How Long Does a Magic Mushroom Trip Last? Psilocybin Effects Explained
By Goncalo V.
How Long Does a Magic Mushroom Trip Last?
The first effects of Psilocybin containing mushrooms typically appear within 30 to 40 minutes after intake, and can last 3 to 6 hours. However, once the trip has ended, there might still be residual effects that could last until the day after, but the body should return to its normal state within 24 hours.
What happens after you take mushrooms?
Many people believe that psilocybin is what makes us high. That is wrong, especially when everyone mentions these mushrooms as psilocybin-containing mushrooms. In reality, Psilocybin is a prodrug, meaning that Psilocybin itself is inactive (or significantly less active), meaning that the true power of the compound comes after enzymes in our liver and stomach remove the phosphate group of Psilocybin (dephosphorylation), converting the Psilocybin molecule to Psilocin (in approximately 20 to 40 minutes), thus making Psilocin the compound responsible for the mushroom high.
Many people believe that psilocybin is what makes us high. That is wrong, especially when everyone mentions these mushrooms as psilocybin-containing mushrooms. In reality, Psilocybin is a prodrug, meaning that Psilocybin itself is inactive (or significantly less active), meaning that the true power of the compound comes after enzymes in our liver and stomach remove the phosphate group of Psilocybin (dephosphorylation), converting the Psilocybin molecule to Psilocin (in approximately 20 to 40 minutes), thus making Psilocin the compound responsible for the mushroom high,
What to expect from a mushroom experience?
Psychedelic trips are generally divided into various phases:
- Preparation (set and setting) & Intake
- Onset (Come up)
- Peak
- Comedown and afterglow
- Integration
Preparation and ingestion:
First, one must prepare their set and setting. This means creating a safe, comfortable environment so you don’t potentially harm yourself while walking around, etc. Setting, meaning you should be in the right mindset to proceed with the experience. Some people say they never know when the right time is to step forward with these experiences. But inherently, I think time will feel absolutely right once you are ready. Secondly, you must decide what would be the form you will prepare and ingest your little fungi , if you got edible gummies, or chocolates, there isn’t much to prepare in this segment, however, if you’ve gotten fresh Psilocybe mushrooms or dried mushrooms, some people tend to create their own recipes, like you might have heard of the PB&J psilocybin mushrooms sandwich, or the infamous Lemon Tek, which involves in grinding down your dried mushrooms, and soaking them in pure lemon juice for 15 -20 minutes before consumption, to achieve a faster onset, a more intense peak and a shorter overall duration.
The reason why these methods became popularized when talking about raw and dried mushrooms is not that it’s harmful to eat them without any preparation, many people, in fact, prefer to eat the mushrooms without any sort of preparation, but I do believe that the general consensus is that they can make you nauseous, and can taste quite bad or become difficult to digest. So people like to mask the flavors or texture with these methods.
Wear your favorite species
Onset:
The onset stage is when you first begin to feel the effects of the mushroom. These can range from a slight perception in colors, distances, or brightness. This phase typically lasts 20 minutes to one hour.
Peak:
As the name presents itself, this will be the most intense part of the experience, this will be the infamous part where you will roll-back the clips of saying that they’ve seen dragons, have spiritual experiences, incredible visuals, or on a worse side of the scope, panic attacks or paranoia, or even just some squiggly lines and not much happening in the minds of those with aphantasia. This phase can last 4 to 6 hours, but in some cases, people have reported longer experiences. (Learn more about the effects of psilocin in the brain here.)
Come down & Afterglow:
This is the phase when the effects start to tone down. You will likely encounter visual effects similar to the onset stage, and you might feel slightly confused about the overall experience, or happy that you’ve obtained something you’ve been looking for. This phase lasts between 4 and 6 hours (however, it can last longer). Leading us to the afterglow phase, typically characterized by lingering euphoria, a sense of peace, but can also be the time where you start asking questions and attempting to deconstruct how the experience could be valuable for your life, this, of course, has all to do with what kind of experience you had, and what you entered the experience looking for.
After the effects of the trip have worn off, most people return to their normal state (baseline). However, some people may notice changes in their emotions, ideology, or perception towards certain things that can last months, years, or even “forever”. When the effects are negative, this condition can be addressed as hallucinogen persistent perception disorder (HPPD).
