Magic mushrooms are a type of psychedelic drug that can be found in many places all over the world and, when taken, induce psychedelic experiences. They contain hallucinogenic compounds, such as psilocybin and psilocin. The effects can be very intense for some people, but how long do they last? In this article, we will answer all your questions about how long it takes to feel magic mushroom’s effects and how long do magic mushrooms last.
What are magic mushrooms?
According to Erowid, a nonprofit for psychoactive plants and chemicals, magic mushrooms are a fungus that has been used for their psychedelic effects by indigenous cultures since the beginning of recorded history. They are often used in religious ceremonies or recreationally because they induce feelings of euphoria and mystical experiences. The active compounds in mushrooms are psilocybin and psilocin, which can cause altered perception and emotion as well as difficulty with thinking and problem-solving among other effects. The most common magic mushroom is called Psilocybe cubensis, or P. cubensis, and there are many different varieties of it with differing effects.
How long does it take to feel their effects?
The effects of magic mushrooms will depend on how much you take, how often you take them, and how your body reacts to the drug. The effects of shrooms can range from mild visual and auditory hallucinations to powerful visual distortions. Common effects include euphoria, altered sense of time, introspective experiences, and dilated pupils. It is important that you don’t overdo it with mushrooms because they can be dangerous if taken in high doses or when mixed with other substances like alcohol. When you overdo it, this can cause a bad trip, meaning you are having a negative experience while high on shrooms. Bad trips can inlcude feelings of paranoia, delusion, fear, increased heart rate, a panic attack, and even a drug induced psychotic episode. Also, even though the effect of taking a single dose usually only lasts for four to six hours, there are some exceptions.
The psychedelic effects of psilocybin only last for a few hours, but some people experience lingering feelings and emotions. The physical effects can depend on how much you eat as well as your general health issues. For those who have eaten mushrooms, the onset of the first psychological symptoms is within 20 minutes but can take up to an hour for the full effects. The strongest psychedelic effects last about four hours when you eat them.
How long do magic mushrooms last?
The effects can last for four to six hours, as noted above, but many factors come into play for this. Namely, how much you eat and how often you take them. Dosage is the main determining factor for how they last but effects can vary from person to person. People who take psilocybin mushrooms frequently can also build up a tolerance to their effects.
How long do mushrooms stay in your system?
How long mushrooms stay in your system is dependent upon several factors. These include how much you take, how often you ingest them, your body chemistry, and how long it takes for the drug to be completely excreted from your system. Different types of tests can also detect mushroom usage over shorter or longer periods of time but we will talk about that later. Let’s break down the other factors below.
Length of time between using mushrooms and testing
The longer the amount of time your body has to break down and excrete the compounds in magic mushrooms the better. Do not take mushrooms if you know you will soon be tested for them.
Species
What species the mushrooms are will also affect how long they stay in your system. Some species or stronger than others, so if you take the same dose of both, the stronger mushroom will leave the compounds in your body for a longer time as there are more compounds to digest and excrete.
How do you take them
The method you use for ingesting mushrooms can greatly affect how long they stay in your system. There are dried mushrooms, fresh mushrooms, mushrooms that come in pill form, mushroom tea, mushrooms taken with meals, mushrooms taken without meals, which can all be factors on how long they stay in your system.
Dosage
Well, how much you take will determine your dosage. The less psilocybin that’s there the more likely it’ll leave quickly and won’t be detected on a drug test.
Your body
Your chemical makeup can also affect how long magic mushrooms can stay in your system. We are all unique, and your human body may process the psychoactive compounds differently than others. Things like your metabolism and body mass index, or BMI, can all be important factors in how long it stays in your system.
Please note that hallucinogenic mushrooms will not show up on most routine drug tests and is businesses do not usually test for it. That does not mean that there are no tests for it, only that is not common to look for it during drug tests. Still use extreme caution if you know you will be tested for a job.
What are the different types of drug tests administered?
Testing for magic mushrooms can be tricky because they are a Schedule I drug, meaning that they have no medical use and there is a high potential for abuse. As such, how long psilocybin stays in your system will depend on what type of test you take. There are specialized tests for psychedelic mushrooms, however, these are rare as you will see below.
Blood
Blood tests detect the presence of the active ingredient within four hours. They can be detected for up to four days but how long they stay active in the blood after that time period is unknown because there are no studies on how long psilocybin remains detectable through a blood test or how quickly it clears from the body.
Urine
Urine tests detect magic mushrooms within three days after ingestion. The drug remains in your system for up to five days but how long it can be detected is unknown.
Sweat or sweat patch test
Sweat tests are the most effective because, for this test, magic mushrooms stay in your system for about a week or less depending on other factors. This test is not very common for testing for shrooms.
Saliva
A saliva test can detect psilocybin within 24 hours of ingestion. It can remain in your system for up to three days but how long it is detectable after that period has yet to be determined.
Hair follicle test
Magic mushrooms stay in the hair follicles for about 30 days or less depending on other factors. These tests are not used often as they are very costly.
As you can see, mushrooms are not tested for often amongst the various tests. Again, this does not mean it can’t be detected only that it usually metabolizes so fast that it is not worth testing for it.
How do I get mushrooms out of my system faster?
There are several things that you can do in order to speed up the process of how long it takes for magic mushrooms to leave your body. These include the often-repeated trinity of how often you take them, how much is taken per dose, and how well your body metabolizes the drug after it is ingested. You can also drink lots of water to help flush out your system faster.
Summary
For psilocybin mushrooms, it normally takes 20 minutes to an hour for the onset of effects of shrooms and they will usually last for four to six hours. How long mushrooms stay in your system is dependent upon many factors including dose of shrooms, your own body, and how they are taken. Detection of mushroom use is highly dependent on the tests. Although most routine tests do not show mushroom usage there are tests available that can detect it. The test that detects mushroom use after the longest period of time is the hair follicle test; however, this test is costly and most companies do not bother to use it or do not bother screening for mushrooms. There are tests that work, so if your company is suspicious they can administer those tests so it is always best to not use them if you know a test is approaching. The best method to expedite ridding your system of mushrooms is to drink a lot of water to flush it out of your body. Thank you for reading our article, should you have any further questions please refer to the other articles on our site.
References, Research and Sources:
- Erowid Psilocybin Mushroom Vault : Info on Comparitive psilocybe mushroom potencies
- Erowid Psilocybin Mushroom Vault : Psilocybe Mushroom FAQ
Fact Checked and Editorial Process
The Magical Mushroom is devoted to producing expert and accurate articles and information for our readers by tapping into psychedelic users, experts, journalists, and growing community. We encourage you to read more about our content, editing, and fact checking methods here. This was fact checked by Chris Riley.
Owner, entrepreneur, enthusiast of natural medicine