How Long Does Psilocybin Stay in Your System?

After ingesting hallucinogenic mushrooms, the body metabolizes them into active components, such as psilocybin and its active form, psilocin. These compounds impact the brain, leading to changes in perception and behavior.

However, this process occurs relatively quickly:

• Onset of Effects: Changes in emotion, perception, and consciousness can begin within 20–30 minutes of ingestion, lasting for several hours depending on dosage and individual factors.
• Metabolism and Excretion: The body starts processing these compounds rapidly, with the kidneys excreting them through urine.
• Half-Life: The half-life of psilocin is approximately 1.8 hours, while psilocybin’s half-life is around 3 hours.
• Excretion Time: About 75% of psilocin is excreted within 3.5 hours, and psilocybin within 6 hours.
• Detection Window: After 24 hours, these compounds are generally no longer detectable in the urine and most drug test’s do not test for it in the first place.

Several factors can influence these timings:

• Dosage: Higher dosages may stay in the body longer as they take more time to metabolize.
• Potency of Mushrooms: More potent mushrooms contain more active compounds, potentially extending their presence in the body.
• Type of Mushrooms: Different hallucinogenic mushroom species have varying compositions, affecting how long they stay in the body.
• Personal Tolerance: Regular use or higher doses can increase the time these compounds remain in the system.
• Preparation Method: The way shrooms are prepared, such as dried or brewed into tea, can affect their potency and excretion time.
• Food and Drink: Consuming shrooms with other foods or on an empty stomach can influence digestion and excretion times.
• Metabolism: Individual metabolic rates, influenced by factors like age and body composition, affect how quickly these compounds are processed and excreted.
• Kidney Function: Impaired kidney function may slow down the metabolism and excretion of these compounds.