The winner for the title of safest recreational drug is magic mushrooms, a new study reports. Baby Boomers and Generation X just might heartily agree.
In research conducted by the annual Global Drug Survey, only .2% of 10,000 people who said they took psilocybin hallucinogenic mushrooms in 2016 needed emergency medical treatment, USA Today reports. The survey had over 120,000 participants across 50 countries. Results showed that the rates for emergency medical treatment for other psychedelic drugs like MDMA, LSD, cocaine and alcohol use were close to five times higher than hallucinogenic mushrooms.
The survey looked at drug use patterns, effects of drug use, and the various substances that people use to get high. Of the participants, 65.1% said they had used illegal substances recreationally within the last year, while 79.3% said they used illegal drugs at some point in their lives.
Around 24,000 people said they had tired shrooms, while 12,000 reported having consumed the drug within the last 12 months. Close to 82% of mushroom users said they were looking for a “moderate psychedelic experience” and an “enhancement of environment and social interactions.”
Adam Winstock, a consultant addiction psychiatrist and founder of the Global Drug Survey, said that magic mushroom is a risky drug, as it causes panic attacks and confusion among users. He told the Guardian,
Combined use with alcohol and use within risky or unfamiliar settings increase the risks of harm most commonly accidental injury, panic and short-lived confusion, disorientation, and fears of losing one’s mind.
Recently, a tourist who had drunk orange juice laced with magic mushrooms jumped off a fifth-floor balcony, ending his life, for example.
But while there have been fatal and dangerous situations linked to the use of magic mushrooms, other studies have shown that the drug can help treat severe depression and anxiety.
According to the survey, LSD users were more likely to seek emergency medical treatment because of “great difficulties” in estimating how much of the drug they should take. Also, people in Colombia, Mexico, New Zealand and Norway were the most likely to find and pick magic mushrooms for their personal consumption.
