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Magic mushroom glossary: the terms people mix up

Psilocybin, psilocin and muscimol are three different chemicals, and 'decriminalized' doesn't mean legal. This glossary defines 40 terms that get mixed up in coverage of magic mushrooms, each in plain words and tied to a statute, an agency page or a study.

Updated , by the Magic Mushrooms San Diego desk.

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Nothing here is dosing guidance.

Substances: what's actually in the product?

Psilocybin
The main psychedelic compound in magic mushrooms. It's a prodrug, a compound the body converts into the active drug, psilocin.2021 It's Schedule I under California law, HSC 11054(d)(18), and federal law.12
Psilocin (psilocyn)
Psilocybin's active metabolite.21 Statutes spell it "psilocyn" and schedule it separately, so a product with psilocin and no psilocybin is still Schedule I.12
Psilocybe cubensis
A widely recognized psychoactive mushroom species whose key compounds include psilocybin and psilocin.22 California's schedule names chemicals, not species, and covers any material with "any quantity" of them.1
Strain (variety)
A named line within one species, such as Golden Teacher or B+ within P. cubensis. A 2025 review notes strain descriptions come "predominantly" from non-academic, community-based reports.22
Amanita muscaria
The fly agaric, a different mushroom from psilocybin species. A March 2026 state-law survey calls it "a non-edible, poisonous mushroom"; it isn't federally controlled and is unregulated in every state except Louisiana.19 See how it's sold in our mushroom products comparison.
Muscimol
Amanita's main psychoactive compound, a central nervous system depressant that acts on GABA-A receptors and produces "sedative-hypnotic and dissociative, dream-like states."19
Ibotenic acid
A second Amanita compound, "considered a neurotoxin," that can cause nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, agitation and headaches.19 FDA lists it among Amanita constituents that are unapproved food additives.13
Psilocin analogue (4-AcO-DMT, 4-AcO-DET, 4-HO-DET)
A chemical relative of psilocin. CDPH found 4-AcO-DET and 4-AcO-DMT in TRE House "magic mushroom" gummies, chocolate and syrup and called them "illegal psychedelics."14 The San Diego County crime lab found 4-AcO-DET and 4-HO-DET in seized PolkaDot bars.25
Entheogen
A word coined in 1979 for plants and fungi used for spiritual purposes.12 Research guidelines note it emphasizes mystical-type experiences.20
Classic psychedelic
Also called a classical hallucinogen: psilocybin, LSD, DMT, mescaline and related compounds, whose effects are "primarily mediated by agonist action at 5-HT2A receptors."20
MDMA
Not a classic psychedelic. Safety guidelines call it "perhaps more appropriately labeled an entactogen" or empathogen.20 Our clinical trials list includes MDMA studies with San Diego sites.
Ketamine and esketamine
Ketamine is a dissociative anesthetic, not a classic psychedelic.20 Esketamine, sold as Spravato, is "the (S)-enantiomer of ketamine," a Schedule III drug available only through a restricted program and approved for two depression indications in adults, including treatment-resistant depression.18 See our therapy cost guide.

Law: what do the legal terms mean?

Schedule I
The federal category for drugs found to have "a high potential for abuse," "no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States" and "a lack of accepted safety for use" under medical supervision. Psilocybin and psilocyn are listed there and in California's Schedule I.12
Allowed under state law inside a licensed program. Oregon licenses psilocybin services for adults 21 and older, residents or not;9 Colorado licenses healing centers.8 Psilocybin stays Schedule I federally even there.2 See our California access map.
Decriminalized
Criminal penalties removed for certain conduct, with no legal sales created. Colorado's Proposition 122 "decriminalized the possession and use of psychedelic mushrooms" for people 21 and older.11 In California, possessing psilocybin is still a crime under HSC 11377.3
Deprioritized
A local policy that makes enforcement a low priority without changing the law. San Francisco's 2022 resolution says arrests involving entheogenic plants "shall be amongst the lowest law enforcement priority for the City."12 State law, including HSC 11054, still applies.1
Wobbler
A crime that can be punished as a felony or a misdemeanor. Under Penal Code 17(b), it becomes a misdemeanor "for all purposes" in listed situations, such as when a judge declares it one.6 See our penalties guide for which psilocybin offenses qualify.
Diversion
A court program that sets a case aside while the person completes requirements. Penal Code 1000 lists simple possession under HSC 11377, the section that covers psilocybin, among eligible charges, subject to conditions such as a clean recent record.37
Treatment-mandated felony
Created by Proposition 36 (2024) in HSC 11395 for people with two or more prior drug convictions who possess a "hard drug." The definition of hard drug excludes "psilocybin (mushrooms)," but prior psilocybin possession convictions under HSC 11377 count toward the two.4
Good Samaritan law
HSC 11376.5: a person who seeks medical help in good faith for a drug-related overdose, and the person overdosing, commit no crime by being under the influence or possessing for personal use. Sales and driving offenses aren't covered.5 See our bad trip help page.
Adulterated
A federal food-law term. FDA says food containing Amanita muscaria, muscimol, ibotenic acid or muscarine "is adulterated" under the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and "subject to enforcement action."13

