According to the 2017 Global Drug Survey, hallucinogenic mushrooms are one of the safest recreational drugs commonly consumed worldwide.
The study, conducted on 120,000 people spread across 50 countries, is the most comprehensive global drug survey to date – analyzing the types of drugs people take, the frequency of use, reasons for use, and the positive & negative effects of each.
Researchers are quick to point out that the results are slightly skewed by the fact that although people answer anonymously, they still have to recall their own drug-taking history and answer honestly.
For the sake of the study, safety is measured by the proportion of people taking a drug that then needed emergency medical care. With both legal and illegal drugs all taken into consideration, it appears that mushrooms are the safest drug to take, with just 0.2% of users requiring medical treatment afterward.
In contrast, the post-consumption of MDMA, LSD, and cocaine resulted in users requiring medical attention at a rate 5 times higher than their mushroom using counterparts. The survey suggests that “bad mushroom trips” result from picking the wrong kind of mushroom, rather than the mushroom itself.
As one might expect, the most dangerous drug is methamphetamine, with 8.2% of users requiring emergency assistance post-consumption.
Synthetic cannabis, 2.2%, and alcohol, 1.4%, were second and third, respectively.
It is important to note that two of the most comprehensive scientific studies on drug use identified alcohol as being the most dangerous drug due to the high level of harm it causes to the user and to others around them.
The survey revealed that a staggering 99% of respondents reported having consumed alcohol at some point during their lives; 78% took cannabis, and 63% smoked tobacco.
MDMA ranked as the most popular illegal drug with 34% of respondents reporting having used the party drug — whereas Mephedrone was the least popular at 1.9%.
Of the countries polled, not all responded in equal measure. Germany saw 36,000 respondents, whereas France had only 500 participants. Roughly 90% of the volunteers were white, and 50% reported having university degrees. So, while insightful, one can infer the results are skewed given its limited demographic reach.
We here at Health Spirit Body do not condone drug use, though, for those who choose to partake, perhaps this information will help minimize the risk associated with drug use.
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Source: iflscience.com