Psilocybin

Psilocybin is a hallucinogen substance found in many species of mushrooms in South America, Mexico, and the United States. Natural occurring psilocybin and psilocin can be manufactured synthetically. Mushrooms can be fresh, with white/grey stems and dark brown edges around the cap. Dried mushrooms are rusty brown with white speckles. Psilocybin mushrooms are typically taken orally when fresh or dried, but they can also be brewed into a tea or added to other foods. Some people coat the mushrooms with chocolate to mask the bitter taste. Psilocybin is considered a Schedule I substance by the DEA. These mushrooms should not be confused with Amanita muscaria (known as Fly Agaric) which can produce a different type of hallucinogenic trip. There are closely regulated studies occurring now using psilocybin in treating cancer patients, obsessive-compulsive disorders, end of life anxiety, PTSD, and addiction.

Signs of Psilocybin Mushroom Use
There are many varieties of mushrooms, many of them poisonous. Psilocybin mushrooms induce hallucinations. Once a user has ingested the mushroom, there is no controlling the type of trip the user will experience. A bad trip can produce feelings of intense fear and paranoia lasting up to ten hours. The length of the trip depends upon the amount consumed. Mushrooms produce altered perception of time (either speeding it up or slowing it down), an inability to differentiate between fantasy and reality,
Other side effects

Panic
Muscle Relaxation
Weakness
Dilated Pupils
Nausea
Vomiting
Euphoria
Increased Heart Rate
Twitching
Drowsiness

Long-term use may cause psychiatric illness such as psychosis, impaired memory, heart problems, and unpleasant “flashbacks” where an individual experiences effects of the drug long after it is used.

Social Cost of Psilocybin Mushroom Use
Regular use of mushrooms diminishes the effect, thus more and more mushrooms are required. After a time, abstinence is required. Unfortunately, regular use distorts one’s perceptions of reality and can lead to psychosis. The research has found that some people have become aggressive or suffered from homicidal or suicidal thoughts when using mushrooms.

Psilocybin Mushroom Withdrawal
There are no physiologic withdrawal symptoms from psilocybin mushrooms but habitual users may experience anxiety, depression, insomnia, or cravings. A bad trip can have devastating psychological implications making deep seeded problems worse. Therapy may be needed to help deal with flashbacks. Unfortunately, these flashbacks tend to be of bad trips.

Slang Terms for Psilocybin
Boomers, Caps, God’s Flesh, Hombrecitos, Las Mujercitas, Liberty Cap, Little Smoke, Magic Mushrooms, Mexican Mushrooms, Musk, Sacred Mushrooms, Silly Putty, Simple Simon