Patients in Australia will soon have legal access to the psychedelic drugs psilocybin and MDMA under a plan announced by regulators last month. But with no approved source of the drug available to therapists, patients will likely face bills in the tens of thousands of dollars to obtain the promising treatment.
Last month, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), the Australian government’s medicine and therapeutic regulatory agency, announced that qualified psychiatrists will be able to prescribe the psychedelic drugs psilocybin and MDMA for the treatment of certain mental health conditions beginning later this year. But the agency has not approved any products containing the promising psychedelic drugs, leaving mental health professionals to source the drugs themselves. Without a government subsidy to help cover the cost of the medications, psychiatrists estimate that patients will have to pay as much as AU$25,000 (nearly $17,000) and more out of pocket for psychedelic-assisted therapy.
“For the actual patient, it might be $25,000, $30,000 for a treatment,” said Dr. Stephen Bright, a senior lecturer at Edith Cowan University and director of the charity Psychedelic Research In Science & Medicine.
“I honestly don’t think, for the next 12 to 18 months post July 1, that these treatments will be very widely available at all,” he added. “The tight controls of therapy mean there are very few psychologists who put their hand up. There will be a few clinics that open up, but I don’t think we’re going to see the floodgates open.”
Dr. Paul Liknaitzky, the head of the Clinical Psychedelic Lab at Monash University, revealed last month that he and other mental health professionals will be partnering with investors to open a psychedelic-assisted therapy clinic in Melbourne. But training requirements for therapists and detailed guidelines for such therapy have yet to be issued by government regulators.
“There is a lack of detailed clarity from the TGA to help us understand how it’s going to roll out. We are concerned but cautiously optimistic,” he said.
Liknaitzky said that he and his colleagues will help establish protocols that set high standards for ethical and effective psychedelic-assisted therapy. But he warned that the high cost of treatment might make the treatment inaccessible to most Australians.
“Sensible and safe treatment approaches, based on decades of best-practice development, will include considerable screening, psychotherapy and other support. A typical course of treatment, spanning a few months, may be in the order of $25,000, plus or minus $10,000,” he said. “If it turns out to be cost-effective, it will be in the government’s interest to fund it.”
Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy Shows Promise
Ongoing research has shown that psilocybin, the primary psychoactive compound in magic mushrooms, has the potential to be an effective treatment for several serious mental health conditions, including PTSD, major depressive disorder, anxiety and substance misuse disorders. A study published in 2020 in the peer-reviewed journal JAMA Psychiatry found that psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy was a quick-acting and effective treatment for a group of 24 participants with major depressive disorder.
Separate research published in 2016 determined that psilocybin treatment produced substantial and sustained decreases in depression and anxiety in patients with life-threatening cancer. And in 2021, a study published in the journal NatureMedicine determined that MDMA, commonly known as ecstasy, is a highly efficacious and safe treatment for individuals with severe PTSD.
But Professor Chris Langmead of the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences says that it is unlikely that public health agencies will cover the cost of such treatment until further research including a cost-benefit analysis has been completed.
“We’re trying to get a groundswell of research and funding so we can do the research, clinical studies and practice rollout [to ensure] that this is not purely a market-led solution where the most disadvantaged populations are missing out,” he said. “The TGA has put Australia at the forefront of the world and we really need to take the opportunity and make the most of it.”
University of Melbourne associate professor Gillinder Bedi said that a shortage of clinical staff trained in psychedelic-assisted therapy will also make the treatment difficult for patients to obtain.
“The infrastructure will get set up. There will be clinics. But the problem is we don’t have staff. People can’t even see psychiatrists under normal conditions,” she said. “If you put two clinical psychologists in a room for eight hours, at a [Medicare] billing rate of $120 an hour – which is not what people charge, they charge $200 to $300 – you have an enormously expensive treatment. I think it could get higher [than $25,000].
“No matter which way you look at it, it will take time away from other treatments and cost a whole bunch of money. It’s unclear who will foot the bill, some organizations are trying to set up philanthropic funding,” Bedi added. “But it’s going to be for people with money, in the initial stages at least.”
Advocates for the medical use of psilocybin mushrooms in Canada launched a petition to call upon the federal government to take action. Interest in psilocybin-assisted therapy continues to grow to combat end-of-life anxiety, depression, addition, and PTSD, among many other conditions.
Petition e-4334 was launched on March 16—an online “Petition to the Government of Canada,” which, according to law, will have to be presented in the House of Commons if it meets certain conditions, Microdosereports. Petitions must be certified by the Clerk of Petitions, for instance, in order to be presented to the House. They also must be signed by at least 500 residents of Canada, and a Member of Parliament must authorize them.
Advocates want to green-light therapeutic psilocybin in any form, and listed several specific conditions that can be improved.
“We, the undersigned, compassionate Canadians, call upon the Government of Canada to allow Canadians to have timely unrestricted access to therapeutic psilocybin in any form as needed to alleviate their suffering via Section 56 exemptions,” the petition reads.
The petition provides three reasons why psilocybin-assisted therapy should be legalized, including the mushroom’s low potential for harm:
Strong medical evidence exists that access to psychedelic-assisted therapy can effectively treat existential suffering in dying, depression, anxiety, addiction, PTSD, and other mental health conditions, improving quality of life;
Psilocybin required for psilocybin-assisted therapy is currently only available in clinical trials and by special individual permission from Health Canada despite its low potential for harm; and
It is paradoxical and unethical to allow physicians to provide MAID for their patients while preventing the same physicians from treating their end of life distress with psilocybin.
