[Table], Psilocybin - Facing Addiction in America

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Psilocybin

A hallucinogen in certain types of mushrooms that grow in parts of South America, Mexico, and the United States.ⁱ
Common Commercial Names	Street Names	Common Forms	Common Ways Taken	DEA Schedule / Legal Status
No commercial uses	Little Smoke, Magic Mushrooms, Purple Passion, Shrooms	Fresh or dried mushrooms with long, slender stems topped by caps with dark gills	Ingested (eaten, brewed as tea, or added to other foods)	Schedule I / Illegal
Uses & Possible Health Effectsⁱⁱ
Short-term Symptoms of Use	Hallucinations, altered perception of time, inability to tell fantasy from reality, panic, muscle relaxation or weakness, loss of coordination, enlarged pupils, nausea, vomiting, and drowsiness.
Long-term Consequences of Use and Health Effects	Risk of flashbacks, psychosis, and memory problems.
Other Health-related Issues	Risk of poisoning if a poisonous mushroom is accidentally used.
In Combination with Alcohol	May decrease the perceived effects of alcohol.
Withdrawal Symptoms	Unknown.
Treatment Optionsⁱⁱⁱ
Medications	It is not known whether psilocybin is addictive. There are no FDA-approved medications to treat addiction to psilocybin or other hallucinogens.
Behavioral Therapies	More research is needed to determine if psilocybin is addictive and whether behavioral therapies can be used to treat addiction to this or other hallucinogens.
Statistics as of 2014^iv
Prevalence	Lifetime: 22.8 million persons (8.5%) aged 12 or older have used psilocybin in their lifetime. Past Year: Data not collected.
Average Age of Initiation	Hallucinogens in general: 19.6

i: Source: NIDA, (2016).
ii: Sources: NIDA, (2016) & DEA, (2015).
iii: Source: NIDA, (2016).
iv: Source: CBHSQ, (2016).

From: APPENDIX D, IMPORTANT FACTS ABOUT ALCOHOL AND DRUGS

Facing Addiction in America: The Surgeon General's Report on Alcohol, Drugs, and Health [Internet].

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (US); Office of the Surgeon General (US).

Washington (DC): US Department of Health and Human Services; 2016 Nov.

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