Mixing Weed and Shrooms: Psilocybin With THC or CBD
Magic mushrooms and cannabis are two substances that most people would assume should be kept apart. Psilocybin can cause potent psychedelic experiences, and while cannabis is much less trippy than shrooms it definitely has its own wavelength of effects. If you’ve ever considered taking weed and shrooms together, you are probably more inclined to being a psychoactive thrillseeker, or a psychonaut looking to plumb the depths of your consciousness. Can you mix-and-match with these two substances? Is it safe to combine psilocybin with THC or CBD?
It might sound counterintuitive at first, but there are some uniquely beneficial synergies between psychedelic fungi and herbaceous plants like cannabis. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you should smoke weed and magic mushrooms together, but if you combine them just right the cannabinoids like THC and CBD can complement the effects of psilocybin in many ways. For instance, THC-dominant strains of cannabis can set you in the right frame of mind for a positive psychedelic trip. Cannabis is also well-known for its abilities to ease pain, reduce inflammation, treat depression and insomnia, among many other health benefits. Psilocybin and other psychedelic substances can be made more effective by having your body & mind in states of balance, or at the very least free from negative influences like pain or anxiety. Magic mushrooms can definitely help with conditions like depression or anxiety, but if you can combine weed and mushrooms safely you can optimize the positive effects derived from both substances. CBD and shrooms have a lot of syngeristic qualities that need to be explored further. Mixing weed and shrooms? Are you nuts?! We know it might sound strange at first, but there are many ways to combine shrooms with weed without overdoing the psychoactive effects you’d associate with psilocybin vs thc.
What are the benefits of combining weed and magic mushrooms? How can mixing weed and shrooms benefit you? Why should you try adding THC or CBD to your magic mushroom routine? Let’s unpack this bowl of cannabis questions and light up the benefits of mixing CBD and shrooms and determine the merits of a weed high vs shroom highs.
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WHAT MAKES MAGIC MUSHROOMS SO SPECIAL?
If you’re not already aware, mushrooms containing the active compound known as psilocybin can have a wealth of benefits to your mental, physical and even metaphysical health. Magic mushrooms have been consumed for millennia as a source for enlightenment, spiritual guidance and an overall boost to one’s mental fitness & wellbeing. Ancient peoples around the world have been shown to use psilocybin in their cultural and spiritual practices, and magic mushrooms have consistently been at the forefront of the modern psychedelics movement. Many of our ancestors consumed psilocybin, we continue to experiment with it today, and there seems to be a bright future for magic mushrooms as a life-changing treatment for serious conditions like depression, anxiety and PTSD.
Psilocybin is gaining more traction in the medical community as a potent, natural treatment for some very debilitating ailments but it is still an illicit substance throughout the globe. That being said, there are a growing number of ‘myconauts’ that continue to champion the benefits of psychedelics. Psilocybin is unique in that it is a plant compound that over 180 species of fungi produce naturally. Ayahuasca and mescaline are similar in that they’re plant based (from cacti), but the mushroom kingdom is a truly bizarre yet powerful family of organisms unlike any other. Today, there are hundreds if not thousands of widely used medicinal mushrooms species – such as Lion’s Mane, Turkey Tail, Reishi and Cordyceps. Combine these fungi – whose benefits include improved immunity, major organ support and even cancer fighting properties – with the mind-expanding effects of psilocybin and it’s easy to see why mushrooms have such a prominent seat at the plant-medicine table.
Our planet, and indeed our very species, has been literally shaped by fungi. Some theorists have posited that magic mushrooms and other species have influenced human evolution, and indeed the very concepts of what we call our consciousness. The godfather of mycology himself, Dr. Paul Staments, has even shed some light on fungi’s fingerprints being all over humans and many species of animals’ DNA. In many of his studies, which are supported by a number of other researchers, Dr. Stamets remarks that, “We are all fungal beings”. The presence of fungal DNA can be found in humans and many complex life forms on land, and we know that mushrooms have existed on this world for billions (that’s right, Billions!) of years. So, are fungi the progenitors of life on our planet? It is becoming less of a science fiction question and more of a reality the more we study these fantastical organisms we call fungi.
If mushrooms are responsible for shaping the organisms on our world’s surface, then it stands to reason that we need to do less policymaking about psychedelics and focus on exploring the untapped potential of substances like psilocybin. Mushrooms might be travellers from a distant part of our galaxy, or from another part of the universe entirely, which might explain why consuming them can help you achieve a greater perspective of yourself and the nature of your own reality. Psychonauts will tell you as much, but you don’t need to explore the cosmos while on a magic mushroom trip to benefit from these unique organisms and their plant compounds.