In order to sign the petition, signers must be a Canadian citizen or a resident of Canada.
Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy in Canada
Meanwhile, one particular case is drawing attention to the issue of psilocybin-assisted therapy.
Thomas waited for over 500 days for approval, but his exemption to continue to use psilocybin for medical purposes was denied by Minister Carolyn Bennett. Health Canada denied Hartle’s permission to continue psilocybin-assisted therapy, which attracted a lot of attention and criticism from the psychedelic community. Hartle believes Health Canada and the Ministers of Health are just waiting for him to die.
Psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy is the only thing that has helped him deal with his end-of-life anxiety and he says that he needs safe, legal access to it.
It’s stories like Hartle’s that are fueling the effort to legalize psilocybin-assisted therapy in Canada.
Research about the potential of psilocybin’s benefits continues to unfold. North America’s first take-home psilocybin trial was approved in Canada. A pharmaceutical company called Apex Labs announced on Nov. 1, 2022 that it will be conducting the first North American take-home multi-dose psilocybin clinical trial. Apex Labs is a patient-driven pharmaceutical company that specializes in psilocybin treatments for military veterans.
Apex Labs will launch a trial that will explore the efficacy of APEX-52 (psilocybin) for veterans suffering from depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. Apex Labs received a “no objection letter” from Health Canada on Oct. 24, 2022.
You could be eating psilocybin mushrooms for self-knowledge, to feel one with the universe, or to see trees breathe like you did the first time you took them. Whatever the reason, you’re probably not eating them for the flavor or texture of dehydrated mushrooms. Much like their psychoactive effects, everyone has a different tolerance for the taste of psychedelic mushrooms.
Considering their flavor can range anywhere from dirt to dookie, people with a taste for magic mushrooms likely acquired it over time. Unfortunately, others trying shrooms for the first time probably will have different enthusiasm for eating dried mushrooms than someone that has already had several positive experiences with them.
So, it doesn’t come as a surprise that first-time consumers and those that prefer not to gag their way through a dose have found comfort in the convenience of having their mushrooms mixed into something more accessible to consumers, like chocolate.
How Legal are Psilocybin Mushroom Chocolates?
Since multiple states have decriminalized psilocybin, the popularity and availability of mushroom chocolates have surged to the point where they are found in about half of the smoke shops, bodegas, and illicit cannabis shops currently taking advantage of the lax enforcement of drug laws around New York City that I have walked into during the weeks leading up to writing this article.
It’s worth noting that even with a few states relaxing their laws against psilocybin mushrooms, they aren’t legalizing it like cannabis—to be grown and sold in certain states. Most states that have decriminalized psilocybin have not legalized the cultivation or sale of it.
Currently, no state has an established legal framework that would allow for the production and sale of lab-tested psilocybin products. Which begs the question, where are these mushroom chocolates coming from, and how do we know what is actually in them?
Let’s start by looking into some of the most popular branded mushroom chocolates sold in smoke shops, bodegas, and online today. Two of the most common ones I encountered in storefronts and online are OneUp and Polkadot Mushroom Belgian Chocolates. The former utilizes Nintendo references and artwork to appeal to consumers. The latter uses attractive packaging, popular snack candy names, and logos like Reese’s as flavors to help push their product. Anyone can find packaging for both on websites like DHGate, Etsy, Amazon, and others. So go ahead and Google it yourself.
Can You Rely on QR Codes to Verify Authenticity?
Courtesy Ab Hanna
People trying to cope with their purchases or selling these chocolates will try to convince you that they are reliable if they have a QR code. But what does that prove? OneUp packaging on DHGate comes with QR code stickers. And if you research long enough, you will find at least two different types of QR stickers on Polkadot chocolate bars, and some of the packaging sold online comes with QR code stickers too. So, just having a QR code on it that leads somewhere isn’t sufficient proof of authenticity.
One of the two QR code stickers on Polkadot chocolates points users to a verification site called CannaSafe, which as of last year, is now a closed-down cannabis lab. If you attempt to visit the website listed on the sticker, it is not secure and asks you to scan the QR code for verification.
The other QR stickers found on an alternative Polkadot packaging that people claim is the real Polkadot do not mention any verification service. However, after scratching to reveal the QR code, it leads consumers to a website called “eatpolkadot” which suggests the product is authentic. It also mentions the flavor and the number of times you scanned the QR code.
On the same page, there are also claims about the strains used to make the scanned chocolate bar and the % of psychoactive ingredients like psilocybin in the chocolate, with no mentions of the lab that tested it to make the claims on each package that they lab test to “ensure quality control” feel extra authentic.
The QR code on the packaging, not the sticker, leads to one of two places. One is Polkadot’s backup Instagram page which only has one post and less than 10k followers because their main one is allegedly down. The other is to a Telegram group that calls out the Polkadot packaging that contains TheCannaSafe QR stickers as unauthentic and mentions a few ways to confirm your Polkadots are from the only trusted source directly, not one of the many fakes out there.
It is worth noting that the Telegram points to the size of the bar, the one-time scan sticker, Polkadot logos printed directly on the bars, and an air-tight plastic wrapping to confirm authenticity, which those bars do have. However, the online packaging on DHGate and other sites appears outdated compared to some in stores.
