If you have ever typed the mushroom emoji in a text, then you know what Amanita muscaria looks like. Who could have guessed that the red and white spotted mushroom from Super Mario Brothers was actually a psychoactive species; was Mario actually growing larger, or was he just high off his gourd? Amanita muscaria aka “Fly Agaric” is an iconic fungus with many subspecies. While it can be easily identified in pop culture references like Alice in Wonderland and The Smurfs, this shroom has flown under the radar of mainstream culture. Until recently…. 

This misunderstood mushroom is being touted as a potential remedy for individuals suffering from depression, anxiety, insomnia, chronic pain and other modern ailments. While Amanita is sometimes labeled as a “magic” mushroom, it contains no psilocybin (the primary component of P. Cubensis). Therefore it does not produce a psychedelic trip. It does however have psychoactive effects. The two major alkaloids responsible for these effects are muscimol and ibotenic acid.

What are the effects?

Users report positive effects such as: calmness, migraine/headache prevention, muscle relaxation, anxiety reduction, and pain relief. Muscimol and ibotenic acid are psychoactive compounds that interact with the GABA system in the brain. Well-known GABAergic drugs include barbiturates and benzodiazepines. Other substances like alcohol and kava kava also interact with the GABA system. This is why the effects of consuming Amanita are more inline with sedatives than they are with psilocybin containing mushrooms.

Muscimol and Ibotenic acid are both considered to be neurotoxic. Additionally, Ibotenic acid has been shown to produce brain lesions. I realize this sounds a bit scary, but alcohol and nicotine are both neurotoxins as well and their use is very normalized. “Dose Makes The Poison”.

This is where it gets interesting. Ibotenic acid readily converts to muscimol by a process called decarboxylation. By heating the mushrooms or brewing a tea, ibotenic acid can be converted into the slightly less toxic compound muscimol. Hence the need for proper identification and preparation to safely consume this gift from nature. 

Is it legal?

One of the most interesting elements of the Amanita mushroom is that it has yet to be cultivated in a lab. They must be foraged in the wild, often growing near conifer trees and at higher elevations. Because Amanita does not contain psilocybin, they exist in a legal grey area. Even amongst the mycology community, consumption of Amanita has long been deterred. Fear of poisoning and neurotoxicity remain a part of the stigma despite the rising interest. A variety of products containing these alkaloids are showing up in smoke shops and online. These products may not be outright illegal but they are certainly unregulated, leaving consumers to gamble on what they are actually consuming.

Potentially the most alarming aspect of these products is the lack of transparency by manufacturers. Laboratory analysis of popular products has revealed that most do not contain any amount of Amanita alkaloids. In fact, the iconic mushroom is more often being used as a trojan horse to sell illicit substances including psilocybin and 4-AcO-DMT. Tryptomics

Why should I care?

It’s easy to shrug this off as some sort of fad and leave the blame on consumers who take risks with unregulated gas station products. But I believe there is a greater issue here: companies are deliberately misleading consumers. Remember the Diamond Shruumz debacle? They killed 3 people and sent nearly 100 others to the hospital! CDC.gov

Natural medicine products are often sold as dietary supplements, leaving them outside of the realm of regulations. Companies slap the FDA disclaimer on the label and call it a day; “Talk to your doctor before use” – How am I supposed to talk to my doctor about an ingredient that is not disclosed? Manufacturers should be held accountable for the products that they produce. Labeling a chocolate bar as “not intended for human consumption” should not be a cop out.

Muscimol and other lesser known natural compounds are quite literally a part of our environment and have been since the dawn of time. We undoubtedly need to conduct more studies on Amanita muscaria, but we also need to normalize having conversations about these mushrooms and other natural medicines to protect the health of the public.

If you are interested in natural medicine products you should talk to your doctor before consuming anything and you should research potential drug interactions. You should also be wary of products with misleading or deceptive labels. Reputable companies provide accurate information and verifiable lab test results.