Magic mushrooms, also known as shrooms or psilocybin mushrooms, have become increasingly popular in recent years for their hallucinogenic effects.
Some people are curious if you can smoke magic mushrooms like you would marijuana. However, smoking magic mushrooms does not produce psychedelic effects and comes with several risks that users should consider.
What Are Magic Mushrooms and What’s in Them?
Can you smoke magic mushrooms? Before examining that question, let’s first understand what magic mushrooms are. Magic mushrooms contain the compound psilocybin which acts as a psychoactive substance. Consuming magic mushrooms can alter mood, sensory perception, thought patterns, and time perception.
Typically, people ingest shroom edibles by eating them raw or dried, mixing them into food, or brewing them into tea. Of the more than 180 mushroom species that contain psilocybin, some of the most common types used for hallucinogenic purposes include Psilocybe cubensis, Psilocybe semilanceata, and Psilocybe baeocystis.
Can You Smoke Shrooms?
A common question is “Can you smoke mushrooms?”. The answer is yes, you can find smokable mushrooms in the market. However, smoking magic mushrooms does not get you high or cause a trip. This is because the heat from smoking breaks down the psilocybin before it can enter your body. For the drug to work, you need to swallow it so it can travel through digestion.
Your liver changes the psilocybin into “psilocin” and this compound causes psychedelic effects in the brain. Since smoking mushrooms burns up all the psilocybin, you do not feel anything psychedelic.
Dangers of Smoking Magic Mushrooms
While smoking shrooms may seem harmless, it carries serious health threats:
Lung irritation – Smoking on shrooms may cause swelling in lung airways, resulting in cough, wheezing, shortness of breath, and long-term damage.
Higher infection risk – Smoking on shrooms may introduce bacteria, mold, and fungi into the lungs increasing vulnerability to illness. Certain mushrooms can cause harmful lung infections.
Poisoning – Some toxic mushrooms look like the safe, magic mushroom. Accidentally smoking the wrong ones leads to poisoning, organ damage, or death. Identifying mushrooms takes skill and knowledge most people lack.
Legal consequences – Magic mushrooms stay illegal in most places. Having both the drug and tools to smoke it, can lead to fines or jail time. A few places recently legalized magic mushrooms for therapy.
No high feeling for smokable shrooms – Lastly, smoking magic mushrooms gives no mood-altering effect without digestion activating the psilocybin first.
More Secure Alternatives for Consuming Shrooms
While directly smoking magic mushrooms is useless and unsafe, other options exist to feel psilocybin’s effects:
Eating raw or dried – Consuming 1 to 5 grams of dried mushroom pieces with food allows digestion to break down psilocybin into psilocin. Tripping begins once the digestion is complete. Consuming mushrooms via tea also activates the compounds.
Psilocybin extracts – New methods involve vaping or dabbing concentrated liquid psilocybin extract using devices like vape pens. But vaping risks lung health without enough research on long-term safety yet.
Microdosing – Taking 0.1 to 0.5 grams of shrooms may better mood, focus, and creativity without causing a big trip. However, more clinical trials are still needed to confirm the benefits and best protocols.
Getting educated – Harvesting, identifying, preparing, and administering magic mushrooms the right way takes dedication to learn. Having a support person present provides safety as well if challenging psychological effects happen unexpectedly.
Also Read:- Negative Effects Of Portobello Mushrooms You Were Aware Of
Magic mushrooms can go very wrong if not cautious with use
Even with safer options available, magic mushrooms still carry risks when misused – physically and mentally. Set and setting majorly influence reactions, along with family mental health background, pre-existing conditions, and medication interactions.
Those concerned should discuss use with their doctor. While interested in smoking shrooms, this method clearly will not work. Eating them the right way comes with enough concerns already without adding smoking dangers.
Bottom Line
Can you smoke magic mushrooms? You can, but smoking magic mushrooms offers no psychoactive effect and poses many health threats. Consuming magic mushrooms using careful preparation methods like dehydrating, capsule making, extracting, and microdosing may offer desired consciousness-altering results instead.
However, toxic poisoning, mood turning dark, and panic attacks remain possibilities as well. Before deciding to try magic mushrooms, learn responsible use practices from credible sources. Determine any pre-existing risk factors before using them.
While fascinating as an idea, magic mushrooms deserve respect – jumping blindly into use risks grave harm. After reading all this, what’s your opinion – are magic mushrooms worth exploring if given proper respect? Or do the inherent dangers outweigh any benefits? Let us know if any other questions exist!
