Complete Guide to Mushroom Chocolate Bars
This article is your go-to guide for mushroom chocolate bars. What’s in them? Will they make you high, and do they have magical health benefits? Are they even legal? And does the chocolate itself interact with the mushrooms?
We’re about to dish out all the information you need before delving deeper into the world of mushroom chocolates. By the end of this article, you’ll know which shroom chocolate bar is the best choice for you, and what to expect from your experience.
What’s in Mushroom Chocolate Bars?
What’s in a shrooms bar? Well, mushrooms, of course. But that can mean a lot of different things. After all, some mushrooms are food, some are medicine, some are “magic,” and some are poison. And it isn’t uncommon for one mushroom to be all of the above.
So, let’s break down the different broad categories of mushrooms that might come in the form of a chocolate bar. These include:
- Medicinal mushrooms, also called functional mushrooms
- Psychedelic mushrooms, also called magic mushrooms
- Other psychoactive or hallucinogenic mushrooms
Medicinal Mushroom Chocolate Bars
Medicinal mushrooms, also called functional mushrooms, are a category of non-psychotropic mushrooms that are purported to have other pharmacological activities. In other words, they don’t have mind-altering effects, but they may still have health benefits.
Perhaps you’ve heard of a few. Medicinal mushrooms include varieties like:
- Turkey tail
- Reshi
- Lion’s mane
- Chaga
- Cordyceps
We often see these varieties added to products like chocolate and coffee, and marketed as elixirs for daily consumption. Since they are not psychotropic, there are fewer legal or regulatory concerns with these types of mushrooms.
Besides the regulatory advantages, another huge benefit to these types of mushrooms are the potential health benefits. Some of these benefits are scientifically proven, while others are in preliminary stages of research. Others have not been studied scientifically, but are rooted in ancient healing traditions such as Ayurveda and Chinese Herbal Medicine.
Some of the medicinal properties reported for functional mushrooms include:
- Antiallergic
- Antibacterial
- Anti-inflammatory
- Anti-oxidative
- Anti-viral
- Immunomodulating
- Anti-depressive
- Neuroprotective
Not a bad resume for a group of fungi! These properties are thanks to the presence of bioactive compounds, which interact with the cells in your body to exert health-promoting effects.
The most important class of bioactive compounds are polysaccharides, which are structural components of the fungi cell wall. Polysaccharides from mushrooms are primarily responsible for immunomodulatory effects. They can bind to specific cell wall receptors in order to elicit an immune response in the body.
Other classes of compounds present in medicinal mushrooms, such as terpenes and proteins, can also modulate the immune system. As such, medicinal mushrooms are being explored in the treatment and prevention of many diseases, including cancer therapy.
Phenolic compounds also play an essential role in the health-promoting properties of medicinal mushrooms. This class of compounds is primarily responsible for anti-oxidation and anti-aging properties, because they can scavenge oxygen and free radicals to prevent oxidative stress.
Magic Mushroom Chocolate Bars
Magic mushrooms, also called psychedelic mushrooms, is a term usually reserved for species that contain psilocybin. Psilocybin is a psychoactive compound found in over 150 species of mushrooms. Once in the body, it is converted to a similar compound called psilocin, which is primarily responsible for the psychedelic effects.
Psilocin resembles serotonin closely enough that it can bind with the serotonin receptors in the brain. When this happens, the mushroom can literally change your visual perception of the world. It can also change your psychological interpretation of reality. The visual enhancements are limited to the duration of the trip – usually up to 6 hours. On the other hand, the perspective shift afforded by the experience can result in long-term psychological healing.
When done in the right set and setting, psychedelic mushrooms can have profound healing effects. While psilocybin-species are not lumped in with “medicinal” shrooms, they can in fact be a powerful medicine in the right context.
Amanita Mushroom Chocolate Bars
Now it’s time to clear a common mix-up. Sometimes non-psilocybin mushrooms are lumped into the category of psychedelic or magic shrooms. Specifically, the amanita muscaria mushroom is often marketed as a “magic mushroom” despite the fact that it does not contain psilocybin.
Instead of psilocybin, the amanita muscaria contains a very different compound called muscimol. Like psilocybin, muscimol can have powerful effects on the mind and induce a trippy experience. But the similarities end there.
Although you may see amanita muscaria marketed as “psychedelic,” this is actually a bit of a misnomer. The word psychedelic is usually used to refer to compounds that interact with the serotonin receptors in the brain. This is the case for psilocybin, the compound found in “true” magic mushrooms. Muscimol, however, has a completely different mechanism. It doesn’t touch the serotonin receptors, but instead interacts with GABA receptors to exert its mind-altering effects. GABA is an equal essential neurotransmitter, so muscimol is equally powerful. However, GABA is what’s known as an inhibitory neurotransmitter, so muscimol tends to have a more sedative effect on the brain. It often induces a dream-like state or may even lull the consumer to sleep.
