Amanita muscaria, a mushroom found worldwide in temperate biomes, is legal in the United States (except Louisiana), Canada, and most parts of Europe (except Poland).
However, let’s be honest. Most products out there are lackluster and not quite the “magic mushroom alternative” it’s being advertised as. Amanita induces a dream-like state, which is nice if that’s all you want.
It turns out that adding other psychoactive ingredients can make this mushroom’s effects even more robust (see Area 52's version for a great example). Find products that have the right blend, and suddenly, we’re on the right track to a true shroom alternative.
Here are the best magic mushroom alternatives out there, thanks to “magical” formulas.
Top 6 Best Amanita Gummies to Try in 2024
Here are six trusted amanita mushroom vendors offering the best Amanita muscaria gummies this year:
Budpop Muscaria Mush Gummies
Mushroom Lyfe Amanita Gummies
YUMZ Amanita Muscaria Mushroom Gummies
Premium Jane Amanita Muscaria Gummies
#1: Area 52 Magic Pluto Mushroom Gummies (Editor’s Choice)
The most trusted brand is Area 52, which has already made a name for itself with its famous UFO hemp extracts. Its federally-compliant extract has the maximum allowable amount of THC and sells out across the country.
Area 52's Magic Pluto Gummies contain full-spectrum muscimol and hemp extracts blended with five additional ingredients for a custom formulation working in synergy. While other brands contain only muscimol or add other ingredients that don’t do much, Area 52’s blend boosts the experience, keeps it enjoyable, and ensures you feel incredible the next day.
Area 52 Magic Pluto Gummies:
Muscimol — Extracted from Amanita muscaria mushrooms, forged in the wild
Full-Spectrum Hemp Extract — For a smooth ride and gentle focus
Blue Lotus Flower — Used for centuries to produce and amplify trance and dream states
Dream Herb — Further enhancing vivid, dreamy state
Ashwagandha — Potent adaptogen that modulates mood
L-theanine — Encourages alpha brainwaves and flow
5-HTP — Balances and supports changes to serotonin levels brought on by muscimol
Vitamin B6 — Tunes levels of serotonin and dopamine to optimal levels
Pros & Cons of Area 52 Magic Pluto Gummies:
PRO: Already a trusted hemp company
PRO: Herbal blend amplifies the experience
PRO: Every single batch lab tested
CON: Only available in one flavor (celestial cherry)
#2: Royal Amanita Mushroom & THC Gummies (Runner Up)
The Royal CBD Amanita Mushroom Gummies are coming in a close second, which contain a blend of muscimol from wild-harvested Amanita muscaria mushrooms and the company’s award-winning full-spectrum hemp extract.
Royal uses state-of-the-art technology to create precision hemp extracts that maximize the allowable concentration of delta-9 THC. They’re strong enough without the amanita, but this mushroom gives the experience a lucid quality — in moderate doses, it becomes hard to know whether you’re in a dream or waking reality.
Because of the exceptionally high concentration of CBD that’s also included in this extract, these gummies have a significantly reduced risk of side effects like anxiety —which are common among THC-based edibles.
Royal is one of the most reputable brands you’ll find in the amanita niche. They’re so confident you’ll love these gummies they’re offering customers a 30-day money-back guarantee. If you don’t like these gummies for any reason, you can return them with no questions asked.
Pros & Cons:
PRO: Worldclass return policy (30-day satisfaction guarantee).
PRO: Made with 100% compliant hemp extract (contains 10 mg delta-9 THC)
PRO: Very high potency, especially for the price.
PRO: Reputable brand with thousands of 5-star reviews.
PRO: Fully legal in the majority of US states (visit the website for details).
CON: Amanita can take a long time to kick in (2 hours for some people)
#3: Budpop Muscaria Mush Gummies
Budpop's gummies are infused with 500 mg of Amanita muscaria extract or approximately 5 mg of muscimol per chew. Each bite is crafted with natural, vegan ingredients and is free from artificial additives, colorings, or flavors.
