How Long Do Shrooms Last?
You’ve heard that the magic mushroom “trip” lasts a while. How long, though, will you feel the effects of psilocybin, and how long do shrooms stay in your system after you take them? In this guide, find out when your shrooms will kick in, how long you’ll trip, and whether psilocybin is detectable by drug tests.
What are shrooms?
“Shrooms,” also called magic mushrooms, are mind-altering fungi containing the psychedelic substance psilocybin. Over 100 different species of mushrooms contain psilocybin, and these mushrooms are naturally abundant in many parts of North America.
Long considered to be on par with addictive drugs that have high overdose potential, psilocybin is now becoming recognized as an incredibly beneficial therapeutic tool that may be useful for a wide variety of different conditions. Of course, psilocybin also causes profound psychedelic effects when taken in large doses, and many users enjoy the substance for its recreational properties.
It’s becoming apparent, though, that you don’t have to take large quantities of shrooms to enjoy their medicinal benefits. The phenomenon of microdosing has recently become popular, and psilocybin is one of the substances most commonly microdosed.
What happens when you take shrooms?
When you take a large dose of psilocybin mushrooms, you will start to feel euphoric effects within a few minutes that are closely followed by auditory and visual hallucinations. For some people, these hallucinations seemingly bend the fabric of reality, but for others, shrooms may simply make textures appear slightly differently or affect the way it feels to move around.
Compared to alternative psychedelic substances, shrooms are often described as having milder or more enjoyable facts that are less likely to result in a bad trip. These effects generally peak after around three hours and persist for as long as six hours before fading away.
What are the effects of shrooms?
Taking shrooms in quantities of 1/8 oz or higher will result in feelings of powerful euphoria and both auditory and visual hallucinations. In contrast to substances like mescaline and LSD, shrooms are considered to be more “fun” or “playful” even though negative experiences are still somewhat common.
Compared to high-intensity psychedelics like DMT, shrooms shouldn’t make you feel like you’re somewhere else or make you profoundly disoriented. Even so, you should be very mindful as you “come up” on mushrooms and closely monitor both your perceptions and emotional state. Many people who take psilocybin mushrooms find it useful to trip in groups or hire the services of a “trip sitter,” who monitors the trip from beginning to end, guiding mushroom users out of negative thoughts and emotions.
Psilocybin effects: microdose vs. macrodose
The intensity of the effects you experience when taking psilocybin may be dependent upon the dose, but it appears possible to experience the benefits of this powerful psychedelic substance even if you only use a tiny amount. Microdosing psilocybin has recently become popular, which consists of taking a dose of this psychedelic compound amounting to around 1/10th of a normal dose.
A microdose of psilocybin will not result in hallucinations of powerful feelings of euphoria. Combined with psychotherapy, however, microdosing psilocybin appears to show great promise as a tool for overcoming emotional blockages that support mental illness. Many users report that even a single microdose of psilocybin results in improvements in anxiety, depression, or PTSD that persist for months or even years at a time.
If you want to experience the full effects of psilocybin, take a macrodose. However, you can still experience the benefits of this psychedelic substance even if you don’t want to get high.
What are shrooms used for?
It’s still very common to use shrooms recreationally to “trip out,” but psilocybin has also recently started receiving lots of attention as a potential therapy against a variety of psychiatric conditions. Early research conducted with the help of patients at the end of their lives, for instance, found that using psilocybin helped them make peace with their situations and even look forward to a life beyond.
Psilocybin also recently made national headlines when it was found that a single dose of this psychedelic might alleviate symptoms of treatment-resistant depression for a year or more. Overall, it seems that psilocybin has incredible potential to help with conditions that had previously flummoxed psychiatrists and pharmaceutical manufacturers alike.
How does psilocybin affect your brain?
Based on fMRI mapping of the neuronal activity of individuals who have taken psilocybin, this psychedelic compound appears to diminish the role the ego plays in organizing information while also strongly stimulating the visual cortex. As a result, sensations become much more intense and vibrant while your sense of self is suppressed, allowing you to experience these sensations with even more fidelity. In essence, psilocybin appears to push the “perceiver” aside and allow you to focus more on perception itself, which perhaps explains how this substance often helps so profoundly with ego-oriented conditions like depression and anxiety.
How long do shrooms take to kick in?
Psilocybin mushrooms generally begin to kick in within 5-10 minutes with peak effects activating after around an hour. As a water-soluble compound, your body processes psilocybin faster than lipid-soluble substances like CBD or THC. You’ll experience the effects of magic mushrooms even faster if you make them into tea.
How long do the effects of psilocybin last?
Taking a normal dose of psilocybin usually results in effects that last for around 3-6 hours. Larger doses may result in effects that last for up to eight hours, but you’ll only experience peak effects during an approximately three-hour window regardless of the amount of psilocybin you take.
How long does a microdose of psilocybin last?
Ingesting a microdose of psilocybin usually results in effects that last as long as a macrodose but are considerably less intense. Your mind might feel slightly altered for around 3-6 hours, after which you’ll return to your normal state of being. With microdosing, there is no noticeable “peak,” though you might feel the effects of your psilocybin microdose most intensely at around the three-hour mark.