For a complete break-down on the differences between amanita muscaria and psilocybin-type mushrooms, you can check out this article.
Are Psychedelic Mushroom Chocolate Bars Legal?
We’ve discussed three broad categories of mushroom chocolate bars. All three have different benefits and different effects on the body. The distinction between these categories is even more important because of the legal implications. Medicinal mushrooms like reishi, chaga, cordyceps, Lion’s Mane, and Turkey Tail are completely legal.
Perhaps somewhat surprisingly, so is amanita muscaria – the mushroom that contains the hallucinogen muscimol.
However, psilocybin is a Schedule I drug. That means that, in the eyes of the government, it has no medicinal benefits and is furthermore considered to be a high risk for addiction. While we know from scientific research that this classification is not entirely correct, it is nonetheless the official legal status of the drug.
Obviously, Green Dragon does not sell illegal mushrooms that contain psilocybin. The “magic” mushroom chocolates sold on Green Dragon contain amanita muscaria, which instead contains the active compound muscimol. While not technically psychedelic, these mushrooms can still have powerful hallucinogenic effects depending upon the dose.
How Does Chocolate Affect Mushrooms?
We’ve given a lot of attention to the medicinal and mind-altering effects of the mushrooms themselves. But what about chocolate itself? Can chocolate also contribute to your mushroom experience?
Similar to how chocolate probably doesn’t enhance your weed high, it’s unlikely that it is contributing to your shrooms trip in any meaningful way. The best thing about chocolate is that it tastes delicious – something we can’t always say about mushrooms. Chocolate is an excellent way to mask the unpleasant and sometimes nauseating experience of eating psychedelic mushrooms.
And yet, if you are consuming medicinal mushroom chocolate bars on the regular, then the added benefits of the chocolate itself should not be discounted. In fact, chocolate has been shown to have multiple health benefits. It can improve lipid biomarkers like LDL and HDL cholesterol, for heart health. It may also have a neuroprotective effect, in helping to prevent Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, as well as improve short-term cognitive function. As a rich dietary source of theobromine, it may also have anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor, and anti-aging properties.
Where to Buy Mushroom Chocolate Bars
Green Dragon has a selection of our favorite high-quality, third-party magic mushroom chocolates. These are a delicious way to take a trip through your own mind, and they are 100% legal as they do not contain psilocybin.
As always, if you have any questions, feel free to contact us for a free consultation.
Magic mushrooms, including those with psilocybin and things like A. muscaria, typically begin to kick in within about 30-60 minutes. Effects generally peak after an hour or two, and the entire trip will likely last from four to six hours.
There are, of course, personal and biological factors that can affect how long your shroom experience lasts. The potency of the shrooms in question, the dose you take, and your own metabolism can all influence how strong a trip is and how long it sticks around.
Once your trip has come to a close, you can likely expect the remnants of your fungal friends to linger in your body for about one to three days. Keep in mind, though, that most standard drug tests don’t check for magic mushrooms, and if they do, they’re almost certainly looking for psilocybin.
If drug testing is a concern of yours, it might be best to choose shrooms that are psilocybin-free or time your trips to leave enough days for your body to purge it from your system.
- Use the right amount for your body.
- Pay attention to side effects.
- Talk to a doctor before starting any new medication plan, shroomy or not.
- Take time to find the right products for your needs and goals.
Shrooms that contain psilocybin are considered federally illegal, at least in the U.S., because psilocybin itself is a Schedule I Controlled Substance. This means that, in the eyes of the federal government, psilocybin has a high potential for misuse, no accepted medical uses, and can only be safely used under the supervision of a medical professional.
Whether or not this classification of shrooms is really fair is up to you, but there are fortunately other options for those looking to experiment without breaking the law. Remember our friend Amanita muscaria, the classic red-and-white toadstool mushroom? Its active ingredients are not controlled substances, which means they are not subject to the same restrictions and legal penalties.
The word “shrooms” is generally used as an umbrella term for different types of psychedelic or “magic” mushrooms.
Unlike the mushrooms we might eat in a dish, shrooms often contain compounds that can produce psychedelic effects, like hallucinations, distorted senses, and altered states of consciousness, also known as “trips.” The most common psychoactive compound found in these sorts of shrooms is psilocybin, but not all shrooms capable of impacting the brain rely on psilocybin to do so.
Many people turn to shrooms for recreational or medicinal purposes (or both), which isn’t a new phenomenon; many types of mushrooms have been used for centuries or even longer to treat common ailments, promote spiritual exploration, and bring people closer together.
In fact, some shrooms, like fly agaric (Amanita muscaria), are so ancient that researchers have traced their origins back to the period before indigenous peoples crossed from Eurasia to the Americas via the Bering Straits. That means that shroom use has been around for almost as long as modern human society has!
