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Andrew Korenchkin · May 25, 2017

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news...afest-recreational-drug-study-says/341691001/

So I thought this was interesting. Obviously, the article does not talk about potential effects it has on, say, neurotoxicity, but regardless, it makes perfect sense given how the mushroom works, apparently. Of course, it's not risk free (the fact that you often do not have control of your thoughts is enough to make me never attempt them), but it's still in line with what I expected.

A new survey found that when it comes to recreational drug use, magic mushrooms appear to be the safest drug.

Only .2% of almost 10,000 people who reported taking psilocybin hallucinogenic mushrooms in 2016 reported that they needed emergency medical treatment, according to the annual Global Drug Survey. The survey, of more than 120,000 participants in 50 countries, found that the rates of emergency medical treatment for MDMA, LSD, alcohol and cocaine were almost five times higher.

Magic mushrooms can be risky and cause panic attacks or confusion, Adam Winstock, a consultant addiction psychiatrist and founder of the Global Drug Survey told the Guardian.

”Combined use with alcohol and use within risky or unfamiliar settings increase the risks of harm most commonly accidental injury, panic and short-lived confusion, disorientation, and fears of losing one's mind," Winstock told the Guardian.

Just weeks ago, a tourist died after jumping from a fifth-floor balcony after consuming orange juice laced with magic mushrooms, the Tribun Bali reported.

NoblesseOblige · May 25, 2017

Does the study account for frequency of use?

highrider · May 25, 2017

I've enjoyed them when I tried them, it was many years ago, but I've seen some people reduced to yammering wackadoos clutching pillows and generally freaking out.

JimiNutz · May 25, 2017

I love magic mushrooms and have had some of my favourite drug induced experiences on those wonderful little packages of joy that mother nature provides.

I also don't think it's even possible to abuse them because you have to leave 3-4 weeks in-between trips to get the best effect. The fact that they are illegal in many parts of the world is insanity and backward thinking from a less sophisticated age.

99Luffy · May 25, 2017

Is it easy to drive or operate heavy equipment while on shrooms?

cdyhybrid · May 25, 2017

So the survey is based on whether people who took the substance said they needed medical treatment, which means there's probably no controlling for purity of the substance ingested.

Andrew Korenchkin · May 25, 2017

highrider said:
I've enjoyed them when I tried them, it was many years ago, but I've seen some people reduced to yammering wackadoos clutching pillows and generally freaking out.

This is pretty much why I've never been one to touch drugs like Mushrooms and LSD. I don't like having lack of control of my actions and perceptions. Even if they have little to no addiction/dependence liability, the dangers of taking them and not being aware of what you are doing is why I would never do them.

NegroNinja · May 25, 2017

I've always wanted to try them but have no idea where I can find someone who sells them. In Baltimore it's either weed or crack being sold lol.

parrotbeak · May 25, 2017

People who go to ER for LSD don't really need treatment, they are just freaking out. No one has ever OD'd on it.

Shrooms are more mild generally so not surprised. In my experience it's much more low energy too--don't really want to move around a lot so less likely to get hurt.

highrider · May 25, 2017

Andrew Korenchkin said:
This is pretty much why I've never been one to touch drugs like Mushrooms and LSD. I don't like having lack of control of my actions and perceptions. Even if they have little to no addiction/dependence liability, the dangers of taking them and not being aware of what you are doing is why I would never do them.

In a wierd way they make you confront yourself which can be scary for people. I found it very enlightening though. Not something I would ever want to do as a matter of routine though. I'm interested in ayahuasca/dmt as well. I think altering our perception is incredibly educational and liberating, but like anything it isn't completely benign, there are risks.

Pikma · May 25, 2017

99Luffy said:
Is it easy to drive or operate heavy equipment while on shrooms?

Of course, why wouldn't it?

sirap · May 25, 2017

They're pretty common in SEA. I wish they had a more "trippy" or enlightening effect on me, but every time I try one the most that happens is a slight shift in my perception in time and a substantial increase in appetite.

Erin S Kittens · May 25, 2017

NegroNinja said:
I've always wanted to try them but have no idea where I can find someone who sells them. In Baltimore it's either weed or crack being sold lol.