When it comes to transforming your health and mental fitness, psilocybin is a truly revolutionary natural remedy and health supplement. Whether you enjoy psychedelic trips or you’re a subtle magic mushroom microdoser, psilocybin can be a very positive influence on your cognitive abilities, your motivations and fulfillment in life, and the way you perceive yourself and the world around you. If you’re looking for a jumpstart to your psyche, your mental capacity or spirituality, magic mushrooms can cast the right kinds of spells that will lead you to your true potential.
So, perhaps mixing shrooms and weed edibles will revolutionize how you start your day? That might be a fast track to couch-lock and zombifying yourself, because shrooms with weed can initiate intense psychoactive & hallucinatory experiences. Can you mix weed with shrooms? Sure you can, but it’s not as simple as smoking a joint and chasing it with some psychedelic mushroom tea. Balance is key when combining psychedelics or psychoactive substances like weed vs shrooms. Mixing shrooms and weed edibles is a favorite method of combining the two, but you need to take very low doses (or even microdose). Safety, consistency and efficiency are the names of the game when you’re looking to choose between weed vs shroom, or whether you’re looking to combine them.
THE BENEFITS OF THC, CBD & PSILOCYBIN
To begin with, we should cover the obvious risks associated with consuming weed and mushrooms together. Cannabis, like psilocybin, has a lot to offer you in terms of health benefits and quality of life. On the contrary, no substance is without its dark side – after all, too much of a good thing isn’t good at all. If you’ve ever ‘greened out’ from too smoking much weed or too strong of an edible then you know that marijuana can lead you through a rabbit hole and leave you feeling like you’re anywhere but Wonderland. Psychedelics have the same risks associated with their use – overwhelming psychoactive effects can cause “bad trips” that can be even more detrimental than a negative cannabis experience.
For all the rewards of psychedelics and substances like cannabis, there are always risks lurking in the shadows. Like with other beneficial supplements like vitamins or medicine, if you’re not maintaining a positive balance across all spectrums of your health then all your efforts to improve your mental and physical health might be in vain. A balanced diet, fitness, rest & recovery, mental health and overall wellness are crucial factors in determining the success or failure of any remedy or supplement we’re seeking to benefit from. If you’re looking to psilocybin to boost your mental faculties but you’re not getting any sleep, you won’t likely succeed in your attempts to improve your cognition. Conversely, when you smoke cannabis to help your quality of sleep but you’re on the edge of anxiety of depression, you can experience a heightening of these negative mental states if the THC kicks in too hard.
All of these examples illustrate the importance of managing your health collectively in order to improve one particular facet that might need improvement. By staying fit, exercising, keeping yourself mentally engaged and stimulated, and making sure you’re getting enough nutrition can all contribute positively (or negatively if you let them slip) to your experience with psychedelics. If you haven’t eaten well leading up to consuming large amounts of cannabis, or when you can’t sleep lately and you try a dose of magic mushrooms to help you figure out why, you might run into the psychoactive wall, so to speak. Our emotions, states of mind, stress levels and moods can all play major roles in the theaters of our minds – especially so when you add weed and shrooms to the mix.
Once you’ve established your mental health and physical fitness to a level that you’re comfortable with, you’re at a point where you can truly benefit from supplementing your wellbeing with weed and magic mushrooms. How does weed and mushrooms interact with one another? What are the pros and cons to consuming psilocybin with THC or CBD? First, you need to isolate THC and CBD from one another, because they have very different effects on your mind & body and therefore can impact psilocybin in distinct ways.
THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol)
The cannabinoid Tetrahydrocannabinol, otherwise known as THC, is one of if not the most prominent active compound in many cannabis strains. THC is the primary reason we feel “high” when we light up a joint or eat a pot brownie, and it is also largely responsible for the stigmas towards cannabis. One of the major factors that lead to marijuana being scheduled as a controlled substance in the early 1900’s was the misconceptions about what cannabis does to the brain and body (especially those of youth). THC does have a great number of benefits to our health & wellness, such as relief from pain, inflammation, insomnia, nausea, anxiety and depression. Nevertheless, THC suffers from the same generalizations that psilocybin does due to its psychoactive effects on our brains. Regardless of how many positives can be derived from controlled and measured consumption THC or psilocybin, these substances have so much baggage from being misunderstood by authorities that it can seem like a neverending uphill battle just to have them accepted in society.
