Buying magic mushroom products? Here’s what you should know
Legal magic mushrooms are making the rounds. The products are available online in most states. They are also sold in many smoke shops. Unfortunately, the open market and ease of access have created quality control issues. A recent bout of illnesses, and one death, have warranted a U.S. Food and Drug Administration recall and warning for amanita products. Diamond Shruumz products have been linked to over 60 illnesses, with half landing people in the hospital.
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At the start of the month, the FDA announced one death attributed to the products. Those who fell ill experienced seizures, agitation, involuntary muscle contractions, loss of consciousness, confusion, sleepiness, nausea, vomiting, abnormal heart rates, and blood pressure. According to the regularly updated Center for Disease Control report, the cause of illness remains unknown.
The agency has advised anyone who sees Diamond Shruumz at stores to report the shop. However, the Diamond Shruumz site features a notice stating that sales and production have been stopped due to the recall. They state in that note that the products contained too much muscimol for human consumption. But the verdict is still out on the cause, according to government agencies.
As this recall percolates, many wonder whether all muscimol products are dangerous. Like any pharmaceutical, herbal medicine, and psychedelic–any Amanita edible taken without knowledge of best practices might lead to bad times. There may always be a risk when shopping for these products, but knowing what is in the bag and who made it could help locate quality products.
Tip #1: Know the active ingredients
Flashy words like adaptogens and nootropics are used to label muscimol and other products. These words can be trustworthy indicators of what is in the package but always look past the flashy copy to the complete ingredient list. Amanita muscaria will contain muscimol, a potent psychoactive compound, and ibotenic acid, a neurotoxin found in the mushroom. There are safe amounts of these compounds set for consumables. Test results, also called Certificates of Analysis (COAs), from labs like ACS Laboratory reveal these levels.
“I would not buy anything that doesn’t have a COA from a reputable lab,” ACS co-founder and president Roger Brown said in an interview with GreenState. “If you take multiple, 10 or 15 mg of muscimol, which is a very high dose, it could be dangerous because it has dangerous side effects at that level. Same thing for psilocybin.”
As an unregulated product there are no suggested doses for muscimol and ibotenic acid, but ACS has laid out guidelines.
When it comes ingredients, also check the list of functional mushrooms, euphoric herbs, and mind-altering compounds for a few reasons. Understand the purpose of the product by reading the ingredients. It is also wise to learn about any contraindications to prescriptions or other supplements in the daily regimen.
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Tip #2: Scan the website
A website should be a picture of how a company operates. If there is no information about the brand or its founders, that is another tried and true red flag. Transparency is a shopper’s best friend in American commerce. An opaque brand may have something to hide that, in the long run, could be of concern to its customers. This tip may remove most current Amanita brands, but that’s a consumer’s choice.
Tip #3: Read the Amanita COA
Amanita muscaria gummies should have lab results readily available on the website. It is a big red flag if they do not. Before buying, read the COA to verify whether the product was tested for mold and other harmful bacteria. This page will also reveal how much muscimol, or other active ingredients, can be found within. Unfortunately, these lab assays can be hard to understand, but it is possible with some online searching.
That said, Diamond Shruumz products have COAs readily available on the website, but the results are over a year old. This is one way to seem transparent,. Another is to work with a black hat lab.
“There are a lot of good actors in the marketplace that are selling products, and there are a lot of bad actors in the marketplace, Brown said. “There are some laboratories out there that will produce results that are friendly to the client and sell a product that can be potentially dangerous.”
Sometimes trusting a Certificate of Analysis of a product requires researching the lab that tested it, too.
Buyer beware of no Amanita safeguards
Buying Amanita muscaria, or muscimol, products will likely pose a risk until they are regulated. It is wise to be as educated as possible when shopping for legal psychedelic mushrooms. Read the lab results, learn about brands, and understand each active ingredient. These tips can help, but the products will not be completely danger-free without quality control from outside agencies.
