When in Rome, you do as the Romans do. That phrase refers to the importance of adapting to the culture in the area, and the culture here in Washington DC is one of a kind. Our unique gift economy makes it possible for tourists and residents alike to get free cannabis and shrooms, and if you err on the wild side of tourism, you might be wondering how to get your hands on shrooms safely while you're visiting the capital.
Y'know— so you can walk the walk with us. Check out some of the nightlife and concert halls with friends, or just microdose at home for a medicinal experience.
But that's not to say that it's as easy to find shrooms as it is to find weed in DC. Magic mushrooms tend to be a rarer commodity, so not every gifting company will have them. But more importantly, some companies that do have it may not offer you the cleanest psychedelic medicine. With that in mind, here's a complete guide to buying shrooms in DC— including where to find them, what to look for, and what to know before you place the order.
What to know before you buy shrooms in DC
First and foremost, you should know about DC Initiative 81. I-81 is the law that allowed adults age 21 and older to grow or gift plant-based psychedelics to one another and decriminalize use. Initiative 81 went into effect in 2021 and made it so that people living or visiting Washington DC could use plants and fungi that contain DMT, mescaline, ibogaine, psilocybin, and psilocin.
Basically, that means shrooms, peyote, DMT, and iboga are good to go. Just keep in mind that like Initiative 71 didn't legalize the sale of cannabis, Initiative 81 didn't allow psychedelics to be sold either. You can only give them away for free. So with that said, you're usually buying a more expensive sticker, shirt, or mixtape and getting a free ounce of shrooms with your purchase.
How to buy magic mushrooms in Washington DC
Since shrooms can't technically be bought or sold, you'll want to start by looking at I-71 and I-81 compliant gifting companies in DC. Start by browsing menus like ours, and make sure that the company you choose has a good website, reviews, and contact information.
You should also consider that while we have a legal loophole here, you shouldn't ask to buy shrooms from anyone. We can't legally sell them. So just like getting kicked out of a headshop as a teenager for asking to buy a bong instead of a waterpipe, you don't want to ask a gifting company to buy shrooms.
Start by asking to see the company's gift menu. If they have magic mushrooms available, they should be happy to answer your questions, as long as you continue to use the gifting verbiage. Ask them what products you have to buy for your free shroom gift, and everything will go smoothly.
Once you ask your questions and find the item you'd like to purchase for your free mushroom gift, you'll simply place your order. Then you can pick it up or have it delivered to you wherever you are in Washington DC.
Buyer's Guide: What do quality mushrooms look like?
Like cannabis, there are tons of strains of shrooms. Each one offers different effects ranging from tingly body highs to intense visual effects. However, unlike cannabis, it's more difficult to determine quality mushrooms from inferior ones. A common myth is that the blue stuff means a more potent magic mushroom, but really that's just bruising from too much handling or aggressive cutting and drying. To figure out if you're shopping for quality mushrooms, you will want to ask whoever you're buying them from a lot of questions.
1. How were the mushrooms grown, and how do they taste?
Magic mushrooms can be cultivated in a lot of different ways, and how they're grown determines their quality. In the old days, shrooms tasted like poop— and that's because they were literally grown in cow dung. While poop is rich in nutrients for the mushrooms, eating something grown in poop isn't a vibe.
These days, most of them are grown in a clean room or laboratory using a more sterile substrate that makes the mushrooms taste more like an ordinary mushroom that you'd find on a slice of pizza. They're usually grown hydroponically on a simple substrate. Like hydro weed, hydro shrooms give the grower more control over the size and potency of the mushroom.
You'll also want to find out the kind of environment they were grown in. If they were grown outside of a clean room, they tend to be more susceptible to mold and other contaminants that you don't want to introduce into your body.
2. How were the shrooms dried and stored?
Unlike weed, shrooms aren't anywhere nearly as finicky when it comes to drying and storage. Realistically, as long as they were cured properly, they're alright. However, improper drying or over-handling can contribute to a slight loss of potency. So you don't want to see a ton of the blue bruising on the shrooms themselves. Other colors are okay, too. Like weed, shrooms can be colorful and throw shades of purple, gold, silver, and red.
Improper handling and mold is the bigger issue. You'll want to make sure the shrooms you buy have been vacuum-sealed or stored in a glass jar in a cool, dark place away from light and oxygen and not handled roughly. If the shrooms are dusty or moldy, don't buy them. You're mainly on the lookout for mold. Perfect shrooms are slightly more potent, but dry or crumbly ones don't lose much potency.
