Table of Contents
Despite the fact that recreational drugs carry several hazards and are largely illegal, the use of psychedelic drugs such as magic mushrooms remains popular in the United States.
We’ll describe how shroom bars work and their dangers to help you understand those drugs. We’ll also go into the medical applications of those hallucinogens. So, stay tuned!
What are Shroom Chocolate Bars?
Shroom chocolate bars, as the name implies, are a food treat made of chocolate and magic mushrooms. The latter contains the hallucinogenic chemical psilocybin. Depending on the type, mushrooms typically contain 0.2–0.4% of the hallucinogenic chemical.
Those fungi also contain a trace quantity of psilocin, another hallucinogenic chemical. Both of these substances are responsible for the mushrooms’ mind-altering effects, which differ from person to person.
You might be wondering why people put chocolate in their mushrooms. That’s to improve the flavor of the mushrooms. Of course, chocolate and mushrooms don’t go together. However, the fungus is unpleasant on its own.
As a result, several concoctions, such as shroom bars, were developed to improve the flavor of the substance.
Aside from their physical and emotional negative effects, the numerous types of mushrooms pose additional health dangers. There are around 200 different kinds of magic mushrooms. The issue is that most fungi have lengthy, whitish-gray stems and brown crowns.
As a result, individuals frequently confuse lethal mushrooms with psilocybin-containing mushrooms or edible mushrooms. In reality, misidentification causes over 7,500 mushroom poisoning instances in the United States each year.
How do shroom bars work?
Shroom bars are hallucinogenic substances. These medications contain natural psychoactive substances that work on the nerve system and affect perception, such as psilocybin and psilocin.
When drugs are ingested, they allow the person to hear, feel, and see things that aren’t real, which is known as “getting high” or “experiencing a trip.”
How do shroom bars affect the brain?
The structures of psilocybin and psilocin are comparable to those of serotonin, a neurotransmitter that affects mood, including happiness and anxiety. It is also involved in many other physiological functions, including cognition, sleep, digestion, and reward.
Because those molecules resemble neurotransmitters, they activate the brain’s equivalent receptors. The 5-HT2A receptor is one of the serotonin receptors that those substances bind to. The former is found in brain areas involved in cognition and memory.
Furthermore, evidence indicates that the 5-HT2A receptor is involved in mental diseases such as schizophrenia. That explains why the mushroom mimics symptoms of schizophrenia, such as delusions and a skewed perception of reality.
Aside from receptors, hallucinogenic chemicals have an impact on the Default Mode Network (DMN). The former is a brain-neuronal network that is active during internal cognitive processing.
This suggests that DMN activity is at its peak during self-reflection and daydreaming. These brain parts also allow us to reflect on the past since they accumulate daily knowledge and play various roles in remembering.
When conducting externally goal-directed activities and tasks that demand attention to detail, DMN is less active.
Psychedelic drugs reduce DMN activity, causing the brain to make new connections. This could explain why some people see psychedelics as having a creative boost.
Dangers of Shroom Bars
From the above, you can see that shroom bars alter the brain’s natural functions, which can lead to several risks, including:
Side Effects
Magic mushrooms can cause negative mental and physical effects. Some of the unpleasant mental side effects include:
- Mood changes
- Anxiety and panic attacks
- Disorientation
- Paranoia
- Mood changes
- Psychosis
As for the physical side effects, those include:
- Numbness
- Nausea
- Muscle weakness and convulsions
- Increased blood pressure, heart rate, and temperature
- Headaches
- Dilated pupils
- Drowsiness
Magic Mushroom Chocolate Bars: Tolerance and Dependency
Long-term usage of shroom bars, like most drugs, leads to tolerance and drug reliance in the body.
The issue with psychedelic addiction is that it can cause withdrawal symptoms. Shroom bars, while not as toxic as CNS depressive medications, stimulants, or opioids, are nevertheless harmful.
However, when quitting cold turkey, the former might create unpleasant side effects such as memory loss, weariness, irritation, and hallucinatory flashbacks.
Worse, tolerance may lead to excessive consumption in order to attain the same effects, culminating in overdose symptoms. These are some examples:
- Longer, more intense trips
- Agitation
- Vomiting and diarrhea
- Panic and psychosis
- Seizures
- Potential death
Bad Trips
Magic mushrooms are known to cause bad trips. Instead of bliss, terrible trips produce terrifying hallucinations and distressing thoughts. People become more worried and paranoid as a result.
In addition, because mushrooms change mood and perception, they can cause people to attempt self-harm.
Individuals under the influence of hallucinogens, for example, can perform activities they would never undertake when sober, such as jumping off a building.
There is also the possibility of unintentional poisoning. People may consume alcohol or other substances that interact with psilocybin and induce drug poisoning because psychedelics alter consciousness.
What Are the Uses of Shroom Bars?
As previously stated, shroom bars have an effect on the DMN, which is related to heightened self-awareness. High activity in specific areas of the brain has been linked to schizophrenia patients with decreased cognitive function. Furthermore, higher DMN activity is linked to depression.
As a result, turning off DMN can improve cognition and enable schizophrenia patients to accomplish their daily duties more effectively. In severe depression, it can also improve mood and reduce negative rumination loops.
Furthermore, a Johns Hopkins study suggests that psilocybin may be beneficial in treating addictions such as nicotine, alcohol, and opioids. It may also aid in the treatment of other diseases, such as anorexia and PTSD.
However, it should be noted that the use of pilocybin-containing substances is banned in many countries.
The former are designated as Schedule I medications. Substances in this category have a high potential for abuse. Furthermore, they have no officially acknowledged medicinal use in the United States.
Even if it is permitted, it should be done under the supervision of a qualified healthcare provider and not for recreational purposes. This is due to the fact that pilocybin has profound effects on the mind and can create intense experiences that might be life-threatening.
Magic Mushroom Chocolate Bars: Conclusion
As you can see, shroom bars can have a variety of mental and physical adverse effects. Furthermore, long-term use of the chocolate mushroom mixture can build tolerance and dependence, which might result in overdose symptoms. There is also the risk of mishaps and accidental poisoning.
Some studies, however, suggest that shroom bars may have therapeutic effects, notably in the treatment of mental health disorders such as anxiety and depression.
However, the use of shroom bars is still prohibited, and individuals should not eat them for health reasons unless under the guidance of a qualified doctor.