Hallucinogens (also known as "psychedelic" drugs, ancient Greek for mind revealing) are drugs which change the way a person perceives the world. Hallucinogens affect all the senses and cause hallucinations - seeing or hearing things that don’t exist. They can also distort a persons thinking, sense of time and emotions, and produce feelings of unreality. There are many kinds of hallucinogens. Some hallucinogens occur naturally, in trees, vines, seeds, fungi and leaves. Others are manufactured in laboratories.
As with any other drug, how hallucinogens effect a person will depend on a number of different things. It is hard to know how the hallucinogenic experience or "tripping", as it is often called, will turn out. The effects of hallucinogens vary a lot, not only from person to person but also from occasion to occasion.
Some users find the effect pleasant, partly because they are new and interesting. Others find hallucinogenic effects unpleasant and disturbing. A person may experience both positive and negative feelings during the same drug experience. Or the same person may react differently to the same drug on different occasions.
As hallucinogens bought on the street are usually manufactured in illegal laboratories, it is difficult to know either the strength of the drug or the nature of the substance mixed with it. Other drugs are sometimes sold as hallucinogens.
Psilocybin ("magic mushrooms") is the hallucinogenic chemical found in certain mushrooms. In it’s pure state, psilocybin is also as a white powder. It is usually sold as dried mushrooms or in mushroom preparations. People sometimes mistake poisonous mushrooms for those containing psilocybin. Certain kinds of mushrooms can cause death or permanent liver damage within hours of ingestion. Psilocybin belongs to the same chemical family as LSD so it’s effects are quite similar.
They are either eaten raw, cooked, made into a drink or dried for later consumption. It takes about 30 mushrooms to produce an effect comparable to a mild LSD dose.
Tolerance develops quickly with long-term use, but there is little evidence of any physical or psychological dependence developing. There are very few withdrawal effects when the drug is stopped.
Overdose of real magic mushrooms is rare because of the very large amounts the user would need to consume.
In NSW, use, possession or supply of any hallucinogenic drug (e.g. LSD, mushrooms or preparations containing psilocybin, MDMA and cannabis) carries heavy fines and/or prison sentences. Penalties range from a $2000 fine and/or imprisonment to a $500 ,000 fine and life imprisonment.