Why Magic Mushrooms Became So Popular - Archived
Magic mushrooms have been around since ancient times. People have been tripping for thousands and thousands of years!
Shrooms are becoming more popular in mainstream culture right now, both recreationally and medicinally. They have some potential medical benefits that are being explored as more countries decriminalize or even legalize psilocybin mushrooms.
Here’s a rundown of the history of magic mushrooms and why they’re blowing up in popularity today.
Prehistory & the Ancient World
People have been ingesting magic mushrooms since the birth of civilization over 12,000 years ago.
The earliest evidence of magic shroom use is in a mural found in a cave in Australia that shows mushrooms and psychedelic drawings. These paintings date back to 10,000 BCE. Rock paintings from Spain also suggest that magic mushrooms were around in prehistoric Europe in 4000 BCE, too!
Humans are drawn to magic mushrooms. They’re commonly found on almost every continent, and they can be used for religious ceremonies, rituals, medicine, and recreation.
Some ethnobotanists, including Terence McKenna, theorize that magic mushrooms might have changed the course of human history by speeding up evolution. It’s called the Stoned Ape Theory.
The theory states that magic mushrooms enabled Homo erectus to develop a heightened consciousness, allowing them to evolve into Homo sapiens. Although this theory is controversial, it highlights just how long we’ve been consuming these shrooms.
Central America was a hub for psilocybin mushroom use. Aztec and Mayan people used psilocybin mushrooms to communicate with their gods. Religious myths stated that these shrooms were given to their ancestors by Quetzalcoatl, the creator of all life.
Other notable locations that had heavy mushroom use include Siberia, Greece, and Egypt. Overall, it’s obvious that these magic mushrooms had a huge impact on our ancestors and human history as a whole.
The History of Psilocybin in the Western World
The first history of magic shrooms in the modern Western world came in 1799 when a British family picked and ate several of them from the banks of the Thames. Because of their story, magic mushrooms were classified as Psilocybe Semilanceata in 1803.
Scientists found that Mexican doctors used psilocybin mushrooms, and they had a depressive effect on the nervous system. Two of them published their findings in 1939 in leaflets from the Harvard University Botanical Museum.
When Gordon Wasson and his wife Valeria heard about magic mushrooms, they traveled to Central America to search for them. They tried psilocybin under the guidance of two local shamans, Don Aurelio and Maria Sabina, and they were extremely impressed by their effects.
The couple published their findings in Life magazine in 1957, where they coined the term “magic mushrooms.” Timothy Leary read the article and began experimenting with shrooms at Harvard.
Scientists continued to experiment with magic shrooms, but many of the studies were unethical and not generally accepted by society.
The War on Drugs and Magic Shrooms
In the 1960s, psychedelic drugs like LSD and psilocybin mushrooms became extremely popular. They were strongly associated with the counterculture movement in the US and UK.
In 1968, the US banned psilocybin. Two years later, it was labeled a Schedule 1 drug, along with cannabis and LSD.
In 1971, President Richard Nixon passed the Controlled Substances Act, which launched the war on drugs. This caused almost all recreational use of mushrooms to stop. However, it also halted any research that could be done on their amazing medicinal effects.
Canada criminalized magic shrooms in 1982 in both its natural and chemical forms after a legal battle.
Modern Use
Magic mushrooms have exploded in recreational use in recent years, partly because they’re becoming legalized or decriminalized in some areas.
In November 2020, voters in Oregon passed a ballot initiative that allowed magic mushrooms to be sold for mental health treatment in a supervised setting. California also allows for medical treatment with magic shrooms.
Canadian activists are fighting for mushrooms to be used for medical purposes. Microdosing small amounts of psilocybin is generally considered legal, and some companies ship larger amounts of magic mushrooms through the mail.
Some cities in the US decriminalized magic mushrooms, including Seattle, Washington; Ann Arbor, Michigan; Denver, Colorado; Oakland, California; Santa Cruz, California, Somerville and Cambridge, Massachusetts. Magic mushrooms are also decriminalized in the entire state of Oregon and in Washington D.C. as well.
It’s much easier to get your hands on magic mushrooms now than ever before. You can order microdoses of shrooms through the mail in Canada and other areas, so you can always try them if you’re interested.
Medical Research
Magic mushrooms are in the spotlight right now because of the power of microdosing. Many people are realizing how much microdosing shrooms can change their lives for the better.
Some possible positive impacts of microdosing magic shrooms include:
- Improved mood and focus
- More creativity
- Better mental health
- Increased clarity about problems or situations
- Positive mood and feeling uplifted
- Heightened connection with nature
- Improved sex life
- Improved overall health and wellbeing
Scientists are also doing research to see if taking larger amounts of mushrooms can be beneficial for certain people. There’s anecdotal and some scientific evidence to show that magic shrooms could help people with:
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
- Cancer
- Anorexia
- Addiction
There’s still a great deal of work to be done to determine how magic mushrooms can benefit our health. History shows that psilocybin shrooms have been used for medicine for thousands of years, so if countries legalize them, there’s a great deal of hope that mushrooms could be extremely helpful for a wide array of people.
Interested in microdosing magic mushrooms? Ground Sounds can help!
Ground Sounds sells microdosing pills containing magic shrooms. They carry a wide variety of doses for anyone at any point in their microdosing journey. You can pick Lil Bud, which contains 50 mg of psilocybin, or Play That Fungi Music with 250 mg of psilocybin. We recommend starting with a lower dose and moving up once you have a higher tolerance.
We ship magic mushrooms directly to your door. They come in discreet packaging and ship quickly across Canada.
Whether you love shrooms or are interested in joining the craze, Ground Sounds can set you up with a great stash.
