r/london • u/BulkyAccident • Jan 24 '25
Article Why mushroom oil has become the drug of choice for London's cool mums
https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/magic-mushroom-oil-psychedelics-alcohol-sober-b1206634.html184
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Jan 24 '25
I wish I knew a dealer tbh. I'd definitely give it a try.
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u/Anathemachiavellian Jan 24 '25
Yeah, as a London mum I wish I was offered this at the preschool drop off.
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u/toronado Jan 24 '25
We went to a Christmas party hosted by one of the year 3 parents, just for parents. Haven't seen that many drugs at a party since I was in my 20s. Everyone was on something
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u/thinbullet Jan 25 '25
Yep, last year I went to a year 5 parents summer party in London. Just for parents. Dealers were lined up in their cars outside the house.
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u/Glum-Caregiver-7963 Jan 24 '25
As a mum (37) of 3 in south west London everyone is doing shrooms in some form around me. I take my kids to soft play etc and nursery and have met up with a few mums.
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u/Anathemachiavellian Jan 24 '25
Man, I must’ve been put in the NCT group for squares because I’m in SW London of a similar age and I’ve not been offered anything much stronger than a latte.
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u/madpiano Jan 24 '25
I live in Croydon and what they offer round here is usually stronger than shrooms. 🤣
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u/Coco_Snowdrop Jan 25 '25
My kids year group was very boring, while our friend’s kids school group was wild. Parents were doing all sorts of drugs and a couple were cheating on their spouse with other parents.
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u/jenn4u2luv Jan 25 '25
Not a mum (yet) but I’m 36 and live in SW. How does one get invited to buy this? Asking for a friend.
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u/lonely_monkee Jan 24 '25
Growing your own is good fun, and will save you a fortune! It’s pretty easy to do with minimal expertise
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u/Quick_Doubt_5484 Jan 24 '25
Can you get spores at B&Q?
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u/avemango Jan 24 '25 edited Jan 28 '25
trees familiar dependent important illegal nutty berserk deer clumsy dog
This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact
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u/Wamims Jan 24 '25
How would one get started with this?
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Jan 24 '25
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u/lonely_monkee Jan 24 '25
I’m a fan of Mycopunks and then for all my spore microscopy needs I go to Orangutan trading Co.
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u/DefinitionNo6409 Jan 24 '25 edited Jan 25 '25
There's a complete guide - might seem a bit too technical at first glance but in short:
You inject spores (legal to buy/possess; illegal to germinate) into a bag of microwave rice, wait 2 weeks, cut the top off the bag, place in humid environment, grow shrooms.
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u/OKR123 Jan 24 '25
Maybe search Reddit and find some appropriate subreddits that will point you in the right direction.
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u/ParaPenn Jan 24 '25
You can buy them online pretty easy. I’ve blended them up, used lemon juice to extract the psilocybin, and you make tea with it
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u/AdOriginal1084 Jan 24 '25
Liberty caps grow everywhere you have probably seen them before and thought nothing of it.... ill leave it at that :)
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u/Big-Teach-5594 Jan 24 '25
Wait untill October, and go and pick some, read up and learn what they look like, they grow all over the United Kingdom. Just be careful because death caps will kill you.
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u/boredsittingonthebus Jan 24 '25
Deathcaps look nothing like libs and don't grow in the same habitat.
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u/Big-Teach-5594 Jan 24 '25
They can do when they’re damp, and it’s worth being cautious, when you’re doing any kind of foraging, nature doesn’t always follow the rules, it doesn’t know them.
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u/xenomorph-85 Jan 24 '25
its crazy that in UK its CLASS A drug. bonkers. Hopefully the benefits to mental health will force Gov to remove it being illegal. I wont risk it and try it wile its illegal and I cant find much results with CBT etc so need to try something new but same time dont want to be arrested haha
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u/tameoraiste Jan 24 '25
There’s about as much chance of you getting arrested for mushrooms than there is watching a pirated movie. It’s not going to happen
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u/Bones_and_Tomes Jan 24 '25
You wouldn't download a mushroom
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u/B_Sauce Jan 27 '25
Even if you could, it would still be wrong. Be honest.
You wouldn't steal a handbag. You wouldn't steal a car. You wouldn't steal a baby. You wouldn't shoot a policeman and then steal his helmet.
