mushrooms
‘Shrooms or ‘magic mushrooms’ grow in the wild. They can be swallowed or made into tea.

Also called:

AgaricAmaniLibertiesLiberty CapsMagicsMushiesPhilosopher’s StonesShrooms
Quick info
How the drug works varies from person to person

How you might feel
Giggly, excited, confused and/or paranoid, anxious, overwhelmed.
Read more about how it feels
Effects on your body
Nausea/vomiting, distortion of sound and vision – hallucinations and ‘tripping’.
Read more about effects on your body
How long it takes to work
Can take more than 30 mins to work so wait before you take another dose.
Read more about how long it takes to work
How long the effects last
The effects can last up to 5 hours.
Read more about how long the effects last
Common risks
Eating a poisonous mushroom by mistake is a big risk if you don’t know what you’re eating. If you feel unhappy or are with people you don’t trust, then you’re more likely to have a bad time.
Read more about the risks
Mixing drugs
Mixing drugs is always risky but some mixtures are more dangerous than others.
Read more about mixing with other drugs
How it looks, tastes and smells
What does it look like?
Many poisonous mushrooms look very similar to ‘magic mushrooms’ and it’s easy for pickers to mistake them. People have fallen severely ill or even died from eating a poisonous mushroom.

Magic mushrooms are often sold raw or dried. In the UK, the most common types are liberty caps (Psilocybe semilanceata) and fly agaric (Amanita muscaria).

Liberty caps look like small tan-coloured mushrooms
Fly agarics look like red and white spotted toadstools
It’s important to know that some types of magic mushroom are stronger than others. For example, the fly agaric mushroom is usually more potent than the liberty cap mushroom.

Liquid psilocybin is another way of taking magic mushrooms. It’s made by extracting psilocybin, the naturally occurring psychedelic drug found in mushrooms like liberty caps, and is a clearish pale brown colour. It comes in vials (small bottles).

What does it taste/smell like?
Liberty caps are usually eaten raw and have a strong earthy taste and rubber-like texture – which makes them very chewy.

They don’t taste like the mushrooms you cook with at home, and some people try to hide the flavour by putting them in an omelette or in tea.

How do people take it?
By eating it
After picking, liberty caps are often eaten raw or are dried out and stored. People don’t tend to eat fly agaric mushrooms raw as they can make you feel very sick.

By drinking it
Some people make tea from dried mushrooms.

By taking drops of liquid psilocybin
Liquid psilocybin is made by extracting psilocybin, the naturally occurring psychedelic drug found in mushrooms like liberty caps.