What are the dangers of Psilocybin mushrooms?

[sockchemy]

It seems that magic mushrooms are safe from what I have read. Are there any real dangers provided that you get a true Psilocybin mushroom? Are there side effects?

[Heretic.Ape.]

please take a moment to look around at what has already been discussed on the matter. you can find a lot of information by using the forum search engine, it's very helpful. there is nearly no physical risk involved in using psilocybin mushrooms as long as identification is correct. psychological risk is possible if one is prone to mental issues, but most common is simply a bad trip which can be avioded by proper preparation--set, setting, easing up on dosage, etc. read the abundant information available.

[LossyLegs]

Mushrooms can bring out underlying mental issues (schizophrenia). It would be safe for SWIS to make sure that his family does not have a history of mental issues before he ingests the mushrooms. Also make sure SWIS is not using MAOI's leading up to or during a trip.

[elscorcho717]

Mushrooms can intensify and amplify feelings you already have and make you deeply introspective. Therefore, if you're currently even in a mild depression, taking mushrooms can make can cause you to have a "bad trip" because you may dwell on whatever is bothering you in life. This is why taking any hallucinogen is not recommended for people with a mental illness. You have to know yourself, and you have to know when is the right time to take it. Even knowing this, it is rare for a single mushroom trip to cause permanent changes in someone's psyche, so worse comes to worse if you DO have a bad trip it will be over within 8 hours or so.

Happy trippin'!

[imyourlittlebare]

if you were to use mushrooms, the best option is amanita. the chemical muscimol in them is generally safer then the psychoactive ingredients in psilocybe. it effects the neurotransmitter GABA heavily to help prevent a bad trip and relaxes you. it can also create a much better body buzz. and a gross fact. its not metabolized in the body. if you pee during your trip or after and drink it. you will get high. they do it in some religious cerimony lol. look it up!

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amanitas are not toxic with proper care. sorry for the previous inaccurate flaming rep and sorry for the red square that...

[ianzombie]

Originally Posted by imyourlittlebare

if you were to use mushrooms, the best option is amanita. the chemical muscimol in them is generally safer then the psychoactive ingredients in psilocybe. it effects the neurotransmitter GABA heavily to help prevent a bad trip and relaxes you. it can also create a much better body buzz. and a gross fact. its not metabolized in the body. if you pee during your trip or after and drink it. you will get high. they do it in some religious cerimony lol. look it up!

If you want to experience magic mushrooms and enjoy the experience then your better off avoiding Fly Agaric. SWIM has never had a 'Fun' or 'Enjoyable' experience with Amanita in the way they have with Psilocybe Cubensis for example. It was certainly a unique experience but it is in no way anything you would take in a social setting.

There is a reason why Amanita are still legal in a lot of country's and thats because people don't usually enjoy the experience and don't tend to go for a repeat performance.
Can you explain exactly how Muscimol is 'Safer' than Psilocybin?

[Nature Boy]

Amanitas effects are completely different from psilocybin. Comparing them is irrelevant in this case. One could argue that amanitas' actual psychoactive effects are more pleasant for the user but muscimol's toxicity is significant and all-round psilocybe mushrooms are far safer.

[imyourlittlebare]

all drugs in a sense are toxic because they alter the brain and cause a change or depletion in something. however, swim has worked in a learning and memory lab using muscimol and it is a safe chemical. psilocybin can potentially have much worse side effects from the trip and both in essence are about equally safe in consumption

[chemlove]

Originally Posted by Nature Boy

Amanitas effects are completely different from psilocybin. Comparing them is irrelevant in this case. One could argue that amanitas' actual psychoactive effects are more pleasant for the user but muscimol's toxicity is significant and all-round psilocybe mushrooms are far safer.