From what you can see online, they come with a mold that doesn’t contain the Polkadot logo. It also has foil wrappers instead of plastic ones, but they do claim to ship with QR code stickers that are not pictured. The Telegram page also states that some fakers have already figured out how to mimic the Polkadot logo directly on the chocolates.
Lab Testing Mushroom Edibles
Regardless, it’s not like you can scratch any QR stickers off to reveal a code that you would then type into some officially regulated website to confirm the authenticity like you might be able to with legally tested and tracked cannabis products. Instead, you scan the code and get taken to a website that tells you what you want to hear. Even if brands lab tested for every batch, the technology required to test the psilocybin content of mushroom edibles isn’t quite there yet.
According to Ian M. Bellinger, an awarded entheogen researcher and co-founder of Hyphae Labs in Oakland with experience testing for psilocybin, there is no single method that he has seen available that can effectively test for psilocybin or any of its analogs in chocolates or edibles yet.
“We have R&D methods, but there are too many similarities between tryptamines, xylenes, and sugars to separate them all for analysis effectively; recoveries tend to be low or skewed,” he stated.
How could you even confirm that the lab test results from a mushroom chocolate brand came from the same batch of mushrooms used to make the specific chocolate you purchased? Who is going to hold them accountable if they make it up? No one.
From the look of it, there are tons of alleged official Polkadot Telegram groups, all claiming the others are fake and asking you to only place orders directly with them. Almost all have the same marketing video of a few attractive women holding their products while strolling around a beach.
Remember to sprinkle in some posts of celebrities like Berner and Diplo seen with Polkadot products to lend to their credibility.
When there is no apparent website or Instagram page that officially hosts information about either company, and there are a bunch of clear copycats out there, how do you decide where to place your trust?
When there is no legal, regulated source of psilocybin chocolates, where can a QR code take you that can guarantee that the packaging claims are equal to what you get? Nowhere.
Mushroom chocolates with appealing black market packaging are quickly devolving into the pre-rolls of the psychedelic world in the sense that you rarely know what people are putting in them.
Dosage is a Gamble
Even if you believe you can access a reliable source for the real OneUp or Polkadot brand, their labels don’t mention the strain of mushrooms used. So how is one expected to tailor their dosage? Most bars say the weight of the mushrooms before producers mix them into the chocolate. Unfortunately, that doesn’t fill you in on the exact strength, especially if you don’t know the strain. An experienced user of psilocybin mushrooms knows that certain strains like Penis Envy can provide intense experiences in smaller doses than other cultivars.
Courtesy Ab Hanna
Chocolates and edibles, similar to THC-infused products, appeal to many beginners who trust the packaging to instruct them on the dosage. Still, things won’t be as consistent or clear-cut as legal lab-tested cannabis edibles. For example, some mushroom chocolate bars mention a strain name on the packaging. In contrast, others don’t list any strain or wait for you to scan a QR code after purchase to find out which mix of mushroom strains (and not what quantity of each) is in your chocolate, making it hard to figure out a consistent dosage.
Stop Paying More for Mushroom Edibles Than Cannabis Edibles
Let’s address the unwarranted premium people hustling these chocolates are putting on these products compared to cannabis edibles or magic mushrooms. First, it’s not like making these requires a full-on extraction lab or license, as some cannabis edibles might. Sure, there might be an additional risk involved. Still, most of these trending mushroom chocolates are made by grinding up mushrooms into a powder and mixing them into melted chocolate. None have advertised extracted infusions.
With the current legal status, producers aren’t paying any taxes or facing regulations that would require costly lab testing, and these bars are moving to any and every state in massive bulk. Despite this, these chocolate bars with an alleged 3.5 – 4 grams of psilocybin mushrooms in each are going for anywhere from $40 to $80, depending on what storefront I walk into and how hard I haggle. How does one justify a premium like that on a black-market product whose quality can’t be verified?
The whole situation reeks of greed that induces nightmarish flashbacks to when the cannabis black market started to flood with products like “Mario Carts” and edible products that copied popular snack brands. Smoke shops and bodegas are still pushing similar boof dressed in pretty packaging. It has been a way for trappers to increase the appeal of their low-quality products at the expense of unknowledgeable custies in the cannabis black market, and it’s sad to see history repeat itself as psilocybin moves toward legality.
How many times do we need to learn this lesson?
Whether we are talking weed or mushrooms, any cultivator putting out a consistent quality product does not need to rely on hype-building packaging or the intellectual property of others to make a name for themselves. On the contrary, some of the most impressionable cannabis and hash I’ve ever had came in unmarked jars.
Anyone who benefited from the life-changing experiences psilocybin mushrooms can provide would cringe at the sight of psychedelics blatantly abused for financial gain. It’d be hard to argue any of the companies mentioned above are looking to help make mushrooms more available to anyone that might need them when the prices they charge are far from affordable to most.
When just about anyone and everyone with cash can get their hands on some of these popular mushroom chocolate brands, it is unlikely that they all come from a single source. How anyone believes that one group can grow enough mushrooms to supply every bodega, smoke shop, illicit dispensary, and Instagram trapper to slide in their Telegram DM’s across the nation is beyond me.
