The Hidden Dangers of Microdosing: Why Emergency Rooms Are Seeing More Mushroom-Related Visits
Microdosing has become the wellness trend that everyone seems to be talking about. From Silicon Valley executives claiming it boosts creativity to wellness influencers promoting it for mental clarity, taking tiny amounts of psychedelic mushrooms has gained a reputation as a safe, natural way to enhance daily life. The idea sounds appealing: take just a fraction of a full psychedelic dose - so small you barely feel it - and enjoy improved mood, focus, and overall well-being without the intense experience of a full "trip."
But behind the glossy social media posts and glowing testimonials, a different story is emerging from emergency rooms and poison control centers across the country. Healthcare workers are seeing a troubling increase in serious medical emergencies related to mushroom products marketed for microdosing [1]. These aren't just minor stomach upsets or anxiety attacks - we're talking about seizures, heart problems, and hospitalizations that can be life-threatening.
The problem isn't necessarily with the concept of microdosing itself, but with the Wild West nature of how these products are being sold and consumed. Unlike prescription medications that undergo rigorous testing and quality control, most mushroom products available to consumers exist in a legal gray area with little to no oversight [2]. This means that what's labeled as a "microdose" might contain wildly different amounts of active compounds, or worse, dangerous substances that shouldn't be there at all.
Recent investigations have revealed that some popular microdosing products contain not just psilocybin (the active compound in magic mushrooms), but also caffeine, stimulants, painkillers, and even toxic compounds from different mushroom species [1]. It's like playing Russian roulette with your brain chemistry, except you don't even know how many bullets are in the chamber.
For people interested in psychedelic therapy, understanding these risks is crucial. While legitimate medical research on psilocybin shows promise for treating depression and other conditions, the unregulated microdosing market presents serious safety concerns that every potential user should understand before taking that first tiny dose [3].
The Diamond Shruumz Crisis: A Wake-Up Call for the Industry
The most dramatic example of microdosing dangers came to light in 2024 with the Diamond Shruumz outbreak, a public health crisis that sent shockwaves through the psychedelic community. What started as isolated reports of severe illness quickly escalated into a nationwide emergency that highlighted just how dangerous unregulated mushroom products can be [2].
The first cases emerged in Arizona in June 2024, when four people shared Diamond Shruumz chocolate bars and ended up in emergency rooms with terrifying symptoms. Two young adults experienced loss of consciousness, seizures, and loss of bladder and bowel control. One required intensive care and mechanical ventilation to stay alive [2]. But this was just the beginning of a much larger disaster.
Within hours of consuming the chocolate bars, two teenage girls also fell critically ill with decreased consciousness, respiratory depression, and generalized seizures. Both required emergency intubation and intensive care to survive [2]. The rapid onset and severity of symptoms immediately raised red flags for healthcare providers and public health officials.
As word spread and investigations began, the scope of the problem became clear. By October 2024, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had identified 180 cases across 34 states, with three potentially associated deaths [2]. These weren't minor adverse reactions - people were experiencing seizures, heart problems, and neurological symptoms that required emergency medical intervention.
What made the Diamond Shruumz case particularly alarming was that these products were widely available in gas stations, vape shops, and online retailers. They were marketed as containing "psychoactive mushroom extracts," but testing revealed a cocktail of substances that had nothing to do with traditional psilocybin mushrooms [1]. The products contained muscimol and ibotenic acid from Amanita muscaria mushrooms, compounds known to cause unpredictable and potentially dangerous effects.
The outbreak prompted a federal response involving the CDC, FDA, and state health departments. The manufacturer, Prophet Premium Blends, eventually issued a nationwide recall and ceased production, but not before hundreds of people had been harmed [2]. This case serves as a stark reminder that the lack of regulation in the psychedelic space can have deadly consequences.
The Growing Pattern: Why Poison Control Centers Are Overwhelmed
The Diamond Shruumz outbreak wasn't isolated - it's part of a larger trend concerning poison control centers nationwide. Since psilocybin decriminalization began, the United States has seen significant increases in calls from people experiencing serious adverse effects after consuming mushroom products [1].
Emergency responders are dealing with people suffering from seizures, cardiovascular problems, and other serious medical complications - far from the mild effects microdosing advocates promise [1]. These aren't accidental overdoses; many are severe reactions from products specifically marketed as safe microdoses.
The unpredictability of these products is particularly troubling. A Virginia case study involved five hospitalizations after consuming gummies from different brands containing Amanita mushroom compounds [1]. Analysis revealed shocking contamination: the gummies contained unlisted substances including caffeine, ephedrine, and mitragynin (from kratom).
This contamination problem extends beyond mislabeling. The "nootropic" mushroom market floods consumers with products containing wildly different active compound levels, often blending multiple mushroom species with unknown interactions [1]. It's like buying aspirin that secretly contains caffeine and painkillers at unpredictable dosages.