Programs: how do Oregon and Colorado work?

Service center (Oregon)
Oregon's licensed premises "where administration sessions take place and the only location where clients can legally purchase and consume psilocybin in Oregon."10 Products "may not be purchased and taken off-site."9
Healing center (Colorado)
A state-licensed facility "that permits a facilitator to provide and supervise natural medicine services for a participant." Participants must be 21 or older.8
Facilitator
The licensed person who supervises sessions. Colorado facilitators must be 21 or older and licensed "to engage in the practice of facilitation."8 Oregon facilitators "may decline services to clients for any reason."9
Preparation session
A meeting with a facilitator before the administration session. Oregon requires one,9 and Colorado's statute makes it part of "natural medicine services."8
Administration session
The supervised session in which a participant consumes psilocybin, held at a Colorado healing center or another allowed location.8 In Oregon it's "the only time a client may purchase and consume psilocybin products."9
Integration
Making sense of a psychedelic experience afterward. Colorado defines an integration session as "a meeting between a participant and facilitator that occurs after the completion of an administration session,"8 and Oregon facilitators "will offer integration sessions to clients."9

Science: how is the evidence measured?

5-HT2A receptor
A serotonin receptor in the brain where classic psychedelics act.20 In a brain-imaging study, the intensity of psilocybin's effects tracked receptor occupancy and blood psilocin levels.21
Set and setting
A person's mindset and expectations ("set") and the physical and social surroundings ("setting"). Safety guidelines cite "the powerful influence of set and setting on hallucinogen effects."20
Microdose
A very small amount of a psychedelic taken as part of microdosing, which one study defines as "the practice of regularly using low doses of psychedelic drugs."23 No amounts here; our microdosing guide covers the research.
Placebo effect and expectancy
Improvement that comes from expecting a benefit rather than from the drug. In a 2021 microdosing study, the placebo group improved too, and the authors concluded "anecdotal benefits of microdosing can be explained by the placebo effect."23
Breaking blind
When participants figure out whether they got the drug or the placebo, which can inflate apparent effects. The same study found its small microdose-versus-placebo differences "can be explained by participants breaking blind."23
MADRS
The Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale, a 10-item clinician rating published in 1979 and "designed to be particularly sensitive to treatment effects."24
New Drug Application (NDA)
FDA calls it "the vehicle through which drug sponsors formally propose that the FDA approve a new pharmaceutical" for sale in the US.15
Breakthrough therapy designation
An FDA process "designed to expedite the development and review of drugs" when preliminary clinical evidence suggests a drug "may demonstrate substantial improvement" over available therapy. It isn't an approval.16
Right to Try
A federal law letting patients with a life-threatening disease who have exhausted approved treatments and can't join a trial seek an investigational drug that has completed Phase 1. "FDA does not review or approve requests for Right to Try Act use."17

Safety: what do warnings and lab reports mean?

Bad trip
"Overwhelming distress during drug action," which research guidelines call the most likely risk of psychedelics; it "could lead to potentially dangerous" behavior.20 See our bad trip help page.
Hallucinogen persisting perception disorder (HPPD)
A relatively rare condition in which someone re-experiences drug-like perceptual effects after stopping, in a way that's distressing or impairs functioning and isn't caused by a medical condition.20
Drug interaction
A change in effects when drugs are combined. Research guidelines note that long-term lithium or tricyclic antidepressant use has been shown to intensify psychedelic effects, while long-term use of SSRIs or MAO inhibitors has been shown to blunt them.20
Certificate of analysis (COA)
A lab's report on a tested sample. It covers only the compounds the lab looked for: TRE House's posted reports said no psilocin or psilocybin was detected,26 while CDPH found two psilocin analogues.14 Here's how to read one.