However, if you’re one of the enlightened individuals who has tried both weed and shrooms, then you can likely see the potential benefits of using both plant compounds in tandem. As we mentioned, THC has a wide array of healing powers and positive influences on our physical and mental health. Smoking a THC-high strain of cannabis can ease your anxiety, calm your over-active mind, or even soothe some nagging pain or inflammation that might otherwise put you in a state of agitation or discomfort. THC can be a useful tool in setting your body in a state of relaxation, or it can sharpen your mind to be more receptive of the kinds of transformative experiences that psilocybin can induce.
Basically, cannabis with varying THC potencies can be used to set your mind & body at ease, enabling you to truly benefit from a psychedelic substance like magic mushrooms. On the flip side, some experienced psychonauts prefer to consume cannabis after they’ve had a shroom trip – maybe to stimulate their appetite, to relax tense muscles, or to help them sleep after an exhaustive psychedelic experience. There’s also a growing trend for psychedelics users to consume THC towards the end of a trip, in order to bring the magic back and finish with a strong sense of euphoria, enlightenment and energy.
No matter what reasons you have for consuming weed and magic mushroom together, make sure that you’re always being careful and starting low, and going slow. Also, having a good understanding of your cannabis strains and knowing how they affect you can mean the difference between a spellbinding magic mushroom trip and a mind-numbing, overwhelming psychedelic experience.
CBD (Cannabidiol)
Where THC is known to have potentially detrimental effects on your mental state, CBD (Cannabidiol) can have almost the opposite effect when combined with psilocybin. CBD, like psilocybin, has gained a lot of positive social capital in recent years because both are being studied as potential treatments for some serious conditions. Depression, substance abuse and PTSD can all be profoundly impacted by consuming weed and magic mushrooms. CBD and psilocybin have even been linked to reducing or outright reverting peoples’ reliance on harmful substances like alcohol, nicotine or other addictive substances[1].
[1] De Ternay J, Naassila M, Nourredine M, Louvet A, Bailly F, Sescousse G, Maurage P, Cottencin O, Carrieri PM and Rolland B (2019) Therapeutic Prospects of Cannabidiol for Alcohol Use Disorder and Alcohol-Related Damages on the Liver and the Brain. Front. Pharmacol. 10:627. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2019.00627
CBD generally has a calming influence on people, and where THC can cause mind-altering effects on a person CBD does not. This is because Cannabidiol is non-psychoactive – in fact, it can actually work to reduce or eliminate the psychotropic influences of THC when consumed together. This isn’t to say that CBD always diminishes the high you feel with THC or psilocybin, but it can reduce the duration or the intensity if you take large volumes of it. Some people use CBD oil daily as a health supplement, while others keep high-potency CBD on hand at all times in case they get too stoned from an edible or if their mushroom trip is coming on too strong.
Most uses of CBD involve supplementary benefits, or “background effects”, such as calming anxiety or helping you slip into a deep, restful sleep. Cannabidiol isn’t typically noticeable because it does not have any trigger effects like with THC. You don’t feel CBD “kick in”, if anything you probably won’t know it’s working until you suddenly realize that your pain, inflammation, anxiety or bad mood is gone. CBD is subtle, but it can be very effective for dealing with chronic pain, insomnia, nausea, anxiety or a variety of day-to-day injuries and illnesses.
Cannabidiol can be sourced from hemp and cannabis, therefore it is legal in a lot more places than THC (wherever cannabis is still a controlled substance). The next time you’re consuming magic mushrooms, try supplementing it with CBD oil or buying some of the psilocybin-CBD products you can find online. CBD can provide the calm demeanor and clarity of mind you need to really maximize your psychedelic experiences. You don’t have to worry about increasing the intensity of your trip because Cannabidiol is non-psychoactive and it can help to regulate or reduce the psychotropic influences of shrooms. You don’t have to choose between weed vs shrooms if you tap into the wonderful healing powers of CBD.
THE PROOF IS IN THE PLANTS
The fact is that, like cannabis, magic mushrooms seem to work with our minds and bodies at an efficient level that can only be explained by our species having a synergistic relationship to one another. How else can we explain the way cannabis can seemingly soothe any of our health issues, while psilocybin can transform our mental states and help us achieve greater things? The plant compounds of cannabinoids and psilocybin can interact with our bodies at a molecular level, and we’re just starting to peek under the lid of how these and other substances can benefit human health & wellbeing.
Next time you want to enhance your psilocybin experience, try combining weed and shrooms. Supplementing with THC or CBD high strains, oils, or edibles can be a truly unique and transformative experience – just make sure you are dosing low to start, and working your way up as your tolerance dictates.
