Do different mushrooms produce different highs or is it all the same?
Vancouver-based psychedelic specialist Ryan Moss takes to Reddit to answer questions about magic mushrooms. Photo by iStock / Getty Images Plus  Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The primary active ingredient that is getting you high is the pro-drug psilocybin and its active metabolite psilocin. Within your body, psilocybin that you consume is being metabolized into psilocin, which can attach to receptors in your brain. Mushrooms produce psilocybin, but some of it can degrade to psilocin while still in the mushroom (blue staining). So when you eat a dried mushroom, the balance of psilocybin and its metabolite could potentially have some effect on the come-up but this system of activity is relatively the same for MOST magic mushroom varieties. Now different varieties can have a huge disparity in the psilocybin content. In my research, we have fully cultivated around 20 varieties and a few different species (not just psilocybe). Some of these varieties can be even 5-10 times more potent than their counterparts. And on top of that, the stems and caps of different species bioaccumulate psilocybin and psilocin in different proportions! All that to say that there is a massive amount of research to be done just in the subjective effects that some of these parameters have. Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content Another huge factor in this research is the halo effect. We do not know, and that is a huge part of what my research is focused on. Having worked in the natural product industry, I am always apprehensive about these types of things. I would always approach these types of products with a grain of salt. For example, some mushrooms are being used as coffee but the actual amount of mushroom present in the sachet is incredibly small. There was one company that was putting in 10 g of instant coffee, and 0.1 g of chaga extract and calling that chaga coffee. Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content I know that there is budding research in the hericenone compounds in lions mane, but I think the jury is still out. I am truly amazed at the sheer number of varieties and even separate species of psilocybin-containing mushrooms that have been propagated by pioneer mycologists, hobbyists, and others interested in the breeding of these organisms. In my research, we have only touched the surface (about 20 varieties fully cultivated at this time, and many more to come! ), but the differences in psilocybin content can be massive between them. Not only that, but the differences in where psilocybin bioaccumulates within the fruiting body are also highly dependant on the strain! (think caps vs stems). Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. We are in British Columbia, Canada, so our regulating body is Health Canada. Under current law, procuring mushroom spores is perfectly legal, but propagating from them is illegal. We have a Controlled Substance Dealers License issued by Health Canada, and it was quite a journey to get this license! So I guess what Im saying is yes, lots of red tape! I think big pharma is really the necessary evil by which the industry can get these medicines through the rigorous [U.S. Food and Drug Administration] trials required to prove their efficacy. Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Out of any of the 200+ natural products Ive worked with in my career, I cant think of a better case to be made for a naturally extracted drug than there is for psilocybin. The mushrooms can be cultivated with ease (the impact on the natural population of these organisms is zero). The cultivation can be performed in a controlled manner, with GMP protocols and consistency as the top priority. The extract can be produced in a responsible manner (free of synthesis by-products and waste). The patient dosage can be controlled just as easily as with any other drug preparation. Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content To answer your last question, I think pharma has embraced the research, but only when it comes to altering the molecules for patentability and exclusivity. They do not care for the natural psilocybin molecule, nor the mushrooms or deriving it naturally. Im hoping that with my research we can change this view and bring natural compounds to everyone who needs them! I honestly believe that having a psychedelic experience will really humble you. Your brain is viewing the world in one way, the normal way. Once you see that your brain has many ways of looking at the world (through a simple compound attaching to a receptor), it gives perspective on how powerful your own body is at shaping your perception. Set and setting are incredibly important, and I would never advocate for somebody to do a psychedelic experience without a professional. The questions and answers have been edited for length and clarity. Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content We apologize, but this video has failed to load. tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Subscribe to Weekend Dispensary, a new weekly newsletter from The GrowthOp. 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