Nothing like that Baltimore straight drop!

sirap said:
They're pretty common in SEA. I wish they had a more "trippy" or enlightening effect on me, but every time I try one the most that happens is a slight shift in my perception in time and a substantial increase in appetite.

What's your dosage typically look like?

Joyful · May 25, 2017

99Luffy said:
Is it easy to drive or operate heavy equipment while on shrooms?

I wouldnt recommend it lol

subrock · May 25, 2017

cdyhybrid said:
So the survey is based on whether people who took the substance said they needed medical treatment, which means there's probably no controlling for purity of the substance ingested.

These survey type studies are treated are sort of a first foray into research when the drug itself is illegal or hard to obtain. They aren't really concerned about purity at this stage because they are looking more for experiential evidence than reproducible clinical results. Good for determining general safety and self reported effects of drugs to shape policy.

Andrew Korenchkin said:
This is pretty much why I've never been one to touch drugs like Mushrooms and LSD. I don't like having lack of control of my actions and perceptions. Even if they have little to no addiction/dependence liability, the dangers of taking them and not being aware of what you are doing is why I would never do them.

The same way that you can have 1 beer and not 15, you can have .5 grams of mushrooms and not 4. You can have effects that start at feeling funny and having an active imagination, all the way to seeing machine elves in the ultraverse. You don't "lose yourself" per se on light doses, the same way you don't black out every time you go to the pub. 1 gram of mushrooms will get you stoned, but you will still be very much in control.

chrisPjelly · May 25, 2017

FUME5 · May 25, 2017

They're fun in the right environment, don't think I've known anyone to have a major freakout on them.

WordAssassin · May 25, 2017

The "safest recreational drug"? Safer than weed? Wh... what the hell? I always thought weed was like the bottom of the bottom tier when it came to drugs?

Not saying they're wrong or anything this just flies in the face of everything I've ever heard for the past 30+ years I've been alive. I know it's very unlikely but I've heard of people doing shrooms and not "coming back normal" from it, and as far as I know it would severely, severely impair your ability to drive as someone else pointed out. How is a hallucinogen safer than weed?

Transhuman · May 25, 2017

Since when was weed not a recreational drug. edit: ^ what this guy is saying

Indelible · May 25, 2017

Haven't had them in years but I always had good experiences on it. They just made me think differently, like it opened parts of my brain that I never used.

parrotbeak · May 25, 2017

It can be uncomfortable at first, especially when you start thinking about things you hadn't wanted to think about, but that usually happens if the dose is small. If you take a good dose, you pretty much lose sense of self and are just existing. It's cliche but there is a sense of oneness with the universe.

But it's harder to do that when you're older and have to worry about something happening while you're too high to function.

sirap said:
They're pretty common in SEA. I wish they had a more "trippy" or enlightening effect on me, but every time I try one the most that happens is a slight shift in my perception in time and a substantial increase in appetite.

I've had some where I ate a lot and they barely did anything and some where I ate a few stems and tripped balls. Depends on how it was stored, how old it is, etc. It breaks down in heat and sunlight.

FUME5 · May 25, 2017

WordAssassin said:
The "safest recreational drug"? Safer than weed? Wh... what the hell? I always thought weed was like the bottom of the bottom tier when it came to drugs?

Not saying they're wrong or anything this just flies in the face of everything I've ever heard for the past 30+ years I've been alive. I know it's very unlikely but I've heard of people doing shrooms and not "coming back normal" from it, and as far as I know it would severely, severely impair your ability to drive as someone else pointed out. How is a hallucinogen safer than weed?

The study was based on them reporting a need for emergency medical assistance.

Transhuman · May 25, 2017

I won't have weed's good name tarnished like this.

Bömb · May 25, 2017

Andrew Korenchkin said:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news...afest-recreational-drug-study-says/341691001/

So I thought this was interesting. Obviously, the article does not talk about potential effects it has on, say, neurotoxicity, but regardless,

If you're interested this is a good intro to what happens in your brain when eating psilocybin/shrooms.

http://overthebrainbow.com/blog/2016/5/18/science-of-being-high-your-brain-on-acid

The report found that people in Colombia, New Zealand, Norway and Mexico were most likely to find and pick magic mushrooms themselves.

