Mushrooms
Sydney Fontaine
What are Mushrooms?
Mushrooms (phosphoryloxy dimenthyltryptamine) are fungi that fall under the hallucinogen category of drugs and can be referred to as: Magic mushrooms, shrooms, caps, or boomers. They contain the active chemical psilocybin, which causes disruption between your nerve cells and serotonin neurotransmitters and the brainstem and spinal cord. This lack of communication distorts the way you (the consumer) process information and can cause hallucinations.
Chemical Formula: 4-PO-DMT
Ways to ingest:
- Eaten
or
- Brewed and consumed as tea
Altering Consciousness
Mushrooms cause hallucinations to occur, which makes it difficult to tell the difference between fantasy and reality. Some examples of these hallucinations are seeing, feeling, and hearing things that exist only in your mind. Also, intense and rapid emotional moods swings can also occur. These shifts in perception can cause panic attacks and a complete loss of contact with reality (psychosis). Dangerous, and even fatal accidents can, and have happened.
Effects:
Long Term
A few days after consumption, the consumer can have flashbacks that replay feelings and thoughts that occurred while consuming the drug. Because mushrooms alter and disturb normal brain functions, psychiatric illness and impaired memory have been reported effects in the past.
Short Term
Before the high, mushrooms can cause feelings of nausea. However when the high does occur, effects such as altered feelings, distorted perceptions of sight, touch, sound, and taste can take place. Other effects that can occur are paranoia and nervousness. The amount, potency, and the consumers expectations can alter these effects. Depending on this and the environment of the "trip", some experiences are enjoyable, while others are terrifying due to loss of control, fears of insanity, anxiety, etc. The high can last from 3 to 8 hours, depending on dosage, preparation method, and personal metabolism.
Dependence
Psilocybin creates short-term increases of tolerance users. This means the more they are taken within a short period of time, the weaker the resultant effects are. This makes it difficult to abuse, which is why mushrooms do not cause physical or psychological addiction (dependence).
Medicinal Uses
Are not offered for medical reasons yet. There have been studies and reports to show that psilocybin mushrooms have sent disorders such as OCD and OCD related clinical depression into immediate remission for months at a time. Recent medical studies have concluded from fMRI brain scans that psilocybin mushrooms, when used appropriately, can act as antidepressants.
Myths
"Psilocybin Mushrooms are legal in the UK" No they are not. The UK does believe they are some of the least damaging drugs, however they became illegal in 2005.
"Anxiety Reduction" This is definitely not true, as some of the short-term effects of mushrooms are anxiety, nervousness and paranoia.
Video:
This is an all drug prevention video. I could not find one that was specifically for mushrooms.