Last updated : January 20, 2025
Psychedelic mushroom products are selling off the shelves in America. Sadly, not all psychedelic mushrooms are safe for human consumption though. The Amanita muscaria (A. muscaria) mushroom is being marketed by some companies as a treatment for depression, anxiety, and other maladies. Still, nobody’s informing consumers that risking death with every dose isn’t the best treatment option for whatever ails them.
Online searches for A. muscaria mushrooms jumped by 114% between 2022 and 2023. We wonder if that was just to find out where the drug could be purchased over-the-counter (OTC) because if people dug deep enough to realize how dangerous these products are, surely, they wouldn’t buy them. Some say the risk can be compared to the dangerous synthetic opioid, fentanyl.
What are they thinking?
The Amanita muscaria is considered a psychedelic mushroom, however, according to researchers, it’s more toxic than fentanyl, cocaine, or phencyclidine (PCP). Whoever markets these two species of mushroom as basically the same needs to be stopped short.
People who purchase products containing this beautiful, albeit deadly, mushroom are putting themselves in harm’s way. Companies manufacturing these products, such as gummies and chocolates, for instance, are obviously out to make a quick buck.
They claim these products reduce anxiety and depression, among other things, and aren’t informing consumers they could prove deadly. Do manufacturers realize what they’re doing? And if so, are they less-than-scrupulous companies planning to keep making money hand-over-fist until forced to stop?
FDA blows the whistle
On December 18, 2024, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a letter to food manufacturers making them aware that “A. muscaria, its extracts, and certain of its constituents (muscimol, ibotenic acid, and muscarine) are not authorized for use as ingredients in conventional food.”
The letter describes three compounds, muscimol, ibotenic acid, and muscarine, found in A. muscaria as unapproved food additives. The letter sternly reminds manufacturers of their responsibility under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act) to ensure the product they market is safe and lawful for consumers. Muscimol, ibotenic acid, and muscarine don’t make the Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) standard and if discovered in their products they are subject to enforcement action.
Manufacturers were informed that an FDA evaluation was completed after receiving event reports of serious adverse reactions directly related to food products containing these substances. It also noted a review of published literature—in over 600 different publications—confirming human health risks. Rather than proving that these substances are safe for consumption, the opposite is the case. All information available indicates that using these ingredients may be harmful.
What are the effects of A. muscaria?
According to the FDA, its Bad Bug Book has long described this mushroom as causing poisoning after ingestion.
The following symptoms can last for several hours after ingesting A. muscaria:
- Gastrointestinal symptoms
- Delirium
- Sleepiness
- Rapid onset and alternating periods of drowsiness and excitement
Someone who has ingested large amounts of the mushroom, say, due to unregulated products being sold on the market, is at greater risk.
The consumer may experience:
- Severe neurological symptoms, such as convulsions and coma
- Central nervous system depression
- Cardiovascular effects
- Hallucinations
- Respiratory depression
- Death
Not all “psychedelics” were created equally
A. muscaria mushrooms and psilocybin mushrooms share some psychedelic effects that include:
- Feelings of weightlessness
- Distortions of space
- Hypersensitivity to sights and sounds
- Unawareness of time
- Colorful hallucinations
However, the way the two work in the body is very different. Psilocybin is an antidepressant and it works on serotonin receptors in the brain. It activates pathways that mediate happiness and optimism. A. muscaria is a depressant and suppresses the central nervous system. Therefore, it affects the body in the same way that alcohol and benzodiazepines do.
Researchers recommend immediate change
Senior researcher Eric Leas, an assistant professor at the University of California, San Diego’s Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science, stated, “There may be some pharmaceutical potential to Amanita muscaria, but muscimol does not have the same effects on the body as psilocybin, so it probably would not have the same treatment applications if it ever went through drug development. For this reason, it is misleading not to clearly distinguish between muscimol and psilocybin.”
Leas and his team have recommended that federal authorities add A. muscaria to the Drug Enforcement Agency’s (DEA’s) controlled substances list. Pronto. Short of that, they believe regulations should be immediately put in place restricting the use of the A. muscaria mushroom until research is completed and accurate dosing standards are developed.
In light of the fact that people are dying because they ate gummies and chocolates legally purchased at the local gas station, smoke shops, and even found in various malls across the country, we agree with the research team.
Let’s hope the government does too.