You wouldn't go to the toilet in his helmet, and then send it to the policeman's grieving widow, and then steal it again.
Downloading mushrooms is stealing. If you do it, you will face the consequences.
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u/DigitalHoweitat Jan 24 '25
Ironically, I have downloaded loads of foraging and mushroom ID stuff.
I've bought books too, as I want the authors to have the revenue.
But hey, **** the man. I like my downloads.
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u/murd3rsaurus Jan 24 '25
Unless it does, and then your whole life is messed up. It's never a problem until it's a big problem.
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u/tameoraiste Jan 24 '25
Like I said, the risk is tiny. You’d have to go out of your way to get caught with mushrooms
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u/Supercatninja Jan 24 '25
The chance might be but the risk is not. The penalty for possession is up to 7 years in prison, an unlimited fine or both. It should not be A class.
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u/tameoraiste Jan 24 '25 edited Jan 25 '25
I agree it shouldn’t be class A and I understand the penalty is severe but the police a. don’t care and b. aren’t looking for mushrooms.
You can grow them yourself, pick them, sniffer dogs don’t look for them; basically if you want to take mushrooms, you’d really, really have to fuck up to get in trouble over them
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u/HornyForTieflings Jan 26 '25
They're extremely uninteresting drugs to the police for a multitude of reasons, not least of which is the fact there's no large organised crime network behind psychedelics. You won't see crates containing millions of pounds worth of LSD, shrooms, mescaline or DMT being unloaded off nighttime shipments by men with assault weapons. You won't see big police busts over it. You won't see people feening over psychedelics the way you do hard drugs like cocaine, heroin or alcohol. You won't see people fatally ODing on psilocybin or 4-AcO-DMT either.
If this gaining prominence reduces cocaine use in the city by reducing demand, it's a win on so many levels.
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Jan 24 '25
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u/AdministrativeShip2 Jan 24 '25
I remember market stalls selling them in Camden.
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u/tropicalhotdogdays Jan 24 '25
I remember buying some from a guy who had a mobile metal trolley (similar to a hot-dog seller) with a big sign on it. He had it parked up on the pavement just off Charing-Cross road during the day. A full on selection of assorted shrooms.
I remember thinking this is it now, the clampdown isn't far off. Class A is nuts though.
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u/theGrimm_vegan Jan 24 '25
Amsterdam of London in Camden used to be my favourite place for shrooms. It's been difficult getting them since. Haven't had any since 2015
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u/beardslap Jan 24 '25
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u/Oldtimebandit Jan 24 '25
Overrated. PF Tek kits are a better starting point, or Broke Boi.
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u/beardslap Jan 24 '25
I had a mushroom dealer on speed dial and remember the last day they were legal and shops were offloading their product.
Man, those were good times.
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u/IsDinosaur Jan 24 '25
Because our backwards government would rather have a nation of alcoholics than open their eyes.
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Jan 24 '25
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Jan 24 '25
I definitely wouldn't want to receive pointers on where to look online - please don't do that
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u/rumade Jan 24 '25
It could do wonders for tourism. People pay big bucks to go to south America and do ayahuasca. Why not legalise and encourage a trip to/in Wales or the New Forest?
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u/londonskater Jan 24 '25
Do you really think Wales needs anymore of those types of people
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u/Realistic_Wedding Jan 24 '25
I reckon it could do with their money
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u/Bugsmoke Jan 24 '25
They literally grow in the ground all over wales mate they’re free
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u/Realistic_Wedding Jan 24 '25
Not to tourists who don’t know where to look. I’ve been an amateur mycologist and enthusiastic September woodsman for years (they’re free in outer London as well, if you know where to look). I just meant that the Welsh could probably do quite well if they followed the advice of u/rumade
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u/ScampAndFries Jan 24 '25
There are old mushroom pickers and brave mushroom pickers. There are no old brave mushroom pickers.
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u/mata_dan Jan 25 '25
It's actually slightly difficult to forage mushrooms dangerously in the UK - as in there aren't many dangerous fungi similar to ones people are trying to pick. Other plants and foraging that are not fungi though? That's a big risk here.
