Magic Mushrooms Are Having a Moment

Is Raleigh’s psychedelic mushroom scene going mainstream?

Raleigh’s latest vice is psychedelic, plant-based and technically illegal. Yes, we’re talking about mushrooms—and we don’t mean the kind growing in your mulch after a storm.

These shrooms are wrapped in professional packaging; sold as bite-size gummies or chocolates; and branded with words like focus, clarity or elevate. Some promise spiritual awakenings. Others a trippin’ good time.

Regardless, the rise of shrooms is hard to overlook. You’ve probably seen them in a sponsored Instagram ad, or maybe in the crowd at a local concert—even passed around at a party in place of a bottle of wine.

And, yet, psilocybin (the compound that gives magic mushrooms their magic) is very much illegal in NC. So, what gives?

Tripped Up

Though psilocybin is a Schedule I drug and illegal under federal law (save Colorado’s and Oregon’s rare exceptions), that hasn’t stopped the surge of mushroom-themed products popping up all over Raleigh and online. But, spoiler: Most of what’s being sold isn’t psilocybin.

According to a holistic psychedelic therapist we spoke to, today’s retail environment for mushrooms serves up a slew of hallucinogenic and psychedelic substances and compounds that aren’t psilocybin-containing, So, if you venture into a local shop in Raleigh, you’ll most likely see mushrooms sold as chocolates, gummies and drinks—and most of those, if not all, don’t contain psilocybin at all. In actuality, he says, some of those labeled “magic mushrooms” actually consist of substances like legal 4-AcO-DMT (a synthetic cousin of psilocybin), Amanita muscaria (the red-and-white “Super Mario” mushroom) or some Frankenstein-ish proprietary blend.

It’s kind of “skirting the law,” maintains the holistic guide, where folks are branding this as hallucinogenic mushrooms or psychedelic mushrooms. “Most of the time, they’re going to contain different types of pharmaceutical compounds that don’t have regulation behind them—so they’re technically legal to use.”

In turn, manufacturers and retailers can get away with selling them. But they’re not officially regulated—meaning locals need to make sure they’re aware of where the products are coming from and exactly what’s inside. 

Party Favors

The “why” behind consumption may not be what you suspect—most aren’t taking shrooms to trip face in the woods. For some, they’re a go-to for a lift without the liquor hangover or downsides of drinking, while others are just looking to take the edge off after a stressful workweek or to simply catch a soft buzz.

And the stigma is fading. Two Raleighites versed in microdosing for mood elevation and visual effects—either in natural or gummy form—say their friends are all on board with magic mushrooms, many joining in at parties and hangouts. “I kind of compare it to a THC type of high, except it’s nowhere near as drowsy,” one of them says of the growing acceptance. “It’s an elevating feeling, kind of happy-go-lucky—almost like you get an energy boost. It’s about the same kind of buzz as a 5 milligram THC seltzer, without any come down, hangover, ‘crash’ or anxiety.” 

While classic dried psilocybin mushrooms are still out there, in Raleigh’s new shroom scene they’re becoming less popular than their consumer-packaged counterparts. To wit, the couple recently ordered some gummies online from website TRĒ House, which showed up in “bold, psychedelic packaging with trippy reflective images, ‘magic mushrooms’ in loud type and emoji-like dosing graphics.” But when they tried to reup the order a few weeks later, they were met with an error message saying state regulations no longer allowed shipments to NC—though they were able to easily find the same branded gummies at several local dispensaries. 

Photo by Sean Junqueira

Not-So-Magic

While a trip down magic mushroom lane has been nothing but good vibes and breakthroughs for some, not all shroom experiences are chill and life-affirming. The serious negative side effects of psilocybin are rare, but the potential risks are significant enough that UNC psychedelic researcher Dr. Bryan Roth recommends against trying shrooms at home alone—especially if they’re from unidentified sources. 

“Psilocybin can trigger psychotic breaks, especially in people with family or personal history of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder,” warns Roth, who practiced psychiatry and specialized in treating schizophrenia before becoming a researcher. “I would have the occasional patient come to me saying their first schizophrenic break occurred when they took psychedelic drugs and they haven’t been the same since.”

At the same time, he explains, several current active clinical trials and studies vetting shrooms as potential treatments for depression, anxiety and PTSD are in progress across the U.S. “And some promising preliminary clinical trial data shows psilocybin may have some therapeutic utility—but it’s not an approved therapeutic currently.” 

That said, the mushroom momentum is undeniable. The culture is clearly blooming, and industry experts predict psychedelic mushrooms will go mainstream—potentially even soon becoming legal at the federal level. 

“It’s not gonna be like cannabis where you can just walk into a recreational dispensary and buy your products. There has to be support services built into this,” notes the holistic guide—“a whole ecosystem of facilitators, microdose coaches, therapists, mental health professionals and medical professionals advising people on how to use drugs therapeutically.” So, maybe don’t expect Raleigh to have a mushroom dispensary next to your Pilates studio in the near future.