With the arrival of the ‘Shroom Boom’ circa 2020, magic mushrooms emerged from their underground networks to become one of the hottest tickets in the wellness world. Suddenly everyone from Oprah Winfrey to Gwyneth Paltrow was talking about – and in many cases – consuming these enigmatic fungi while microdosing mom circles and psychedelic support lines starting popping up all over the United States and beyond. But despite promising clinical data and celebrity endorsements, the psilocybin mushrooms that everyone is suddenly keen on remain illegal in 47 states. 

But what about…the ‘other magic mushroom’ – the fully legal, yet still fully psychoactive one?

You know the mushroom I’m talking about: The iconic red and white speckled one immortalized in countless myths and pop culture franchises throughout history, ranging from the origin story of Santa Claus to Alice In Wonderland to the Mario Bros video games on through the very mushroom emoji 🍄.

Amanita muscaria contains the alkaloid Muscimol, a psychoactive substance credited with producing the reality bending effects of the iconic fungus. It also contains ibotenic acid, which is classified as a deliriant. It’s the latter of these compounds which is responsible for the undesirable effects that Amanita muscaria mushrooms are unfairly often unfairly associated with by the uninitiated.

Basket of Amanita Muscaria mushrooms. Photo courtesy of Minnesota Nice Ethnobotanicals

“One of the things that people don’t understand about Amanita muscaria is that proper preparation mitigates the risk of nausea and any other unpleasant side effects that are commonly associated with the mushroom” says Christian Rasmussen of Minnesota Nice Ethnobotanicals, the largest importer and vendor of Amanita muscaria mushrooms in the United States. 

“When one boils the mushrooms in lemon water for 20-30 minutes, ibotenic acid decarboxylates into muscimol, changing the chemical composition of the mushrooms as well as the experience. Pretty much everyone enjoys the Amanita experience after the mushroom is properly decarbed”.

One of the lingering skeptics of the benefits of Amanita muscaria consumption is none other than famed mycologist Paul Stamets, global ambassador of the fungi kingdom. 

On the Joe Rogan podcast in 2020, Rogan prompted Stamets with the the statement  ‘Amanita seems to have a lot of controversy around its efficacy – as far as its psychedelic efficacy…I don’t know anybody that’s ever really tripped off of it” 

“Muscaria? Oh man do I have a story” Paul responds before launching into a story about a time he took Amanita pantherina, a similar species to Amanita muscaria that holds approximately 5 times greater concentration of Muscimol and ibotenic acid than Amanita muscaria. 

Amanita Pantherina/ Photo in Public Domain

Paul shares the story of the time he took a large, unmeasured dose of Amanita pantherina and experienced a 12 hour trip marked by ‘repetitive motion syndrome’, visual and time distortions, and generally unpleasant accompanying bodily sensations and paranoia while emphasizing the profound altered state that psychoactive Amanitas can confer. 

At the end of his story, Rogan asks Stamets ‘So you recommend it?’

“No” says Paul.

“It’s a mushroom that’s perfectly legal and is one of the most dangerous mushrooms that anyone could eat” he finishes. 

While Paul has had an outsized positive influence on how the public perceives mushrooms for many reasons, this is one instance in which he has perpetuated a misinformed and misguided narrative on the global stage.

“Taking a large dose of Amanita the first time with no experience is like downing a bottle of Vodka the first time you drink – of course you’re going to have an awful experience with that,” says Rasmussen. 

As more people learn how to safely engage with this ancient psychoactive mushroom, cultural attitudes in the U.S. and beyond are starting to shift to a more balanced perspective.

Depiction of Amanita muscaria and Amanita pantherina /Photo in Public Domain

An independent analysis of nearly 1000 posts and 10,000 comments on the Reddit forum r/AmanitaMuscaria revealed that users experienced more positive than adverse effects, and adverse effects experienced were minimal and primarily self-limiting.

Amanita muscaria remains legal in 49 states – all but Louisiana – and is increasingly popping up in CPG forms from chocolate to tinctures to gummies. With this rise in profile comes a throng of unscrupulous purveyors capitalizing on market demand and public unfamiliarity with the powerful mushroom; in some cases, adulterated products featuring various research chemicals like 4-HO-MET or 4-AcO-DMT are packaged alongside synthetic Muscimol extract and advertised as ‘Amanta Gummies’, though this misleading marketing stunt has had deleterious effects on public perception of Amanita.

As psychedelics and plant medicine have entered the cultural limelight, a thriving “legal entheogen” market has sprouted to fulfill the demand for access to holistic and psychoactive remedies without risking legal repercussions. An insatiable public curiosity about ancient visionary fungi and traditional knowledge of how to use them has begun to bridge previously isolated and remote cultures and regions of the world with the global market, resulting in increased livelihoods for people on both ends. The income made available to Amanita foragers in places like Ukraine and Poland enable sustainable income generating opportunities while preserving longstanding cultural traditions in rural areas. 

Diagram showing some of the key components of the mesocorticolimbic (“reward”) circuit. Includes dopaminergic, GABA-ergic, and Glutaminergic pathways between the ventral tegmental area, nucleus accumbens, prefrontal cortex, amygdala and hippocampus./Photo credit:GeorgeVKach, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Amanita muscaria functions on the GABA-A system in the brain, which regulates neuronal activity and the ability of a nerve cell to receive, create, or send messages to other nerve cells. The GABA system is responsible for producing a calming sensation in the brain, which correlates with the sedative or ‘relaxing’ effects induced by Amanita muscaria when prompted in the correct dose. 

Like many others, I was apprehensive about consuming Amanita muscaria for many years. It was always on the periphery of my mind, unappealing and unavailable. Throughout my years running Mycopreneur, I started to hear anecdotes from people who had consumed the mysterious fungi. Sourcing and preparation are major variables, and given that Amanita muscaria cannot be commercially grown at any meaningful scale due to its mycorrhizal relationship with the roots of pine trees, the mushroom remains an enchanting enigma connecting one to an ancient form of…well, magic. 

Amanita Muscaria on a hill. Photo in Public Domain

In my experience, Amanita muscaria has played a key role in helping me to sleep deeply and dream vividly – hallmarks of good health and enchantment. As I started to connect with more people who had firsthand knowledge of the mushroom, I began warming up to the fact that this mushroom has a tremendous reservoir of wisdom and benevolence that is freely available to all who seek it out with good intentions and due diligence. As mushrooms continue to make inroads into mainstream global culture, the ancient Amanita muscaria is finding a new foothold in our modern world – just remember to educate yourself and source carefully before diving down the rabbit hole. 

Dennis Walker is a global mushroom industry consultant and avid traveler. He is the founder of Mycopreneur, a platform dedicated to advancing the mushroom entrepreneurial ecosystem. His work has been featured in Rolling Stone. Forbes, Wired, Vice, High Times, and many other outlets. He is also the founder of Mycoday mushroom chocolate, an adaptogenic mushroom chocolate brand.