Moreover, these muscimol gummies from Budpop are blended with cannabinoids sourced from Farm Bill-compliant hemp.
This includes options such as:
Delta-9 THC
Delta-9 THC and HHC
For those with a more traditional inclination, Budpop also offers classic dried Amanita caps. This option caters to individuals less concerned with taste and the potential effects of ibotenic acid, which may trigger adverse reactions in some users.
Pros & Cons of Budpop Muscaria Mush
PRO: Some contain D9
PRO: Natural and vegan ingredients
CON: Not much muscimol
CON: Very few reviews online
#4: Mushroom Lyfe Amanita Gummies
Mushroom Lyfe's gummies are designed to elicit stimulating mental effects with each delicious purple punch and apple green gummy.
Despite each gummy weighing 600 mg, Mushroom Lyfe doesn't disclose specific details about the muscimol content per unit. We assume that means 6 mg of muscimol.
Mushroom Lyfe emphasizes the rapid onset of effects and encourages individuals to consume their products responsibly, waiting between doses to see how individuals respond to the gummies.
Pros & Cons of Mushroom Lyfe Amanita Gummies:
PRO: Combinations with cannabinoids available
PRO: Green apple flavor is awesome
CON: 6 mg of muscimol isn’t much
CON: No place to leave reviews on the website
#5: YUMZ Amanita Muscaria Mushroom Gummies
YUMZ is harvesting wild Amanita muscaria from Lithuania, and the lab reports for their gummies on the website show 10.14 mg of psychoactive compounds.
Entirely vegan and free of ibotenic acid, these come in mango, watermelon, and mixed berry flavors.
YUMZ gummies are advertised as pretty potent, so we recommended taking them carefully. Start with a low dose and work your way up if that's what you need.
Pros & Cons of YUMZ Amanita Muscaria Gummies:
PRO: Worthwhile 10 mg muscimol dose
PRO: Free of ibotenic acid
CON: Hard to find reviews online
CON: Hard to say if all Amanita products are tested
#6: Premium Jane Amanita Muscaria Gummies
Starting as a CBD brand, Premium Jane now sells gummies with 500 mg of muscimol extract, translating to about 5 mg of muscimol.
One can choose from flavors like peach raspberry or berry mango. All gummies are vegan, and some are enhanced with Delta-9 THC.
We highly recommend starting with a modest dose and progressively adjusting to guarantee a controlled experience.
Pros & Cons of Premium Jane Amanita Gummies
PRO: Flavors are nice
PRO: Blends with cannabinoids available
CON: Not much muscimol (5 mg)
CON: Very hard to find Amanita on the website
Are Magic Mushrooms Legal?
Unfortunately, mushrooms containing psilocybin are still illegal in most parts of the world.
Buying psilocybin mushrooms online is a pretty big risk in the States. Law enforcement is quite strict and can easily track packages — the legal risks like fines, jail time, and a criminal record are real.
A few states, like Oregon and Colorado, are allowing carefully controlled access to it in retreats and clinics.
Canada has a reputation for being lax in enforcing laws around psychedelics. There are even a few in-person dispensaries operating, like in Vancouver, Toronto, and Ottawa, but these sometimes get raided and aren't very reliable sources.
Some countries, like Jamaica and the Netherlands, have become travel destinations for folks wanting a legal psilocybin experience.
Online vendors skirt laws by selling psilocybin mushroom spores and grow kits that technically don't contain psilocybin. With some practice, anyone can grow magic mushrooms — just don’t forget that it’s still illegal once they start to grow.
Meanwhile, magic mushrooms will continue to grow naturally in most countries in the wild.
Time will tell if we get to see a day when we can buy legal shrooms from a dispensary or online shop.
Amanita Muscaria: The Legal Magic Mushroom
Humans have been using Amanita muscaria for its psychoactive effects for a long time. Shamans in Siberia would consume specially prepared mushrooms for healing and predicting the future.
Most of us already know Amanita — its red cap with white spots makes it one of the most recognizable mushrooms.
