“Magic” mushrooms are the safest drugs for people to take recreationally, according to a study.
Researchers came to this conclusion during the annual Global Drug Survey, which questioned more than 120,000 people in 50 countries.
Just 0.2 percent of the more than 12,000 people who reported taking the hallucinogenic drug psilocybin, which is found in the fungus, claimed that they needed emergency medical attention afterwards.
In comparison, 4.8 percent of the 1,500 people who admitted to using methamphetamine last year had to be treated — while 3.2 percent of the 1,300 synthetic cannabis users received help, the survey says.
“Magic mushrooms are one of the safest drugs in the world,” Adam Winstock, a consultant addiction psychiatrist and founder of the Global Drug Survey, told The Guardian on Wednesday.
“Death from toxicity is almost unheard of with poisoning with more dangerous fungi being a much greater risk in terms of serious harms,” he said.
While mushrooms are the safest, meth and synthetic pot — also known as K2 — are ultimately the two most dangerous drugs to use recreationally.
The second safest substance is cannabis, followed by LSD, Cocaine, Amphetamine, MDMA/Ectasy and alcohol.
“People who use psychedelics are generally very sensible and show some of the best preparation and adoption of harm reduction practices of any drug,” a summary of the survey said.
While alcohol was the most commonly used substance, a larger percentage of people were hospitalized in 2016 due to meth and synthetic marijuana.
The number of females who received medical treatment last year for meth was nearly double the amount of men, the survey shows.
In addition to recreational use, magic mushrooms have been known to treat severe depression and anxiety. But experts warn that they aren’t completely harmless.
“Combined use with alcohol and use within risky or unfamiliar settings increase the risks of harm most commonly accidental injury, panic and short lived confusion, disorientation and fears of losing one’s mind,” Winstock explained. “[Plan] your trip carefully with trusted company in a safe place and always know what mushrooms you are using.”
The Global Drug Survey is considered to be the world’s biggest annual drug study, and is conducted every year.
