As you probably know, microdosing magic truffles is all the rage in the Netherlands. More and more people—mainly entrepreneurs and creative types—are discovering the miraculous powers of psilocybin, the active ingredient in magic mushrooms and truffles. Through our truffle microdosing pack, for example, but there are also people who dry out regular portions of magic truffles and make their own capsules. But an American company thinks it can be made even easier. They’ve actually developed a real magic mushroom nasal spray…
‘Magic mushrooms are going legal’
The Oregon-based startup Silo Wellness is confident: Magic mushrooms and other psychedelics are going to become legal, and they want to capitalize on that. To do so, CEO Mike Arnold has developed a nasal spray designed to deliver precise, controlled psychedelic microdoses through a simple method of administration.
Research into psychedelic substances and their potential medical applications is becoming increasingly common. At the same time, the United States is becoming increasingly open to decriminalizing them—in some states, of course. In Denver, for example, where it was decided in March of this year that the personal use and possession of magic mushrooms is no longer illegal. A notion that would have been unthinkable ten years ago.
So although this particular nasal spray is not yet legal at all in the country (with a few exceptions), many companies are already preparing for a potential flood of attention and demand. Silo Wellness is one of them. The idea behind the product is to offer people a way to experience psychedelic effects using a controlled-release device that can deliver consistently regulated microdoses.
What is the perfect dose?
“We’ve solved the age-old problem with plant- and fungus-based medicines: how do you know what a dose is?” explains Michael Hartman, an experienced pharmaceutical product developer working with Silo Wellness, to an American media outlet. “How do you avoid taking too much, like the dilemma with cannabis edibles? We’ve also managed to solve one of the common complaints from some mushroom users: taste and stomach issues.”
The CEO and founder of Silo Wellness is former criminal defense attorney Mike Arnold, who left his job in the legal profession in 2016 to start a marijuana cultivation business. After a life-changing experience with magic mushrooms in 2018, Arnold saw potential in their use. His first magic mushroom experience was one guided by an expert physician, who could provide a controlled dose, but what if that guided experience hadn’t been available? Arnold saw the solution to the problem in the form of a nasal spray, which can deliver a measured, fast-acting dose of magic mushrooms in a way that would be perfect for less experienced users.
Nasal spray for perfect absorption
The nasal spray being developed is not pure psilocybin; instead, Arnold explains that it is a “full myco-spectrum extract of Jamaican magic mushrooms in an aqueous solution.” Exactly what that entails, we may yet find out. According to Arnold, the benefits are enormous. For instance, a dose via nasal spray would work faster, carry less risk of taking too much, and also counteract the queasy feeling associated with magic mushroom or truffle use.
For now, however, we’ll have to wait and see, but is it a good idea? It certainly seems so. “We believe that absorption through the nose has greater bioavailability and a higher absorption rate than absorption through the gut,” Arnold explains. “Once the product is more widely available to the public, the specific dosage will be revealed; but currently, one dose in each nostril contains the biomass equivalent of no more than 0.1 grams.” The product is currently being developed in Jamaica, one of the few countries in the world where magic mushrooms are completely legal.
