Five mind-bending facts about magic mushrooms
Magic mushrooms, or shrooms, have been a subject of fascination for centuries due to their psychoactive properties. They have been used for spiritual and medicinal purposes in ancient cultures, and are now a staple in modern-day drug culture. But there's more to these mushrooms than just their hallucinogenic effects. Here are five mind-bending facts about magic mushrooms that will leave you in awe.
They make you fearless
Psilocybin has been found to potentially help reduce fear. In a 2013 study with mice, those who were given psilocybin were less likely to freeze up when they heard a sound that they had learned to associate with getting an electric shock. Though even the mice that didn't receive the drug became less afraid of the sound, it took them much longer.
More than 180 varieties of mushrooms contain psychoactive substances
Psilocybin is a widely distributed substance that is found in at least 180 species of mushrooms according to Drug Science. Mexico is home to the most species with 53, while Latin America and the Caribbean have over 50. North America has 22 species, Europe has 16, and Australia and the Pacific Island region have 19. Asia has 15 species, and Africa only has four.
Animals too feel the effects
It is not just humans who get a kick out of magic mushrooms - animals do too! Since psilocybin mushrooms grow in the wild, it's no surprise that some animals have tried them out. In 2010, three pygmy goats at a UK animal sanctuary tried these shrooms and suffered some side effects. They acted lethargic, vomited, and stumbled around for two days before recovering.
Terence McKenna is the man who introduced psilocybin to America
American psychologist Timothy Leary is famous for his experiments with psychedelics, but it was Terence McKenna who popularized magic mushrooms. McKenna, an ethnobotanist, had been experimenting with psychedelics since he was a teenager, but it wasn't until he visited the Amazon in 1971 that he discovered the magic of psilocybin mushrooms. With his brother, he published a manual on growing psilocybin mushrooms at home.
Magic mushrooms are illegal in India
Magic mushrooms are actually illegal in India. But, here's the kicker: the laws aren't enforced that strictly. Why? Because authorities aren't super familiar with the whole magic mushroom scene. There have been a few arrests here and there, but they are pretty rare. Some parts of India have even become hotspots for "psychedelic tourists," where people go specifically to trip out on shrooms.
