This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at SJSU chapter.

ATTENTION: Psilocybin mushrooms are an illegal substance in California. This article is not encouraging you to take them but instead providing you with resources and knowledge on the drug

Free your mind through the magic mushrooms wormhole with resources, guidance, personal recounts, and suggestions. If you find yourself in a losing battle with your internal thoughts, emotions, anxiety, and or depression, shrooms may be a useful tool to set you free of your mental cage. If you or anyone you know is interested in trying shrooms for the first time, it is important to do ample research, purchase or forage for appropriate mushrooms, and set your intentions prior to your trip.

A recent microdosing event led by the Dutch Psychedelic Society has examined that the cognitive-enhancing properties of Psilocybin Mushrooms optimize the balance between cognitive persistence and flexibility; showing that “convergent and divergent thinking performance was improved after a non-blinded microdose, whereas fluid intelligence was unaffected.”

Paul Stamets’ Stone Ape Theory suggests that the doubled size of the human brain over the past 200,000 years occurred by the consumption of magic mushrooms in which he believes microdosing could lead to “the next quantum leap in human consciousness.”

Personal Experience:

As a spiritual individual and mental health enthusiast, I constantly seek out natural remedies to expand my mind and connect with my heart, mind, body, and soul.

Since trying shrooms five times in the past year, I can say with my whole heart that it has allowed me to free my mind by helping me work through past trauma, be my most authentic self, grow closer to my inner being, enhance self-love, and be at peace with my soul. In my experience, the lasting emotional effects have positively affected every fiber of my being.

While journaling, meditation, and therapy have helped me tremendously to work through mental health challenges, shrooms have enhanced all the parts of myself that I have grown to love.

When I first entertained the idea of trying magic mushrooms, all I had to go off of was the experience of a friend whose trip was “out of this world”. At the time, I hadn’t done much research, all I knew was that it was a substance I had to try for myself to truly understand the purpose of this natural remedy.

The first time I took shrooms was with my friends in my apartment at San Jose. I ordered Domino’s because I thought I would get hungry and need some substance; later I realized this was a poor choice because your appetite is suppressed when you consume shrooms. We weighed our desired amount (1.5 grams), grounded up the mushrooms, and seeped them in lemon and chamomile tea.

If you’re thinking they smell or taste anything like non-psychedelic mushrooms, you are wrong. They smell like cow manure and taste all the same, but it is certainly not about the taste. I journaled before my trip to set my intentions for my experience including what I wanted to gain from it and my outlook.

Here I was, sipping on my tea, and thirty minutes in, it hit me like a brick wall. I felt a wave of energy rush from my toes and straight to my head. I was suddenly spinning. I ran to the bathroom to vomit. Any time I’ve tried a new substance for the first time, I have felt nauseous so I wasn’t dissuaded from being a little sick.

I didn’t know what to do with myself. I was a blob sitting on the floor, annoyed by any sound or light. I walked to my room to sit on my carpet and forgot that my hands existed for the first time in my life. While I had not experienced any life-changing moments or realizations the first time around, I believed there was more to be offered if I tried them again, so I did.

For my second trip, I was in Tahoe. I woke up at 10 AM so I could experience the trip for eight hours during the day. Again, I seeped and chewed on the bits of shrooms floating in my tea as I sat in the hot tub looking off into nature’s backyard.

It quickly hit again but this time I didn’t feel nauseous; I felt at peace in my body. This time I knew what I was saying and could control my actions. I decided to roam around the forest and touch the trees and bugs. I was talking uncontrollably about how wonderful nature is, as I played in the dirt.

Ever since this particular trip, all of my shroom experiences have been life-changing. As a typically emotional and enlightened person when sober, I found myself overwhelmed with countless life realizations which lead to a stream of happy tears. The tears coincided with this immense feeling of relief as I began to recognize what had been causing me stress and anxiety. My takeaway was to free myself of these binds when I am sober. As an anxious person with thoughts racing faster than I can speak, shrooms have helped me slow down to discover who I am and II have never felt more free.

What are Magic Mushrooms?

As Merriam Webster defines it, “magic mushrooms are a fungus (such as genus Psilocybe) containing hallucinogenic alkaloids (such as psilocybin).”

