A case history published in the American Journal of Psychiatry seeks to illustrate the risks: “While our patient’s experience began positively, it ultimately resulted in profoundly deleterious consequences for her mental health and personal life, both acutely and long-term.”Ī mushroom grower I’ll call Jaime, whose small grow room reeks of earthy, humid mushroom funk and tinkles with magnetic stirrers agitating spores, provides customers with handouts about the strength and effects of different mushrooms.
Large doses can have powerful effects, good and bad Pollan’s book details his careful approach to taking large amounts of psilocybin and other substances, often with professional help. This emphasis on consistency makes sense: Psilocybin can have a much wider range of effects than weed. “The most important thing is to create consistency,” David says. Bars also offer a good way of standardizing dosage, and letting people take as much or as little as they would like, since they break apart. Chocolates are also shelf stable for months, unlike the mushrooms themselves, which will oxidize if not stored properly. “I prefer not picking mushrooms out of my teeth,” David says. For one, they taste better, at least to most people, who might find the dried variety recall dirt, feet, or, more mercifully, pumpkin seeds. Processing mushrooms into chocolates offers a number of advantages, according to those who make and consume them. “I feel just these waves of healing and insight and relief, and within 15 minutes, it’s gone.” While she acknowledges this is “woo-woo,” she finds that different mushrooms have different energies she once threw out a whole bag that was “too sad.” Of Azul, she says, “Energetically, these mushrooms are the most beautiful mushrooms I’ve ever experienced.” Vanessa, also an artist, swears by psilocybin for treating her migraines (there is promising anecdotal evidence for this, and a study is currently underway at Yale). That’s great for making art, great for experiencing nature, great for making a deep connection with a friend.” He says that he appreciates the lab testing that Azul performs because there is a big difference between a 2-3 gram dose, which he prefers, and a bigger one, say 4-5 grams. “It will quiet my discursive, analytical mind. Sam, a multimedia artist, who is a more experienced psychedelic user, says he likes to use the chocolates for special occasions.
“I would eat some of the chocolate and wake up with a positive hangover instead of looking at my Amex statement through my fingers.” But he also found that they provided a better recreational experience than alcohol. “I was crying less and hurting less, I muted my ego so my head and heart could communicate more effectively,” he says. Because buying psilocybin products is illegal, I agreed to identify them by their first name only.) Chris, an artist and entrepreneur, initially began taking microdoses of Azul chocolates to help manage his depression while working with a psychedelic-supportive therapist. The Azul customers I spoke to use its products for a wide variety of reasons. Michael Pollan’s How To Change Your Mind popularized psychedelic’s benefits to the New York Times subscription demographic. The revival of research into psychedelics and its status as a technocrat accessory has fostered a new openness to psilocybin among the professional creative set in New York and Los Angeles, Austin and Miami. On weekend trips and at dinner parties, at workplaces and on TikTok, magic mushrooms are having a moment. That’s because it contains a lab-tested, high-quality psilocybin chocolate bar. The first giveaway is how hard it is to slip the candy out of the box it’s childproof. And it will be a long time before they’re found on any grocery store shelves. Unlike other chocolates enhanced with mushroom adaptogens that tease dramatic benefits, Azul’s effects won’t be difficult to perceive. The packaging touts that it’s vegan, gluten-free, pesticide-free, and made with 70% organic cacao that has a fruity, berry-forward aroma. Tucked inside an ocean blue box with extravagantly serifed white lettering, an Azul Chocolates bar wouldn't look out of place on the shelves of my local Erewhon in Los Angeles.