Shroomery is a website and messaging board that aims to demystify magic mushrooms.
The online forum covers news, discussions and topics related to psychedelic mushrooms. According to the website’s stats, Shroomery has a total of 201,334 registered users at the time of writing this article.
What Is Shroomery?
Many niche communities have their own online boards, blogs and websites. Despite being illegal in most jurisdictions, there is a community and strong interest surrounding the phenomenon of magic mushrooms.
Magic mushrooms, also known as psilocybin mushrooms, are regulated differently in various countries. According to Wikipedia, there are claims that mushrooms were used for medicinal and religious purposes in several cultures throughout history.
That magic mushrooms are still a topic of great interest today is illustrated by the Shroomery online board.
Based on stats retrieved from SimilarWeb, the site has around 1.3 million visitors every month. A majority of users are male and Shroomery is most popular among 25-34 year olds.
The Revival Of Psychedelics In Mainstream America
An article published in the the Hollywood Reporter takes an inside look at the growing culture and community surrounding so called “magic mushrooms”.
While psychedelics were popular in the 1960s, there has been renewed interest in them as of lately.
From Joe Rogan to alternative doctors and Hollywood celebrities, the narrative surrounding magic mushrooms is shifting from being a fringe, illegal drug to becoming a wellness trend.
According to the report, microdosing psychedelic fungi as a medical treatment is gaining more attention and acceptance.
Microdosing refers to the practice of taking a very small dose, usually as little as one tenth of a “trip” dose, to sharpen one’s perception without triggering hallucinations.
Several documentaries such as Netflix’s Fantastic Fungi have brought the discussion surrounding psychedelics for legitimate uses back into the forefront. Popular podcaster Joe Rogan, as well as other influential voices, have also spoken about what might be called the revival of psychedelics.
Inside the Fight to Legalize “Magic Mushrooms”
Some sources claim that psychedelics are as popular today as they were back in the 1960s. But the tone of the conversation has changed significantly.
After legalizing Cannabis in California, State Senator Scott Wiener is attempting to pass a bill that would legalize the possession of certain psychoactive substances including “magic mushrooms”.
Could magic mushrooms go from being a stigmatized drug to an accepted medical treatment or recreational substance similar to Cannabis in California?
This is certainly the hope of many users that are currently using illegally or operating in a “gray zone”.
The fact that Shroomery is getting almost as many monthly visits as several popular wellness sites is certainly telling. The popular wellness site Shape.com gets around 4 million visitors a month for example.
At the time being, users of Shroomery still have to operate in a fringe world.
Microdosing Explained
Magic mushrooms contain psychoactive substances that mimic that of a neurotransmitter called Serotonin. When users microdose psychedelic fungi the Serotonin receptor sites in the brain and body are filled with the psychoactive molecules.
Traditionally, this leads to a “trip” and hallucinations. Movies like “Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas” illustrate what happens when one of these trips goes wrong.
The practice of microdosing involves taking a dose so small that it doesn’t lead to a psychedelic event. Instead, the idea is to sharpen senses, improve well being or even treat certain mental health conditions such as PTSD.
However, the Shroomery forum isn’t necessarily all about microdosing.
A popular board on the forum is titled “The Psychedelic Experience” and has over 1,647,853 posts. The site also posts emergency resources in case someone overdoses on magic mushrooms and shares information on how parents can block access to the site to protect minors.
This is a reminder that “magic mushrooms” aren’t without risks. Despite their renewed allure, they are classified as Schedule I drugs under the United Nations 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances.
Discussions and Information Surrounding “Shrooms”
At the time of writing this post, there are 28 public boards on Shroomery:
- The Psychedelic Experience
- Psychedelic Medicine, Research & Microdosing
- Mushroom Cultivation
- Advanced Mycology
- Gourmet and Medicinal Mushrooms
- Mushroom Hunting and Identification
- Shroomery Sponsors Forum
- The Ethnobotanical Garden
- Philosophy, Sociology & Psychology
- Spirituality & Mysticism
- Political Discussion
- Money Matters
- Music, Art, and Media
- Science and Technology
- Shroomery University
- The Gaming Grotto
- Sports Forum
- The Great Outdoors
- DIY and Home Improvement
- Culinary Arts, Gardening and Brewing
- The Pub
- Physical and Mental Well-Being
- Sexuality and Relationships
- Security and Safety
- Shroomerites Anonymous
- Website Announcements and Feature Feedback
- Shroomery News Service
- Shroomery Polls
This diverse list of boards shows that the community surrounding Shroomery is interested in a wide range of topics such as spirituality, mysticism, finances, art, science and even sports and gaming.
