Psilocybin Edibles

Psilocybin mushrooms are increasingly being promoted as consumables, such as chocolate, candies, and tea. Once a niche commodity, these hallucinogenic treats are expected to become more widely available as restrictions governing the therapeutic and recreational use of mushrooms relax.

Homemade edibles disguise the earthy flavor of mushrooms, whereas commercial edibles may include only psilocybin extract and no mushroom matter, decreasing adverse effects.

Key takeaways:

• Magic mushrooms are traditionally consumed raw, either fresh or dried, or brewed into teas. However, their flavor, which is usually characterized as comparable to mud or feet, turns off some individuals.
• Shrooms have been blended into a wide range of food and drink products to make them easier to consume and to improve the user’s experience.
• According to all studies, psilocybin edibles have similar effects to raw magic mushrooms. However, there are a few ways they may feel different.

What are Psilocybin edibles?

Psilocybin mushrooms, which are gaining popularity for both therapeutic and recreational purposes and are on the verge of decriminalization, are following in the footsteps of cannabis. And, like cannabis, magic mushrooms are being ingested in a variety of edibles that are more palatable and easier for beginners to consume.

Magic mushrooms are traditionally consumed raw, either fresh or dried, or brewed into teas. However, its flavor, which is usually characterized as comparable to mud or feet, turns off some individuals. Others dislike entire mushrooms’ rubbery, spongy texture.

People have been making psilocybin mushrooms more palatable in their kitchens for years, using them as a pizza topping, adding them to pasta meals, or blending them into a smoothie.

Some astute psychedelic chefs grind mushrooms into a powder that can be used in a variety of meals. All of these dishes could be considered psilocybin edibles.

However, as restrictions relax, it will certainly become legal and profitable to offer mass-produced psilocybin edibles like chocolate bars and gummies. It’s already started in certain places, somewhat under the counter.

Stores and online vendors freely sell psilocybin edibles in Canada, mainly in microdoses. Although the substance is still illegal in Canada, the prohibition is mostly unenforced, and vendors seek to hasten legalization by operating openly.

Still, no retailer publicly or legally distributes psilocybin edibles in the United States. They are only available on the illicit market.

Popular mushroom edibles

Shrooms have been blended into a wide range of food and drink products to make them easier to consume and to improve the user’s experience. Here are some of the most popular edible mushrooms:

Psilocybin chocolate

Chocolate is one of the most popular cannabis edibles, and psilocybin delicacies are likely to follow suit. Several companies in Canada are already selling psilocybin chocolate bars (also known as chocolate mushrooms) geared for microdosing in the early above-ground market for magic mushrooms.

Psilocybin tea

Many people take psilocybin mushrooms by making tea at home. Raw psilocybin mushrooms can cause nausea and vomiting in certain people, a condition known popularly as gut rot.

The mushroom itself is assumed to be responsible for the effect, which is part of its defense against herbivores. Chitin, a stiff, mostly indigestible polymer, is found in the cell walls of fungi.

This causes stomach discomfort and nausea. Although some argue that heating mushrooms, such as when preparing tea, lessens their hallucinogenic potency, it also breaks down the chitin cell walls, making digestion easier and lowering nausea.

Consuming mushrooms in tea also results in a quicker start and shorter, more intense excursions. Many people use other components, such as herbs or ginger, to cover the mushroom flavor or to alleviate nausea.

Psilocybin gummies

The gummy, another popular cannabis consumable form, is being used to administer psilocybin. Some manufacturers extract the psilocybin component from mushrooms and mix it with a liquid to make tasty gummies.

That is, the gummies contain no organic mushroom content, so the customer will not suffer any of the mushroom’s unpleasant effects, which can range from nausea to muscle aches and cramps.

Psilocybin gummies made by a reputable producer contain constant amounts of psilocybin, removing the guesswork from dosing.

Can you cook magic mushrooms?

Shroom connoisseurs have long maintained that cooking magic mushrooms degrades the psilocybin and reduces their strength.

