Mush Rush – Super Size Me?

The Mush Rush to create the most potent psychedelic mushroom in history is on. Self-taught mycologists are crossing and hybridizing species and strains in make-shift labs with the primary intention of maximizing the strength.

Might this help democratize transcendence and provide more mushrooms to those who might need them?

Unlikely. Let’s be honest, this appears mostly about profit, one-up manship and sheer novelty. (That said, it is undeniable that some cultivators are simply improving mushroom quality through more precise breeding methods and innocuously landing on more potent batches).

Still, like with the legal cannabis of today — super-high potency weed has been unleashed on the public like never before (two tokes is enough to get me completely lit) — it’s not difficult to imagine a near-future where psilocybin mushrooms might have to be consumed in such tiny quantities that any accidental deviation from the amount desired could lead to an extremely uncomfortable trip. It would be an ironic development for the psychedelic movement, if it had the effect of making mushrooms too psychedelic.

“As weed has become easier to obtain, it has become harder to smoke,” warned the Atlantic last month. Now, of course, I’ve smoked plenty of illegal weed that has triggered existential dread, and it has always been tricky to source mild cannabis. But for some of us, there had been a hope that legalization would lead to a genuine diversity of weed on offer at dispensaries.

For the most part, it’s all the same stuff. Super high potency. Or pure CBD, and without the THC that gets you high. Capitalism has always had an issue with the middle ground in any market. Sure, 21st century consumers tend to opt for extremes. But there is a silent majority who desire the Rasta-style reefer of yore, where the taste and aroma of the cannabis can be savored – even a whole joint’s worth to yourself – without spontaneously combusting into fear and loathing.

Naturally, therefore, the winners of psilocybin cups – following in the footsteps of the cannabis cup forefathers – are the strongest mushrooms. As the cultivation and hybridization process swiftly evolves thanks to technological innovation and investment, we are entering an uncharted era of the super strong mushroom. “Three and a half grams, when I was growing up, was considered what you needed to trip,” Reggie Harris, founder of Hyphae Labs, a potency testing laboratory, told the Hyphae Leaks podcast. “Now, 0.7 g is a full trip. Imagine, if I’m running around here thinking that three and a half grams of Panaeolus bisporus …is a full trip. You’re gonna see God.”

Currently, the most potent known psychedelic mushroom hails from the Tamarind Tree British Virgin Islands (TTBVI) strain. The mushroom’s entry at the winter 2022 Magic Myco cultivar cup blew the competition out of the water by an order of magnitude. Presumably the mushroom will since be hybridized with other strains to further enhance its potency, and all eyes are on the potency readings of future competitions. The end goal of all of this appears to be to give consumers rollercoaster trips with less than 0.1g of mushroom, which seems quite a troubling prospect.

So stay tuned. Grind up your mushrooms to equalize the potency in your stash. Get to know your medicine. Build up from a lower dose; hold tight for psilocybin potency testing strips to hit the market. And, of course, as the writer Alan Watts advised, when you get the message, hang up the phone.