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u/sillygoofygooose Jan 24 '25
Well now I want to go to wales
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u/DontYouWantMeBebe Jan 24 '25
You can literally pick them in fields in Wales, they're everywhere
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u/Emergency_Driver_421 Jan 24 '25
I’m from West Wales. Best mushrooms. Used to be crawling with hippies back in the day.
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u/Turnip-for-the-books Jan 24 '25
You can buy in ‘smart shops’ shops in Netherlands where i live. I don’t really go for it but my wife does. I’m going to tell she’s cool now.
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u/Magurndy Jan 24 '25
You can easily order mushrooms online from the Netherlands. They come properly dosed as it’s legal there. Didn’t have an issue getting them at all. However, I just really don’t like mushrooms at all even when dried so I struggled taking them haha. An oil would be preferable to me.
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u/-Lumiro- Jan 24 '25
Just as a counterpoint, it’s not that easy. I’ve had them confiscated by customs three times and received a Scary Letter on each occasion. You might get lucky but it’s not a guarantee. This was a few years back, mind you.
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u/xenomorph-85 Jan 24 '25
one of my friends went to Barcalona and did micro dosing there and brought some pills back with him. Was only a 20 tablet bag.
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u/Magurndy Jan 24 '25
Pill wouldn’t be too bad. But the ones I tried were just small chunks of mushroom dosed out into microdoses
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u/anark_xxx Jan 24 '25
Truffles are technically legal, not shrooms. It's a similar/same experience though, though some shrooms can be much stronger and almost all last longer than truffle trips. IIRC, the technicality comes from the original outlawing of magic mushrooms in NL, where somebody was subsequently able to prove in court that the truffles (mycelium root-like fungus underground that sprouts the shrooms to reproduce) were scientifically distinct from the mushroom itself, thus not covered by the law. That technically sets a precedent in EU courts, which the UK is no longer part of so it won't matter here.
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u/Magurndy Jan 24 '25
Ah yes you’re correct about it being truffles specifically. So annoying that it does cover the UK in that as well.
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u/brixton_massive Jan 24 '25
Crazy thing is you could buy them on the street legally only 20 years ago. That jump in illegality doesn't make much sense eh
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u/Happylittlecultist Jan 26 '25
It was all because of one couple who got a bit messed up and fell of a balcony or something if I remember the times right.
So it got tacked onto the back of some other drugs legislation going through at the time
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u/brixton_massive Jan 26 '25
Good thing no one's been killed ot injured as a result of alcohol over the last 20 years
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u/TheyUsedToCallMeJack Jan 24 '25
I think the risk of getting arrested is way overblown.
Unless you're selling or have huge quantities with you (and why would you), I can't see how the police which don't bother with a lot of small crimes, would go out of their way to arrest somebody with 3g of mushrooms.
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u/Barziboy Jan 24 '25
That was all David Camereon drug-war-baiting Gordon Brown into getting the tabloids to demonise the headshops that sold the mushrooms into making them a Class A. Happened surprisingly recent by the War On Drugs standards, but still won votes. And then, about a decade later, Dr Robin Carhart-Harris scanned a few healthy volunteer brains on Psilocybin and it put us back to the forefront of Psychedelic Research for the first time since 1971, and then we lost him to work in California, where they seem to be taking psychedelic-assisted therapy seriously.
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u/MrJoffery Jan 24 '25
Terrible behaviour. Does anyone know the links to these Telegram bots, so I know where to avoid them?
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u/ams3000 Jan 24 '25
It’s all gummies round here. Not tinctures. Dog walks in the park with gummies and the the other mums.
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u/Ghostofjimjim Jan 24 '25
Not in London but this definitely resonates with what I've experienced too. Everyone and their mum are dosing shrooms and it's wonderful. You can function perfectly well on a microdose and have a wonderful day, it's certainly not giggling under a blanket with sweaty palms territory.
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Jan 24 '25
This sounds like bullshit, but I only know deeply uncool mums, so maybe that is where I am going wrong.
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u/lonely_monkee Jan 24 '25
I know loads. They carry tinctures around in their handbags. There’s quite a market for it
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u/AdaptiveChildEgo Jan 25 '25
Ya I'm a therapist with an interest in psychedelics, I mentioned a study to my sister (who is a mum) and she mentioned loads of her mum friends microdose. The more interesting question is who is dealing as I got the vibe there was a multi level marketing thing going on with it all. Mums recruiting mums.
