Why do Mushrooms Produce Psilocybin/Psilocin?

[Bodhisattva500]

Does anyone know why so many strains of mushrooms produce such potent drugs like psilocybin? Is their some sort of evolutionary advantage?

[dmax]

It might discourage animals from eating them? I mean, sure some
people like to do so, but many animals don't have the free time to
trip, since they need to be out getting food, and not getting eaten
themselves. Alternatively, it could have some useful properties
to the mushroom's internal chemistry. For instance TONS of things
contain DMT. Our own brain even manufactures it in small
quantities. Without studying the biochemistry of mushrooms
intensively, we probably will never know, and I really doubt anyone is
going to take the time to do that.

[PYITE]

Originally Posted by dmax

It might discourage animals from eating them?

bingo.



one of the very unique properties of psychedelics is that humans are
the only animal that will willingly ingest a psychedelic again after
having taken it once.



we can get lab animals dependent on cocaine, marijuana, heroin,
alcohol, meth, etc but after taking LSD or mushrooms just once you can
never get any animal other than a human to do it again