SWIM had both and there is no true comparison! He let me know without a doubt Psilocybe is definetly better then Amanitas. He told me about how its a much more trippier feeling then Amanitas, which kinda give you the rubber body kinda body buzz effect, but SWIM was so totally turned off by the lack of a true trip. He claimed at no point did he really feel took over. SWIM said the more popular Psilocybe usually rocks his world at doses at and below 7 grams.

Now on to the main point Mushrooms have been linked not to causing but to the actual manifestation of mental problems like stated above. Like all other chemicals, compounds, drugs etc, know your body and know what your taking. Be sure your always being safe and around people you get along with and trust.

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good post! nailed it re psychological problems and respecting the substances

[augentier]

I always thought this "bringing up latent psychological disorders" reeked of bullshit when dealing with psychedelics...I really do think that in the midst of a bad trip one can still grasp what little portion of consciousness he has left and remind himself to accept the experience rather than dwell on its negative aspects and turn it into the basis of your mental illness du jour. It's what chemlove said - know your body/mind. If you're depressed and not sure if you could handle dealing with your issues during an intense part of the trip, then refrain from tripping and work on your problems during your sober moments..but if you're depressed and wanting insight from your own mind and a new/wider perspective of the issues at hand..then go ahead and trip and utilize your newfound ideas in your days ahead...

Man, I didn't want that to sound that bitchy/insensitive but basically the point of what I'm sayin is IMHO mushrooms do not cause harm psychologically because at any point the user has the choice to either accept/appreciate the experience or panic and turn the experience into something he wishes he had never seen

[Lehendakari]

Originally Posted by augentier

I always thought this "bringing up latent psychological disorders" reeked of bullshit when dealing with psychedelics...I really do think that in the midst of a bad trip one can still grasp what little portion of consciousness he has left and remind himself to accept the experience rather than dwell on its negative aspects and turn it into the basis of your mental illness du jour. It's what chemlove said - know your body/mind. If you're depressed and not sure if you could handle dealing with your issues during an intense part of the trip, then refrain from tripping and work on your problems during your sober moments..but if you're depressed and wanting insight from your own mind and a new/wider perspective of the issues at hand..then go ahead and trip and utilize your newfound ideas in your days ahead...

Man, I didn't want that to sound that bitchy/insensitive but basically the point of what I'm sayin is IMHO mushrooms do not cause harm psychologically because at any point the user has the choice to either accept/appreciate the experience or panic and turn the experience into something he wishes he had never seen

HPPD, depersonalization, derealization are true problems that very few people develop after mushroom use, and has nothing to do with bad trips. People should definitely check his family history of mental disease before trying strong psychedelics.

[Nature Boy]

In a sense? In what sense are ALL drugs toxic? Toxicity refers to poisoning which results in DEATH. It has nothing to do with mental consciousness or altering of it.

In consumption psilocybe mushrooms are safer in that eating enough to die is unlikely, nigh on impossible (they reckon it would require 1kg of mushrooms to do this). It is possible with amanitas therefore they carry a far higher consumption risk. Mental risk is purely subjective.

[imyourlittlebare]

well im just telling you what in a sense is "toxic" and it is highly unlikely that you will die from amanita. we give our rats 1 mg/kg which does not even come close to giving us a hallucinogenic experience and it is very safe. the only negative aspects is that it is difficult to learn new information on these. i dont know where you get your facts from? can you maybe send me a few links to the reputable resources youve obviously read

[Nature Boy]

Hmm, this is a forum isn't it. Take a little look around. The topic of how many magic mushrooms does it take to kill someone has already been discussed. UTSFE. And my other reputable source. How about an English dictionary. I'm sure you'll find the definition of toxic there.

So altering one's consciousness is "toxic" in a sense. Toxic suggesting that it is detrimental. Everyone's entitled to their opinion I suppose but if that's your attitude, why take anything at all. I'm sure even aminitas are too impure and evil for you to take by how you perceive things.