Integration:
After the trip, integration is typically needed in order for the user to decompress, understand, and implement most of the experience into their life (Read our interview with the therapist and Victoria Sterkin, founder of the Integration and support platform The Infinity Container, to learn more about the effects of integration in psychedelics).
Factors that affect the length of a mushroom trip
The length and intensity of a trip depend on many variables, such as:
- Biology: Everyone’s biology is different. For this reason, there will be people who are naturally more tolerant or less tolerant towards a certain class of substance/substances (Learn about the class of psychedelics here). Additionally, we must note that it’s typical, especially when mentioning serotonergic compounds, that normally, we build an almost immediate tolerance and cross tolerance towards other compounds. For this reason, it’s important to space our trips.
- Dosage & Tolerance: It’s important to mention that the recommended dosages we see online are curated by a collection of experiences to determine dosages based on previous experiences of experienced psychonauts, and often don’t mention important factors such as the overall health of the person and weight. The same can be said when a friend or partner mentions that you should take X or Y dose because they had a good experience with it. This doesn’t mean it’s the right dosage for you or that a “common” dose will be a common dose in your metabolism, vice versa. As mentioned above, everybody’s metabolism is unique. Instead, we advise you to find your “sweet spot” through trial and error. Always start with the smallest dose possible and gradually increase it. Example: After 5 days or a week after your previous experience with eating .25 g of Cubensis and feeling little to no effects, you can experiment with the compound again by increasing it to .50g, until you find the “right” dosage for you. This tip applies not just to magic mushrooms but to every psychedelic.
- Method of Consumption: Different methods can influence how long the effects of mushrooms will last. As you may know, mushrooms come in various forms: fresh mushrooms, dried whole mushrooms, ground up and put into capsules, made into a tea, or as edibles such as gummies or chocolates. These forms affect how your body metabolizes the compound.
Fastest to slowest onset list:
- Mushroom tea (5 to 15 min)
- Fresh Mushrooms (15 to 30 min)
- Gummies (20 to 45 min)
- Dried Mushrooms (30 to 60 min)
- Chocolate (30 to 60 min)
- Capsules (45 to 90 min)
- Set and Setting: Both of these factors don’t just help you to have a safer trip but can also influence in how the trip will play out and its duration (including how the lasting experience might play out. Example: A place that brings you nostalgia might influence you in the long term.), given that psychedelics such as Psilocin alter our perception of time, a stressful set or setting can feel like an extended period (example 40 seconds feeling like 2 or 3 hours), while at the same time, a good experience can make hours feel like seconds.
Do mushrooms expire?
We get this question quite a lot on our social media, and just like any living form, yes, mushrooms can go bad, or expire, especially when not stored correctly, whether by you or the dispensary you bought them from. When this happens, they can have little to no effects and can cause adverse effects such as vomiting and diarrhea.
To prevent them from going bad, our best advice would be to consume them within a week after harvesting, in case of fresh mushrooms, and to discard them and complain if you’ve bought them from a dispensary or online.
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How to check if your mushrooms are still edible?
To check if your mushrooms are in bad condition, you must check for the following:
- Sliminess
- Bad smell
- Mold growth
- Discoloration
- Changes in the texture (softer or mushier)
How long do mushrooms stay in your system?
Mushrooms are metabolized by your system faster than many other compounds, but there might be residual effects, taking the effects of psilocybin up to 24 hours post-trip. However, how long the mushroom stays in your system varies from person to person.
Have a safer trip with Miraculix
Harm Reduction factors in magic mushrooms:
Before entering your fungal adventure, make sure that you have checked the elements present in this checklist:
- I am aware of the risks of psychedelic use
- I am aware of dosing guidelines
- I know that I am confident and in my mindset before using these compounds
- I have tested the quality and potency of my mushrooms (in case of wild species, I’m sure of the species I’ve foraged by doing spore testing or identification methods.)
- I have prepared a safe space before taking the mushrooms
- I have a trip sitter with me or someone to trust that is sober and has a plan for the events that are about to take.
- I am aware that there might be legal consequences (if they are illegal in your state or country)
As always, stay safe, sending love.