There are a lot of claims online that some of the mushroom chocolates sold en masse contain easy-to-obtain research chemicals in place of psilocybin. I am still looking for concrete evidence to confirm this. Contrastingly, many of the ones I spotted in New York shops have mushroom bits.
I’ve had a friend tell me a Polkadot he purchased in a smoke shop in Brooklyn worked as much, if not better, than unprocessed psilocybin mushrooms. On the other hand, I have also met a few people who have said that Polkadots did just about nothing or made them sleepy. I’ve heard a similar variety of experiences with OneUp bars as well.
To make myself clear, I’m not saying that it isn’t possible to purchase chocolates packaged in the brands mentioned earlier that contain psilocybin mushrooms. I am saying there is no way to be sure of its origin, the dosage, or even any actual psilocybin in the ones your local plug sells. So you’d be better off making your mushroom edibles with magic mushrooms you grind yourself.
With the number of different entities online claiming to be representatives of these companies and sharing public Telegram links to place your orders, trying to purchase them online or over Telegram is a risk I would not take. Don’t end up like this heated dude on Reddit who had to learn the hard way after sinking hundreds of dollars trying to purchase mushroom chocolates from what he thought was OneUp’s official website.
If you want to avoid all the uncertainty, take my advice and stop buying mushroom chocolates from randos. Instead, take the time to find a cultivator you can trust, and grind the damn things up yourself to make chocolates, gummies, or a smoothie. And if you’re feeling extra lazy, sprinkle them onto something like pizza or a peanut butter sandwich and fully send it.
Lawmakers in Vermont have introduced several bills aimed at making sweeping changes to the state’s drug laws.
The website Psychedelic Spotlight has a primer on the four separate pieces of legislation that would “decriminalize simple possession of all drugs, expand harm reduction services, remove criminal penalties for using and selling psilocybin and decriminalize certain psychedelic plants and fungi.”
In the case of bill H.423, lawmakers are seeking a monumental reform. The measure, which has a companion bill in the Vermont state Senate, would decriminalize all drugs.
The text of the bill reads: “This bill proposes to change the penalties for possession of a personal use supply of drugs from a misdemeanor or low-level felony to a civil offense subject to a $50.00 penalty. A person cited for such an offense may avoid paying the penalty by agreeing to participate in a screening for substance use disorder treatment and related services. The bill would also establish the Drug Use Standards Advisory Board for the purpose of determining the benchmark personal use dosage and the benchmark personal use supply for regulated drugs with a goal of preventing and reducing the criminalization of personal drug use. Individuals previously arrested for or convicted of possession of a regulated drug in an amount under the benchmark personal use supply amount would also be eligible for immediate sealing of criminal history records. Additionally, to prevent overdose, the bill would also authorize the operation of drug-checking programs to allow individuals to obtain analysis of a regulated drug previously obtained by an individual for purposes of determining the chemical composition of the substance and identifying chemical contaminants. The bill would establish a pilot project to support the development and operation of such programs.”
Two other bills, one filed in the House and the other in the Senate, specifically address psilocybin mushrooms.
The bill H.439, sponsored by a handful of House members, would “decriminalize some chemical compounds found in plants and fungi that are commonly used for medicinal, spiritual, religious, or entheogenic purposes.”
S.114, introduced in the state Senate, would go even further. That measure would remove “criminal penalties for possessing, dispensing, or selling psilocybin,” while also establishing the Psychedelic Therapy Advisory Working Group.
The group would “examine the use of psychedelics to improve physical and mental health and to make recommendations regarding the establishment of a State program similar to Connecticut, Colorado, or Oregon to permit health care providers to administer psychedelics in a therapeutic setting,” according to the text of the legislation.
As that bill referenced, other states have already changed their laws around psychedelic substances such as mushrooms––and more are sure to follow.
Specifically, that measure would set up “procedures for a research facility to obtain the approval of the Department of Health and Human Services to conduct certain studies involving certain controlled substances; decriminalizing certain conduct by persons who are 18 years of age or older involving psilocybin and MDMA if conducted in connection with and within the scope of an approved study; decriminalizing certain conduct by persons who are 18 years of age or older involving 4 ounces or less of fungi that produces psilocybin or psilocin; and providing other matters properly relating thereto.”
But advocates in Vermont may want to temper their expectations. As Psychedelic Spotlight noted, the state’s Republican governor, Phil Scott, “famously vetoed two more restrained drug policy reforms last year, so who knows what he’ll do with this month’s proposals.”
A pair of Democratic state senators in Nevada introduced a bill last week to allow for research into psilocybin, or psychedelic mushrooms, as well as MDMA, drawing inspiration from states like Oregon and Colorado where such substances have been legalized.
The proposal, per the measure’s official legislative summary, would establish “procedures for a research facility to obtain the approval of the Department of Health and Human Services to conduct certain studies involving certain controlled substances; decriminalizing certain conduct by persons who are 18 years of age or older involving psilocybin and MDMA if conducted in connection with and within the scope of an approved study; decriminalizing certain conduct by persons who are 18 years of age or older involving 4 ounces or less of fungi that produces psilocybin or psilocin; and providing other matters properly relating thereto.”
In more plain English, per the Las Vegas Sun, it would “decriminalize psychedelic mushrooms and MDMA for the purpose of studying their effects on an array of behavioral health disorders” and “allow the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services to begin accepting applications from research institutions to use the drugs to treat conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety and addiction.”
