Magic Mushrooms are the Safest Recreational Drug

All of them curious about the numerous psychedelic substances to choose from, and eager to try the most potent one right away. Which is understandable. We live in a time where people tend to seek out extremes. But of course it raises the issue of safety for beginners. How do you know which recreational drug is the safest? Is it safer to enjoy hallucinogens that are lab-made, or those harvested straight from the ground? What is a “fun drug” that has the least possible risk involved — and does this coveted super-safe substance even exist to begin with?

Turns out, it does! 

Look no further than psilocybin, the active ingredient found in magic mushrooms and magic truffles. Hark back to the Global Drug Survey that quizzed 120,000 pleasure seekers in 50 countries, and found shrooms to be the safest recreational drug of all…

Shrooms are the Safest Recreational Drug to Take

Believe it or not, just 1 in 500 people will need urgent medical care after taking a dose of magic mushrooms or magic truffles. That’s almost 5 times lower than that of infamous street drugs such as cocaine, LSD, or MDMA. This is based on the findings from the Global Drug Survey a couple years back  — a survey that’s still considered as the world’s most thorough annual report on drug use. 

In conversation with The Guardian, lead researcher Dr. Adam Winstock confirmed the study’s findings of shrooms having the “lowest possible risk” amongst recreational substances:

“Magic mushrooms are one of the safest drugs in the world.

“Death from toxicity is almost unheard of, with poisoning [from] more dangerous fungi being a much greater risk in terms of serious harms.

Little to No Need for Hospital Treatment

The study also found out that out of the 12,000 users who had taken magic mushrooms and magic truffles in the previous year, merely 0.2% needed to get to hospital. Dr. Winstock said that serious risks come from uninformed people who harvest and eat the wrong sort of psychedelic mushrooms — like Amanita muscaria (or ‘fly agaric’), for example. Other risk factors linked to shroom trips include taking them with booze, or tripping out in a less-than-ideal set and setting.  

“Plan your trip carefully with trusted company in a safe place and always know what mushrooms you are using.”

Winstock also told The Guardian:

“Combined use with alcohol and use within risky or unfamiliar settings increase the risks of harm. Most commonly accidental injury, panic and short-lived confusion, disorientation and fears of losing one’s mind.”

Despite the minor side effects of psilocybin when taken at extreme doses (such as panic attacks, tiredness, and disorientation), magic mushrooms and magic truffles remain safe. 

More than safe, actually; they’re beneficial.

Psilocybin: More Than Just a ‘Fun Drug’

Far from being enjoyed only for its trippy, trance-inducing properties, psilocybin has garnered attention from scientists as a potential cure for depression, anxiety, and PTSD. 

Recent studies have shown that magic mushrooms and magic truffles do more than just distort colours, sounds, and surrounding objects. A single dose of psilocybin can help treat a host of serious mental conditions, once thought of as “hopeless”, doomed to a cycle of dead-end Big Pharma antidepressants. Not anymore!

In this particular survey, 28,000 people answered that they had taken magic mushrooms or magic truffles in recent times. 81.7% wrote that they used shrooms to have a “moderate psychedelic experience” (aka tripping out) and to enhance their “environment and social interactions”. 

The obvious way to achieve these benefits would be taking a full-on dose of shrooms. But for those looking for a mild creative buzz or still easing themselves into the psychedelic lifestyle, why not give microdosing truffles a try?

No Known Lethal Dose for Psilocybin

Magic mushrooms and magic truffles are much safer than hard drugs such as heroin — an overdose of which can lead to serious injury or death. In contrast, shrooms or LSD pose no serious risk when taken at large doses. Their trippy effects also fade away after a couple of hours. Said Brad Burge of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS):

“There is no known lethal dose for LSD or pure psilocybin.”

That being said, psilocybin is still tightly controlled in many spots with strict laws on recreational drugs. Take the UK, for example, which lists psilocybin as a Schedule 1 substance based on the Misuse of Drugs Act, alongside far more dangerous compounds such as heroin. There have been calls, though, to move psilocybin to Schedule 2 so that it can be prescribed for medical and scientific research. 

Drug Policy Reform is Overdue

Winstock believes that psychedelic drugs, such as magic mushrooms and magic truffles, do not belong to the Schedule 1 list of harmful substances. The study only proves the urgent need to change laws in favour of psychedelics, owing to little to no risk when taken. He told The Guardian:

“Drug laws need to balance the positives and problems they can create in society, and well-crafted laws should nudge people to find the right balance for themselves.

“People don’t tend to abuse psychedelics. They don’t get dependent. They don’t rot every organ from head to toe, and many would cite their impact upon their life as profound and positive. 

“But you need to know how to use them.”

Safe as Psilocybin

Whether you’re a novice psychonaut or an experienced tripper, one thing’s for sure. You can never go wrong with a dose of magic mushrooms or magic truffles! Of course, the psychedelic trip is great. Quite fantastic, actually. With shrooms, you can rest easy knowing that soul-searching won’t ever come at the cost of your physical well-being. Why should it? Go ahead, bro. Take a cosy microdose or go bold with a heroic dose. 

Either way, you’re in good hands!