3. What kind of effects does the strain offer?
Whether it's your first time trying shrooms or not, you'll want to know what you're getting yourself into. You should always ask whoever you buy your shrooms from what they feel like. Are their effects more in the body or in the mind? How long did they last, and how potent did they feel? Remember, every trip is different based on your setting, your headspace, and emotions. So you probably won't feel the same way the guy who gave them to you felt. But they'll be able to tell you generally how the strain feels.
4. How potent do the shrooms feel?
Every strain of magic mushrooms is different, and potency comes from their genetics and how they were grown and stored. That said, you'll still want to ask about their potency. You may have eaten a whole eighth of shrooms before and been okay, but since the effects and potency vary from strain to strain, half a gram of a different strain could knock you on your ass.
You'll want to ask the person giving them to you if they've tried them, how much they took, and what they experienced. However, a good rule of thumb is to treat shrooms like edibles. Start with a small amount of a new strain, around 0.5-1 gram, and see how they affect you. From there, you can take more if you need to.
5. Can I inspect the bag?
While you can't determine quality from sight alone, you should still be allowed to inspect the storage bag or jar before you take them. You know what they say, one bad apple spoils the bunch. So even if your weighed bag doesn't have mold, you'll still want to ensure there's no mold on the storage bag.
You'll also want to make sure that the mushrooms are dry. They should snap like a twig. It's okay if they're a little soft and malleable, but they should still be dehydrated. Moisture, light, and oxygen are the leading causes of mold on shrooms, so you want to make sure everything is dried and stored in a cool, dry place and kept in the dark.
How to store and use the shrooms you buy in DC
Once you buy your magic mushrooms, you'll want to take care to store them in a cool, dry place away from light. They should be kept completely dry in a dark cabinet or closet, and they shouldn't be handled much outside of weighing them out for use.
To eat them, you can grind them up in a coffee grinder and mix them into a drink or smear them into a PB&J. You can also eat the mushrooms whole on a sandwich or a slice of pizza if you'd prefer. After you eat them, you should start feeling them in about 30 minutes to an hour. In that time, you should have a plan in place, like your favorite music playlist loaded and ready to go or your favorite show or game up and running. The effects can last anywhere from 4-8 hours, and they're most intense at the very beginning. If something feels uncomfortable, just do something else.
If it's your first time taking mushrooms, you'll want to make sure you have a good first time. Start with 0.5-1 gram at first to see how it affects you. You won't normally trip and start seeing intense visuals at that dose, but you will get a feel for the physical and mental effects. You may need to take more, but it's smart to start low and go slow, so you don't get overwhelmed from the get-go.
No bad trips
Remember, there's no such thing as a bad trip— just hard ones. A lot of the time, when people are talking about having a bad trip, they're talking about the uncomfortable pathways our brains go through while under the influence of psilocybin. That's because the mushroom high is one of a kind. Evidence suggests that psilocybin may have the unique ability to connect different neural pathways in the brain and fire up multiple centers of thought at the same time.
That's why so much research is being conducted on psilocybin against treatment-resistant depression. It may make you go inside yourself a little bit. But just remember, there's nothing to be afraid of. Let your mind go where it needs to go and enjoy the ride. And if you take too much, remember that you're just high, and it'll pass. You can come out of a rabbit hole by playing some music or getting up and moving.
Where to safely buy shrooms in DC
You can order magic mushrooms in DC online with Flower Ave. We have a variety of mushroom strains on hand, but we also carry mushroom-infused chocolate bars that offer a consistent, comfortable dose in a tasty chocolatey bite. But what sets us apart? Trust, mostly.
Because our gift economy is unregulated, it opens the doors for a lot of scammers to come out and peddle inferior and potentially dangerous products. But at Flower Ave, we vet everything to the highest possible degree. Our products are tested, tried, and true before they ever make it to our gift menu. More importantly, we offer superior transparency.
Our team is dedicated to the medicinal benefits of both cannabis and psychedelics, and we believe they help us connect with ourselves, each other, and the world around us. That said, you can rest assured that we can answer any questions you might have about any of our products or our service. So poke around our website, check out our gift menu, and read some reviews. We're here for you.
Just keep in mind that DC Initiative 81 only allows us to deliver within the city limits of Washington DC. If you want to buy magic mushrooms outside of the DC metro region in Maryland or Virginia, you'll want to meet in person to pick up your items and gifts. Delivery is also available, but the shrooms or bud can't leave city limits.
Have a nice trip, Flower Fam ♥