The bill was introduced by Democratic state Sens. Rochelle Nguyen and Fabian Donate, both of whom represent Las Vegas.
The bill also has two co-sponsors in the state House of Representatives: Max Carter and Elaine Marzola, also both Democrats.
Las Vegas Weekly reported last fall that Nguyen had “filed a draft request for the 2023 Legislative Session for a bill that ‘revises provisions governing controlled substances’ and deals with matters of decriminalization, regulation and research on psychedelics,” and she said at the time “that it could potentially help with the growing mental health crisis.”
Psychedelics like mushrooms and MDMA have emerged as a new focal point for drug reform advocates, with scientists and medical professionals increasingly drawn to their potential therapeutic benefits.
Las Vegas Weekly reported that Nguyen specifically highlighted the example of Oregon, which legalized psilocybin in 2020.
“The final rules on duration of administrative sessions have been revised to create a new tier for subperceptual doses. These doses are defined as products containing less than 2.5 mg of psilocybin analyte. After a client’s initial session, the minimum duration for a subperceptual dose of 2.5 mg of psilocybin analyte or less is 30 minutes,” the Oregon Health Authority said at the time.
Last year, voters in Colorado approved a measure legalizing psilocybin.
That might have sparked a trend in the mountain west region. In addition to last week’s proposal in Nevada, activists in Utah have likewise mounted an effort to legalize psilocybin mushrooms for medical purposes.
Luz Escamilla, the Democratic leader in the Utah state senate, introduced a bill last month that would allow individuals aged 21 and older with qualifying conditions such as depression or anxiety access to a psilocybin-assisted treatment directly from a psilocybin therapy provider.
“Cannabis has given us a really good opportunity to understand that we can use other natural things … to help us. Now, we have to be careful, and I think we have really good safeguards,” Escamilla said.
“This is not a free-for-all,” Escamilla added. “This is not for everyone, but if it’s for someone that is desperate (for help) with their anxiety, depression and PTSD—that’s pushing many, unfortunately, to suicide, I want them to have access in a way that’s safe, that we can regulate.”
Growing mushrooms – whether functional or therapeutic ones – is a relatively simple endeavor, especially when compared to the process of cultivating cannabis and other wellness or recreational plants. While many require a lot of time, labor, space, and supplies, the opposite is true for shrooms. With a few easy-to-find items, good quality mushroom spores, and some clean substrate, you can set up the whole thing in a dresser drawer then literally just sit back and watch the magic happen.
These days, it’s no problem to find all-inclusive mushroom grow kits that provide everything you need to start your grow in one quick purchase. The only thing that does not come in these kits (due to regulatory hangups) are spores. If you want to grow medicinal, hallucinogenic shrooms in the comfort of your own home, you will need to also buy your own spores.
Luckily, a number of companies are starting to sell mushroom syringes, although some do have a few restrictions regarding what states/countries they ship to. Below we have a great deal on spores from a company that ships to every state. See the full list of our Deal of the dayoffers, or scroll down to learn more!
Deal of the Day – Magic Mushroom Spores
Stock up on magic mushroom spore syringes in a few different strains. Get one at a time or bundle up and save them for future projects. The strains you can choose from are Penis Envy, Blue Meanie, Jedi Mind Fuck, and Purple Mystic. Each of these strains are unique and produce different types of highs. You have the option of buying one syringe for $19.99, a 4-back that includes one of each strain for $72.79, or a box of 20 for $239.99 each if you really want to stock up.
TIP: Click Here and enter the coupon code “cannnadelics” at checkout to get the prices listed above (which are 20% lower than the prices on the site)
To get these prices, you will have to click the link provided and use our coupon code “cannadelics” to receive 20% off the listed prices. It’s a new offer from this company, but they already have one positive review that states “Awesome product, will be buying more for presentation to mycology classes!” This person bought the Penis Envy variety, which is a strain that’s growing in popularity due to its potency, but let’s take a quick look at all the strains available in this deal!
Penis Envy mushrooms quickly becoming one of the most sought-after magic mushroom species. They are known for their potency, with many experts claiming the contain (on average) two to three times more psilocybin and psilocin than standard shroom varieties. According to journalist and scientist Hamilton Morris, “their potency deviates so much from other strains, they are almost treated like a different species entirely.”
Blue Meanies get their name from the fact that they turn dark blue whenever picked. Rumor has it they were named after the Blue Meanies from The Beatles’ video “Yellow Submarine.”Mushrooms from this genus are very common, and thus, they are considered a classic in the world of shrooming.
Jedi Mind Fuck, sometimes called “Jedi Mind Trip,” or just JMF is another popular strain with trip reports suggesting intense visual and auditory hallucinations and feelings of euphoria and introspection from this strain. When it comes to growing JMF, they are a bit more challenging than other strains, as they are less resistant to contamination, and they are slower to fruit. Well worth it though if you have the extra time.
Purple Mystic is a relatively new strain but it’s quickly growing in popularity. This type of mushrooms originates from cow pastures in East Plant City, Florida. Upon discovery, mushroom specimens were collected and named “Purple Mystic”, for the purple ring that develops around the cap of this mushroom. As veils break and spores drop the entire canopy takes on a purple hue. Purple Mystic was distributed to members of the mycology community where it was collectively stabilized and domesticated.
