Aaron Sattler

Psychology 1st period

Psychedelic Mushrooms
There are over 90 species of psychedelic mushrooms, commonly called magic

mushrooms, in the world. Some of these include the United Kingdom’s “liberty caps” and

North America’s Psilocybe Cubensis. They are grown in dark, damp, places just like any

other fungus. There is something that makes these fungi a little more peculiar and special.

Magic mushrooms contain psychoactive chemicals such as Psilocybin (Psilocybine),

Psilocin, and Muscimol.

Magic mushrooms are hallucinogenic drugs. Obviously this means they cause

hallucinations. Many compare them to a lighter version of LSD, another hallucinogenic

drug. In fact some magic mushrooms that are sold are nothing more that regular

mushrooms sprinkled with some small proportions of LSD. Mushrooms however are not

physically addicting and have a very low chance for psychotic dependence.

It is not quite know how or it is hard to find out exactly how these drugs affect the

brain. It is known that it has to do with the chemical serotonin. Serotonin is a chemical

that is naturally produced by the body and deals with emotion and mood. Differing levels

of Serotonin have been linked to depression, bipolar disorder, and anxiety disorders. The

parts of the brain affected include the cerebral cortex, which deals with mood, cognitive

processes, and perception; and the locus ceruleus which works with sensory input. All of

these factor into the way one feels while on a trip.

How many mushrooms taken to produce effects depends on body mass, mood,

and tolerance. Heavier person equals more drugs. Also, tolerance is built up extremely

quickly. It would take twice as many mushrooms to get the same result you had the day
 Aaron Sattler
Psychology 1st period
before, with complete tolerance building within three to four days if taken repeatedly.

However tolerance can be lost again.

There are differently levels of intensity for a trip on magic mushrooms. There are

5 different levels that it can be broken down into. Baseline is how you normally are off

the drug. Off baseline would be the next step. Symptoms include the following: body is

relaxed, the body may tingle, feeling light, and laughter. Plus one would be the next step

up. Symptoms include the following: visual hallucinations, bright colors stand out,

objects appear to move or ripple, distracted thoughts, light euphoria, and distorted sense

of time. Plus two symptoms include the following: familiar objects appear strange, small

details stand out, music can have a strong influence on ones mood, and sense of time is

lost. Symptoms for the plus three stage include the following: strong hallucinations,

objects change, one feels connected to everything around them, one can feel different and

conflicting moods at the same time (happy and sad), senses blend together, and one feels

aware of stimuli. Stage four is extreme and hardly ever reached. Symptoms for this stage

include the following: loss of visual perception, senses cease to functions normally,

complete loss of the sense of what is going on. These effects usually take half an hour to

kick in and last 4-8 hours.

Long term side affects are not really known, and magic mushrooms do not appear

to harm the body. The most common negative side affect is that ones mood and mental

state before taking the drug has a lot to do with how he will react to it. In a case where

someone is depressed, angry, or mentally unstable; ingesting magic mushrooms can be a

serious problem. People can become paranoid, out of control, have stomach pains,

diarrhea, sickness, and, after using, have flashbacks. The most dangerous is the first.
 Aaron Sattler
Psychology 1st period
People taking magic mushrooms and loose their grip on reality and do harm to

themselves and others. There are; however, some potential positive uses for this drug.

Use of the drugs in magic mushrooms is being researched for such things as headaches

and being used as an anti-depressant.

There are a few different ways to ingest magic mushrooms. They can be eaten

raw. Sometimes they are dried out to preserve them longer, which has to be done right

because if one uses heat to do this, it can deactivate the drug in the mushroom. Since the

taste is rather bad people try to find alternative ways to ingesting the mushrooms. The

most common way is just to eat it with another food such as pizza, but one can also blend

it in a drink or grind it into a powder and then cook with it.

Psychedelic mushrooms have been used for many years and will continue to be

used. They will do the drug because they like the way they feel. ‘Shrooms have even

become a part of society. In the video game Mario grows bigger when he eats a certain

kind of magic mushroom called the Fly Agaric, and bright neon colored mushroom

posters and glass structures are sold in places all over. This information should me useful

in understanding the psychedelic mushroom.

 Aaron Sattler
Psychology 1st period
www.thegooddrugsguide.com/mushrooms

www.bbc.co.uk/crime/drugs/magicmushrooms.shtml

http://corp.aadac.com/other_drugs/the_basics_about_other_drugs/magic_mushrooms_abc

s.asp