A new report, the 2017 Global Drug Survey, has found that mushrooms are the safest recreational drug to take. Obviously, it goes without saying that you shouldn't do drugs, kids. However, people are going to do them anyway and education about safe and controlled consumption of is hugely important. The findings were reached by considering which users needed emergency treatment after taking different drugs. MDMA, LSD and cocaine were among the others tested, with those needing treatment after mushrooms at least five times lower than after the other drugs. If we’re gonna get number crunching, almost 150,000 people took part in the total study, with 12,000 of them having taken mushrooms. Just 0.2% of these users had had to seek emergency help.
MDMA, LSD and cocaine were among the others tested, with those needing treatment after mushrooms at least five times lower than after the other drugs. If we’re gonna get number crunching, almost 150,000 people took part in the total study, with 12,000 of them having taken mushrooms. Just 0.2% of these users had had to seek emergency help.
Interestingly, for those for the green-fingered among us, there seems to be an even bigger issue when it comes to foraging. When it comes to toxicity it looks like there isn’t much room (yeah we know) for error, as it turns out that death from picking and eating the wrong types of mushrooms is far more common than issues with traditional ‘magic mushrooms’.
Participants were picked from over 50 countries and the study itself covers topics such as the type of substances people take and any negative effects they may experience. It should be noted though that this isn’t a complete green light for a mushroom trip. The founder of this survey, Alan Winstock noted dangerous side effects particularly when combining with alcohol including panic attacks, flash backs and ‘fear of losing one’s mind’, which does sound a lot less fun.
He advises those taking mushrooms to plan 'your trip carefully with trusted company in a safe place and always know what mushrooms you are using.' This has been one of the biggest facts about all of the drugs that has come from the survey – knowing exactly what and how much you are taking. He comments particularly on LSD, explaining how difficult it can be to accurately dose it, as tabs sold vary so much. This is not to mention increasing amounts of super potent psychedelics found in tabs, further adding to the risk of users needing emergency treatment.
Overall the most dangerous drug that emerged from the survey was crystal meth (no surprises there) but aside from that, synthetic cannabis which has gained popularity in recent years as legal highs, sold as ‘spice’ or ‘black mamba’ with one in 30 of its users seeking medical treatment.
Winstock describes mushrooms as 'one of the safest drugs in the world' and aside from recreational use, they have also been used to treat severe depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder. Looks like our trips are even getting a clean eating makeover.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.