For many years, people assumed the mushroom was poisonous, but Amanita is quite safe when prepared appropriately. In parts of Asia, Amanita has even been used as food and can be quite nutritious.
However, it has to be prepared correctly. Amanita contains a substance called ibotenic acid, which can cause vomiting, nausea, diarrhea, and cramping in high amounts. Carefully drying the mushrooms converts ibotenic acid to the psychoactive compound muscimol. Boiling the dried mushrooms in water and vinegar converts ibotenic acid further.
Amanita’seffects aren't perfectly understood by science. Most Amanita muscaria gummies contain muscimol extract, known as a cholinergic, interacting with the parasympathetic nervous system. This branch does many things, often called the 'rest and digest' part of our nervous system. Another way muscimol might work is through its similar structure to GABA, known as the 'brakes of the brain,' which has anti-anxiety effects. By having a similar molecular shape to GABA, muscimol could cause similar effects.
What’s the Best Dose for Amanita Mushrooms?
Not everyone reacts the same way to Amanita, so giving an exact dose is tough.
Dosing with whole mushrooms is tricky because there are several different types of Amanita mushrooms, each with different amounts of muscimol in them. Where the mushrooms grow and how they are dried and prepared will also affect their potency.
Researchers say that an effective dose is about 8-15 ml of muscimol extract. Dosing with an extract is much safer and easier, as eating whole Amanita mushrooms is notoriously unpredictable.
We recommend taking half of one gummy when trying Amanita for the first time and waiting to see how it feels. The best practice is to wait 2 or 3 hours between doses.
It might be tempting to eat a whole bag of gummies if you’re seeking a stronger experience, but this can be dangerous, scary, and overwhelming. We talk more about this below.
For many people, the ideal dose will be a semi-regular microdose. People microdose to get benefits from a substance without altering their perception. Amanita is a popular substance to microdose because it doesn’t as easily trigger anxiety as potent psychedelic substances.
Amanita Mushrooms vs. Psilocybe Mushrooms: Similarities & Differences Explained
Amanita and psilocybin mushrooms are sometimes both called magic mushrooms, but this is not accurate because the effects of each mushroom are pretty different and contain different compounds. Amanita is also generally less intense than psilocybin mushrooms.
The compound found in magic mushroom gummies is psilocybin. It affects the body's serotonin system and has effects similar to LSD, DMT, or mescaline — such as an amplified sense of meaning and understanding of life, the universe, emotional processes, or even spirituality. Hallucinations like geometric shapes or breathing walls can occur, often getting more intense with closed eyes. This can be terrifying or enlightening, depending on the trip.
Amanita, on the other hand, shifts perception and mood, but the effects are mostly calming, with a sensation of the world being a bit clearer while simultaneously feeling less real. The sensations are hard to put your finger on but are generally pleasurable at reasonable doses.
At recommended doses, Amanita doesn’t often make people lose control of their senses and thoughts like psychedelics, although slight changes to motor skills and depth perception can occur, like objects seeming bigger or smaller than they are.
Gummies are carefully formulated for optimal doses, but there are stories of psychonauts taking huge doses of Amanita. These experiences often end with the user falling asleep and having very strange dreams full of intense feelings, challenging lessons, or perhaps chaos if they remember anything at all. Large doses are often accompanied by intense nausea and can be dangerous.
Where Do Amanita Mushrooms Grow Naturally?
Amantia can be found in forests throughout Russia, Canada, Asia, and the United States. In fact, this mushroom is ubiquitous. It prefers a cooler climate but has been found high in the mountains of warmer regions like Central America and the Himalayas.
The mushroom has developed a relationship with certain types of trees found in the forests. The mycelium acts like the roots of the mushroom. They grow inside the roots of various trees and help them absorb water and nutrients. In exchange, pine, spruce, birch, oak, and cedar trees give Amanita sugars, forming a symbiotic relationship.
Traveling people have historically brought their favorite trees with them around the world. Humans have spread Amanita to new regions like Oceania, Africa, and South America.