However, the main focus of the forum remains on mushroom cultivation. The board “Mushroom Cultivation” is by far the most popular and active board on the site with over 334,187 threads.
Shroomery Sponsors: Selling “Gardening Equipment”?
The Shroomery online board is sponsored by several vendors. With over a million monthly visits, the forum appears to have become an attractive piece of online “real estate” for advertisers that cater to those interested in psychedelics.
As of researching this article, there are 26 Shroomery Sponsors:
- High Mountain Compost
- MycoHaus
- Myco.ca
- MagicBag.co
- Original Seeds Store
- MushroomMan Mycology
- Out-Grow.com
- Shroom Supply
- SporesWorldwide.com
- Original Sensible Seeds
- Mushrooms.com
- MycologyNow.com
- World Seed Supply
- Sporeworks
- Myyco.com
- MushroomCube.com LLC
- Reliable Spores
- Edabea
- Magic-Mushrooms-Shop
- North Spore
- Everything Mushrooms
- Avalon Magic Plants
- BarneysFarm
- Kratom Eye
- MRCA Tyroler Gluckspilze
- Zamnesia.com
According to information published on Shroomery, some of these sponsors have been around for as long as 18 years.
A forum post from years ago states that some of Shroomery’s sponsors suddenly disappeared or were involved in legal cases. Most sponsors sell supplies related to growing and cultivating magic mushrooms.
Sorry, I mean of course “gardening equipment”.
Who Owns Shroomery?
Based on a forum entry dating back to 2015, a users states:
“The Shroomery is owned by the mysterious Mind Media of Santa Cruz, California.”
According to the same forum thread, the founder of Shroomery goes by the nickname Ythan. He allegedly started the forum in 1997 when he was still a teenager.
The official Mind Media website doesn’t contain much information other than an address, telephone number and the following statement: “We provide unique solutions to help build online communities, with a focus on personalized service and technical innovation.”
Today, the Shroomery seems to be managed by several admins and moderators with Ythan playing a less important role in recent years.
Shroomery’s Shroom Dosage Calculator
A popular feature of Shroomery is its “Magic Mushroom Dosage Calculator”.
Using this tool, users can get a rough estimate for a dosage in grams based on the mushroom species, potency, whether it’s dried or not and other factors.
According to the forum stats, the calculator has been visited over 1,823,987 times already.
Users can input a range of data, including what level “trip” they want to reach, whether they have been on a “trip” in the last 11 days and other information to estimate and fine tune dosages.
The calculator offers 5 levels, stating that Level 1 “produces a mild ‘stoning’ effect, with some visual enhancement”.
Level 5 is described as “total loss of visual connection with reality.”.
Shroomery’s calculator shows that some users, or potentially even a majority of users, are looking for a “trip” rather than the mild effects of microdosing psychedelic fungi.
Shroomery PF Tek
One of the most popular searches related to Shroomery is “Shroomery PF tek”.
PF tek refers to a popular magic mushroom cultivation method that uses vermiculite as a base combined with pulverized brown rice.
The page links to a website with a video series that can be purchased, documenting the PF tek method in detail with step-by-step instructions. According to the site, the PF tek method “copies nature” and makes sure the mushroom’s “genotype remains complete”.
Written instructions on the PF tek cultivation method and other approaches are provided by Shroomery.
Summary
Whether you like “magic mushrooms” or not, millions of people visit Shroomery every month to learn about magic mushrooms and psychedelics in general.
The popularity of the forum is a telling sign that interest in psychedelics is peaking.
Taking a quick look at Google Trends, it becomes clear that searches for “Psychedelics” have seen a strong uptick in the last decade.
Searches for “magic mushrooms” have been on the decline while the term “psychedelics” is on the rise.
The fascination with expanding our consciousness, being more spiritually connected or even just “tripping” is likely not going to go away anytime soon.
Whether or not the use of psychedelic fungi will be decriminalized in the coming decade or not? We’ll have to wait and see. But the fact that millions of people and hundreds of thousands of registered users have come together and formed a community on the Shroomery forum is noteworthy.
It certainly peaked my interest and led me to research more about the topic and cover it on my blog.
