Hallucinogenic mushrooms, also known as magic mushrooms, are types of fungi that grow in soils and that have psychoactive substances capable of promoting changes in brain regions and altering the person's perception of the things around them.
This type of natural drug can be consumed in its natural form, cooked, dried or in the form of tea, which is the most used form. The effects of this drug vary according to the general state of the person and the form of consumption of the mushroom, which may be visual distortions, increased self-confidence and feelings of euphoria, for example. Know other natural drugs and their effects.
Effects of hallucinogenic mushrooms
Despite their name, mushrooms rarely cause hallucinations, only when consumed in large quantities. What happens when magic mushrooms are consumed is the change in the perception of what is around the person, and it can be difficult to differentiate between fantasy and reality.
The effects can vary according to the person's general health, if the person is using other drugs at the same time and the amount of mushroom consumed, the main effects being:
- Increased perceptual sensitivity; Feeling of well-being; Increased self-confidence; Increased blood pressure and body temperature; Increased heart rate; Change in consciousness, mood and thoughts, popularly known as "travel"; Pupil dilation; Dizziness; Drowsiness; Muscle weakness; Visual and sensory distortions, such as halos of light and bright colors.
Sometimes people can experience the negative effects of magic mushrooms, being called "bad travel", which is characterized by the presence of hallucinations, panic, fear, paranoia and anxiety.
Like all drugs, frequent consumption or in large quantities of mushrooms can bring some risks to the person's health, such as agitation, loss of muscle control, seizures, paranoia, psychosis, cardiac arrest and coma. Find out what are the health effects and consequences of drugs.
How to consume
Mushrooms can be eaten in their natural form, cooked, dried or in the form of tea. After the consumption of mushroom tea, the effects appear after 25 to 30 minutes and last between 4 and 6 hours. In the case of raw mushroom consumption, the effects are more intense and faster, appearing after about 5 to 10 minutes, because the psychoactive substances in the mushrooms do not change with the temperature used to make the tea.
The main genera of hallucinogenic mushrooms found in Brazil are Psilocybe and Panaeolus , although the species Amanita muscaria is the most popularly consumed.
How they work
Mushrooms have in their composition a psychoactive substance called psilocybin, which is converted in the organism into psilocin, which is the main responsible for the hallucinogenic effects of mushrooms, as it acts directly on the brain by linking regions that normally do not communicate and blocking the effects of serotonin, resulting in effects similar to LSD, but lighter and of shorter duration. Understand what serotonin is and what it is for.
