About:
Psilocybe cubensis is a species of psychedelic mushroom whose principal active compounds are psilocybin and psilocin. Commonly called shrooms, magic mushrooms, gold tops, gold caps, golden teachers, or cubes, a variety of them grows on every continent except Antarctica. Due to this wide distribution and realitive ease of cultivation it is the most well known psychoactive mushroom species.

For a modest psychedelic effect, a recommended minimum of one dried gram should be ingested orally. However, body weight, tolerance, metabolism, and personal sensitivity all play a significant role in determining appropriate doses. So if you are inexperienced with psychedelics, please err on the side of caution. As I always say, ‘You can always take more, but you can never take less.’

Effects usually begin between twenty and sixty minutes after ingestion, peak at around three hours, and taper off over six.
These effects can be broadly described as heightened emotions and visual distortions: an enhancement of colors, increased appreciation of music, fractal patterns behind your eyelids, the animation of shapes – like objects seeming to breathe, increased sense of connection, etc.
I recommend this site for more information on dosages and effects: https://blog.retreat.guru/mushroom-dosage

For those interested in the science, psilocybin metabolises into the drug psilocin which bonds to serotonin receptors in your brain and functions as a far more effective neurotransmitter. That means that parts of your brain that don’t usually communicate are doing so. This stimulates neurogenesis – the creation of new synaptic pathways – and as such has been shown to have wide-ranging medicinal benefits including – but not limited to – reduction in anxiety and depression, increased creativity, increased capacity for the learning of new skills, increased life satisfaction, and decreased fear of death.

Their huge potential is evidenced by the FDA in the US having approved breakthrough therapy designation for psilocybin, which is meant to fast-track research where evidence shows that the new therapy is a significant improvement on existing ones: a single dose of psilocybin can continue having positive impacts on patient’s wellbeing months afterwards, as compared to the daily taking of SSRI inhibitors, for example, in the treatment of depresssion.
I like to decribe it as the difference between having trouble walking and being handed a wheelchair, or exercising. A single strong dose of psilocybin can give you the introspection, clarity, and context necessary for lasting personal change: you spend a few hours running and learn how to walk better.
They don’t call them ‘Golden Teachers’ for nothing.

But please check out sites like Erowid or Psychonaut Wiki for more information and, as always, do your own research.

If you got this far, then thank you for coming to my TED Talk. Trip safe!