Mushrooms

Mushrooms are referred to as hallucinogens, psychedelics, or shrooms. They can be eaten or brewed for tea and the effects may vary among users depending on the substance properties, dosage, potency and the immediate environment. Physiologically, mushrooms act as a mild stimulant of the sympathetic nervous system. Effects can range from mild nausea to psychosis and from short-acting to long-acting. Sensations can be either pleasant or disturbing and can alter one’s sense of time and orientation to the environment.

A hallucinogen in certain types of mushrooms that grow in parts of South America, Mexico, and the United States. For more information, see the Hallucinogens and Dissociative Drugs Research Report.

Street Names Commercial Names Common Forms Common Ways Taken DEA Schedule
Little Smoke, Magic Mushrooms, Purple Passion, Shrooms No commercial uses Fresh or dried mushrooms with long, slender stems topped by caps with dark gills Swallowed (eaten, brewed as tea, or added to other foods) I**
Possible Health Effects
Short-term Hallucinations, altered perception of time, inability to tell fantasy from reality, panic, muscle relaxation or weakness, problems with movement, enlarged pupils, nausea, vomiting, drowsiness.
Long-term Risk of flashbacks and memory problems.
Other Health-related Issues Risk of poisoning if a poisonous mushroom is accidentally used.
In Combination with Alcohol May decrease the perceived effects of alcohol.
Withdrawal Symptoms Unknown.
Treatment Options
Medications It is not known whether psilocybin is addictive. There are no FDA-approved medications to treat addiction to psilocybin or other hallucinogens.
Behavioral Therapies More research is needed to find out if psilocybin is addictive and whether behavioral therapies can be used to treat addiction to this or other hallucinogens.

How Can You Tell if a Friend is Using?

  • Nauseous
  • Dilation of pupils
  • Increased blood pressure
  • Light-headedness
  • Disorientation or confusion
  • May report distorted tactile, visual or auditory perceptions
  • Fearful
  • Paranoia

Overdose

  • Psychosis
  • Seizures

What to Do?

Resources:

National Institute on Drug Abuse--Commonly Abused Drugs