Psilocybin is the main psychedelic compound in mushrooms and truffles. It’s a basic tryptamine hallucinogen, with properties similar to lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and DMT, although the chemical structure and effects are different. Research shows a common mechanism of action through serotonergic (5-HT) pathways. Psilocybin is a strong agonist at 5-HTreceptors which are located within the thalamus and cortex of the brain
The onset of hallucinogenic effects typically kicks in around 20 to 40 minutes after consumption, and they last up to 6 hours. Psilocybin’s threshold for intoxication is approximately 40 mcg/kg of body weight. In wild mushrooms with lower levels of psilocybin, this translates to about 2 grams, although some people use up to 4 grams for a good psychedelic trip.
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Psilocybin was first isolated by swiss chemist Albert Hoffmann in 1958, using the Psilocybe Mexicana mushroom species from Central America. Psilocybin is found in both wild and cultivated mushrooms, although just like with cannabis, cultivated mushrooms tend to be more potent. Through cross-breeding, cultivated mushrooms can have up to 10 times higher levels of psilocybin than wild species.
Growing Your Own Mushrooms – A Few Things to Keep in Mind
Mushroom growing is a fun side project because it’s l you really need are spores, a growth medium, and something to enclose all in; then you just let nature run its course. One of the most important things to remember throughout the process (anytime you’re handling anything other than outside of the fruiting bag/chamber), is cleanliness.
If it seems like you’re doing too much, trust me, you’re not. Wear gloves, a mask, keep your hair pulled back, and sanitize the surface that your grow kit will be on. Also, make sure to clean each and every part of your grow kit with soap and water, let it dry, then wipe it down with some alcohol wipes.
It’s very easy for bacteria to contaminate a grow box, and once it’s sealed up and filled with the necessary amount of moisture/humidity required for mushrooms to grow, the bacteria will multiply and grow right along with it. Should that happen to you, some spots of contamination can be managed using bleach and sometimes lemon juice, but it’s better not to have to deal with it in the first place.
Hurry and stock up on magic mushroom spores!
Growing mushrooms at home is easy, fun, beneficial, and saves you quite a bit of money, as well as prevents the headache of trying to find someone who sells shrooms (it’s not as easy as finding a cannabis dealer). Aside from buying a kit or set up (click here for ideas), you’ll need some good spores, and the deal above is a perfect place to start your shopping.
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Growing shrooms is relatively easy and cheap to do at home. All you really need are spores, a growth medium, and something to enclose all in; then you just let nature run its course. But if you’re new to the game and you’ve done any research, you’ve likely come across a number of different methods, terms, and supplies lists that can make the whole thing seem like a much more confusing process than it really is.
But seriously, cultivating mushrooms does not have to be so complicated. To keep things simple, a growing number of companies are offering all-in-one mushroom grow kits (or spore-starter kits), so all you need to buy is the kit, some spore syringes, and a couple of assorted extras. Using one of these kits is how I was easily able to grow my first flush in the comfort of my own bedroom. Scroll down to learn about the kit I used, as well as a few other popular ones that are worth checking out.
Growing mushrooms at home – things to keep in mind
Sterilize, sterilize, sterilize! Have you ever heard the phrase “cleanliness is next to Godliness”? This certainly applies in the case of cultivating the “flesh of the gods”. I really can’t stress this enough, keep your area clean! Be extra about it… wear gloves, a mask, keep your hair pulled back, and sanitize the surface that your grow kit will be on. Also, make sure to clean each and every part of your grow kit with soap and water, let it dry, then wipe it down with some alcohol wipes.
It’s very easy for bacteria to contaminate a grow box, and once it’s sealed up and filled with the necessary amount of moisture/humidity required for mushrooms to grow, the bacteria will multiply and grow right along with it. My flush got a spot of contamination, but I was able to keep it minimal using a small amount of bleach, and the mushrooms that didn’t come into immediate contact with it were fine.
Since all the kits in this article come with the required supplies, plus some form of instructions, this is really the only additional thing you need to keep in mind. Modern mushroom grow kits are designed to be relatively error-proof, so one of the only ways to mess up is by being careless and contaminating your grow space.
Best mushroom grow kits / spore-starter kits
In my opinion, the best products combine the elements of affordability, convenience, and ease of use. If a product is well-priced, user-friendly, and makes your life easier in some way, what could really be better? With that in mind, I made the following list of what I think are some of the best magic mushroom grow kits on the consumer market. I’ve only used one on the list, but will be trying more to make comparisons as soon as I get the opportunity.
Boombox Grow
This is the kit I used so I decided to mention it first. It’s an all-inclusive kit that comes with everything you need to grow your own shrooms, minus the spores. Included in the boombox set up is a boombag contain sterilized grain, either sorghum or millet. It has a small port so you can easily inject your spores and watch the mycelium grow. After your bag is fully colonized, you break it open and mix it up with the “boombase”, which is a special soil mix that the mushrooms will grow out of. You simply dump the boombase into the fruiting chamber, carefully mix in your colonized grain, put the lid on the box, and watch straw get spun into gold.
Third Wave Grow Kit
Another kit that comes with everything you need, along with great reviews, is the one from the Third Wave. It includes all the items you will need in your cultivation journey (again, excluding spores), and everything comes pre-sterilized and ready to use right out of the box. What’s unique about this kit compared to others, is that it uses sterilized mycobags as the “fruiting chamber”, as opposed to larger containers that can take up a lot of space and are harder to hide. As a part of your purchase, you will also get access to Third Wave’s step-by-step Mushroom Growing Course which includes a text manual and detailed videos to guide you through the process.
