Taking mushrooms for the first time can be confusing. Not sure where to start? Well you’ve come to the right place! In the guide we will go over dosing, how long you can expect to be trapped for and what to do to prepare for a good and magical experience!
There is no one-size-fits-all solution for determining what dosage to begin with. However, almost everyone recommends starting with mushrooms slowly and gradually. This has the advantage of allowing you to truly understand how the experience affects you at various dosages while also allowing you to gradually increase your dosage.
At MindfulMeds, our products are capsules that range in dosage from 75 mg to 300 mg of psilocybin mushrooms. All these doses are small and are considered microdoses. We have more details on both dosing and microdosing below.
Before you trip its best to cover these 5 steps before you embark on your journey:
Since your reality is about to be altered, its important to choose who you’re around and where you are very carefully. Don’t take shrooms for the first time at a party where you don’t know anybody or in the back alley of a club with some stranger. Be somewhere you feel safe in, like your house or a secluded spot outdoors.
Its super important to be in the right state of mind before taking mushrooms or any kind of hallucinogen for that matter. If you decide to take psilocybin, think about your mental and emotional well-being and health in the past and present. Psilocybin has the potential to trigger or exacerbate mental illnesses that are already present.
If you’re going to take mushrooms, you should do so first thing in the morning. Because magic mushrooms can cause nausea and vomiting, it’s advisable to fast for 4-12 hours before taking them. Because there’s nothing else in your stomach to compete for digestion, the onset time and effectiveness of the mushrooms may be faster. Fasting can also help to prevent gastrointestinal problems. Consider being vegetarian for at least one day before your trip if you’re making dietary modifications ahead of time.
It’s a good idea to partner up with someone who understands what they’re doing. Especially If you’ve never tried psilocybin before, plan on having a sober companion and begin with a low dosage. Your sitter should have prior expertise with the drug and, preferably, should have aided others in similar situations. They should be someone you know, are comfortable with, and feel secure around.
Keeping your mind and energy focused on why you’re consuming magic mushrooms will help them flow in the proper direction. If you have a journal, write the intention within it, or put it on a piece of paper and hang it somewhere visible. Intentions can act as an anchor, providing a framework for the trip and a place to return to for reassurance when the going gets tough.
Microdosing is the practice of taking very small, sub-perceptual amounts of psychedelic drugs like psilocybin mushrooms, typically about one tenth of a regular dose. (50-300 mg of psilocybin mushrooms).
Microdosing doesn’t produce the hallucinogenic effects of a full dose, but users still experience an array of benefits such as:
The most common microdosing regimens are known as the Paul Stamets Protocol and the James Fadiman Protocol. The Stamets Protocol involves microdosing 4 days in a row, then taking a 3 day break before repeating the cycle, whereas the Fadiman Protocol recommends microdosing once every three days. While some users microdose daily, it’s recommended to take breaks to avoid a tolerance build up.
Many users notice such significant improvements after just a few months of following these protocols that they only feel a need to microdose occasionally.
Microdoses typically come in capsule form for more accurate dosages. Psilocybin mushrooms are often combined or “stacked” with functional mushrooms (non-psychedelic mushrooms) or other medicinal herbs for added benefits. Paul Stamets recommends combining psilocybin mushrooms with 50-200 mg lion’s mane mushrooms to enhance neurogenesis, and 100-200 mg of niacin (vitamin B3) to push the dose throughout the nervous system. Other stacks include reishi, chaga, or turkey’s tail mushrooms or herbs like ginseng or ginkgo biloba.
Microdoses are typically taken in the morning to maximize the benefits, as taking it later could make it harder to fall asleep. It’s recommended to take your dose with food, especially if it’s stacked with niacin as it can sometimes cause skin irritation. Starting with a low dose of 50-100 mg is recommended for beginners.
Many people combine microdosing with other wellness practices like meditation, exercise, or affirmations in a morning ritual. It can be helpful to keep a journal or use an app to track how you feel as you experiment with different dosages and protocols to see what works best for you.
Psilocybin connects regions of the brain that don’t normally communicate and promotes neurogenesis in the hippocampus, a region associated with learning and memory. As a result, psilocybin can ‘rewire’ the brain by breaking the negative and unhealthy thought patterns that are at the root of many mental health issues like anxiety, depression, and addiction. Additionally, psilocybin helps users feel at peace and present in the moment because it slows down activity in the default mode network (DMN), the part of the brain that’s active when we ruminate on the past or worry about the future. Psilocybin also binds to serotonin receptors, which is why it can have mood boosting effects.
