People tripping on mushrooms might see things in different colors or see patterns. Existing colors, sounds, tastes and textures may be distorted, while feelings and emotions intensify. It can feel like time has sped up, slowed down or stopped completely. There can be a changed perception of one's place in the universe and a feeling of communing with a higher power.
As with LSD, what happens on a mushroom trip varies by person, dosage and the type of mushroom eaten, as some are more powerful than others. "Set and setting," or the emotional state of the user and the type of environment he or she is in, play a big part in whether the trip is positive. Users who are in a poor mental state or a highly structured environment are more likely to have a bad trip, which is when you feel paranoid, anxious, nervous or even terrified instead of euphoric. The only way to get over a bad trip is to wait it out. As a new user you should have an experienced friend with them to guide you through the experience.
Taking mushrooms can cause dizziness, nausea and other stomach problems, muscle weakness, loss of appetite and numbness. These symptoms pass as the trip comes to an end. Smoking a bit of pot will combat the nausea.
Mushrooms aren't addictive, but tolerance builds up very quickly -- taking mushrooms two days in a row often results in a less intense experience the second day, for example. There may be cross-tolerance with some other psychotropic drugs like LSD, mescaline and peyote, which means that taking one can build up tolerance for another.
There's no evidence of death caused by magic mushrooms; the amount that one would have to eat to cause death is hundreds of times greater than the normal dose. Death can result from taking misidentified mushrooms.
Hunting the mushroom is not easy. There are thousands of species, many with very similar features. Some toxic mushrooms can simply cause stomach problems, but others can cause organ failure and death. Hunting for any type of mushroom is generally best left to people that know WTF they are doing. Even people who have been hunting the mushrooms for decades have made mistakes. One part of the identification process is the creation of a spore print, which involves pressing the cap gill-side down onto a sheet of paper (usually both dark and white to see contrast) so that its spores are released.
There are dozens of species of mushroom within the genus Psilocybe. Most of them are on the small side -- the average size is a 3-inch stalk and a 1-inch cap. When fresh, they usually have light grayish, yellowish or brownish stems with brown or brown-and-white caps and dark gills. We'll look at just a few of the most well-known varieties.
Psilocybe cubensis is on the larger side as far as magic mushrooms go. It's also one of the most common. Called the common large Psilocybe, golden cap or Mexican mushroom, it has many different types. The cap is usually reddish brown, with a white or yellowish stem. When bruised or crushed, its sticky flesh often turns bluish. Some people consider this a definitive sign of finding a magic mushroom, but some toxic types of mushrooms bruise as well. It's usually found in moist, humid climates and grows on the dung of grazing animals like cattle.
Psilocybe semilanceata or liberty cap is a common psilocybin mushroom. In general, P. semilanceata is found in damp, grassy fields usually populated by cattle or sheep but unlike P. cubensis, it doesn't grow directly on the dung. It's a small mushroom, either light yellow or brown, with a very pointed cap. Another psilocybe mushroom, Psilocybe pelliculosa, is often mistaken for P. semilanceata, but its psychotropic properties are weaker.
Psilocybe baeocystis has a dark brown cap and brownish or yellowish stem when fresh. It can be found in fields in addition to growing on rotting logs, peat or mulch. Nicknames include potent Psilocybe, blue bell and bottle cap.
So do people who take magic mushrooms just pop a few into their mouths? Next, let's learn about what's considered a "dose" and the ways in which people consume magic mushrooms.
There are several different strains of P. cubensis; Thai P. cubensis mushrooms are considered to be stronger and can result in a more intense high, while those found on the Gulf Coast are supposed to give you a "mellower" high. The psylocybin content in the shrooms also tends to deteriorate when they're dried, so people ingest more to compensate. Mushrooms are generally sold in the South Africa in 2 gram baggies, which usually costs around $100. The effects of shrooms will always vary from person to person in addition to from mushroom to mushroom.
If you’re new to taking shrooms, start with 1 gram of dried shrooms (the equivalent of about one P. cubensis), wait an hour, and then, based on how you feel, decide whether to take more. Many people do simply chew on fresh or dried mushrooms, but they taste like crap. Some shrooms taste floury, while others are sour or bitter -- eating them with fruit such as strawberries can combat the flavor. People who really dislike the taste and texture come up with recipes for everything from smoothies to chili, although cooking the mushrooms for long periods of time will likely break down the psilocybin and result in a weaker psychotropic effect.
Magic mushrooms don't actually have to be eaten. They can be brewed into a mushroom tea by grinding them, steeping them in hot water and straining the resulting liquid. Proponents of this method claim that this has no impact on the intensity of the trip. Since alcohol and magic mushrooms are often used together, sometimes the mushrooms are soaked in rum or tequila and the liquid used in mixed drinks or simply drunk. People who have tripped on mushroom tea or extract say that they begin to feel the effects quicker than if they simply ate the mushroom. This is because liquid is absorbed by the body faster. Mushrooms are sometimes ground and packed into gelatin capsules to create mushroom pills. This way, the taste and texture are avoided completely (Unless you plan on taking more than 10 grams, you will loss respect for using this method).
