Can You Smoke Shrooms? Risks, Effects & What You Must Know

Shrooms or magic mushrooms are known for their potent psychedelic effects due to the ingredient called "psilocybin" in them. While people mostly consume them by eating dried or in the form of tea, some are curious to know that "Can you smoke shrooms?" Let's explore the blog to know whether you can smoke them or it's a bad idea.

Can You Smoke Shrooms?

Though it is possible to smoke magic mushrooms or shrooms, it is not recommended or is ineffective to smoke them.

What happens if you prefer smoking shrooms?

• Heat destroys the psychoactive effects: As Psilocybin found in shrooms degrades under extreme heat, smoking them can destroy their psychoactive properties. This can remove their desired euphoric effects.

• Reduces the chances of a trip: Even if you inhale a small dose of psilocin, the breakdown of Psilocybin through smoking won't produce strong psychedelic effects that are experienced from eating them. Due to this, most users experience no trip or mild effects.

• Increases the health risks: Inhalation of mushroom content can introduce spores and chitins, which are not safe, as they can cause irritation and inflammation in the lungs and blood vessels, and even lung cancer (which is dangerous). This can cause coughing and allergic reactions. Some people can experience bad trips, making them feel worried or paranoid and be scared by the shifts in perception, rather than experiencing excitement and appreciating the hallucinations. 

• High risk of physical side effects: As per a study, the physical effects of shrooms include:

1. High blood pressure and heart rate

2. Nausea and vomiting

3. High body temperature

4. Diarrhea and abdominal cramps

5. Muscle weakness

6. Uncoordinated movement

Note: Stay away from smoking mushrooms completely because you can never be sure how they will impact you.

Why Do People Consider Smoking Shrooms?

Some individuals consider smoking shrooms instead of eating them, because they want:

• quick effect

• avoid the nausea and bad taste (strong, earthy, and unpleasant taste) that comes after oral consumption

• want to experience a different kind of high, like feeling more controllable or a milder psychedelic experience compared to eating them.

This curiosity is expected, especially where smoking is one of the common ways to use and try different substances. But smoking shrooms is considered unsafe. 

Dangers and Risks of Smoking Shrooms 

The following are the possible dangers of smoking shrooms: 

• Health Hazards: Inhaling burning shrooms can introduce toxic products into the lungs, causing irritation and leading to other respiratory problems.

• Accidental Poisoning: Improper use might lead to miscalculations of dose, resulting in excessive introduction of shrooms into the body, which leads to overwhelming experiences.

• Inconsistent Effects: As a variety of mushroom strains have different potencies, it can increase the chances of inconsistent effects and possibly the risk of overdose.

• Unpredictable Reactions: May cause adverse reactions, like anxiety, distressing hallucinations, confusion, and paranoia because of excessive use of the dose.

• Compressed Immune System: Impacts the immune system, which makes the body more prone to infections, like respiratory infections.

• Adverse Cardiovascular-related Effects: Impact the cardiovascular system by causing a high heart rate, damage to blood vessels, and changes in blood pressure levels. 

Alternative Safe Practices for Smoking Shrooms

If you want to experience the psychedelic effects of shrooms, these are safer alternatives:

1. Oral ingestion

Oral ingestion is the traditional, safer, and effective method to use shrooms for their psychedelic effects, as it allows the proper processing of the psilocybin. This practice includes:

• Consuming fresh or dried shrooms

• Brewing a magic mushroom tea

• Mixing shrooms with foods such as lemon and candies to boost their effects

2. Microdosing

• It involves regular consumption of a small dose of shrooms (around 5-10%) to achieve modest effects without experiencing a powerful psychedelic experience.

• With each dose per day, the amount of shrooms is slightly increased.

• This method typically does not cause a trip when done in small amounts.

3. Edibles

People can eat dried shrooms or mix them with foods or beverages:

• Powdered Form: Dried shrooms can be ground to form a powder, which can be infused into oil or butter. This can be used to make cookies, brownies, or other desserts.

• Chocolate Bars: Mix powdered shrooms with chocolate, and let it harden to prepare chocolate bars or candies.

• Honey and Syrup: Infuse powdered shrooms with honey and syrup to use it as a sweetener. 

Side Effects of Shrooms

Even though you consume dried mushrooms frequently, they can have the following effects:

• A sense of well-being and joy: Shrooms can often bring a sense of euphoria to a person after consumption.

• Random laughter: Shrooms can make you lose control of your emotions, which can lead to random outbursts of laughter.

• Shifts in perception, emotion, thought, and consciousness: Shrooms alter your present reality, which can change your perception and thought process for the time being.

• Bodily effects: Shrooms can affect our bodies as soon as they enter the system. Some of these effects include expanded pupil size, vomiting, nausea, and stomach aches.

• Hallucinations: This is a very common occurrence while dealing with shrooms. A large chunk of people who have consumed shrooms report various hallucinations, both visual and auditory.

• Heart issues: Shrooms affect our cardiac system, which can result in elevated breathing and erratic or rapid heartbeat.

• Headache: One of the most common effects of shrooms is headache. You can feel like you are having a migraine.

• Alteration of body temperature: Shrooms can often alter our body temperature. You can either feel too cold or too hot. Some people even experience excessive sweating after consuming shrooms.

• Alterations in mood: Shrooms can either make you too happy or get you in a depressive mood. It primarily depends on the emotions you had before consuming the shrooms. These psychedelic substances can also make you feel fear, paranoia, or anxiety.

