Do Shrooms Go Bad? How To Store Shrooms

Do Shrooms Go Bad? How To Store Shrooms?

Drugs can affect each person differently. The effects will depend on personal factors such as your physical and mental health and the dose and potency of a substance. With magic mushrooms, your current mood, mental health, and conditions will impact the effects. Frequent use of magic mushrooms can affect perceptions and mood. Therefore, it is essential to take breaks in between use or better to discontinue.

The psychological effects of psilocybin use include hallucinations and an incapacity to discern fantasy from reality.  Panic reactions and a psychotic-like episode also may happen, especially if a user ingests a high dose. Abuse of psilocybin mushrooms could also lead to poisoning if one of the many kinds of poisonous mushrooms is incorrectly identified as psilocybin mushrooms.

Psilocybin is a Schedule I substance under the Controlled Substances Act, meaning that it has a high potential for abuse, no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States, and a lack of accepted safety for use under medical supervision. Because of the habit-forming characteristic of magic mushrooms, people can encounter withdrawal symptoms from psilocybin mushrooms.  Not only will someone abusing psilocybin mushrooms become accustomed to the altered state of mind they bring, but they can also have difficulty living in “the real world.” 

Shrooms Addiction Statistics

Psilocybin mushrooms are considered one of the most well-known psychedelics. Still, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), which conducts the largest annual national survey on drug use, their use is not at all common.

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What Does a Bad Magic Mushroom Look Like?

Here are some warning signs that your mushrooms are, or are getting very close, to their expected shelf life: 

The mushrooms are slimy. 

This is always a sign that your fresh fungi are reaching a point of no return. A film of slime means the mushroom is getting ready to decompose. We always like to say, “if a mushroom is completely covered in slime, it’s past its prime!” Do not eat.  

The mushrooms have dark spots. 

Spots aren’t necessarily a sign your mushrooms are bad unless it’s paired with slime or if the spots are very dark. Some mushrooms can develop natural blotches, light bruises or mild discoloration on the caps from handling during packaging. If the spots are deep in color and noticeable and present with other warning signs above, those mushrooms aren’t fresh anymore. If the spots look at all like decay, throw them away.

The mushrooms are smelly.

Fresh raw White or Brown mushrooms have a very subtle, natural smell that’s nearly unnoticeable. You’d have to stick them right against your nose to smell that earthy scent. Mushrooms that are spoiled will likely have a distinct bad odor. If you open the packaging or bag and catch a nasty whiff, those mushrooms are starting to decompose and are expired.

The mushrooms are wrinkled or shrunken. 

Wrinkles are typically not a sign of expiration. It means your mushroom is starting to dry out from being in the fridge for too long and is often seen with the diminished scale of the cap itself— AKA shrinkage in size! Mushrooms are 95% water, so they show signs of dehydration more distinctly than other produce items. If they are a little dry, consider immediately eating them and adding them to a wet dish like soup to rehydrate and improve their texture. 

The mushrooms are deformed or cracked.

No two mushrooms grow into the exact same shape, but a mushroom that is noticeably deformed can be a sign of shriveling from dehydrating in the fridge. Cracking of the cap can also indicate the mushroom is drying out. Follow the same advice for wrinkled or shrunken mushrooms and eat immediately, or else throw them away.

Risks of Magic Mushroom Abuse

The term magic mushrooms actually refer to well over 100 species of mushrooms that contain the psychoactive drug psilocybin (4-phosphoryloxy-N, N-dimethyltryptamine). Many of these contain other psychoactive substances, although psilocybin is typically deemed to be the major psychoactive substance in the mushroom. 

Individuals eat mushrooms for their psychoactive effects. These effects will typically begin within one hour of ingesting the drug and may last as long as six hours. The effects of ingesting the mushrooms are documented as resulting in:

• Increased heart rate, changes in blood pressure (both hypertension and hypotension), increased reflexes, poor motor coordination, the development of shakiness or tremors, and pupil dilation; nausea, vomiting, headaches, sweating, fever, and/or chills in some cases
• Euphoric and cognitive effects that include very vivid hallucinations (mostly visual but can occur in any sensory modality); vivid perceptions of the environment, such as very acute and intense colors or sounds; alterations in one’s sense of time, such that time moves much slower; depersonalization (the feeling as if one is separated from one’s body); derealization (the feeling as if other things are not real); and significantly slowed and disorganized thinking processes
• Mood swings that can alternate from positive moods to more negative moods, such as anxiety or depression; anxiety; panic attacks; and even delusion due to alterations in sensory perceptions
• Decreased fear of threatening environmental stimuli.