Norway huh? I would have guessed these mushrooms needed a much warmer climate.

Widdle Puppy · May 25, 2017

Basically half the illegal stuff people consider drugs in the west are safe to use and won't cause any physical harm to you.

It's all that pharmicuticals and synthesized stuff you have to worry about.

ChawlieTheFair · May 25, 2017

Like others send I think they're great in moderation. Killing the magic via frequent use ain't the way to go. Though it seems that with any psychedelic having a good time is mainly rooted in your sober mental state. Taking shrooms while depressed or in a discomforting environment is a very bad idea unless you have something like Xanax to kill the trip. But the potential health benefits seen with PTSD victims and shrooms puts allows some doubt on the claim psychedelics are strictly for college kids and music festivals.

JoJoShabadoo · May 25, 2017

The problem with psychedelic drugs is that a lot of people think they broaden your mind (and they can, if used responsibly) but really most people I know take them often, or often enough for the objective to simply be to "trip balls" and whatnot.

I've only taken acid/shrooms a handful of times throughout 7/8 years and each experience was unique and eye-opening in one way or another. But for many, I think the experience is strictly recreational and they revisit the experience a few times too many, IMO.

NoblesseOblige · May 25, 2017

WordAssassin said:
The "safest recreational drug"? Safer than weed? Wh... what the hell? I always thought weed was like the bottom of the bottom tier when it came to drugs?

Not saying they're wrong or anything this just flies in the face of everything I've ever heard for the past 30+ years I've been alive. I know it's very unlikely but I've heard of people doing shrooms and not "coming back normal" from it, and as far as I know it would severely, severely impair your ability to drive as someone else pointed out. How is a hallucinogen safer than weed?

Unless I am missing something the article doesn't make it clear if the study is based on people reporting using the drug just once or consuming them in equal amounts. Basically it seems if you take shrooms 1 time then you're being counted the same as if you smoke weed everyday. So if you end up in ER 1 out of 100 times being high on marijuana you're lowering its 'safety' index, but if you just take shrooms once and at a party and everything was cool then you're contributing to it having a higher score.

xxracerxx · May 25, 2017

JoJoShabadoo said:
The problem with psychedelic drugs is that a lot of people think they broaden your mind (and they can, if used responsibly) but really most people I know take them often, or often enough for the objective to simply be to "trip balls" and whatnot.

I've only taken acid/shrooms a handful of times throughout 7/8 years and each experience was unique and eye-opening in one way or another. But for many, I think the experience is strictly recreational and they revisit the experience a few times too many, IMO.

I mean what is too much? More than 5 times in 7 years?

WordAssassin · May 25, 2017

FUME5 said:
The study was based on them reporting a need for emergency medical assistance.

Do... many people think they need medical assistance when using weed?

NoblesseOblige said:
Unless I am missing something the article doesn't make it clear if the study is based on people reporting using the drug just once or consuming them in equal amounts. Basically it seems if you take shrooms 1 time then you're being counted the same as if you smoke weed everyday. So if you end up in ER 1 out of 100 times being high on marijuana you're lowering its 'safety' index, but if you just take shrooms once and at a party and everything was cool then you're contributing to it having a higher score.

That seems like a weird way to conduct a study/display the results? I am high right now though so my comprehension might be shit. Like it feels like they stacked the deck in favor of shrooms since it seems like such a narrow target they're trying to hit VS a much much more liberal target with weed/other drugs.

akira28 · May 25, 2017

FUME5 said:
The study was based on them reporting a need for emergency medical assistance.

yeah, I guess...more oldsters and squares are overeating medical edibles and freaking out. definitely seeing it in the news more often anyway. usually making fun of the "victim".

maybe people having bad trips on shrooms are less likely to call 911.

riotous · May 25, 2017

I once saw a hearse drive by with my Mom in an open casket inside; I turned to my buddy and said. "Did I kill my Mom?" He said.. "OMG, you killed your Mom..." We ran.