Types of Magic Mushrooms:

Flying Saucer Mushroom
- Where –
  - Grown in wood chips, sandy soils, and dune grass
  - Commonly found in California, Oregon, New Mexico, Wisconsin, Vermont, Ohio, and Leipzig (Germany).
- Color – Brown caramel
- Shape –
  - Cap: 4 inches wide
  - Stem: 3.5 – 8 inches long
- Potency –
  - Total Potency: 2.51%
  - Potency per 1 gram: 25 mg
The Bohemian Psilocybe
- Where –
  - Grown on wood debris
  - Commonly found in central Europe
- Color – Orange & brown
- Shape –
  - Cap: up to 1.5 inches wide
  - Stem: 1-2 inches long
- Potency –
  - Total Potency: 1.47%
  - Potency per 1 gram: 15 mg
Golden Caps
- Where –
  - Grown in soil that is rich with manure
  - The most common magic mushrooms you’d find in the United States, Mexico, Cuba, Central America, northern South America, India, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Australia
- Color – Cinnamon (young) & golden brown (with age)
- Shape –
  - Cap: up to 3 inches wide
  - Stem: up to 6 inches long
- Potency –
  - Total Potency: 1.26%
  - Potency per 1 gram: 13 mg
Wavy Caps
- Where –
  - Grown in fields rich with rotting wood, wood chips, and sawdust
  - Can be found on the edge of a lawn, path, or mulched rose gardens
  - Most commonly found during winter in the United Kingdom, Europe, and the United States (San Francisco)
- Color – Chestnut brown (young) & caramel (with age)
- Shape –
  - Cap: up to 1.5 inches wide
  - Stem: up to 3 inches long
- Potency –
  - Total Potency: 1.26%
  - Potency per 1 gram: 13 mg

Proper Dosage (based on potency):

Check out this youtube video by Curative Mushrooms to learn more about the proper dosage for magic mushrooms.

Body Weight (1,000 mg = 1 g):
1. Average Dose: 0.25 mg per 1 kg (2.2 lbs) of body weight
2. High Dose: 0.5 mg per 1 kg (2.2 lbs) of body weight.
3. Extreme Dose: 1 mg per 1 kg (2.2 lbs) of body weight
Most common dosages:
1. Average Dose: 20 mg potency
2. High Dose: 40 mg potency
3. Extremely High Dose: 80 mg potency

Types of Consumption:

Eat the Shrooms Whole –
- Chew them finely to ensure your stomach can easily break down the mushrooms.
- Not recommended if the taste is a deal-breaker
Tea –
- Ratio – one cup of tea for every dried out gram of mushrooms
- Steps:
  - Heat water until it is boiling
  - Grind your desired dosage of mushrooms
  - Add your desired tea bag
  - Add in the mushrooms
  - Wait until the mushrooms sink to the bottom
  - Consume the tea
Orange Juice –
- Highly recommended by the recreational drug community
- The citric acid in the juice breaks down the psilocybin quicker than your stomach acids could, making the mushrooms more potent
- Will come on faster and stronger than other types of consumption
- Steps –
  - Grind your desired dosage of mushrooms
  - Pour yourself a glass of OJ
  - Add in the mushrooms
  - Consume the drink
Edibles –
- Candy such as gummy bears and chocolate bars are the most common type of magic mushroom edibles you will find in California (from my experience).
- The packaging provides insight into how much you must take to experience the effects your desire.

Environment: Personal Experience

Safe outdoor space surrounded by trees and grass.
Sound:
- Enjoy the sound of nature or play mellow music
  - NOTE: you may be too overwhelmed by noise the first time you try shrooms. Do what works best for you.
Trip Buddies:
- The individuals you choose to go on your trip with play a significant role in the outcome of your trip.
- Choose an individual or group that make you feel comfortable
- Find people that will ground you if your trip is an emotional roller coaster.
  - In my experience I am 100% honest, say anything that comes to mind, and go through countless emotions as your mind tends to work through internal struggles (crying and then suddenly laughing).

Journaling:

Journal prior to your trip to set your intentions.
- Questions:
  - What do you hope to gain from your trip?
  - What would you like to work through? Is there anything on your mind?
  - Why are you tripping today?
  - Who is joining you on this journey and why?
Journal towards the end of your trip to reflect on your experience.
- Questions:
  - What did you gain from your trip?
  - What emotions did you experience?
  - Did you enjoy your trip buddies’ presence?
  - Did you learn something new about yourself or your internal feelings?

Resources:

You are now a Psilocybin Mushrooms 101 expert! If you choose to partake in magic mushrooms, stay safe, surround yourself with quality people, and share your experience with us by tagging us @HerCampusSJSU!

Psilocybin Mushrooms 101: Experiences, Resources, Guidance, & Suggestions

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