Psilocybin

• What is psilocybin?
• Street Names
• How is it taken?
• What are the effects?
• What are the dangers?
• Is it addictive?

What is psilocybin?

• Psilocybin is a chemical obtained from certain mushrooms found in Mexico and Central America.

Back to top

Street Names

"Magic mushrooms" or "Shrooms"
Back to top

How is it taken?

• Eaten raw.
  
• Cooked in food.
  
• Brewed in tea.
  
• Dried and ingested.

Back to top

What are the effects?

• Psilocybin may induce sensory hallucinations and intense feelings (including personal and spiritual insights).
  
• It can cause nausea when first ingested.
  
• Its effects last five to six hours.

Back to top

What are the dangers?

• Psilocybin is often fake (such as supermarket mushrooms laced with LSD or toxic mushrooms, which can lead to permanent liver damage or death).
  
• Death, if you eat the wrong mushrooms (some poisonous mushrooms look similar to "shrooms").
  
• Psilocybin can cause stomach pains and diarrhea.
  
• Bad trips occur and are often very scary.
  
• Psilocybin is illegal to possess in the United States.

Back to top

Is it addictive?

It is not considered an addictive drug like cocaine, heroin or alcohol because it does not produce the same compulsive drug-seeking behavior. However, like addictive drugs, it produces greater tolerance in some users who take the drug repeatedly. These users must take higher doses to achieve the same results as they have had in the past. This could be an extremely dangerous practice because of the unpredictability of the drug effect on an individual.

Back to top