MUSHROOMS

NoblesseOblige · May 25, 2017

WordAssassin said:
That seems like a weird way to conduct a study/display the results? I am high right now though so my comprehension might be shit. Like it feels like they stacked the deck in favor of shrooms since it seems like such a narrow target they're trying to hit VS a much much more liberal target with weed/other drugs.

That's why I sought clarification in my first post. From the article (haven't read through the actual study) it's not clear and sounds like they weren't conducting a good study. Safety should be measured by frequency of use instead of number of users.

It's like saying boats are safer because there are only 4,000 boating related accidents a year compared to 30,000 automobile accidents. Completely ignoring people use an automobiles every day compared to a minuscule fraction in boats.

parrotbeak · May 25, 2017

WordAssassin said:
Do... many people think they need medical assistance when using weed?

Here's the chart from the report (pg 115)

If I am reading it right, of 12,000 self reported users of MM, 24 went to the ER. Of 69,000 weed users, 414 went to ER. I think. I'm not high but too tired to read it carefully.

kyser73 · May 25, 2017

Andrew Korenchkin said:
This is pretty much why I've never been one to touch drugs like Mushrooms and LSD. I don't like having lack of control of my actions and perceptions. Even if they have little to no addiction/dependence liability, the dangers of taking them and not being aware of what you are doing is why I would never do them.

One of the best things about mushies is the ability to regulate your does and the intensity& duration of the trip.

With acid, you eat the blotter or microdot and you are away, no turning back, if it turns out it was a bigger dose on the blotter than expected...woooooohooooo good luck space cadet, hope you don't have any really deep seated issues you don't know about, and have some good mates around you, at least one of whom has experience of someone on a bad trip and is, preferably, reasonably sober.

You can't be completely sober around people on acid because it's actually freakier than being on it.

Andrew Korenchkin · May 25, 2017

I have high anxiety issues (and no, I will NOT take Xanax) so my mental state isn't always completely stable so there is a risk factor for me when it comes to Mushrooms. The only drug I use is Amphetamine, but that's because I genuinely need it and only take around 10-15 mg a day max. I tend to love off days where I don't have to take the medication, because the side effects are risky for me.

ErasureAcer · May 25, 2017

Widdle Puppy said:
Basically half the illegal stuff people consider drugs in the west are safe to use and won't cause any physical harm to you.

It's all that pharmicuticals and synthesized stuff you have to worry about.

Bingo...especially the second part.

Cuburt · May 25, 2017

chrisPjelly said:

WordAssassin · May 25, 2017

NoblesseOblige said:
That's why I sought clarification in my first post. From the article (haven't read through the actual study) it's not clear and sounds like they weren't conducting a good study. Safety should be measured by frequency of use instead of number of users.

It's like saying boats are safer because there are only 4,000 boating related accidents a year compared to 30,000 automobile accidents. Completely ignoring people use an automobiles every day compared to a minuscule fraction in boats.

Yeah, boo this study. Boo!

parrotbeak said:
Here's the chart from the report (pg 115)

If I am reading it right, of 12,000 self reported users of MM, 24 went to the ER. Of 69,000 weed users, 414 went to ER. I think. I'm not high but too tired to read it carefully.

Huh. Interesting. I've gotten so high I've worried I'll have a heart attack before, and I've gotten so high that I've had panic attacks, but I've never felt the need to go to the hospital. Especially since, at least from what I've been told, if you go to the ER for "too high" they can't really do anything to help you besides tell you to relax and give you some water. But then, I suppose not everyone has seen the Weed Granny video and know that you can't ever get so high you can't come back down eventually, which is what helps calm me down if I accidentally smoke or eat too much.

glow · May 25, 2017

Andrew Korenchkin said:
I have high anxiety issues (and no, I will NOT take Xanax) so my mental state isn't always completely stable so there is a risk factor for me when it comes to Mushrooms. The only drug I use is Amphetamine, but that's because I genuinely need it and only take around 10-15 mg a day max. I tend to love off days where I don't have to take the medication, because the side effects are risky for me.

