Practically anyone can grow psychedelic mushrooms at home
But you probably shouldn’t!
2023 has seen the spark of the psychedelic renaissance. Researchers, regulatory forces and societal attitudes are shifting in favour of psychedelic’s potential to treat mental health disorders including depression, anxiety, PTSD and addiction.
However, this resurgence of interest has enticed many people into cultivating psychedelic mushrooms at home, in order to gain unregulated access to these substances. It turns out, practically anyone can order everything needed to grow psychedelic mushrooms online!
Today I will be looking at how accessing mushroom spores is legally possible, interviewing some psilocybin users, and discussing whether self-medicating with psychedelics is a good idea.
Quick disclaimer: very few places, e.g. the state of Oregon, have decriminalised the recreational use of psychedelics. Growing, consuming or distributing mushrooms in Australia and the US is Illegal.
Nonetheless, there is a loophole to get around the law.
Since psylocibin cubensis spores (the mushroom ‘seeds’) do not contain any active hallucinogenic compounds, they can legally be bought online in 47 of the 50 U.S. states for the purpose of ‘microscope analysis’. Technically, only when a ‘spore collector’ attempts to actually grow mushrooms, is this considered illegal!
The online mushroom growing community has been sharing their ‘trip reports’ online for years, and have even contributed new ‘shroom-growing’ inventions, such as the inflatable monotub from boomer shroomer. Such an inflatable tub allows growers to create the ideal airflow and moisture required for less than 30 dollars!
No idea how mushrooms are grown?
Extensive resources ranging from growing instructions to mushroom recipes are freely available online. So it really is true that practically anyone who can read can get their hands on some hallucinogenic substances.
However, is it a good idea to be growing your own psilocybin mushrooms?
In my opinion, the unregulated use of psychedelics is the reason they were stigmatized so severely in the past. ‘Self-medication’ without proper guidance minimises their therapeutic benefits, while increasing the risk of adverse effects.
Five reasons why you shouldn’t try growing psychedelic mushrooms
1. They work best with professional therapy.
Read my previous article on how psychedelics stimulate learning and new connections in the brain. Specifically because these substances have been legalised in a clinical setting, you should access them through clinical supervision to get the best out of your experience.
You want to ensure you’re reinforcing healthy, positive pathways with psilocybin medication, which can just as easily reinforce bad habits if your environment is negative.
This brings me to my next point.
2. Increased risk of Self-harm
Although the suicide risk of psychedelics was recently shown to have been excessively blown out of proportion, individuals trying to medicate a mental illness condition without an qualified ‘trip sitter’ run the risk of undergoing extremely traumatic, if not dangerous experiences.
Psychedelics have often been described as ‘nuclear weapons’ by researchers. And although these weapons of mass destruction may have the power to rewire people’s minds, they must be treated with extreme caution.
3. You probably won’t get the ‘answers’ you look for
Everyone knows about the archetype of the silicon valley start-up CEO taking hero doses of psychedelics to come up with the next billion dollar company. But, from talking to people and reading a hundred or so trip reports online, it doesn’t seem to be that easy.
“I tripped to explore which goals I was really passionate in pursuing for my future, but while I was tripping I had no need for goals, I was just grateful to be alive.” Said an anonymous friend of mine when I asked about their motives for trying psilocybin.
Psychedelics will no doubt give you a different view of the world, but that may not be what you want. Intense psychedelic experiences are more likely to reflect deep sentiments of your subconscious which you are neglecting – which can turn out to be pretty scary.
4. High maintenance growing process
Although I have emphasized how easy it is to obtain all the materials to grow mushrooms, they definitely aren’t a cactus plant that you can forget about. Growing mycelia requires highly sterile conditions, with controlled humidity and temperatures, very much like scientific cell culturing.
The growing process will take about 2-3 months to grow into harvestable mushrooms, not a very safe period of time to have these plants in your house, since:
5. They are illegal - obviously
Are you interested in the mushroom growing process as a hobby? Try growing some decorative or gourmet mushrooms: legal, and delicious!
Check out Aussie mushroom supplies for some beautiful mushroom growing kits!
Stay tuned for my next article, where I’ll be investigating the surge of drug dealers posing as ‘medicinal therapists’ on social media. I am quite upset by how these people are manipulating people with mental illness disorders on social media just to sell their drugs!
What are your thoughts, or recommendations for future newsletters?
