Burning Questions: Can You Smoke Shrooms?

While the most common method of consumption for psilocybin is simple and straightforward ingestion, you may have found yourself wondering if there’s a faster-acting alternative: can you smoke shrooms?

This isn’t that outlandish of an assumption. Many shroom consumers also dabble with cannabis, which obviously comes in several different forms (flower, edible, concentrate, tincture, transdermal patch, etc.), and with each form comes a different type of high, and a completely different experience.

While cannabis edibles take a while to hit you, smoking the plant reaps almost instantaneous results. So does that mean smoking shrooms would have similarly immediate effects?

The quick answer: smoking shrooms is a terrible idea.

Why so bad? The Bluntness conducted a bit of research to save you some time.

What Are Shrooms?

Before we dive into the details, let’s talk about what shrooms are, and how they interact with the body when ingested, which is the most universal way to consume the fungi.

There are several different forms of mushrooms, but those of the “magic” variety contain the hallucinogenic compounds psilocybin and psilocin. With similar makeup to serotonin, magic mushrooms imitate the brain’s “feel-good” chemical, causing consumers to feel uplifted, serene, and incredibly happy.

As mentioned, they’re typically consumed via ingestion, and the effects will vary depending on the person, the dosage, and the set and setting. However, it’s safe to expect feelings of euphoria, enhanced senses (colors are brighter, music sounds better, etc.), and a general sense of blissful unity with the world.

Magic mushrooms have been utilized for centuries, grown by cultures throughout the world to connect with spirituality and to explore oneself and the questions of the universe.

Once you’ve ingested shrooms, you can expect to begin feeling the effects within 30 minutes to an hour, depending on the dosage and your unique chemical makeup. This is a similar onset experience to that of cannabis edibles, which begs the question: are there other ways to consume shrooms – perhaps to allow you to feel the fungi’s effects more rapidly?

Can You Smoke Shrooms?

The short answer to this question is yes, but the long answer is a bit more complex.

When shrooms are properly dried out, they’re highly combustible, which means you can technically grind them down, roll them up, and smoke them. Many veteran smokers have tried to do just that, but the results aren’t exactly what you’d hope for.

With smoking shrooms, there aren’t very many official studies done on the subject – if any at all – but anecdotal evidence suggests that it doesn’t provide you with any of the fungi’s typical effects.

“Simply put, there’s no reason to smoke magic mushrooms,” said Nicholas Levich, cofounder of Psychedelic Passage, in an interview. “It likely won’t do anything and is generally considered to be a waste of time, money and mushrooms. Some anecdotal reports state a mild buzz from doing so, but it’s hard to know for certain.”

But, why exactly is that?

Simply put, your digestive system plays a critical role in the onset of magic mushrooms. In order for shrooms to take full effect, the psilocybin needs to be consumed so it can be converted into psilocin in the digestive tract.

Your lungs aren’t able to replicate this function, which is why it’s nearly impossible for you to reap the effects of shrooms by rolling them up and smoking them. 

The Possible Dangers of Smoking Shrooms

Beyond it being basically pointless to inhale your shrooms, it can actually be somewhat dangerous to attempt smoking psilocybin. 

In general, smoking isn’t the best idea. Whether you’re consuming straight tobacco or pure cannabis, any form of inhaled smoke isn’t great for your lungs, as it contains varying levels of toxins that can damage your lung tissue and blood vessels.

Smoking can also result in some unsavory side effects, like excessive coughing or chest pain. Shrooms already come with a number of negative effects if you over-consume or have a bad experience, like nausea, stomach cramps, or uncoordination.

So, on the off chance you smoke shrooms and do experience their effects, you might be facing a host of negative side effects that can feel overwhelming and scary. 

Additionally, smoking shrooms can carry an added risk for your lungs by way of mold. If you’re not careful, or your shrooms aren’t properly dried and stored beforehand, you might be inhaling certain types of mold when you attempt to smoke it. This can easily result in lung inflammation or infection.

Can You Smoke Shrooms Mixed With Weed?

While smoking shrooms has been largely reported as unsuccessful, some persistent consumers wonder if it makes a difference to combine their ground up shrooms with weed. 

Again, anecdotal evidence suggests you won’t experience much from this, other than a cannabis high muddled by the earthy taste of shrooms. No matter which way you try to spin it, it just doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to try smoking shrooms.

We recommend you stick to the most tried-and-true form of consumption for the fungi: just eat it or brew it into a psychedelic tea.

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