05Effects
Mazatapec effects: what people describe and where the risks are
Acute effects, timeline and safety
Updated
Mazatapec contains the same active compounds as every other Psilocybe cubensis cultivar: psilocybin, which the body converts into psilocin. The effects described below are those of psilocybin mushrooms in general. No study has compared the experience of Mazatapec with that of other cultivars, so a description of Mazatapec as calm or introspective is a shop description, not a finding. This page describes acute effects and risks. It is information for adults, not encouragement to use, and in most countries the mushrooms are illegal (law page).
The timeline
The Trimbos Institute, the Netherlands Institute of Mental Health and Addiction, gives this outline for psilocybin mushrooms (drugsinfo.nl):
| Phase | Time after eating |
|---|---|
| Onset: reality starts to feel different | 20 to 60 minutes |
| Main effects | about 3 to 4 hours in total |
| After the main effects | not yet sober; do not drive |
The wait at the start is where many problems begin. People who feel nothing after half an hour sometimes take a second portion, and then both arrive together.
What people describe
According to the Trimbos Institute, people who take psilocybin mushrooms can see visual effects, such as walls that seem to ripple. Some feel at one with nature. Music and sounds can come across very intensely, and thoughts are experienced differently: something that normally seems simple can suddenly feel complicated.
Physical effects include relaxed muscles and large pupils. Headache and nausea are also possible. How a session turns out depends on more than the strength and the amount: the state of the person (set) and the surroundings (setting) count as well.
Shop descriptions of Mazatapec as calmer and more introspective than other cultivars fit within this range. They describe one end of what psilocybin can do, and the same mushrooms can feel very different in a noisy room or for someone who is anxious.
When it goes wrong
A difficult experience, often called a bad trip, means feeling anxious or confused, suddenly suspicious, or losing control over your thoughts. The Trimbos Institute names taking too much as a main risk, and points out that it is hard to judge how much is needed, because some mushrooms are stronger than others. For home-grown mushrooms of an unmeasured cultivar, from different flushes, that applies fully (strength page).
People who are susceptible can develop a psychosis after using psilocybin mushrooms. The Trimbos Institute also mentions temporary memory complaints, difficulty concentrating and visual noise afterwards. People with psychological complaints, such as depression, anxiety or psychosis, run a much greater risk, and the institute advises anyone who is not feeling well not to use them.
Medicines that do not mix
- Lithium. In an analysis of 62 online reports of lithium combined with a classic psychedelic such as psilocybin, 47 percent involved a seizure and 39 percent involved medical attention (Nayak et al., 2021).
- Antidepressants (SSRIs and SNRIs). In an online survey, about half of the reports of mushrooms taken with an SSRI (47 percent) and with an SNRI (55 percent) described weaker effects than expected, and the dampening may last up to three months after stopping (Gukasyan et al., 2023). Taking more to compensate is a risk in itself. Never stop or change medication without a doctor.
Practical rules that recur in published advice
- Do not use alone. The Trimbos Institute advises a trip sitter: someone who stays sober.
- Choose a calm, safe place that is easy to leave and where you will not be disturbed.
- Do not take a second portion because nothing seems to happen yet.
- Do not drive after the main effects have passed: the Trimbos Institute notes you are not yet sober then.
- With freshly harvested mushrooms, Dutch-Smart's XXL page advises starting low and building up gradually, because the moisture content varies between harvests.
If someone panics
Take them to a quiet, dim room, stay with them and keep telling them that this is the effect of the mushrooms and that it will pass. In the Netherlands, call 112 if someone is unresponsive, has a seizure or is a danger to themselves or others. Tell the emergency services what was taken.
Where the cultivar fits in
What a portion does depends on how much psilocybin it contains, and for Mazatapec that has never been measured. The strength page explains why weight is only a rough guide, and the grow kit page shows how the flush and storage play a part.