How long do shrooms stay in your system?
Magic mushrooms generally only stay in your system for around 24 hours after ingestion. As a water-soluble substance, psilocybin does not bond to any of the fatty tissues in your body, which is where compounds that are fat-soluble store and then gradually excrete over around 30 days. Resultantly, you can stop being concerned about psilocybin being present in your body around a day after you used it.
Do shrooms show up on a drug test?
No, psilocybin mushrooms do not generally show up on drug tests for two reasons: One, psilocybin only stays in your system for around 24 hours, and two, most drug tests do not screen for the presence of the substance. Recognizing the futility of testing for a compound that only stays in your body for a day, employers and law enforcement agencies that commission drug tests are also increasingly unconcerned about psilocybin use as jurisdictions around the country legalize this psychedelic and research into the potential benefits of psilocybin ramps up.
Shrooms FAQ
Still have some questions about shrooms and their effects? We’ll answer some common queries below:
1. Are shrooms addictive?
No, psilocybin mushrooms do not appear to have any addiction potential whatsoever. Regardless of how frequently you use this substance or the quantities you consume, psilocybin will not generate chemical dependency, and even psychological dependency is discouraged by rapid-onset tolerance that disincentivizes chronic use. After you use psilocybin, you’ll be unable to experience its full effects again for around three days, and even without this tolerance, psilocybin appears to be inherently antithetical to addiction.
2. Do shrooms help with addiction?
Yes, accumulating scientific research indicates that psilocybin may be profoundly useful as an anti-addiction tool. Researchers have looked into psilocybin as a therapy for addictions to nicotine, alcohol, and opioids, and initial studies are promising all across the board. A variety of publicly traded companies are investigating psilocybin as a potential therapy for addiction, making it highly likely that psilocybin-based anti-addiction prescription therapies are coming in the near future.
3. Can you overdose on psilocybin?
No, it does not appear to be possible to overdose on psilocybin. Taking unusually large quantities of the substance may result in profoundly intense hallucinatory effects, but psilocybin appears to remain non-toxic even when ingested in extremely high doses.
4. What is psilocybin therapy?
Psilocybin therapy is an emerging field of medicine that uses psilocybin as a psychotherapy tool. The state of Oregon has officially commissioned a psilocybin therapy project, and many medical organizations around the country are following suit. Whenever you use psilocybin as a tool to improve your health, you’re engaging in psilocybin therapy.
5. Is psilocybin good for mental health?
Psilocybin appears to have immense potential to improve mental health. Studies have been conducted into the potential of psilocybin to help with affective disorders like depression and anxiety, and initial research indicates that even a single dose of this potent psychedelic substance can result in dramatic improvements to these conditions that persist for years at a time.
6. Are shrooms legal?
Psilocybin has been legalized or decriminalized in a handful of US jurisdictions. Additionally, the FDA has designated psilocybin as a breakthrough therapy, indicating that federal rescheduling of this substance may be imminent.
7. Where can I buy psilocybin?
It is now possible to buy psilocybin products online due to the blockchain and NFT revolution. Instead of waiting for the pharmaceutical establishment to make psilocybin into prescription drugs, average individuals have started purchasing psilocybin directly from reputable producers.
8. How do you make shrooms last longer?
For most people, the 3-6 hour duration of the effects of magic mushrooms is plenty. If you want to extend the effects of your mushroom trip, however, you can try eating foods like grapefruit and ginger, which can sometimes make it take longer for substances to leave your body. Otherwise, you can simply redose halfway through your trip to make the effects of shrooms last somewhat longer.
9. Does lemon tekking make shrooms last longer?
No, lemon tekking does not make the effects of shrooms last longer. In fact, this practice of soaking shrooms in lemon before ingestion usually shortens the effects of psilocybin while making them more intense. As a result, most casual users should avoid “lemon tekking” until they’re sure they can withstand the increased effects this method of preparing shrooms can provide.
10. Are there psilocybin retreats in Oregon?
One of the first places it will become fully legal to use psilocybin mushrooms is Oregon, which will begin issuing licenses to the state’s first psilocybin clinics sometime in 2023. Once up and running, Oregon’s shroom clinics will provide psilocybin in a therapeutic setting in which professional trip guides will help users get the most out of magic mushrooms.
11. Which factors affect how long a drug test can detect psilocybin?
The main factor that affects how long psilocybin remains in your system is the dose you ingested. If you use a huge amount of this psychedelic compound, it might remain detectable in your body for slightly longer than 24 hours. Water-soluble compounds like psilocybin, however, inevitably leave your body within a maximum of 48 hours, so there’s generally no need to worry about testing positive for magic mushrooms as long as you ingested them more than two days ago.
12. How do you get psilocybin out of your system?
As a substance that usually leaves your body within 24 hours, there’s generally no need to speed up the psilocybin excretion process. If you want to flush psilocybin out of your system faster, though, drinking plenty of water will refresh your body’s aqueous tissues, replacing psilocybin-infused bodily fluids with new liquids. Exercising and getting plenty of sleep will also help psilocybin leave your system faster.