Questions people ask

Is psilocin the same thing as psilocybin?

No. The body turns psilocybin into psilocin,21 and the law lists both as Schedule I.12

Does decriminalized mean legal?

No. Decriminalization removes penalties for conduct like personal possession, as in Colorado,11 but creates no legal sales; in California, psilocybin is still Schedule I.1

Is Amanita muscaria a magic mushroom?

Not in the psilocybin sense: its active compound is muscimol, a central nervous system depressant.19

Sources

  1. California Health and Safety Code Section 11054. California Legislature, 2025 California Code via Justia, accessed October 21, 2026.
  2. 21 U.S. Code 812, Schedules of controlled substances. Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School, accessed October 21, 2026.
  3. California Health and Safety Code Section 11377. California Legislature, 2025 California Code via Justia, accessed October 21, 2026.
  4. California Health and Safety Code Section 11395. California Legislature, 2025 California Code via Justia, accessed October 21, 2026.
  5. California Health and Safety Code Section 11376.5. California Legislature via California Public Law, accessed October 21, 2026.
  6. California Penal Code Section 17. California Legislature via FindLaw, accessed October 21, 2026.
  7. California Penal Code Section 1000. California Legislature, 2025 California Code via Justia, accessed October 21, 2026.
  8. C.R.S. 12-170-104, Definitions. Colorado General Assembly via Colorado Public Law, accessed October 21, 2026.
  9. Oregon Psilocybin Services: Access Psilocybin Services. Oregon Health Authority, accessed October 21, 2026.
  10. Oregon Psilocybin Services Data Dashboard Archive, 2026 Q2. Oregon Health Authority, 2026.
  11. Natural Medicine Book, December 2024. Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies, December 2024.
  12. Resolution No. 379-22, Resolution supporting entheogenic plant practices. San Francisco Board of Supervisors, passed September 6, 2022.
  13. Letter to Industry on the Use of Amanita Muscaria or its Constituents in Food. U.S. Food and Drug Administration, December 18, 2024.
  14. CDPH Warns Consumers Not to Eat TRE House Brand Magic Mushroom Gummies, Chocolate Bars, and Syrup (NR25-024). California Department of Public Health, December 11, 2025.
  15. New Drug Application (NDA). U.S. Food and Drug Administration, accessed October 21, 2026.
  16. Breakthrough Therapy. U.S. Food and Drug Administration, accessed October 21, 2026.
  17. Right to Try. U.S. Food and Drug Administration, accessed October 21, 2026.
  18. SPRAVATO (esketamine hydrochloride solution) label. DailyMed, U.S. National Library of Medicine, accessed October 21, 2026.
  19. Amanita Muscaria (Fly Agaric). Legislative Analysis and Public Policy Association, March 2026.
  20. Human hallucinogen research: guidelines for safety. Johnson M, Richards W, Griffiths R, Journal of Psychopharmacology 2008;22(6):603, PMID 18593734, July 1, 2008.
  21. Psychedelic effects of psilocybin correlate with serotonin 2A receptor occupancy and plasma psilocin levels. Madsen MK et al., Neuropsychopharmacology 2019;44(7):1328, PMID 30685771, January 26, 2019.
  22. Exploring Psilocybe cubensis Strains: Cultivation Techniques, Psychoactive Compounds, Genetics and Research Gaps. Kurzbaum E et al., Journal of Fungi 2025;11(2):99, PMID 39997393, January 28, 2025.
  23. Self-blinding citizen science to explore psychedelic microdosing. Szigeti B et al., eLife 2021;10:e62878, PMID 33648632, March 2, 2021.
  24. A new depression scale designed to be sensitive to change. Montgomery SA, Asberg M, British Journal of Psychiatry 1979;134:382, PMID 444788, April 1979.
  25. Seven tons of fake magic-mushroom candy bars turned over to San Diego deputies. NBC 7 San Diego, November 22, 2024 (updated November 25, 2024).
  26. CDPH: Don't Eat This Brand of 'Magic Mushroom' Gummies, Chocolates and Syrups. KQED, December 11, 2025.

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