Psilocybin can change the way you see, hear, taste, smell or feel things. It can make you feel intense wellbeing or panic.
Psilocybin is found in certain species of mushrooms. When you take psilocybin, your body converts it to psilocin. Psilocin is the chemical that causes the effects.
Mushrooms that contain psilocybin are sometimes called magic mushrooms or psychedelic mushrooms.
Psilocybin can come as:
- raw or dried mushrooms - these can be eaten or made into a tea
- capsules
- a liquid in small bottles
- edibles such as gummies or chocolate
Some species of mushrooms that grow in the wild in Ireland contain psilocybin. But they may look similar to other mushrooms that are poisonous. If you have any doubt about the safety of a wild mushroom, do not eat it.
Drug category: psychedelic
Psychedelics can change the way you see, hear, taste, smell or feel things (tripping). They are also called hallucinogens.
Psychedelics can cause unexpected and challenging effects.
Other names for magic mushrooms
Other names include: golden teachers, golden caps, liberties, liberty caps, magics, mushies, panaeolus, psilocybe, shrooms, truffles
Effects of psilocybin
The effects of psilocybin can vary depending on:
- your size, weight and sex
- if you have any health conditions or mental health difficulties
- how you take the drug
- the strength of the drug
- how much you take
- if you take alcohol, medicines or other drugs at the same time
- where you take the drug and how you feel before you take it
- if you have taken the drug before and how often
It can be difficult to predict the effects of psilocybin. Effects may start after around 60 minutes and can last several hours.
The effects of psilocybin are sometimes called a trip.
Some mushrooms that affect how you think, feel or behave do not contain psilocybin. The species called fly agaric (Amanita muscaria) contains muscimol and ibotenic acid. Fly agaric mushrooms can have more risky effects than psilocybin mushrooms.
How you may feel or behave
You may feel:
- intense wellbeing or happiness (euphoria)
- relaxed
- more aware of colours, sounds and smells
- energetic, restless or giddy
- confused or anxious
- unaware of time, it could speed up or slow down
- disconnected from your body or surroundings
Effects on your brain and body
Psilocybin can cause:
- hallucinations - you may see, hear or feel things that are not there
- nausea (feeling sick)
- vomiting (getting sick)
- tummy cramps
- increased sweating and body temperature - this may be followed by chills and shivering
- lower inhibitions - you may do things you would not usually do
- increased heart rate and blood pressure
- psychosis - you have confused thoughts, feelings and behaviour and you do not know what is real or not real
Psilocybin can make you less aware of your surroundings. If you use psilocybin in an unsafe place, you may be more likely to have accidents or injuries.
Psilocybin and mental health
Psilocybin can cause mental health difficulties or make existing difficulties worse.
Negative effects include:
- frightening or challenging hallucinations
- intense anxiety and confusion
- fear and paranoia
This can happen if you are going through a tough time or feel low. But the risk is higher if you or someone in your family has mental health difficulties.
In rare cases, psilocybin can cause hallucinations or other drug-like experiences in the days or weeks after you take it.
It may help to talk to someone if you have a bad experience with psilocybin.
Medical research on psilocybin
There are studies on the use of psilocybin for specific conditions. For example, severe depression that does not respond to other treatments.
The studies involve taking a specific dose in a supervised and medical setting. Psilocybin is usually only part of the treatment. For example, it is used in combination with talk therapy. This is often called psilocybin-assisted therapy or psychedelic-assisted therapy. This is not available in Ireland.
It is not safe to take psilocybin or other psychedelic mushrooms that you buy in the illegal or online drug market as a therapy. You can never be sure of the contents and strength of these drugs or how you will react.
If you are worried about your mental health, there are treatments that are safe and effective.
Studies on microdosing psilocybin
Microdosing is taking tiny doses of a drug at regular intervals. There are not many studies on microdosing psilocybin.
But there is no evidence that there are benefits to microdosing psilocybin. People's beliefs may cause an effect rather than the drug itself. This is called the placebo effect.
Microdosing psilocybin is not a safe way to cope with mental health difficulties. If you are worried about your mental health, you can get support.
Comedowns
A comedown is how you feel as the drug leaves your system.
Comedowns from psilocybin can cause:
- tiredness
- anxiety
- low mood
- problems coping with a challenging experience or bad trip
It may help to talk to someone if you have a challenging experience.
Psilocybin and dependency
Signs of dependency can include:
- cravings for a drug
- withdrawal symptoms
- continuing to use a drug even when it causes you harm
Psilocybin does not usually cause physical dependency.
But some people may develop a tolerance if they use psilocybin often. This is when you need to take more of the drug to get the same effects.
How long does psilocybin stay in your system?
It can be hard to know how long psilocybin or other chemicals from mushrooms stay in your system.
There are tests to detect these chemicals. But different types of tests have different detection times.
Things that affect how long a drug stays in your system
The time it takes for a drug to leave your system depends on many things.
For example:
- how much you took
- how often you take the drug
- how strong the drug was
- your age, sex and metabolism
- your general health