Magic Mushrooms Addiction

Are Magic Mushrooms Addictive? There is no clear answer as to whether magic mushrooms are addictive or not because there’s no research that shows magic mushrooms are physically addictive, like heroin or some other illicit drugs [3]. Although there has been some debate over this issue. After using psilocybin mushrooms consistently for a few days, some users may not feel addicted while others may begin to crave more of it. Psilocybin mushrooms are often mixed with other hallucinogens like LSD. For this reason, users are more likely to develop a psychological dependence on Magic Mushrooms rather than a physical dependence.

The severity of psychological dependence usually depends on the frequency of use and amount of mushrooms someone consumed. Someone abusing magic mushrooms can become dependent by believing that they need the drug to maintain a sense of enlightenment or happiness. 

Although psilocybin mushrooms may not be considered habit-forming or addictive, they may cause psychological addiction. Some users may also experience a period of psychological withdrawal after using magic mushrooms, during which they may have trouble determining what is real and what is not.

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Magic Mushroom Abuse Treatment

One of the best ways to hinder psilocybin mushroom dependency is to stop eating mushrooms. Because they are not as powerfully addictive as many other substances, individuals with psilocybin mushroom dependencies have a higher chance of overcoming dependency.

If a person has combined magic mushrooms with other substances like benzos, alcohol, stimulants, or opioids, a medically assisted detox is needed for recovery. Medically assisted detox would help the person using multiple drugs stop further abuse and addiction to other substances before they worsen. In addition, detox would include cutting-edge medication to clean the body of harmful substances with polysubstance abuse. 

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There is a strong connection between mental health and mushroom drug abuse. People who struggle with mood disorders like depression and anxiety are more susceptible to developing an addiction to drugs like shrooms, often to self-medicate symptoms of their underlying mental health condition. These co-occurring disorders can make each other worse without proper treatment.

To determine the most effective ways to treat mushroom drug abuse, it’s crucial to first get an accurate assessment of all the symptoms. When the symptoms have been evaluated by a mental health professional, it may be determined that another form of mental condition is present and needs a particular type of treatment.

Medically Assisted Detox

Medically assisted detox is often considered the first stage of treatment. It will help you navigate the complicated process of withdrawal, but it doesn’t address patterns of thought and behavior that contribute to drug abuse. Various treatment approaches and settings can help provide the ongoing support necessary to maintain long-term sobriety after you complete detox.

Cravings are very common during detox and can be challenging to overcome. This often leads to relapse. Constant medical care provided during inpatient treatment helps prevent relapse. Clinicians can provide the necessary medication and medical expertise to lessen cravings and the effects of withdrawals.

Psychotherapy for Depression and Anxiety

Several different modalities of psychotherapy have been used in the treatment of depression including:

• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) – is an effective treatment that involves making changes in both the patterns of negative thoughts and the behavioral routines which are affecting the daily life of the depressed person for various forms of depression.
• Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) – is a comprehensive mental health and substance abuse treatment program whose ultimate goal is to aid patients in their efforts to build a life worth living. The main goal of DBT is to help a person develop what is referred to as a “clear mind.” 

Dual Diagnosis Treatment

Substance abuse and mental health disorders often co-occur. In many cases, traumatic experiences can result in a mental health disorders and substance abuse. Dual diagnosis rehabilitation treats both of these issues together. The best approach for the treatment of dual diagnosis is an integrated system. In this strategy, both the substance abuse problem and the mental disorder are treated simultaneously. Regardless of which diagnosis (mental health or substance abuse problem) came first, long-term recovery will depend largely on the treatment for both disorders done by the same team or provider.

Medication-Assisted Treatments

Medication-Assisted Treatments (MAT) for substance use disorders and mental health disorders are commonly used in conjunction with one another. This includes the use of medications and other medical procedures. During your rehab, the staff from your treatment facility will help you identify what caused your addiction and teach you skills that will help you change your behavior patterns and challenge the negative thoughts that led to your addiction. Sometimes, the pressures and problems in your life lead you to rely on substances to help you forget about them momentarily.

The development of tolerance and withdrawal are indications of addiction. If you or a loved one are struggling with long-term mushrooms drug abuse and a co-occurring mental health condition such as anxiety and depression, contact one of our helpful treatment specialists today. We Level Up can provide information on dual diagnosis and detox programs that may fit your specific needs. One of the big questions for many peoples is how long do shrooms last in your system, and what are their negative effects? Call us today.