However, the authors of the Psilocybin Chef Cookbook, the pseudonymous Virginia Haze and Dr. K. Mandrake, claim there is no concrete evidence that heat affects psilocybin content.

In their experience, the effect is modest, yet their guidebook includes recipes that call for heat or long baking durations.

Heat also breaks down the mushroom’s chitin cell walls, making it easier to digest. Others, however, argue that mushrooms should only be exposed to mild heat for brief periods of time.

Are psilocybin edibles legal?

Under the federal Controlled Substances Act, psilocybin edibles are still prohibited in the United States. However, the state of Oregon, as well as other localities around the country, ranging from Oakland, California, to Ann Arbor, Michigan, have decriminalized the use of psilocybin mushrooms, usually for personal use.

This means that people will not face punishment for using and consuming modest amounts of magic mushrooms, but they will be unable to acquire or sell mass-produced edibles.

Oregonians have also chosen to allow therapeutic, supervised psilocybin use, with access expected to begin in 2023.

The specifics are still being worked out, but the state will almost certainly license manufacturers to create goods, possibly including edibles, that can be ingested at approved service centers for medical purposes, such as treating depression, addiction, or PTSD.

How much do psilocybin edibles cost?

There is little data on the actual pricing of psilocybin edibles because they are still a new underground market product. Regular magic mushrooms range in price from $5 to $12 per gram, and some companies have begun offering bags of psilocybin gummies for $34.95 for 60g.

Do psilocybin edibles feel the same as shrooms?

According to all studies, psilocybin edibles have similar effects to raw magic mushrooms. However, there are a few ways they may feel different.

First, some psilocybin edibles, especially chocolate bars, are calibrated for microdosing. You will feel happy, invigorated, focused, and less stressed after a microdose, but you will not experience any psychedelic effects such as altered senses or hallucinations.

But this is entirely due to the dose size, which is usually one-tenth or less of the standard dose. If you ate the full chocolate bar, you would experience the typical psychedelic effects.

Some of the negative side effects of mushrooms may also be avoided by eating them. Gummies frequently contain only psilocybin and no mushroom matter, so you won’t experience nausea or muscular cramping as magic mushrooms can.

Cooking the mushroom can also make it simpler to digest. This makes them popular among those seeking to benefit from psilocybin’s medicinal properties.

The effects may be faster or slower, depending on the shape of the mushroom consumed. If the mushroom is in tea, expect a shorter but more intense experience.

If you eat the mushrooms as part of a larger meal, such as pizza or pasta, the psilocybin will take longer to enter your system and brain.

Are psilocybin edibles dangerous?

Psilocybin mushrooms are one of the safest recreational drugs, and patients in clinical trials tolerate them well, with just minor side effects. They are, however, not without risk, even when disguised as tasty gummies.

These risks include:

• difficulty with dosing: Some psilocybin edibles facilitate dosing since you know how much psilocybin is in each gummy or piece of chocolate and can calibrate how much you consume. Dosages for homemade edibles are a little more difficult to calculate. And some people will eat more than they should with any type. That’s why, while manufacturing their own edibles, consumers are urged to keep the doses modest so that a second slice of mushroom-topped pizza doesn’t send them into another dimension.
• Mixing with other substances: Though there hasn’t been much research regarding psilocybin interactions with other substances, taking other drugs while on shroom edibles can result in bad effects from both. Learn more about combining mushrooms and other substances by clicking here.
• Unsuspecting eaters: The most dangerous aspect of edibles is that unknowing eaters may experience more enlightenment and hallucinations than they bargained for when they pilfer a bar of chocolate. As a result, you should always keep edibles away from other people, particularly youngsters and pets.
• nausea and vomiting: Psilocybin mushrooms have been linked to nausea and vomiting. When combined with certain foods, this effect may intensify, leaving you feeling quite ill.

Overdosing on magic mushrooms is extremely rare and nearly never lethal unless combined with other narcotics. Because edibles contain minimal amounts of psilocybin, there is essentially no risk of overdose unless the user has a prior health problem or has overused other narcotics.