Amanita muscaria can be toxic if not properly prepared; effects can include nausea and vomiting, with more severe cases involving seizures, coma and, in extremely rare instances, death. 

Mushrooms are everywhere in California — literally and figuratively. Some are edible, some are psychoactive, some are toxic. And in the case of Amanita muscaria mushrooms, they can be all three.

You may not yet have heard of Amanita muscaria, also called “fly agaric,” but you certainly have seen images of it. The orange-, yellow- or red-capped mushroom with white spots is in everything from “Alice in Wonderland” to Super Mario video games. In our recent report on the use of psychedelics for the Rand Corp. think tank, we estimated that about 3.5 million American adults used Amanita muscaria in 2025, compared with 11 million who reported using psychoactive psilocybin mushrooms.

Psilocybin mushrooms and Amanita muscaria are not the same. Given the growing popularity of so-called “magic” mushrooms for recreational and therapeutic use, as well as possible confusion between these different mushrooms, policymakers and health officials should not ignore health concerns related to Amanita muscaria.

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This is especially true because of the media attention psilocybin has received. Emerging clinical research has shown promise in using psilocybin for treating a variety of mental health ailments. Yet despite growing public interest, psilocybin has not been approved as a medicine by the Food and Drug Administration and remains illegal under federal law. Federal prohibition has not stopped some states and localities from........

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