Psylocibin, Psilocin

How long the effects last and the drug stays in your system depends on how much you’ve taken, your size and what other drugs you may have also taken.

If you feel like you’re having – or are going to have – a bad trip, let your friends know and get their help. Go to a nice quiet spot where you feel safe and can relax.

Psilocybin is detectable for up to 8 hours.

How long a drug can be detected for depends on how much is taken and which testing kit is used. This is only a general guide.

Many poisonous mushrooms look very similar to ‘magic mushrooms’ and it’s easy for pickers to mistake them. People have fallen severely ill or even died from eating a poisonous mushroom.

Magic mushrooms are often sold raw or dried. In the UK, the most common types are liberty caps (Psilocybe semilanceata) and fly agaric (Amanita muscaria).

• Liberty caps look like small tan-coloured mushrooms
• Fly agarics look like red and white spotted toadstools

It’s important to know that some types of magic mushroom are stronger than others. For example, the fly agaric mushroom is usually more potent than the liberty cap mushroom.

Liquid psilocybin is another way of taking magic mushrooms. It’s made by extracting psilocybin, the naturally occurring psychedelic drug found in mushrooms like liberty caps, and is a clearish pale brown colour. It comes in vials (small bottles).

Liberty caps are usually eaten raw and have a strong earthy taste and rubber-like texture – which makes them very chewy.

They don’t taste like the mushrooms you cook with at home, and some people try to hide the flavour by putting them in an omelette or in tea.

By eating it

After picking, liberty caps are often eaten raw or are dried out and stored. People don’t tend to eat fly agaric mushrooms raw as they can make you feel very sick.

By drinking it

Some people make tea from dried mushrooms.

By taking drops of liquid psilocybin

Liquid psilocybin is made by extracting psilocybin, the naturally occurring psychedelic drug found in mushrooms like liberty caps.

Magic mushrooms are not addictive, but as with LSD, you can become tolerant to the effects quite quickly – and that means you’ll need to take more to get the same effect as before.

Like drink-driving, driving when high is dangerous and illegal. If you’re caught driving under the influence, you may receive a heavy fine, driving ban, or prison sentence.

If the police catch people supplying illegal drugs in a home, club, bar or hostel, they can potentially prosecute the landlord, club owner or any other person concerned in the management of the premises.

The 2005 Drugs Act amended the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 to clarify that both fresh and prepared (e.g. dried or stewed) magic mushrooms containing psilocin or psilocybin (such as the liberty cap) are Class A drugs.

This means it’s illegal to have this type of magic mushroom for yourself, to give away or to sell.