Magic mushrooms have gone mainstream. With the great rise of popularity comes a slew of questions, one of which is whether you can smoke magic mushrooms.
The answer is technically yes, but it’s a bad idea. Smoking magic mushrooms probably won’t produce any psychoactive effects. In fact, it most likely won’t do anything at all because mushrooms do not contain psychoactive substances capable of withstanding combustion temperatures. Instead, shrooms contain psilocybin and psilocin, two compounds that produce a biological effect when ingested orally, but not smoked.
That said, people are adventurous, and some have tried to smoke dried magic mushrooms by grinding them into a powder and mixing it with cannabis or tobacco. However, this method of consumption is still problematic. The only thing the mushrooms add to the experience is an increased health risk.
Let’s explore precisely why smoking magic mushrooms is such a terrible idea.
What Are Magic Mushrooms?
Magic mushrooms are a type of fungus rich with psilocybin and psilocin. When ingested orally, these compounds interact with your brain to produce an altered state of consciousness that can range from mild to intense, depending on the dose. We call this feeling a ‘tripping.’
Psilocybin and psilocin are both psychoactive, but the mushroom induced mind altering effects are mainly caused by psilocin: psilocybin is broken down into psilocin in your gut.
What’s Wrong with Smoking Mushrooms?
To understand why you should avoid smoking shrooms, you need to know a little more about psilocybin.
Magic mushrooms typically have far more psilocybin than psilocin. This matters when trying to smoke because psilocybin degrades at high temperatures.
A few anecdotal reports suggest that some still feel a slight psychedelic effect when they smoke shrooms, but this doesn’t seem to be the case for the majority.
Dangers
When you burn anything, you can inhale irritants directly into your lungs. That’s far from ideal when it comes to your health. Inhaled smoke can irritate the airways and cause scarring of the delicate lung tissue, leading to serious respiratory issues over time.
Mold is a big problem when you want to smoke shrooms. Plants and fungi that are grown with eventual human use in mind, like cannabis and legal tobacco, are subject to tests and regulations that control for mold spores.
It’s a different situation with shrooms. Many magic mushrooms has mold and bacteria, and smoking them won’t kill the organisms. You could inhale spores directly into your lungs if the mushroom is improperly handled or stored.
Can You Vape Magic Mushrooms?
If smoking magic mushrooms is out of the question, what about vaping? Will that be effective?
Again, the answer is no. Psilocybin’s melting point is around 224.0 °C (428 ºF), and most dry herb vaporizers run between 180 and 240ºC (380 and 410 ºF). You may get a better hit than smoking because you can avoid combustion, but the temperatures are still high enough to destroy most of the psilocybin. The health effects of vaping are still being explored, but evidence points to cardiovascular damage.
Smoking Cannabis and Magic Mushrooms
Some users like to mix cannabis and shrooms together in a joint or blunt.
At first glance, this may sound okay because at least you’ll get high, but it’s not recommended for several reasons. For starters, the effects of the two substances can interact with one another to produce unpredictable results. You might feel increased moodiness or paranoia, for example.
And since you’re smoking plant matter mixed with fungi, you’re at an increased risk of inhaling mold spores.
Smoking Tobacco and Magic Mushrooms
Research actually shows that psychedelic mushrooms can help smokers kick the habit, but the shrooms have to be ingested in order to exert this effect.
How to Ingest Magic Mushrooms
The best way to experience the shrooms’ psychedelic effect is by eating them. You can add the mushrooms to food or make a tea with the dried material.
In this way you preserve the psychoactive compounds and ensure that you get the full effects. You can also find psilocybin infused products containing microdoses of the molecule, such as capsules and gummies, as well as psilocybin-infused drinks. These are all excellent alternatives to smoking shrooms.
Bottom Line
Smoking magic mushrooms wastes your time and your psilocybin. It’s not an effective way to get high, and it can be dangerous to your health. Vaping isn’t recommended either, as the temperatures are still too high for much psilocybin to remain intact. If you want the full psychedelic effects of the mushroom, eating or drinking them is by far the best option.
Remember that safety should always come first when dealing with psychedelics. Start low and go slow, no matter which route you choose. With the right mindset and healthy practices, you can have an amazing and safe experience with magic mushrooms.
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