Cultiv8 from Psilobloom
A bit pricier than some of these other kits, Psilobloom sells a kit called Cultiv8 that ships within the U.S. Along with documentation on how to use the kit, your purchase also includes a 1-on-1 call with the company’s resident cultivation expert to help walk you through the process. Psilobloom focuses on magic mushrooms specifically (as opposed to other mushroom grow kits), so their recommendations on finding spores and their knowledge about strains may be appealing for people who want to know more about growing magic mushrooms only, and on a deeper level.
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Midwest Grow Kits
A mushroom growing product list wouldn’t be complete without Midwest Grow Kits. The company has been around since 2011, but their parent company, Midwest Organics, has been in the mushroom growing industry for nearly two decades. Their most elaborate kit is their Mega Mushroom Growing & Incubator Kit, which has nearly 500 reviews on their website and a rating of 4.5 out of 5. It utilizes the classic jar method, allows you to grow up to 30 jars at once. Pretty much everything you need to cultivate this way will come in the box, except spores of course.
Final thoughts
Whether you plan on growing mushrooms using jars, tubs, bags, or whatever method, you’re likely to find a kit that comes with everything you need to easily cultivate your own magic mushrooms. All you need to buy is your own spores! Although there will be an initial investment of up to $300, depending on what kit you choose, growing shrooms at home will save you quite a bit of money in the long run, especially if you use magic mushrooms regularly for therapeutic purposes.
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City leaders in Ferndale, Michigan voted this week to decriminalize psilocybin mushrooms and other natural psychedelics, making the city in the Detroit metropolitan area the fourth municipality in the state to reform laws prohibiting the promising drugs. The Ferndale City Council voted unanimously on February 27 to approve a resolution decriminalizing entheogenic plants and fungi including psilocybin mushrooms, ayahuasca, and dimethyltryptamine (DMT), all of which are psychedelics that show promise as treatments for a variety of mental health conditions.
The resolution passed by the city council does not legalize psychedelic drugs outright. Instead, the measure directs that the “investigation and arrest of persons for planting, cultivating, purchasing, transporting, distributing, engaging in practices with, or possessing Entheogenic Plants or plant compounds which are on the Federal Schedule 1 list shall be the lowest law enforcement priority for the City of Ferndale,” according to the text of the resolution.
The city council resolution was sponsored by Mayor Pro Tem Kat Bruner James. The measure was supported by Decriminalize Nature, a national organization working to reform psychedelics policies from coast to coast, and the Ferndale chapter of the activist group.
“The Ferndale community continues to demonstrate mindfulness and integrity as we move towards collective well-being and community healing in allyship with nature and her medicines,” Decriminalize Nature Ferndale wrote in a social media post after the city council passed the resolution. “We are grateful for all the community support and to Ferndale City Council for passing the resolution to decriminalize entheogenic plants and fungi.”
Psychedelics As Plant Medicines
The two-page resolution includes findings from the city council recognizing that natural psychedelics have been used as plant medicines by humankind for thousands of years. The measure also notes that research has shown that the use of psychedelics can be beneficial to the health and well-being of communities and individuals.
“The use of Entheogenic Plants, which can catalyze profound experiences of personal and spiritual growth, have been shown by scientific and clinical studies and traditional practices to be beneficial to the health and well-being of individuals and communities,” the resolution reads.
After Monday’s vote, psychologist Billy Horton, the co-chair of Decriminalize Nature Ferndale, thanked the city council for the members’ unanimous support of the psychedelics decriminalization ordinance. The activist added that the group would continue to educate the public on the safe use of plant medicines.
“I just want to continue to emphasize the importance of psychedelic and entheogenic plants and the work that’s going on, the research and the science that’s supporting it for psychological and for physical wellness,” he told the council in a statement quoted by the Detroit Metro Times.
Ongoing research has shown that psilocybin has the potential to be an effective treatment for several serious mental health conditions, including PTSD, major depressive disorder, anxiety, and substance misuse disorders.
A study published in 2020 in the peer-reviewed journal JAMA Psychiatry found that psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy was a quick-acting and effective treatment for a group of 24 participants with major depressive disorder. And separate research published in 2016 determined that psilocybin treatment produced substantial and sustained decreases in depression and anxiety in patients with life-threatening cancer.
This week’s approval of the psychedelics decriminalization measure in Ferndale marks the fourth time a Michigan city has decriminalized natural psychedelic drugs. Ann Arbor became the third city nationwide to decriminalize psychedelics with the city council’s adoption of a resolution in September 2020. That was followed by a similar move in Detroit in November 2021, while Hazel Park approved a measure last year. After Monday’s vote in Ferndale, the national headquarters of Decrimalize Nature took to social media to mark the occasion.
“Congrats again to the @decrimferndale team for all of their hard work and effort to pass the resolution in support of entheogenic plant practices in Ferndale Michigan last night,” the group wrote on Instagram. “That’s 4 wins in Michigan so far! Let’s get some statewide decriminalization legislation on the table!!! Go team Nature!”
If the federal government signs off on psilocybin, a pair of Rhode Island lawmakers want the state to be ready to benefit.
