While magic mushrooms may still look the same as they did from the ancient and recent past…one thing has dramatically changed. Shrooms are now being widely explored for legitimate therapeutic and medical purposes. Showing the dynamic way that psychedelics like shrooms have transformed in today’s modern world.
The hallucinogenic compound found in magic mushroom fungi, psilocybin, is proving to have a plethora of beneficial health effects. But how did we get there from the long-standing party and spiritual past that shrooms have had? Here we’ll take a look at the past, present and future of magic mushrooms and the psilocybin compound they’re being taken more seriously for.
Magic Mushrooms’ Past
The natural growing fungi came from quite the spiritual past. With the use of magic mushrooms dating back to 9000 BC for some North American cultures. Varied tribes and civilizations put magic mushrooms to use during their spiritual or religious ceremonies.
The Aztecs and Mayans were two of these cultures. Their use has been well-documented through rock paintings found in their respective regions. Even by statues found all over the Central America region. History says that magic mushrooms’ hallucinogenic effects made people at the time feel more connected to the gods and other words.
Shrooms use didn’t arise popularly again until the 1950’s. That’s when mycologist R. Gordon Wasson began traveling through the Mexico region, studying mushrooms. In 1955, Wasson started exploring one ‘magical’ species that contained psilocybin.
He was intrigued after discovering the shrooms hallucinogenic effects. When he returned to the States, he published his findings and feelings on magic mushrooms in a breakthrough piece published in Life Magazine titled “Seeking the Magic Mushroom”.
Wasson’s colleague Roger Heim took the reins from there. He teamed up with the ‘father of LSD’, Albert Hofmann, and began exploring how to extract psilocybin the compound from the magic mushroom in its natural form. Not after long, they were successful.
During the same time period, the population termed as ‘hippies’ caught onto ‘seeking magic mushrooms’, too. Using the fungi to stimulate their minds and conversely beginning a new cultural trend. At the forefront of this movement was well-known student, Timothy Leary from Harvard.
As Governments became wary of ‘hippie’ cultural movements, legislation quickly went into place to ban psilocybin officially. This occurred in the 1971 Controlled Substances Act. The year, the global ‘war on drugs’ began, officially.
The exploration into magic mushrooms and psilocybin didn’t resurrect until the late 90’s. That’s when the University of Zurich completed a study that published psilocybin had a diminishing effect on the brain area, specifically housing the mind’s ‘ego’.
The Present for Psilocybin
From the 90’s until now…the steam for proving psilocybin is a therapeutic compound only sped up. Now, psilocybin is in the midst of trials as a ‘breakthrough treatment’. With the actual FDA exploring and confirming the substance’s benefits for depression.
When a trial receives a breakthrough treatment classification, that means that it can become approved faster when positive results are shown. Since depression has been a treatment-resistant disorder until now, medical experts are hopeful for success.
The FDA began these trails after ample evidence showed psilocybin being effective at relieving depressive type symptoms. Some studies even proved that the magic mushroom compound showed long-term results for the patients who participated. Other research that has been completed recently on psilocybin’s therapeutic effects include –
- The Journal of Psychopharmacology in 2006 published a study that reported improved elevations in mood, attitudes, and behaviours amongst that administered psilocybin. When the same group of participants was surveyed two months later, the results remained positive.
- Psilocybin may have a positive effect on addictive behaviours, like smoking. When given psilocybin as a method to quit smoking, 67% of one study’s participants had success. In fact, these participants remained smoke-free for over a year after the study ended.
Shroom Products of Today
To give you an idea of how shroom products have progressed onto the legal market today, there’s now psilocybin filled gel caps and psilocybin infused chocolate too. Not to mention, a wide range of magic mushroom species to choose from – just like strains, for cannabis. As research and breeding advances for shrooms, so do the options that users have.
For recreational or medical use. So when browsing magic mushrooms to experiment with, make sure you do your research or completely read the specific species information. Some might be more hallucinogenic than others, or more suited for beginners versus veteran consumers.
Future of Shroom Use
Just recently, Canada officially legalized the use of magic mushrooms for terminally ill patients. With 4 patients so far, already approved for use. Which is a step in the right direction for the plethora of psilocybin advocates that can be found in the nation as a whole. TheraPsil is just one modern-day advocacy group that cites psilocybin’s therapeutic effects as a call for legalization, and who was behind the movement for this legislation approval.
In other regions of the world, legalization has made similar progress. Including two cities in the United States, and a few countries globally. The following locations have approved the use of magic mushrooms and psilocybin, in some way or capacity:
- Denver, Colorado
- Oakland, California
- Brazil
- Jamaica
- The Netherlands
Magical History of Therapeutic Effects
The journey that magic mushrooms has been on so far, has been as dynamic as the fungi’s hallucinogenic effects.Overtime, psilocybin’s magical history has gone from spiritual and religious use, to recreational, to actually medically beneficial.
In today’s world there are more places than ever that have legalized the use of shrooms, after becoming criminalized for a period of misunderstood time. As stigmas surrounding magic mushrooms lift, so do attitudes towards microdosing the substance for elevated moods and good feels in ideal doses.
So, if you’re interested in self-exploring and experimenting safely with the compound, always seek out psilocybin goods from a trusted retailer. Like MMJDirect, our network of premium shroom breeders and top vendors for psilocybin infused products.