Psilocybin is on the edge of becoming both culturally and legally acceptance. This may allow it to become more readily available across the United States. Canada, and eventually the world very soon. Following a similar path to cannabis, it is possible to predict what that market may eventually look like. Though we already see an explosion of widely available sweets and it gets incredibly easy to get a bag of psilocybin gummies or a chocolate mushroom bar, it still needs more details.
Though there are not as many ways to ingest psilocybin, users may develop a variety of preferred methods as new products become available.
Though commonly found in “magic mushroom” there are numerous extraction procedures and combination strategies that may allow a whole industry of psilocybin products to attract a variety of customers. One of the most exiting of those products may be an old classic: psilocybin chocolates.
A Brief History of Psilocybin Chocolates
While magic mushrooms have been found all over the world, chocolate, and its source cacao beans, only existed in the Americas prior to European colonization. Because of this, one of the earliest known cultures to combine the two was the Aztecs. Similar to several other indigenous American cultures, the Aztecs used psilocybin for both medicinal and spiritual purposes. What set the Aztecs apart, though, was that they often combined the psilocybin with other materials, striving for varying effects. This included honey, pulque, and cacao. In cacao’s case, the belief was that psilocybin unlocked the mind, while cacao unlocked the heart. Chocolate and psilocybin have both been popular for centuries, but now they are reuniting in remarkable ways. The same goes for marijuana. First illegal, now it is widespread and has its own chocolates, like shatter bars in almost every dispensary.
Why is Psilocybin Growing in Popularity
Similar to cannabis, the route to psilocybin’s legality seems to be coming through medical developments. By proving that the drug has medicinal potential, the question emerges whether prohibition or regulation will benefit the most people. Psilocybin is primarily being studied to solve a series of mental health disorders. Depression, addiction, and end of life mood disorders are the ones leading the way, but there are several others where psilocybin is showing potential. Included in those others is a small subculture that swears by the practice of microdosing for improved mood, creativity, and many other emotional irregularities like anxiety or depression. While studies are still underway, the current data collected points to a remarkable potential in the field of mental health.
Where is Psilocybin Legal?
Psilocybin’s legal status hinders studies on its medical potential. In the United States, psilocybin is classified as a schedule 1 drug, meaning it has no recognized medical benefits and a high potential for abuse. As more data is collected, though, that classification is continually questioned. As a result, there are a few pockets of the US that are starting to experiment with decriminalization. How that decriminalization is defined and enforced varies by state and city, but, in most cases, psilocybin will only be available for qualifying medical patients once it reaches the market. There are a few exceptions where law enforcement has chosen to downgrade psilocybin as a priority in small amounts. Effectively, this action decriminalizes individual possession for personal consumption, but the penalties for trafficking or producing the mushrooms still remains high.
Where to Get Psilocybin Chocolates
Because psilocybin is still federally illegal, it is not possible to run down to the local store to pick up a bar of psilocybin chocolate. However, that doesn’t mean that it is not available. One New York Post article claimed that some New York City convenience stores had begun selling bars illegally.[11] As well, websites like Etsy have hundreds of listings claiming to be “mushroom chocolate.” It is unclear how many of them actually contain psilocybin, but there is a supply available to meet the demand. One of the few legitimate sources of psilocybin chocolate stems from Vancouver, Canada. The Canadian government maintains that psilocybin is still illegal in British Columbia, along with the rest of the country. However, due to a lack of enforcement of this law, multiple psilocybin dispensaries and manufacturers have emerged across the city. However, the Canadian government insists that medical exemptions, not dispensaries, are the only legal way to obtain psilocybin.
The Benefits of Combining Chocolate with Psilocybin
Besides the fact that chocolate masks the bitter taste of the mushrooms, there are several reasons to combine psilocybin with chocolate. Chocolate contains low levels of MAOIs, which can help to regulate serotonin. Though mostly anecdotal, some users report that the increased MOAIs add to the strength of the psilocybin, making the experience more profound. At this time, not enough data exists to confirm this to be the case. Additionally, psilocybin chocolate may simplify how the drug is consumed. With accurate branding and packaging, it becomes a lot easier to measure out the size of the dose an individual is taking. For smaller amounts, like a microdoses, it is possible to break a piece of chocolate down to manageable sizes to allow for minimal levels of psilocybin to be ingested. Compared to breaking up a mushroom to get a correct and consistent dose, this is a lot more straightforward. It is important for the individual to pay attention to how much they are taking, though, as this could lead to potentially negative consequences.
The Risks Associated with Psilocybin Chocolates
Aside from any potential legal risks that come from possessing psilocybin chocolate, the risks from consumption are relatively minor. The Journal of Psychopharmacology found that approximately 0.2% of people needed to seek medical attention while using psilocybin.[14] However, many medical professionals stress the importance of using the drug in a controlled, preferably supervised, environment to minimize any variables that could increase any potential dangers. Ideally, that supervision would be with a trained medical practitioner who can address any issues as they arise. Aside from these two major concerns, there does not appear to be any additional risk to combining psilocybin with chocolate.
