What Happens When You Mix Mushrooms and Alcohol?

Certain mushrooms are known hallucinogens. They are used to induce a trip or sustained period of euphoria along with visual and audible hallucinations. The drug psilocybin is the substance causing the drug-induced trip. However, not every mushroom carries the drug. When mixed with alcohol, the psilocybin has an unpredictable effect that can be very dangerous to some users. To understand the effects of mixing alcohol and mushrooms containing psilocybin, you must first understand the way the two drugs interact.

How the Two Drugs Work

Alcohol is a depressant that slows that user's circulatory, respiratory and nervous systems. It causes impaired judgment and visual distortions that affect the user's ability to function. Mushrooms containing psilocybin also cause visual distortions that impair that ability to function, but their impairments are more severe. The hallucinations envelop all of the user's senses, crossing them in the process. Some users may believe that they can taste a musical melody or smell the color orange, for example. When the high is weakening or that user is "coming down," the hallucinogen takes on the properties of a drug in the depressant category ( the same drug category as alcohol).

Why the Two Drugs Don't Mix

The distorting effects of alcohol and the hallucinogenic effects of the mushrooms can alter the trip or high that the user is expecting from the drugs. Scientists and substance abuse researchers do not give a concrete list of effects, as they vary from one person to another. This uncertainty makes the mushroom/alcohol combination more dangerous, as the user does not know what to expect. Users must understand that alcohol can intensify the mushroom trip, be it a good one or bad one. For some users, the mushrooms may also mask the effects of alcohol, leading to increased alcohol consumption.

Researchers do know that alcohol intensifies the coming down portion of the mushroom high, the point where the psilocybin takes on depressant properties. Then, the user has two powerful depressant drugs in the body, causing severe mental and physical effects.

Effects of a One-time Mix

Users who mix alcohol and mushrooms containing psilocybin run the risk of overdosing on alcohol (also known as alcohol poisoning) if the hallucinogen masks the drunk feeling of the alcohol. The intensified distortions can also cause nausea and vomiting. Meanwhile, the type of trip that the user experiences will be altered significantly by the alcohol. However, it is unclear as to what exactly the user may experience. Coming down from the mushroom high, the user will experience severe feelings of depression and anxiety. Exhaustion, drowsiness and even slowed breathing may also occur. The user's motor functions become further distorted as the nervous system and muscle movement slows significantly.

Even a one-time mixing of alcohol and mushrooms can be fatal. The breathing could slow enough to stop, because the respiratory system is further slowed by the two depressants in the body. The mix can adversely affect brain function causing seizures. Both the seizures and the retarded respiratory system can be fatal. However it is important to understand that the effects vary greatly between users, depending on the among of each substance taken, the size of the user, the user's preexisting health conditions and the user's tolerance for the drugs.

The Effects of Prolonged Use

The following is the worst that could occur when addicted to mushrooms and alcohol. Users should note that not every addiction is the same, and neither are the long term effects. Repeated use of the alcohol and mushroom mix can lead to a persistent depression. The hallucinogenic trips may also become more negative, leading to several bad trips and bad come downs. In addition to the effects of prolonged alcohol abuse (liver and stomach damage, depression and social destruction), the mushrooms add an increased inability to discern the hallucinations from the real world. Few user may begin to suffer quick hallucinations or flashbacks of their trips long after they quit taking the mushrooms.

References:

Caution! Alcohol and Other Drugs Do Not Mix, Notre Dame University, Office of Alcohol and Drug Education.

What are Hallucinogens?, Drug Info.

Psilocybin Fast Facts, National Drug Intelligence Center, U.S. Department of Justice.

NIDA Facts: Hallucinogens--LSD, Peyote, Psilocybin, and PCP, National Institute on Drug Abuse.