You have high anxiety issues and you take speed daily but you won't touch Xanax? Very interesting...

Andrew Korenchkin · May 25, 2017

glow said:
You have high anxiety issues and you take speed daily but you won't touch Xanax? Very interesting...

Well one of the reasons why I usually consider myself anxious a lot is due to the fact that I'm consistently unable to do what I need to do. My anxiety issues have subsidized quite a bit, actually, because I am able to act on things that I attach an urgency to. CBT has helped a fuck ton, which is what should be done alongside medication.

In general, I tend to do recreational activities and socialization off medication, as I do menial stuff, oddly enough. I'm well programmed to take out of the garbage, and I generally like to clean.

umop_3pisdn · May 25, 2017

They're like quasi-recreational at best, but they do seem to have a good safety profile.

Jaguar Victory · May 25, 2017

Bömb;238007697 said:
If your interested this is a good intro to what happens in your brain when eating psilocybin/shrooms.

http://overthebrainbow.com/blog/2016/5/18/science-of-being-high-your-brain-on-acid

Norway huh? I would have guessed these mushrooms needed a much warmer climate.

Great link

Snagret · May 25, 2017

NegroNinja said:
I've always wanted to try them but have no idea where I can find someone who sells them. In Baltimore it's either weed or crack being sold lol.

Same exact situation here. I'd try Mushrooms over anything else but I've never met a single person with a hook up.

Chmpocalypse · May 25, 2017

highrider said:
In a wierd way they make you confront yourself which can be scary for people. I found it very enlightening though. Not something I would ever want to do as a matter of routine though. I'm interested in ayahuasca/dmt as well. I think altering our perception is incredibly educational and liberating, but like anything it isn't completely benign, there are risks.

Just avoid salvia unless you're an experienced psychonaut. It works, oh yes, but it is most definitely not a party drug.

Conor_Fool · May 25, 2017

kyser73 said:
One of the best things about mushies is the ability to regulate your does and the intensity& duration of the trip.

With acid, you eat the blotter or microdot and you are away, no turning back, if it turns out it was a bigger dose on the blotter than expected...woooooohooooo good luck space cadet, hope you don't have any really deep seated issues you don't know about, and have some good mates around you, at least one of whom has experience of someone on a bad trip and is, preferably, reasonably sober.

You can't be completely sober around people on acid because it's actually freakier than being on it.

Ehh... I agree with most of what you're saying, but a very large percentage of chemicals you buy on blotters these days are verrrrrrry different from what Albert Hofmann synthesized (LSD-25) and ingested himself in the 1940s. Drugs have come a long way since then. I've been fortunate enough to get my hands on some 25 and they were the most beautiful, clean trips I've ever had. Unfortunately, there are hundreds if not thousands of "research chemicals" these days that pose as LSD and are sold on a blotter, only to give folks incredibly intense and sometimes violent trips. I believe most of these chemicals are derived from the 2C family, like 2C-E and so on. These have a much higher intoxication rate and have actually caused several ODs, something pure LSD is essentially incapable of doing (unless you drown yourself in a barrel of acid the size of a keg).

Basically what I'm saying is, people very likely didn't trip harder because it was LSD. They tripped harder because they got sold one of the hundreds of forms of bunk ass shit that makes you hallucinate your balls off with no aspect of mindfulness attached.

StayDead · May 25, 2017

Could this not also be attributed to the fact that you're more likely to be reported to the police by hospital services given that Mushrooms are illegal?

I can't imagine seeking the help of a doctor while on an illegal substance (at least in the UK) is at the top of peoples priorities.

Octavianus · May 25, 2017

Mushrooms actually help my social anxiety a bit. I don't take them often, but whenever I do I always feel pretty mellow of a week or two after taking them.

Never had any issues.

KDR_11k · May 25, 2017

How high is the risk of picking the wrong mushrooms in the forest?

Also is radioactivity still a concern for mushrooms in Europe? I recall being told not to eat picked mushrooms even if they are a safe type because of the after effects of the Chernobyl disaster.

Transhuman · May 25, 2017

What do u think happens after u die?

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