Some studies suggest that microdosing positively impacts mental health, creative thinking, and task motivation, and may be useful in treating major depressive disorder, but more research needs to be conducted in placebo-controlled human trials. Fortunately, there are a number of microdosing clinical studies in progress.
Microdosing is not recommended if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, or under 19 years old.
There is no clinical research on microdosing while breastfeeding, but many moms report that it has no negative effects if done carefully. Moms in the Facebook groups “Boobies for Cubies” and “Microdosing Mummies” suggest waiting 12-18 hours between microdosing and nursing.
Those with a pre-existing risk for psychosis, schizophrenia, or bipolar disorder may be more susceptible to negative side effects when using psychedelics.
There are no known side effects of combining microdosing with other substances such as alcohol or marijuana, but it hasn’t been researched in clinical settings.
Dosing Magic Mushrooms is both straight forward, and complicated. If you are new to magic mushrooms, we recommend reading our introduction here.
Every magic mushroom experience has a degree of Ineffability to it, which means that words are incapable of describing the experience.
Dosing is straight forward, as you can simply weigh the dried mushrooms to get a relatively accurate dose. However, you have to remember that mushrooms are a natural plant medicine. There are a lot of variables in a natural product – two mushrooms harvested side by side can have different levels of potency. Furthermore, factors such as diet, tolerance, strain, etc… all affect the dose.
As such we recommend that you start low and go slow.
Improved mental health. No psychedelic ‘high’ or interference with normal day activities
Introspection and sense enhancement, such as vivid colors or patterns
Psychedelic effects and synesthesia. Strong sense of euphoria, openness and feeling of connection
Profound insights including feelings of self dissociation, oneness, divine presence.
Dissolution and sense of timelessness. Not recommended without experience.
Microdosing is the practice of taking roughly one-tenth the “trip” dose to to sharpen the mind. At such a low dose, no psychedelic effects occur, or in other words, there is no high. You might also hear this referred to as a sub-perceptual dose, no changes to your perception. Microdosing is reported to increase in creativity, mood, concentration, energy levels and productivity, in addition to decreased levels of anxiety and depression. New scientific studies are on-going for microdosing, but, in one international survey, 79% of respondents reported improvements in their mental health after microdosing.
The short answer. No.
Are you going to get arrested for magic mushrooms. no.
The long answer:
First, as a disclaimer, we should clarify that we recommend you seek legal advice from a lawyer, not from this article.
From the government of Canada perspective, all drugs are controlled legally through the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA). Psilocybin is listed as a Schedule III controlled substance. Psilocybin is the hallucinogenic alkaloid, or in other words, the active ingredient in magic mushrooms. Possession, sale and production of psilocybin is illegal unless an exemption is given by Health Canada.
One could stop there and clearly say that magic mushrooms are illegal, but that’s not the complete picture.
There is a growing movement across Canada to change the course for Magic Mushrooms. Even the government of Canada website says “There is increasing interest in the potential therapeutic uses of psilocybin.” Source. Since 2020, companies such as Numinus are growing legal magic mushrooms under license from Health Canada.
In another example, you can legally buy magic mushroom spores and grow kits. This is legal as the psilocybin is not present until late in the growing cycle.
In Vancouver, the city council has decided not to enforce the laws surrounding magic mushrooms to instead focus their policing efforts elsewhere. They are allowing magic mushroom dispensaries in the same way cannabis dispensaries existed before legalization. As councillor Pete Fry said “We’re in a serious overdose crisis where we’ve heard people describe this as a medicine … research is ongoing to look at this as a drug therapy treatment for drug addiction,” he said. (source). In fact, the city has gone further than that and has “asked the federal government to exempt the city from part of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act” (source). They aren’t the only ones. Montreal’s city council also voted to support decriminalization. NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has come out and said, “I would call for the immediate decriminalization of all personal possession offences when it comes to drugs. Period.”
Maybe one of the biggest signs of change is the fact that even the police themselves support decriminalization.
As you can see, big changes are happening across Canada and many believe those changes will happen soon.
We are excited to be part of them
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