Will Magic Mushrooms Reach the CBD’s High?

Magic mushrooms, or shrooms, have been a gateway to spiritual experiences for thousands of years. However, it wasn’t until the 1960s that people started using them globally to relax and unwind, reduce stress or depression, and relieve severe headaches.

We all know what happened soon afterward. In 1970, the US federal government enacted the Controlled Substances Act and classified psilocybin – the psychedelic ingredient in magic mushrooms – as a Schedule 1 drug.

Until recently, shrooms have been completely ignored. It took half a century, but they’re once again having a big moment in the United States, although not quite like in the 60s. And that’s very likely thanks to the rise of CBD.

But will they reach the level of CBD? Explore this question of magic mushrooms below and find out why their advocates are trying to decriminalize it now.

Denver, Oakland, and Oregon Lead the Way

In May 2019, Denver, Colorado approved the psilocybin mushroom initiative, becoming the first city in the US to decriminalize magic mushrooms.

That doesn’t mean the shrooms are now legal in Denver, but rather that there will be no criminal penalties for possession.

The city council in Oakland, California soon followed suit. In June 2019, Oakland decriminalized entheogenic plants, which include magic mushrooms, and psychedelic iboga and cacti.

Not long after, the magic mushroom campaign spread to Oregon. The Oregon Psilocybin Society started collecting signatures for ballot measure set for a vote in 2020 regarding legalizing psilocybin for therapeutic purposes.

If the residents in the state vote like the city councils in Denver and Oakland, Oregon will become the first US state ever to legalize psilocybin, which is magic mushrooms.

Canada May Take Center Stage Again

When Canada legalized the recreational use of marijuana in 2018 – on a federal level – it became the second country in the world to do so. Uruguay was the first country to legalize cannabis.

Perhaps Canada will take center stage once again when it comes to bringing psychedelic mushrooms back into the legal space. The revival of psychedelic research is very much present and growing in the country.

For instance, the BC Centre on Substance Use is planning clinical trials to explore how hallucinogens could potentially treat opioid addiction. Apart from psilocybin, the organization is also researching therapeutic uses of LSD, ayahuasca, and MDMA.

Cannabis Was Once Stigmatised Too

Not so long ago, cannabis was illegal almost everywhere in the world. With Uruguay and Canada leading the race, many other countries have recently legalized its use, including 11 states in the US (and Washington DC).

That’s precisely the reason why magic mushroom advocates are now taking initiatives to decriminalize and legalize shrooms.

Apart from medicinal benefits (we’ll get to that soon), the market size could be huge, so investors could also win big.

According to Grand View Research, the global revenue share of the legal marijuana buds market in 2019 was $9.1 billion. The medical segment had 71% of the revenue share, thanks to the increasing use of cannabis and CBD products for medicinal purposes.

The research also estimates that the global market size of legal cannabis will be worth a staggering $73.6 billion by 2027.

Given how fast things are happening regarding magic mushrooms, it may be possible for them to reach at least some of the CBD high in the coming years.

Proving the Medicinal Benefits

Magic mushrooms may never be fully legalized, at least not for recreational use. It’s different from cannabis because CBD doesn’t have psychoactive effects.

Even THC, which is responsible for getting you “high”, doesn’t cause hallucinations. Psilocybin in shrooms does. It can cause “bad trips” and seriously alter a person’s judgment and perception. That’s why it poses a risk to individuals with serious mental health issues.

A study by Global Drug Survey found that magic mushrooms are the safest of all recreational drugs.

Another study showed that psilocybin could reduce depression and anxiety. A 2017 study revealed that psilocybin shows promise as an effective treatment for treatment-resistant depression. The Psilocybe Cyanescens Magic Truffle has exactly the same effects as the Magic Mushroom.

Numerous other studies have uncovered the medical benefits of magic mushrooms. As a matter of fact, the number of psilocybin research papers has almost doubled between 2016 and 2018.

The rise of CBD in recent years has definitely made way for magic mushrooms to come out of the shadows. But will they enter the legal space? Perhaps only as a medicine.

All we can do for now is play the guessing game and hope that there’s room for these promising psychedelics in the future. After all, the CBD boom has given us the roadmap.