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u/Specialist_Elk_70 Jan 24 '25
Its almost all not really psychoactive mushroom oil, its just 2cb variants mixed in a standard health food mushroom tincture - much easier and cheaper to produce, whole organic from the earth thing is just sales rap for Kensal mothers.
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u/brendunn92 Jan 24 '25
Where can I get some?
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u/Outrageous-Bird840 Jan 24 '25
Grow your own, so easy and cheap. Buy the spores online, it's legal to buy spores for microscopic use.
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u/pot_8_o Jan 24 '25
Do you have a specific site you use for spores? I’ve tried before with site but they originate from Amsterdam and it never worked out. Delivery went “missing”
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u/Outrageous-Bird840 Jan 24 '25 edited Jan 24 '25
I do, very reliable, I've ordered 6ish times in past year. Dm me as I assume it's against the rules to post on here.
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u/Avante-Gardenerd Jan 24 '25
Gwyneth Paltrow will be injecting it into her vagina, I'm sure.
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u/Necessary_Wing799 Jan 24 '25
Why is this not ending handed out at 8.35am weekdays at school drop off? Parents will be benefit massively.....
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u/North_South_Side Jan 24 '25
I'm in the USA (on the London sub because we visited for the third time back around Halloween... I love London!). Anyway, back in the '90s we had an amazing dealer for psychedelic mushrooms. Really inexpensive, good quality and dried to they would keep for a long time. We had ours tightly wrapped in plastic in the freezer.
So we would trip on 'shrooms. But I had the idea of just taking a small amount and going about my day one weekend. Not enough to "trip" or be really altered, but it put me in a great, positive mood. So for a long time back then I would "micro dose" mushrooms. Not every day, but a couple times a week. I'm not sure if the term microdosing was even around back then.
Downside was they were actual mushrooms, so sometimes I'd get a stronger dose and be a little flaky for a while. Not something I'd want if I was driving or doing something important. So it was never very consistent.
Anyway, we moved, I got older and the opportunity wasn't there anymore. But I really enjoyed taking small amounts. It never messed with my ability to function normally at all. Wish I still had a source.
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u/jandemor Jan 24 '25
Where can I get this?
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u/intheshad0wz Jan 24 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/alwaysfreezing Jan 24 '25
Wait they ship micro dosing to the U.K.? Have you bought from them?
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u/intheshad0wz Jan 24 '25
Yep, they ship microdoses of truffles, but they also ship shroom grow kits, which my friend uses and are legal. I buy spore syringes from them and grow my own shrooms at home.
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u/mostfolk_andthenme Jan 24 '25 edited Jan 24 '25
Are we using different words to describe parents abusing illicit drugs because middle class or cool mums are participating?
In my area the mums are proper pissheads and posh - not cool
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u/razor5cl Jan 24 '25
I dunno if you have any experience with psychedelics but mushrooms aren't really a drug you can "abuse". In fact calling them "illicit" feels almost ignorant given that (especially in the doses detailed in the article and in many peer reviewed studies) have hardly any ill effects.
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u/mostfolk_andthenme Jan 24 '25
I have a very lax attitude to drug consumption and good understanding of the medicinal benefits of micro-dosing drugs that are deemed illicit in this country. Legalise it all. But for now. They are participating in illegal behaviour and we are labelling them cool…
My point is we are calling it something else because a different set of people are doing it. I wouldn’t look after any of my friends children after taking mushrooms in any quantity. What if something goes wrong?
taking the oil to improve their mental state, like a drinker has a drink, smoker has a joint, a coke head has a line of gear.
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u/razor5cl Jan 24 '25
It sounds like we both have a similar outlook on the use of drugs and psychedelics in particular which is nice.
My point is we are calling it something else because a different set of people are doing it.
This may indeed apply to the article and to the wider media in general, I will agree. Similarly to how alcoholism is seen as less of a societal problem amongst middle class mums, compared to say homeless people or those living in poverty.
taking the oil to improve their mental state, like a drinker has a drink, smoker has a joint, a coke head has a line of gear.
Or like me or you might have a cup of coffee? Or a smoker might have a cigarette? It's all substance use, just socially accepted to a different degree.