Separating Amanita from its symbiotic relationship with trees has proven difficult. This means establishing farms or growing them at home is challenging, and most mushrooms are collected in the wild, with the active compounds later extracted. Some researchers have made progress growing Amanita in artificial conditions, but the process is inefficient.
How to Avoid Scams When Buying Amanita Muscaria Products
Scammers are everywhere these days, particularly in online markets selling substances like magic mushrooms, Amanita, CBD, and Delta-9. It makes the job tougher for those working on legitimate businesses, which is unfortunate because many folks are committed to creating genuine, high-quality products.
But don’t worry — with some homework, the lamest scams are easily foiled. While it’s always a bit risky online, here is what we look for right away:
Product Reviews - Real companies with products that are safe to consume and that work as advertised will have many reviews. When companies make something that's awesome, people will talk about it. While hundreds of reviews could be faked, it's not simple.
Third-Party Reviews - Getting data from outside a company's website is also essential. The good news is people love sharing their opinions online. If something is a scam or poor quality, people often talk about it on places like Reddit or Facebook. Search for specific products and suppliers to see what others think.
Trustpilot.com - Drop a company or website address in Trustpilot to check for scams. If something isn’t legit, it can show up here.
Customer Support - While customer support can easily be faked, it's a decent test to simply try and talk to a human being. If they can't give clear answers or no one responds to you quickly, don't give them your money.
Companies will post lab reports online to build trust, and while this can show good faith, we all know not to believe everything we see on the internet. It is worth skimming these reports, but a document could easily be a one-off. A good company will test every lot of production to maintain quality.
If you find reviews of a company or product, check how it made them feel when they took it. Some companies are adding synthetic cannabinoids or other psychoactive drugs. Not everyone reacts well to these substances, and we need to know what we put in our bodies. If other people have a bad or weird reaction, stay away.
Amanita FAQ Section
Let’s go over some frequently asked questions about Amanita mushrooms.
1. What Effects Can I Expect from Consuming Amanita Shroom Gummies?
An Amanita experience will be more low-key than classical magic mushrooms. Expect to feel relaxed and lucid — much like being in a waking dream.
Some minor visual changes can happen, like objects seeming bigger, smaller, closer, or further than they actually are.
If you are into dreaming, Amanita can be an incredible tool. Many take it before bed to have adventures in their dreams, sometimes becoming lucid (becoming aware one is dreaming while still inside a dream). Be aware that dreams on Amanita can get pretty weird and confusing.
2. How Long Do the Effects of Amanita Shroom Gummies Last?
Amanita gummies don’t always work quickly. Wait at least 2 hours before redosing, but three or more hours is safest. Until you know how Amanita affects you, don't take high doses.
Effects usually peak around 5 hours, but this varies. It can last as long as 12 hours. Higher doses will typically stretch a bit longer and cause more drowsiness. When it ends, expect a deep sleep.
3. Can Amanita Shroom Gummies be Used for Microdosing?
Many people love to microdose Amanita shroom gummies. Microdosing is a popular trend with psychedelics like psilocybin or LSD, where tiny amounts are used to get effects over time without a huge trip.
A microdose is about one-tenth of a psychoactive dose. Knowing what works for you as a full dose makes calculating a microdose easy, but dialing in could take a couple of sessions. Check out the optimal dose section above to find your dose.
Once you know how Amanita works for you, slice up gummies or take tiny bites to microdose.
4. Can Amanita Shroom Gummies Interact With Other Medications?
Yes, Amanita gummies can interact with certain medications. Some extracts may contain more compounds than muscimol and ibotenic acid. Always know precisely what is in a gummy before taking it.
Talk to a health professional before taking Amanita gummies, especially in combination with medication. Amanita could make medications stronger or weaker, while certain medications might increase or decrease the effects of Amanita.
5. Is It Possible to Overdose on Amanita Shroom Gummies?
In theory, you could eat a lot of gummies and have serious problems. Anyone with cardiac, liver, or kidney issues should talk with a medical professional before taking Amanita gummies.
If you have experienced mental illness like schizophrenia or manic episodes, avoid psychoactive substances.
