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If you eat raw mushrooms, also known as magic mushrooms, you may start to feel psychedelic effects about 30 minutes later.
You can speed up the process, though, by grinding the mushrooms into a tea or letting them soak in lemon juice, a method called “lemon tekking.” Parag Bhatt, PhD, Chief Science Advisor at psychedelic wellness company Silo Wellness, says that the psychedelic effects of either of these will usually start to happen 10 to 15 minutes after use.
But the strength and length of your high will depend on many things, such as the amount you take, how strong the mushrooms are, and how recently you ate.
How long does the effect of mushrooms last?
Most of the time, the effects of psychedelic mushrooms reach their peak an hour to an hour and a half after eating them, and they wear off in six hours.
How will you know when it starts to work? Bhatt says that the first feelings are usually euphoria and an “opening up” of the world, where colours become more vivid and solid objects seem to “breathe.”
The psychedelic effects of shrooms usually last between four and six hours, but Bhatt and Linda Strause, PhD, Clinical Development Consultant for psychedelic medicine company Ei.Ventures, say the intensity of your trip may depend on:
- The potency of the mushrooms: “Potency of mushrooms is a key factor as to how many psychedelic compounds are present within the mushroom will dictate how many active molecules are circulating within the body,” Bhatt says.
- How much you consume: The amount of mushrooms consumed will affect the length and intensity of your trip, Bhatt says. Ingesting increased amounts of mushrooms will increase the amount of circulating psychedelic compounds, leading to a stronger psychedelic experience.
- How recently you’ve eaten food: Eating mushrooms on an empty stomach will make your trip more intense and reduce the risk of nausea, Bhatt says.
- Past psychedelic experience: Your brain develops a tolerance to mushrooms if you take them multiple days in a row, so you’ll have reduced sensitivity to their effects if you’re consistently consuming them.
- Expectations: Anecdotal evidence suggests having positive expectations before taking psychedelics is linked to more positive outcomes during and after tripping.
Many individuals also describe an “after-glow” or a sustained boost in mood lasting for days.
How long does it take for mushrooms to leave your body?
Strause says that the body usually gets rid of mushrooms in 24 to 48 hours. But mushrooms have byproducts called metabolites that can stay in your body for months.
Shrooms don’t show up on the standard 5-panel drug test that most employers give. But there are tests that can find traces of these metabolites in mushrooms.
Some urine tests can find metabolites of mushrooms up to a week after they have been eaten. Bhatt says that certain hair follicle tests can find shroom metabolites up to 90 days after use.
Since these tests are very expensive, they are only done when there is strong evidence that someone has used mushrooms.
What to expect when you take mushrooms
Bhatt says that people who eat psychedelic-containing mushrooms often talk about feeling very happy, having more empathy, and feeling more connected to nature.
People can feel a wide range of emotions while on psychedelics, so even if you both took the same dose, your trip might feel different than the other person’s. Even though people often feel happy and at peace, it is also possible to have a “bad trip.” During a bad trip, you might feel scared and paranoid.
But Bhatt and others say that it’s not always a bad thing to feel uncomfortable while on mushrooms. “It’s important to remember that negative trips aren’t always bad.” Psychedelics open up the mind and make us have conversations with ourselves that we wouldn’t normally have. “This usually makes us feel bad and anxious,” Bhatt says.
Strause and Bhatt say that if mushrooms make you feel uncomfortable, you should listen to calm music, get some fresh air, take deep breaths, lay down with your eyes closed, or meditate. If mushrooms give you an upset stomach, drinking a little bit of citrus juice can also help.
What you should know
Shrooms are a powerful psychedelic that has long been used for recreational, medicinal, and spiritual purposes all over the world. Still, psychedelics can be hard to predict, so experts say that anyone who wants to try them should start with a small dose and talk to a doctor.
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