. In many of the case reports from the NYU study, particpants reported experiencing intense anxiety and discomfort – ranging from a few minutes to a few hours – during their trip. A 2014 study was one of the first to attribute this effect to the way psilocybin affects communication across brain networks.