Safety Precautions for Smoking Shrooms

Although it is not recommended to smoke shrooms, there are steps you may take to lessen your risks:

• Select an alternative approach: In general, smoking shrooms is not advised; you won't experience any emotions, and might breathe in dangerous spores. Consider alternatives such as oral ingestion, edibles, and microdosing. 

• Consider your dosage: Start with the lowest dosage and work your way up gradually. Higher dosages of shrooms mean more unpleasant effects and bad trips. Hallucinogens can be unpredictable.

• Don’t inhale the smoke for an extended period: Your bare lungs are directly exposed to pollutants for extended periods when you inhale deeply and hold your breath. If you plan to smoke shrooms, make sure to immediately exhale.

• Get a trip sitter: It is recommended to have a sober and reliable person on hand who can help you if you have an intoxicating experience.

• Select the ideal moment: When it comes to psychedelics, your experience is highly dependent on your mood. Regardless of the method you choose, make sure you only take shrooms when you're feeling good.

• Select the appropriate location: It's best to go somewhere you feel comfortable and safe. It will calm you down in case you have hallucinations or anxiety.

• Remain hydrated: Mushrooms often cause dry mouth and increase your body temperature. To stay hydrated before, during, and after your psychedelic trip, drink a lot of water. It might also facilitate downsizing.

• Consume food: Mushrooms can be quite uncomfortable for the digestive system, especially if you consume them orally. Eating anything beforehand will lessen the likelihood that this may occur.

• Avoid mixing: Do not combine shrooms with other substances, like alcohol, as it can impact cognition and perception. It can also lead to stomach pain, risky behavior, and extreme strain or stress on the body.

Overdose and Addiction to Smoking Shrooms

After taking mushrooms regularly for as little as three or four days, it is possible to build up a tolerance. This indicates that in order to have the same high, you would need to consume more mushrooms. Regular mushroom use increases the risk of tolerance, which can result in an overdose risk. Around 2.6% people abuse shrooms

The potential signs of an overdose of shrooms are:

• Severe and prolonged hallucinations

• Extreme fear and anxiety

• Loss of self-identity and ego

• Time dilation (time passes at a different speed)

• Altered perception of reality

• Nausea and physical discomfort

What do you do in case of a shroom overdose?

If you or someone around you overdoses on shrooms, respond immediately by considering these steps:

• Call 911 or visit the nearest emergency hospital immediately.

• Stay with the person until medical help arrives. If the person is responsive, make them awake and talk to them while checking their breathing.

• If you know, perform CPR immediately.

• If naloxone is present, have it, as it quickly reverses the overdose effects and regains normal breathing.

Immediate medical attention is the only way to save lives from the effects of an overdose.

How to Know if You Have a Shroom Addiction?

Be aware of these symptoms of shroom addiction:

• Taking shrooms in excessive amounts for prolonged periods

• Difficulty reducing the dose or controlling the use

• Spending more time getting shrooms and using them

• Intensely craving shrooms

• Continuing to use shrooms even if you know their negative effects on work, relationships, and school

• Developing an extreme tolerance to them

• Experiencing the following withdrawal symptoms when not consuming the shrooms:

1. Anxiety

2. Insomnia

3. Diarrhea

4. Muscle pain

5. Restlessness

6. Sweating

7. Intense cravings

8. Vomiting

Note: If you experience any of these symptoms, seek medical guidance immediately.

Treatment for Shroom Addiction

Addiction treatment can help with learning new coping skills and recovery. This can reduce cravings. The treatment approaches include:

• Detox: Helps the body get rid of the drug and address withdrawal symptoms.

• Medically-Assisted Treatment (MAT): Offers medications to manage depression, anxiety, or other existing conditions while recovering.

• Behavioral Therapies (CBT and MET): Identify triggers, prevent negative thoughts, and build coping skills to avoid recurrence.

• Relapse Prevention: Trains about strategies to identify warning signs and cope with severe situations without returning to using drugs.

• Holistic Treatment: Manages body, mind, and spirit via different practices such as yoga poses, meditation, or balanced nutrition to promote overall health and well-being.

• Inpatient or Outpatient Treatment Programs: Offers therapy, structured support, and monitoring 24/7 in a clinical setting, while outpatient options allow treatment from home.

Legal and Safety Concerns Regarding Smoking Shrooms in the USA

The legal status of shroom use in the United States varies between different states.

• In some states of the USA, the spores from shrooms are legal, as their psychedelic effects do not develop until they are completely grown.

• In other states, both spores and shrooms are illegal.

• In Georgia, people can't possess, purchase, or sell shrooms or spores.

• Oregon has established the Oregon Psilocybin Services Act, which makes psilocybin legal for medicinal use. This state was the first to pass this act.

• Cities such as Denver, Santa Cruz, and Oakland have legalized the use and possession of shrooms.

• Even in areas where the possession (ownership) of shrooms is allowed, there are strict guidelines. The legal status of magic shrooms in the United States continues to develop.

Summing Up

So, can you smoke shrooms?" It is not recommended, as it possesses some health risks. The best advice is to avoid its use through any method. If you or someone you know is addicted to shrooms, seek medical help immediately before they cause complications. The healthcare providers can help with rehab programs, group counseling, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and relapse prevention planning to recover efficiently.

Disclaimer: This article is exclusively designed for educational and informative objectives, and it emphatically does not endorse, promote, or suggest the use of any illegal substances. The content herein is presented purely from an academic perspective, aiming to provide knowledge and insights, and should not be interpreted as encouragement or endorsement of any illicit activities or the consumption of controlled substances.