The Azul prospects I spoke to make use of its merchandise for all kinds of causes. (I haven’t tried any, for the file. As a result of shopping for psilocybin merchandise is illegitimate, I agreed to determine them by their first title solely.) Chris, an artist and entrepreneur, initially started taking microdoses of Azul sweets to assist handle his melancholy whereas working with a psychedelic-supportive therapist. “I used to be crying much less and hurting much less, I muted my ego so my head and coronary heart might talk extra successfully,” he says. However he additionally discovered that they supplied a greater leisure expertise than alcohol. “I might eat a few of the chocolate and get up with a constructive hangover as an alternative of taking a look at my Amex assertion by my fingers.”
Sam, a multimedia artist, who’s a extra skilled psychedelic person, says he likes to make use of the sweets for particular events. “I’m a much bigger dose man,” he says. “It’ll quiet my discursive, analytical thoughts. That’s nice for making artwork, nice for experiencing nature, nice for making a deep reference to a pal.” He says that he appreciates the lab testing that Azul performs as a result of there’s a massive distinction between a 2-3 gram dose, which he prefers, and a much bigger one, say 4-5 grams.
Vanessa, additionally an artist, swears by psilocybin for treating her migraines (there’s promising anecdotal proof for this, and a research is at present underway at Yale). “I really feel simply these waves of therapeutic and perception and reduction, and inside quarter-hour, it’s gone.” Whereas she acknowledges that is “woo-woo,” she finds that totally different mushrooms have totally different energies; she as soon as threw out an entire bag that was “too unhappy.” Of Azul, she says, “Energetically, these mushrooms are probably the most stunning mushrooms I’ve ever skilled.”
Processing mushrooms into sweets affords a number of benefits, in keeping with those that make and eat them. For one, they style higher, not less than to most individuals, who may discover the dried selection recall dust, toes, or, extra mercifully, pumpkin seeds. The feel isn’t nice, both. “I want not selecting mushrooms out of my enamel,” David says. Candies are additionally shelf secure for months, not like the mushrooms themselves, which is able to oxidize if not saved correctly. Bars additionally supply a great way of standardizing dosage, and letting individuals take as a lot or as little as they want, since they break aside. “Crucial factor is to create consistency,” David says.
This emphasis on consistency is smart: Psilocybin can have a a lot wider vary of results than weed. Giant doses can have highly effective results, good and unhealthy; Pollan’s e-book particulars his cautious method to taking massive quantities of psilocybin and different substances, usually with skilled assist. A case historical past printed within the American Journal of Psychiatry seeks to illustrate the dangers: “Whereas our affected person’s expertise started positively, it finally resulted in profoundly deleterious penalties for her psychological well being and private life, each acutely and long-term.”
A mushroom grower I’ll name Jaime, whose small develop room reeks of earthy, humid mushroom funk and tinkles with magnetic stirrers agitating spores, supplies prospects with handouts concerning the power and results of various mushrooms. (The world of unlawful psilocybin is surprisingly heavy on academic handouts.) Jaime grows specialty strains, like a farmer’s market vendor preserving heirloom greens. One selection may spark “pretty benign yawning matches adopted by massive smiles,” whereas a extra intense pressure might produce “highly effective visuals even at decrease doses.” Jaime additionally affords prospects an infographic about dosing, which describes a variety from the tiny micro-dose to quantities that will trigger, in keeping with a couple of individual I spoke to, “ego dissolution.”