The bill under consideration would “decriminalize the use of so-called ‘magic mushrooms’ statewide,” according to local news station WPRI, although that would “[hinge] upon whether the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) approves psilocybin as a treatment for chronic mental health disorders.”
“Veterans and many others in our community are struggling with chronic [Post Traumatic Stress Disorder], depression and other mental health disorders that can be totally debilitating,” said Democratic state House Rep. Brandon Potter, as quoted by WPRI. “We should give them the freedom to try every tool available and not criminalize a natural, effective remedy.”
Potter is sponsoring the measure along with state Sen. Meghan Kallman, also a Democrat. It’s familiar territory for Potter.
Last year, Potter proposed a bill that would have also decriminalized psilocybin, although there was no provision in that legislation on FDA approval.
According to WPRI, this year’s proposal “would require the Rhode Island Department of Health to regulate the use of psilocybin as a treatment should it be approved by the FDA.”
“Psilocybin is not addictive,” Kallman said, as quoted by WPRI. “It’s naturally occurring and people have been using it recreationally and medicinally for thousands of years.”
“It is only illegal because, over 50 years ago, President Nixon associated it with his political opponents,” she added. “It’s time to undo that mistake and give our neighbors struggling with chronic mental illness, and all Rhode Islanders, the freedom to use psilocybin responsibly.”
Mushrooms and other psychedelics are fast emerging as the next front for legalization advocates, as the science and medical community continues to uncover more encouraging findings about their ability to treat disorders.
The state of Oregon legalized psilocybin for therapy in 2020 after voters there approved a ballot measure. Two years later, voters in Colorado did the same.
The changes in laws have coincided with a shift in attitudes about the drugs.
A poll in 2020 from the research firm Green Horizons found that 38% of American adults believed that psilocybin mushrooms should be legal in at least certain circumstances.
“When it comes to psychedelics, there are many parallels with the movement to legalize cannabis. In both cases, education is paramount,” Adriana Waterston, Green Horizon’s SVP of Insights and Strategy, said at the time. “Psychedelics, like cannabis, have been tied to a negative, highly stigmatized image for many years. Science, however, is showing us that psychedelics demonstrate tremendous promise for certain chronic psychological illnesses, even those that have been treatment-resistant. As we continue to study psychedelics and evidence for their benefits mounts, we can expect support for legalization to follow.”
The poll found that 25% of Americans believed that psilocybin mushrooms should be legal under limited circumstances –– perhaps as a medical or religious practice –– while 13% think they should be legalized outright.
As WPRI noted, “Current federal law classifies psilocybin as a Schedule 1 drug alongside fentanyl and cocaine, both of which are highly addictive,” while state law in Rhode Island puts the hallucinogen in the same category as heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine.”
If you have watched The Last of Us, you may never look at mushrooms the same way.
The hit HBO show, set in the grim aftermath of a fungi-induced pandemic that wiped out much of civilization, has had viewers on the edge of their seats since it premiered last month. And that is due in no small measure to the horrifying and grotesque “infected” who terrorize the characters in the series, which was adapted from a popular video game.
Those mushroom-ravaged zombies were the handiwork of Terry Notary, a veteran Hollywood “movement coach” who has worked on blockbusters such as “Avatar” and “Planet of the Apes.”
“I tried mushrooms before I did this, to see what it felt like,” Notary told Inverse. “I felt like ‘Whoa, this isn’t making me feel stupid. This is making me feel really intelligent. Holy sh*t. This is otherworldly.’”
The infected in The Last of Us are ghastly beings. In the show’s universe, a parasitic fungal infection has spread throughout the world, infecting much of humanity. Those who have been infected essentially become one with the Cordyceps fungi that has destroyed the world.
They are identifiable for the fungi sprouting all over their skin, spend the rest of their existence looking to spread the infection by biting others.
Courtesy HBO
Notary said in the interview published this week that his experience with psilocybin helped steer him away from familiar zombie tropes as he developed the infected.
“It was a big influence on the approach. These aren’t mindless creatures. These are expanded, like really aware creatures. I tried the science and learned from it and applied it,” Notary told Inverse.
Notary continued: “I was pretty quick to understand how the world works, but I wanted to make the infected feel like they were of one mind, and so that they were all connected. Cordyceps have this intelligence that was connecting them all together, they weren’t all just a bunch of random zombies running around as individuals in America. They had a higher intelligence, they had this way of being powerful in their force of being connected together as one unit, like a school of fish or a big flock of birds, they just kind of move and flock together. That was their sort of intelligence of being able to communicate with one another without words.”
Notary said he also drew inspiration by working with his daughter.
“My wife and I have a dance studio here, and our daughters are really amazing dancers. So I usually have my daughter perform some of these creatures for me, and I can direct her and kind of see where it was going. We can play together and move in and find different rhythms and stuff,” he said.
“I was workshopping with her and I was finding what really works is the sense of discord. It felt like there was a beauty in it being broken, a fractal-like feeling and fragmented rhythms that felt really scary, but beautiful. At the same time, it was organic, it was almost like watching a plant grow but in fast motion. You could almost see the pieces and the moments of growth and then withering.”
“That was an influence too, nature growing in fast motion and in reverse. Playing things in reverse felt interesting to me as well. It gave it this off-tempo intelligence, rather than like going into two-dimensional stuff. It was really important to get the actors to drop out and be intelligent, to go past themselves and forget,” Notary added.