Even legitimate products may carry understudied long-term risks. Research suggests potential cardiac effects from chronic use of compounds activating serotonin receptors, particularly the 5-HT2B receptor associated with heart valve problems [4]. This highlights that even "real" microdosing isn't risk-free.
The increase in emergency cases has prompted state investigations and FDA warnings, but the decentralized market makes regulation difficult [2]. For consumers, buying mushroom products for microdosing is essentially gambling with their health [5].
What You Need to Know Before Considering Microdosing
If you're considering microdosing despite these risks, understand that the current market is largely unregulated, meaning significant health and safety risks. Most importantly, there's no way to know what's in commercially available mushroom products. Even products claiming specific psilocybin amounts may contain different substances, dangerous additives, or wildly inaccurate dosages [1]. Lack of quality control means each product could be entirely different from what's advertised.
Avoid products sold in gas stations, vape shops, or online retailers making unsubstantiated health claims. These sources are most likely to contain contaminated or mislabeled products [2]. The Diamond Shruumz outbreak showed these retail channels often prioritize profit over safety. Even legitimate psilocybin microdosing carries understudied risks. While some report benefits, systematic reviews find adverse effects are more common than users realize [4]. These include anxiety, impaired cognition, and potentially serious long-term heart health effects [5].
The safest approach is waiting for legal, regulated options currently being developed through clinical trials. Several states are creating frameworks for legal psilocybin therapy under medical supervision, providing the safety oversight the current market lacks [3]. If you're struggling with mental health issues, consider proven alternatives first. Traditional therapy, established medications, and lifestyle changes have extensive research backing their safety and effectiveness [4]. Remember that social media promoters often have financial incentives to downplay risks and oversell benefits [5].
Conclusion: The Reality Behind the Hype
The rise in emergency room visits and poison control calls related to microdosing products tells a story that's very different from the wellness narrative promoted on social media. While the concept of microdosing may have legitimate therapeutic potential under proper medical supervision, the current unregulated market poses serious risks that many consumers don't fully understand.
The Diamond Shruumz outbreak, with its 180 cases across 34 states and three potential deaths, serves as a stark reminder that products marketed as "natural" or "safe" can be anything but [2]. When companies can sell mushroom products without oversight, quality control, or accurate labeling, consumers become unwitting participants in a dangerous experiment with their own health. Perhaps most concerning is the gap between the perceived safety of microdosing and the reality of what's happening in emergency departments across the country. People who thought they were taking a small, harmless dose to improve their mood or creativity are instead experiencing seizures, heart problems, and other serious medical emergencies [1]. This disconnect between expectation and reality highlights the dangers of making health decisions based on social media trends rather than scientific evidence.
For anyone interested in psychedelic therapy, the key takeaway is patience. Legitimate research into psilocybin and other psychedelics is advancing rapidly, with several promising clinical trials showing real therapeutic potential for conditions like depression and PTSD [3]. However, these studies are conducted with pharmaceutical-grade compounds, precise dosing, medical supervision, and careful screening of participants - none of which exists in the current microdosing market. Until then, the wisest approach is to be extremely cautious about microdosing products and to seek proven, regulated treatments for mental health concerns. Your brain and your life are too valuable to risk on products that may contain unknown substances, incorrect dosages, or dangerous contaminants. The emergency rooms are already seeing too many people who learned this lesson the hard way [5].
References
[1] Kellogg, J. (2025, August 15). The growing fad of 'microdosing' mushrooms is leading to an uptick in poison control center calls and emergency room visits. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/the-growing-fad-of-microdosing-mushrooms-is-leading-to-an-uptick-in-poison-control-center-calls-and-emergency-room-visits-252866
[2] Walker, H. L., Roland, M., Dudley, S., Komatsu, K., Weiss, J., Dillard, J., ... & Brady, S. (2025). Notes from the Field: Severe Health Outcomes Linked to Consumption of Mushroom-Based Psychoactive Microdosing Products — Arizona, June–October 2024. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 74(1), 14-16. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/74/wr/mm7401a3.htm
[3] Yerubandi, A., Thomas, J. E., Bhuiya, N. M. M. A., et al. (2024). Acute adverse effects of therapeutic doses of psilocybin: a systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA Network Open, 7(4), e247840. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/article-abstract/2817352
[4] Ebbens, E. F., Williams, S. R., Bruccoleri, R. E., & Frazier, S. B. (2024). Neurotoxicity associated with the medicinal mushroom product-Diamond Shruumz: A case report. Toxicology Reports, 12, 101318. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214750024001318
[5] Hutten, N. R. P. W., Mason, N. L., Dolder, P. C., & Kuypers, K. P. C. (2019). Motives and side-effects of microdosing with psychedelics among users. International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology, 22(7), 426-434. https://academic.oup.com/ijnp/article-abstract/22/7/426/5509881
Disclaimer: Psychedelic Assisted Psychotherapy has not been approved by any regulatory agencies in the United States, and the safety and efficacy are still not formally established at the time of this writing.