Psilocybin Mushrooms Surge in Popularity, But Research and Regulation Lag

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Amid a renaissance in psychedelic research, psilocybin - or 'magic mushrooms' - are seeing a surge in popularity, with over 11 million adults in the U.S. using them in the past year. However, the expanding psilocybin market is outpacing the science and regulations needed to ensure safe use, as psilocybin exists in a legal gray area across much of the country.

Why it matters

The rapid growth of the psilocybin market mirrors the early days of cannabis legalization, where commercialization quickly outpaced the development of necessary regulations to protect public health. Experts warn that without more research and clear guidelines, consumers may be at risk of inadvertently taking unsafe doses as mushroom potency increases.

The details

Psilocybin is a prodrug that is converted by the body into psilocin, the compound responsible for the psychoactive effects. While psilocybin has shown promise in clinical trials for treating mental health conditions, the full effects of the other tryptamine compounds found in mushrooms are still largely unknown. This is because federal regulations require researchers to use isolated, synthetic psilocybin rather than the whole mushroom.

• In 2019, Denver, Colorado became the first U.S. city to decriminalize psilocybin mushrooms.
• Over the next two years, several other cities including Oakland and Santa Cruz, California; Seattle, Washington; and Detroit, Michigan followed suit.
• In 2020, Oregon legalized psilocybin for supervised use in licensed settings, and Colorado did the same in 2022.

What’s next

Researchers hope to study how people are using their own psilocybin mushroom products at home, while providing real-time data to the research team using app-based surveys. Independent laboratories can also aid researchers by providing information about the potency of the mushroom products that people are using.