The word “Shrooms” is used to cover a large category of mushrooms or “Magic Mushrooms”. This type of fungus is ingested to get a high or “Trip” that will make you hallucinate. The compound in these mushrooms that produces the hallucinatory effects is “Psilocybin”, a mind and consciousness altering chemical. There are more than 200 know mushrooms that contain this compound. A question that is often asked is, “How long are shrooms in your system?”. I will answer this question and other concerns as we move forward.
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What Happens When You Use Shrooms
In Order to properly answer your question, let’s take a look into the effects first. As soon as magic mushrooms are ingested, your digestive system will start to break it down. Your system will soon start absorbing the psilocybin and metabolizing it into “psilocin”. Once broken down, psilocin is free to travel throughout your bloodstream and due to its similar structure to serotonin, it attaches to serotonin receptors.
Once attached to the serotonin receptor sites, psilocin will start to take effect. You may first start to notice visual or auditory hallucinations. Auditory hallucination can be hearing sounds that are not happening or improperly linking sounds to their cause. Visually, distortions like waves, lights or a rainbow effect will become prominent as the “Trip” progresses. The effects can last from one hour or longer depending on how much has been ingested.
Myths:
#1. Shrooms can Stay in You Spine Forever
This myth was started by old anti drug campaigns, it was supposed to scare off any use of hallucinatory drugs. This myth is often linked to LSD, but in any case is not true. LSD, Psilocin and other hallucinatory drugs are not locked in your spine forever after use. It’s impossible, once any drug is ingested, its metabolized, runs its course and excreted through body fluids.
#2. A Spinal Tap can Detect if You Have Ever Used Shrooms or LSD
Drug metabolite can be detected through body fluid, that includes spinal taps, but that is only for the duration of the drug’s half life. Once the drug has run its course, it’s no longer in your spinal fluid. There has never been any evidence to suggest otherwise. The half life of psychedelic drugs in the brain and spinal fluid is most likely less than 24hrs after use.
#3. Shrooms Make you Go Crazy or Insane
Unfortunately, the answer to this question is not as cut and dry as the rest. Psychedelics can have a profound effect on a person’s psychology. For the most part, the “crazy” only lasts as long as the trip. The mind altering effects that hallucinating has on perception can last a lifetime. Considered to be the permanent effect of tripping, you can’t undo an experience that makes you question reality. This can be a negative or positive change in personality, greatly varying from person to person. With Shrooms or Magic mushrooms the change tends to be more positive, With LSD, it can produce more of a negative change. In any case, the risks may not be worth it.
Do Shrooms Show Up on a Drug Test
The answer to this is Yes, the presence of magic mushrooms and its metabolites can be detected. Although standard drug testing, for example, 5 panel urine tests, do not test for its presence. The most commonly used drug tests, test for: Marijuana, Cocaine, Meth, Opiates and PCP. Extended drug tests, often used by the military, government agencies as well as court mandated tests may check for shrooms.
How Long does Shrooms Stay in Your System – Detectable
If a testing for psilocin is part of the test. Its presence can be detected for one week or more, depending on use. According to a Psychedelics Encyclopedia by Peter Strafford. 80% of the metabolite is excreted in the first eight hours after use, but the residuals metabolites may be stored in fat and depending on use may be detectable for weeks after use.
Its also important to understand that these tests are for urine and bodily fluids. Hair Follicle drug testing can discover the use of any drug for up to 90 days after use. This is because metabolites are permanently locked into hair follicles.
If you are concerned about a pending drug test, its possible to detox your system. Hair and Urine detox products can be found in here.