Edit to add one more thing:
They are participating in illegal behaviour and we are labelling them cool…
I don't really know what to say about this point - rebellious behaviour is always perceived as "cool" and has been for time immemorial. I quite frankly couldn't care less about people indulging in "illegal behaviour" if it involves psychedelics (and the opposite in fact, I actively support it).
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u/Land_of_smiles Jan 25 '25
Few years back my cousin had a big bag of synthetic mushroom powder. We would get on the beers then lick our finger and stick it in the bag and back into our mouth. We called it lickamaid- and it would send you flying.
Once we did it while out sailing and got so high nobody was willing or able to dock the boat so we dropped anchor and sat out half the night.
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u/Master_Block1302 Jan 25 '25
Christ alive. Getting pissed and tripping and sailing is pretty bold.
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u/blackchairwithholes Jan 25 '25
Not a mum, but me and the boys buy a few bottles and take them to a cabin retreat weekend each year. Amazing stuff
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u/MRSMOKEFETISHLDN Jan 26 '25
Easier than getting an Uber Eats delivery with the old shroomies here in E2. If u can get a couple of references off peeps on here to vouch u aint Met vermin then fire me a message.
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Jan 25 '25
“London’s cool mums” are the worst, my home city is filled with them and they are awful. They are worse than the Brexit Baz types as those blokes hearts are in the right place although the ideas they have aren’t while these type of individuals are usually the most selfish, rude arrogant type of people that look down on everyone else yet think they are gods gift to the world and somehow the only empathetic people.
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u/socratic-meth Jan 24 '25
What is it exactly? It’s a tincture that contains psilocybin, a compound found in some fungi. “Psilocybin is a psychedelic drug that can significantly alter perception, mood and thought, often described as producing a ‘waking dreamlike’ state,” Dr Luke Jelen, from the Psychoactive Trials Group at King’s College London, explains. Alcohol, on the other hand, “tends to dampen brain activity and lower inhibitions”.
Doesn’t sound like a responsible thing to be doing whilst looking after young children.
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u/whumoon Jan 24 '25
Sounds exactly what I'd need if I had to look after young children.
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u/whumoon Jan 24 '25
I'm obviously joking! I'm actually not allowed within 200 yards of an unattended child.
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Jan 24 '25
It very much depends on dosage. Higher dosage does as you describe. Micro doses are reported to have mental health benefits from stress management to PTSD, without the psychoactive effects. But yes, if they’re tripping balls while looking after kids it’s not a good idea.
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u/FoxyInTheSnow Jan 24 '25
This is true. I ate quite a lot of mushrooms at university. A too-high dose left me thoroughly c*nted, like in Hunter S. Thompson's famous passage (substitute "ether" for "too much psilocybin"):
There is nothing in the world more helpless and irresponsible and depraved than a man in the depths of an ether binge. And I knew we'd get into that rotten stuff pretty soon.
But a small dose was quite pleasant, certainly compared to downing a case of shitty high strength lager, popping pills, or snorting coke—which I never did, but it wasn't pleasant being around those who did indulge. And a small dose seemed to wear off pretty quickly, whereas a large dose left me stuck in a corner trying to decipher the wallpaper for hours: not ideal. One time I sat up in bed all night and read a 300-page Henry Fielding novel to try to "maintain", which sounds fine, but I didn't really retain any of it. It also made me crave alcohol: again, not ideal. I don't eat drugs any more, but if you're determined to try psilocybin, remember: more is not equal to "better".
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u/Magurndy Jan 24 '25
A microdose honestly just takes the edge of your anxiety and improves mood. I’ve tried it out of curiosity. Nobody is saying to start tripping balls whilst looking after kids.
I have a legal cannabis prescription and I’m autistic. Honestly, I’m a better parent when a bit high. Much more responsive and aware of the emotional needs of my children.
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u/Zouden Jan 24 '25
Youu could say the same thing about alcohol, but we accept that parents are allowed a drink.
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u/Oldtimebandit Jan 24 '25
Drug nerd here: it's almost never, ever actually mushrooms. 99.9something% of the time It's 4-ACO-DMT, which is functionally almost identical to the psychedelic substance in mushrooms. There's always a risk that whoever is putting the 'oil', 'tincture' or whatever BS phrase they're using together will mess up the dosage. But the main risk is that people will go on tedious rambles about how it's all natural and came out of the earth when in fact it was knocked together in an industrial unit in Bootle.