Psilocybin Stats - Substance Search

Pharmacology

DrugBank

Description

Cultivated mushroom allergenic extract is used in allergenic testing.

Measured Affinities

Measured binding and functional data for psilocybin, curated by the IUPHAR/BPS Guide to PHARMACOLOGY. Each row cites the paper it came from. Lower concentrations mean tighter binding — a value in the sub-nanomolar range indicates a very potent interaction.

Target	Action	Measure	Value	Concentration	Species	Source
5-HT2C receptor HTR2C	Agonist	pEC50	7.13	74.13 nM	Human	PMID 16061378

Reading this. pKi, pEC50 and pIC50 are negative log molar values, so a higher number means a tighter interaction; the concentration column converts them for you. Values from non-human species are laboratory measurements and do not translate directly to human effect. Receptor affinity is not a dose — it describes what a molecule binds, not how much of it is safe to take.

Receptor data from the IUPHAR/BPS Guide to PHARMACOLOGY (v2026.2), licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Matched to this substance by InChIKey.

Toxicity

PsychonautWiki PubChem

study ranking various drugs (legal and illegal) based on statements by drug-harm experts. This study rated "mushroom" the least harmful drug overall and for users, and the only drug that didn't get any scores for harm on others.]] Numerous studies have found that psilocybin mushrooms are physiologically well-tolerated and has an extremely low toxicity relative to dose. There is no evidence for long-lasting effects on the brain or other organs and there are no documented deaths attributed to the direct effects of psilocybin mushrooms toxicity. However, it is worth noting that while they may not be capable of causing direct bodily toxicity or death, their use can still present serious hazards. For example, they are capable of strongly impairing the user's judgment and attention span, which may promote erratic or dangerous behaviors.

LD50

LD50: 280 mg/kg (Oral, Rat) (L1143)

Carcinogenicity

No indication of carcinogenicity to humans (not listed by IARC).

Addiction & dependence

Like other serotonergic psychedelics, psilocybin mushrooms have low abuse potential|low abuse and no physical dependence potential. There are no literature reports of successful attempts to train animals to self-administer a serotonergic psychedelic, which is predictive of abuse liability, indicating that it does not have the necessary pharmacology to either initiate or maintain dependence. Additionally, there is no human clinical evidence that psilocybin mushrooms causes addiction.

Psychosis & mental-disorder risk

Psilocybin mushrooms can exacerbate symptoms (e.g. delusions, mania, psychosis) of various mental disorders. Additionally, they can precipitate the early onset of schizophrenia in vulnerable individuals.

Effect Profile

Curated + 1,720 Reports

Psychedelic 8.8

Strong visuals, auditory effects, and headspace with moderate body load

Visual Intensity×3

1010

Headspace Depth×3

99.2

Auditory Effects×1

1010

Body Load / Somatic Effects×1

75.6

Catalog Erowid

Based on reports from:

Effect Index An Exploration into the Depths of Psilocybin — LeftoverNinja Effect Index First Trip in Over 6 Months — Josie Effect Index I Found God Inside Myself — Oscarette Bluelight Big & Dandy Thread Erowid Experience Reports

Community Effects

TripSit

Negative

nausea vomiting anxiety seizures

Tolerance & Pharmacokinetics

drugs.wiki

Tolerance Decay

Full tolerance 1h Half tolerance 10d Baseline ~14d

Cross-Tolerances

LSD

Psilocin

Mescaline

DMT

5-MeO-DMT

2C-B

2C-E

2C-I

Experience Report Analysis

Erowid

3,009 Reports

1,720 Single-substance

1990–2025 Date Range

1,039 With Age Data

33 Effects Detected

Demographics

Gender Distribution

Age Distribution

Reports Over Time

Effect Analysis

Erowid

Effects aggregated from 1,720 experience reports (1,720 single-substance Erowid)

1,720 Reports

33 Effects Detected

13 Positive

14 Adverse

6 Neutral

Effect Sentiment Distribution

Confidence Distribution

Each bar is the share of reports mentioning the effect; its whisker, and the band on the rows below, is the 95% interval: where the share could plausibly be with other reports of the same kind.

Positive Effects 13

Visual Distortions 64.9% 70%

Color Enhancement 52.2% 70%

Music Enhancement 41.9% 70%

Empathy 40.5% 70%

Euphoria 33.7% 70%

Stimulation 30.3% 70%

Closed-Eye Visuals 25.3% 70%

Introspection 24.8% 70%

Tactile Enhancement 14.5% 70%

Body High 13.7% 70%

Open-Eye Visuals 13.2% 70%

Focus Enhancement 10.9% 70%

Creativity Enhancement 4.7% 70%

Adverse Effects 14

Anxiety 61.5% 70%

Confusion 37.4% 70%

Nausea 22.3% 70%

Memory Suppression 13.3% 70%

Pupil Dilation 9.7% 70%

Motor Impairment 8.8% 70%

Headache 5.6% 70%

Muscle Tension 5.0% 70%

Sweating 4.8% 70%

⚠ Psychosis 4.7% 70%

Thought Loops 4.5% 70%

Increased Heart Rate 2.6% 70%

Jaw Clenching 2.5% 70%

⚠ Seizure 2.3% 70%

Show 6 neutral or unclassified mentions

Auditory Effects 27.4%

Dissociation 19.6%

Sedation 15.4%

Time Distortion 12.7%

Ego Dissolution 9.8%

Hospital 9.1%

Also reported in combinations. In the 1,289 Psilocybin reports where another drug was taken too, 113 (8.8%) mention hospital, emergency services or an overdose, 33 (2.6%) a seizure and 66 (5.1%) psychosis. In the 1,720 single-substance reports: 9.1%, 2.3% and 4.7%. These are not in the figures above: they cannot be put down to Psilocybin alone, and a mention is not always something that happened to the writer.

Dosage Distribution

Dose distribution from experience reports, one dose per report (the first listed). Doses above Q3 + 3×IQR, far above what people typically take, are left out of the median and range and listed under each route: most are real heavy doses or overdoses, not mistakes.