[Divine Winds]

some observed dangers from mushroom use:

"I laid in a field of green grass for four hours going 'My God, I love everything.' The heavens parted, God looked down and rained gifts of forgiveness, acceptance and eternal love from his unconditional heart, and I realized the true nature of my existence, of all our existence, is God's perfect and holy sunship, that we are spirit, we are not bodies, we are mind, we are thoughts in God's mind, his beloved children, and that has never changed, and anytime that you look through the body's eyes you are seeing illusions.

I'm glad they're against the law, because imagine how that would fuck up this country. "
-Bill Hicks

[mugsirhc]

swiy will get really hot, sweaty, bloated, have sorta weird achey stomache and then possible inner thighs aches-
after sitting squeezed in a car (6 friends 1 cavalier) 25 minutes then dropping one kid off and goin back still kinda squeezed swim and his friends experienced extreme leg cramps as if poison was attacking the inner thigh, on other trips as well swim and others have commented on slightly aching legs, has anyone else experienced this ?

[eltimmy]

>f you were to use mushrooms, the best option is amanita. the chemical muscimol in them is generally safer then the psychoactive ingredients in psilocybe

Complete nonsense. There are a number of reports on toxic effects (coma, muscular spasm) resulting directly from amanita ingestion. Psilocybin, on the other hand, displays virtually no physical toxicity and in this sense can be considered safer than aspirin.

BTW, I consider the intoxication from amanita to be completely useless compared to the headspace which psilocybes and their constituents evoke.

>it is highly unlikely that you will die from amanita

Toxicity: Ibotenic acid has been shown to be directly neurotoxic, unlike anything found in psilocybin. It's used for the purpose of creating brain lesions in some research studies. (boil it out)

>all drugs in a sense are toxic because they alter the brain and cause a change or depletion in something

Uhh, only in the "sense" where you make the word completely useless.

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Intelligent, and damn good arguments.

[OzzBozz]

well with psilocybin, SWIY has the risk of having psychological issues/problems

[bLuE]

i would like to share a little story of recklessness, foolishness, and impatience.
its important that people know mushrooms CAN be dangerous. even though they are safer than most drugs.

It all started with a pain in SWIMs ear, he had an ear infection. it had gotten bad during the week and SWIM passed out and seized from overheating!
he went to the doctor and got antibiotics.
lesson #1 dont take shrooms until antibiotics are fully out of your system
after a week or two he was done the pills and feeling much better, swim planned a little mush trip with his bro and pops, they had all done them together before... SWIM ate 7 full size cubensis mushrooms, without weighing them, in some honey.
they all tripped HARD, they watched the yellow submarine, listened to music, puffed a few joints, everything was fine, SWIM had an incredible trip and he could see coloured transparent numbers and letters all around him.
when the trip started to fade things got bad... swim had a big huge coat on to keep warm, but really swim had a fever, at some point swim started to overheat, swim remembers rushing to the kitchen for some water and ditching his coat and sweater on the floor, he stumbled through the living room to go sit down with his bro and pops but ended up going straight outside, his bro followed and SWIM told him he might pass out.
SWIM took off his shirt and sure enough....
WOOOsshhh BANG, falls over and hits his head of the ground and is sent into what SWIM can only imagine DMT is like.... he was everywhere at once, time ceased to exist, he was other people, animals,... SWim felt like he had step out of his body and gone through the circutry of the entire universe. then he saw pure white light and heard his name, his bro and pops were above him watching over him, they looked terrified.
they carried him inside. SWIM was back to full peak when he awoke from the fall and he was laughing telling them what he had just experienced and then they told him he had a seizure!
SWIM has had seizures from overheating, dehydration, and drinking too much booze, he often experienced weird things while it happened but couldnt really remember after. but with the mushrooms SWIM knew exactly what he saw. it changed SWIMS life.

now SWIM finds smaller amounts of anything can send him into psychedelia. SWIM is not sure if his brain or body may have been damaged during this experience.

[bLuE]

muscimol is not safer than psilocybin. simple as that, psilocybian mushrooms are superior in non-toxicity.