Editing Psilocybin (section)

==Overdose==
Psilocybin has low [[toxicity]], meaning that it has a low risk of inducing life-threatening events like breathing or heart problems.<ref name=nida/> Research shows that health risks may develop with use of psilocybin. Nonetheless, [[hospitalization]]s from it are rare, and [[overdose]]s are generally mild and self-limiting.<ref name=nida/>

A review of the management of psychedelic overdoses suggested that psilocybin-related overdose management should prioritize managing the immediate adverse effects, such as anxiety and paranoia, rather than specific pharmacological interventions, as psilocybin's physiological toxicity tends to be rather limited.<ref name="Reinert2020" /> One analysis of people hospitalized for psilocybin poisoning found high urine concentrations of [[phenethylamine]] (PEA), indicating that PEA may contribute to the effects of psilocybin poisoning.<ref name="Reinert2020" />

In rats, the [[median lethal dose]] (LD<sub>50</sub>) of psilocybin when administered orally is 280{{nbsp}}mg/kg, approximately 1.5{{nbsp}}times that of [[caffeine]]. The lethal dose of psilocybin when administered [[intravenously]] in mice is 285{{nbsp}}mg/kg, in rats is 280{{nbsp}}mg/kg, and in rabbits is 12.5{{nbsp}}mg/kg.<ref name="Merck"/><ref name="Merck13th" /> Psilocybin comprises approximately 1% of the weight of ''Psilocybe cubensis'' mushrooms, and so nearly {{convert|1.7|kg}} of dried mushrooms, or {{convert|17|kg}} of fresh mushrooms, would be required for a {{convert|60|kg|adj=on}} person to reach the 280{{nbsp}}mg/kg LD<sub>50</sub> value of rats.<ref name="Amsterdam2011" /> Based on the results of animal studies and limited human [[case report]]s, the human lethal dose of psilocybin has been extrapolated to be 2,000 to 6,000{{nbsp}}mg, which is around 1,000 times greater than its [[effective dose (pharmacology)|effective dose]] of 6{{nbsp}}mg and 200{{nbsp}}times the typical recreational dose of 10 to 30{{nbsp}}mg.<ref name="Gable2004" /><ref name="Thomas2024">{{cite book | vauthors = Thomas K | title=Toxicology and Pharmacological Interactions of Classic Psychedelics | series=Current Topics in Behavioral Neurosciences | publisher=Springer Berlin Heidelberg | publication-place=Berlin, Heidelberg | date=2024 | doi=10.1007/7854_2024_508 | url=https://link.springer.com/10.1007/7854_2024_508 | access-date=14 May 2025 | page=}}</ref> The [[Registry of Toxic Effects of Chemical Substances]] assigns psilocybin a relatively high [[therapeutic index]] of 641 (higher values correspond to a better safety profile); for comparison, the therapeutic indices of [[aspirin]] and [[nicotine]] are 199 and 21, respectively.<ref name="Strassman2008" /> The lethal dose from psilocybin toxicity alone is unknown, and has rarely been documented—{{As of|2011|lc=y}}, only two cases attributed to overdosing on hallucinogenic mushrooms (without concurrent use of other drugs) have been reported in the scientific literature, and those may involve factors other than psilocybin.<ref name="Amsterdam2011" />{{efn|One of the reported fatalities, that of a 22-year-old French man who died in 1993,<ref name=Gerault1996/> was later challenged in the literature by Jochen Gartz and colleagues, who concluded "the few reported data concerning the victim are insufficient to exclude other possible causes of the fatality".<ref name=Gartz1996/>}}