Scientists tested the drug psilocybin on 19 depressed patients who could not be helped by conventional treatments.
The patients reported an immediate mood improvement described by some as an “afterglow” effect that lasted up to five weeks.
Brain scans indicated the drug had re-set the activity of key neural circuits known to play a role in depression.
“Several of our patients described feeling ‘reset’ after the treatment and often used computer analogies. For example, one said he felt like his brain had been ‘defragged’ like a computer hard drive, and another said he felt ‘rebooted’.”

The drug may be giving the patients the “kick start” they need to break out of their depressive states,

People who have taken psilocybin in uncontrolled settings might engage in reckless behavior, such as driving while intoxicated.

Some people may experience persistent, distressing alterations to the way they see the world. These effects are often visual and can last anywhere from weeks to years after using the hallucinogen.

Physicians now diagnose this condition as hallucinogen persisting perception disorder, also known as a flashback. A flashback is a traumatic recall of an intensely upsetting experience. The recollection of this upsetting experience during hallucinogen use would be a bad trip, or a hallucination that takes a disturbing turn.

Some individuals experience more unpleasant effects than hallucinations, such as fear, agitation, confusion, delirium, psychosis, and syndromes that resemble schizophrenia, requiring a trip to the emergency room.

In most cases, a doctor will treat these effects with medication, such as benzodiazepines. These effects often resolve in 6 to 8 hours as the effects of the drug wear off.

Finally, though the risk is small, some psilocybin users risk accidental poisoning from eating a poisonous mushroom by mistake.

This is when your mushroom trip is affected by negativity. A person might become anxious, paranoid and sometimes even hysterical or violent. Luckily a bad trip doesn’t happen very often. When they do, it is often the result of bad preparation prior to the trip. Also, because magic mushrooms are psychedelic, they can open up doors of suppressed memories and this often comes with the release of strong emotions. This can be so unexpected to the (often inexperienced) user that they get caught in a spiral of negative thinking. Also the addition of the use of alcohol can be responsible for the inability to channel these surfacing emotions. Conclusion: when you take magic mushrooms be in good health and do not use other substances in combination with the effects of magic mushrooms. Find more information about minimizing the risk on our responsible use page.

No. Since December 2008 it is illegal in the Netherlands to sell magic mushrooms. Magic Mushrooms Shop abides to the Dutch and International law. We do not sell products that are banned in this country. Please only order products that are legal in your country.