HOW 'MAGIC' ARE 'MAGIC MUSHROOMS'? RESEARCHERS DEVELOP SCALE TO MEASURE POTENCY

Some people call them “magic mushrooms.” But exactly how “magic” are they?

Knewz.com has learned about efforts to make sure doctors know how much active ingredient they’re giving patients for issues such as post-traumatic stress disorder and depression.

The chemicals in question are psilocin and psylocybin. They come from Psilocybe cubensis mushrooms, which are legal for doctors to prescribe in some places but not others.

Researchers at the University of Texas-Arlington say they’ve developed a scale to measure the potency of the chemicals in the fungi.

“It will be important to ensure product safety, identify regulatory benchmarks and determine appropriate dosing,” Professor Kevin Schug said.

The Phys.org website explains Schug’s team measures the mushrooms by combining liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry. The process can be performed in less than five minutes.

Details on the UTA project were published in the February edition of the journal Analytica Chimica Acta.

“Five strains of dried, intact mushrooms were obtained and analyzed,” the study said; “Blue Meanie, Creeper, B-Plus, Texas Yellow, and Thai Cubensis.”

Tests found Creepers tend to have the most psilocin and psylocybin. The chemical content is about 55% higher than in Thai Cubensis, which finished last.

The study goes into detail about how the chemicals work in human bodies.

“Psilocybin experiences first-pass metabolism in the liver,” it explains. Then it’s converted into psilocin and “psychoactive effects” occur from there.

The impact is thought to include “perceptual distortions, drastic mood alterations, mystical experiences, anxiety, and euphoria,” the study says.

Magic mushrooms have a history far longer than 1960s hippies. They’ve been used for “many thousands of years by indigenous tribes and civilizations in rituals, rites, and ceremonies for religious and spiritual purposes,” the researchers say.

Magic mushrooms can be found in many places. The study notes they are “able to grow on mundane substrates such as dung, mosses, soil, and wood.”

Yet in the eyes of the federal government, all use of magic mushrooms is wrong. It’s illegal under a 1970 law, so the UTA project required permission from the Drug Enforcement Administration.

But attitudes have changed in recent years. Oregon legalized therapy using psilocybin in 2020, then opened a service center for the chemical in June 2023.

“It takes time to figure out how to do this,” Robert Mikos with Vanderbilt University Law School in Nashville said.

The Inverse website reported Sunday, March 24 that Colorado is following Oregon’s lead, planning to open state-licensed facilities for hallucinogenic mushrooms by the end of this year.

Several cities also have reduced the penalties for possessing naturally-occurring psychedelic chemicals. But California Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed a legalization bill in October 2023, calling it too broad.

By one estimation, 5.5 million adults across the United States use psychedelic drugs each year. RadarOnline has noted celebrities such as Amber Heard have used them.

But Knewz.com noted in late February that calls to poison centers involving magic mushroom use by teenagers have jumped in recent years.

“Psychedelics aren’t nearly as popular or familiar to the general public as marijuana is,” Mikos said.“No one… agrees on what the term psychedelics encompasses.”

2024-03-26T17:18:28Z dg43tfdfdgfd