DOSE:	2 g	oral	Mushrooms - P. cubensis	(tea)
		oral	Tea	(liquid)

BODY WEIGHT:

140 lb

I will start this off by giving some backstory. After going through a personal transition during my last 2 years of highschool, I became more and more interested with entheogens. I romanticized the idea of 'tripping' and I began to reject the notion of all drugs being terrible things that no one should touch. I had experimented with cannabis during my last couple of years at a small catholic highschool and planned on experimenting with more powerful substances I had been reading about.

The setting: Early spring in a park 30 minutes outside a central Canadian city. The oak and birch trees have not quite started to bud yet. The pines are beginning to show green and the grass is bright green in spots it is able to grow. My long time friend and I were holding onto some mushrooms. We planned on doing them today with another one of our childhood friends but he refused so we were headed to the gym. Instead of working out we followed through and steeped 5 grams of mushrooms we eyeballed in a large green tea. On the drive to the park, my friend consumed a couple of mushroom caps and stems. We found a scenic spot with a picnic table. We had a view of a section of pine trees in the distance and birch trees behind us.

The Experience: We passed the mushroom tea back and forth taking sips. My friend insisted that I try a couple of mushrooms as he did earlier so I did. My friend began to feel them approximately 20 minutes after we sat down so I finished the tea. 10 minutes after he had began to giggle and look around the park, I noticed a funny feeling in my stomach. As if I was falling but not as intense. This persisted for 10 minutes. I accidentally spilled water on the picnic table and it formed a water bubble which captured my attention and I began to see what I thought was with great detail. With my phone on the picnic table, I looked at it and saw my reflection. I distinctly remember seeing a resemblance between my dry lips and the dry wood of the picnic table which made me laugh and feel embarrassed. At this point my friend began to laugh for no apparent reason. It sounded similar to his regular laugh but dragged out longer. I could tell he was feeling it.

This filled me with both excitement and anxiety. I figured I was 15 minutes behind him. I had drank more tea and eaten roughly the same amount of mushrooms which worried me. As my friend was pulled deeper into the mushroom world, he began to not care as he later told me. He didn't care what people thought. With a big smile on his face he would loudly talk gibberish and then laugh his head off. I noticed people on the path more when this began to happen. When he started to stand up on the picnic table, I went into trip sitter mode out of fear of being caught and suggested he sit down and explain what he was feeling in an attempt to distract him while people walked by. In hindsight, I've done stupider things in public and most likely no one cared. Either way from here on out, I was a trip sitter.

My friend began to complain that he was cold. It was a windy day. After some poking and prodding I convinced him it was a good idea to go for a walk back to the car to grab an extra jacket I had. We passed by an outhouse and realized we both had drank a lot of tea. This took us awhile as my friend did not believe I was serious about using the dirty looking outhouse. Once we made it to the car, I was not really feeling much. I could tell I was under the influence but it really was not anything I can describe. My friend on the other hand was repeating dark jokes and laughing his head off. I became more concerned. I was convinced that he was having a bad time and covering it up with dark jokes. I asked him if he was doing ok which he replied with more dark humor and laughs. He later explained that he was genuinely having a great time. While were sitting in the car, I turned on a playlist I had made in preparation for the trip. I have always enjoyed the affect cannabis has on music and I wanted to see if mushrooms would be similar. As soon as I turned on the music, I realized I was not in the mood. The psychedelic songs I figured would be ideal were not doing the trick, so we decided to go back to the picnic table.

Upon exiting the car, my friend slumps half out with his seatbelt still on and laughs to himself while I frantically scan the parking lot for an audience. During the walk back, I am feeling less anxious as we get away from the parking lot and onto a dirt path. My friend insists on continuously throwing his phone into the dirt. When we get back to the picnic table, I notice that my friend and I are having two very different experiences. From his side of the picnic table, he is looking at a bare black and white birch forest. My view was of the green grass and rolling hills. I tell my friend to turn around and he seems pleasantly surprised. We begin to talk about the absence of our friend who was supposed to be with us. We had not seem him since we graduated high school and he seemed distant. We talked about family, the summer that was approaching, and the past as the effects wore off.

I made the comparison between the two very different scenes we were looking at. One scene that symbolised the past year: bleak and lacking in colour. And the other scene of the future and the fast approaching summer. It was turning green. Not quite there yet but getting there. We stayed at the picnic table and talked about life for a while and admired the sun beginning to set until we both were feeling relatively normal.

It was not at all what I thought my first experience would be like. It was a little disappointing. I feel as though I thought my way out of what could have been a better trip. With no sitter, I felt as though I had to take the wheel. I like to be in control and I believe this held me back. I am planning on revisiting mushrooms next summer a few more times with a sitter. I hope I will then be able to let go.

Exp Year: 2017	ExpID: 111318
Gender: Male
Age at time of experience: 19
Published: May 11, 2025	Views: 21
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Mushrooms - P. cubensis (66), Tea (447) : General (1), First Times (2), Difficult Experiences (5), Glowing Experiences (4), Nature / Outdoors (23), Music Discussion (22), Relationships (44), Public Space (Museum, Park, etc) (53)