Psyched Wellness CALM Tincture Review 🍄

In short — this is a great product to assist with sleep; just don’t expect a “trippy” experience. The Amanita muscaria mushroom is far and away from psilocybin-containing “magic mushrooms” like Psilocybe cubensis or Psilocybe semilanceata.

While this mushroom certainly is psychoactive, the effects are more lucid and dreamlike than they are psychedelic. The standard dose to help with sleep is 2 dropperfulls (2 mL), and the more psychoactive effects begin around the 3 or 4 mL mark.

Of all the Amanita muscaria products we’ve tried so far, we can confidently say, this one is the best. It comes from a public company with a solid track-record, and a patented extraction process that ensures consistency between batches. This is crucial given that the chemical composition of this mushroom varies SUBSTANTIALLY from one sample to another.

Most vendors selling this mushrooms either don’t use real Amanita muscaria — instead opting for synthetic muscimol or other completely unrelated psychoactive chemicals.

What made me the most impressed about the CALM tincture from Psyched Wellness was that it was extremely effective for helping me stay asleep through the night. To be completely honest, this product is the only thing so far that has actually achieved that.

CALM Tincture Pros & Cons

The biggest pro for me was this tincture’s sedative qualities. Amanita muscaria, a psychoactive visionary mushroom primarily used by shamans in northern Asia, is considered an oneirogen — which means it enhances dreams. Part of this dream enhancement comes from the herb’s sedative effects, especially in higher doses.

Some people find the sedative qualities of this mushroom a downside, so it just depends on what you want out of it. If you’re looking for something to help you trip while out on a hike — this isn’t the right stuff. 

However, if you want something mild to explore in the evenings before a deep night of rest — I couldn’t recommend Psyched Wellness’ CALM tincture more.

Pros:

• Excellent flavor (this says a lot because the A. muscaria mushroom is notoriously bitter)
• Mild effect (as long as that’s what you’re looking for)
• Effective sleep aid (in my experience)
• Effective for promoting lucid dream states

Cons:

• Delayed onset (1 hour) can be difficult to plan for before bed
• Mild effect (if you’re wanting to seriously trip, keep looking)
• Groggy effect in the mornings (especially with higher doses)

Trip Report: J Gordon Curtis

I first took a single dropper since the comments on Reddit swung wildly from depictions of full-on psychedelic trips to declarations of it being completely ineffective. I was already pretty tired when I took it, and the dose was mild, so I didn’t notice much of an “onset” per se, but I dozed off around an hour later.

To my surprise, I woke up the next morning and was in the same position I had fallen asleep in. I’m normally restless and constantly alternating between 3–8 different positions all night. 

I often wake up with dull back pain, but this was gone this morning as well — likely because my back actually had the chance to rest all night.

The next day, I tried again with two droppers about an hour before I wanted to fall asleep and felt it come on strongly about an hour later. I went to bed and fell asleep quickly and was out all night again, waking up in the same position I had fallen asleep in.

The major downside of all of this was that I was groggy the next day and found it hard to get out of bed. Part of this might have been the excitement of not feeling like I had to get out of bed because my back hurt, but I do question if I was getting the REM sleep I usually would.

Either way, it’s been a beneficial addition to my cabinet for sure and something I turn to from time to time when I don’t feel concerned about having to wake up the following day.

Many people look forward to the dream element that’s expected with Amanita’s, but I didn’t experience any. I often don’t remember my dreams, and it’s possible I was actively dreaming all night and forgot it (hence the grogginess in the morning), so this might just be me.

Trip Report: Justin Cooke

I’ve always been a huge fan of the Amanita muscaria mushroom. I’ve made many tinctures myself from mushrooms collected around my home.

I’ve also tried many of the Amanita Gummies, tinctures, and capsules being sold online from companies like Urb and Trippy Extrax — but so far, the only product that feels anything like the authentic Amanita muscaria tinctures I’ve made myself is this CALM Tincture from Psyched Wellness. None of the other products I’ve tried so far feel legit and, in my humble opinion, should be avoided. 

Without knowing what they’re putting in these products, it’s hard to consider them safe. At the very least, they aren’t going to offer the specific benefits of the Amanita muscaria mushrooms. If you want psilocybin, use psilocybin mushrooms — grow kits, spores, or even the mushrooms themselves are becoming more widely available every year.

I think the issues with Amanita products stem from 3 inherent challenges this mushroom presents to manufacturers: 

1. This mushroom can’t be cultivated — the only source is wildcrafting.
2.  The active ingredient, muscimol, varies significantly depending on where the mushroom was harvested, how it was processed after harvesting, and the time of year.
3.  Ibotenic acid, also contained inside the mushroom, is toxic and can only be eliminated with proper processing.

These issues have a lot of manufacturers using completely separate ingredients in their products or a synthetic form of muscimol that just doesn’t seem to offer the same effects as the natural mushroom.

I’ve seen a lot of sketchy lab tests in this space, both from white label manufacturers and individual brands themselves. These companies appear to be using unlisted ingredients to produce a “trippy effect” — they’re trying to leverage the hype around magic mushrooms, using the legal Amanita muscaria as a proxy.

First Dose: 1 mL of Tincture

Whenever starting out with a new substance, it’s wise to take half of what’s listed on the bottle. Even though I have experience with this mushroom, I decided to practice what I preach and only take half.

As expected, this dose was very mild — I could feel some effect on my periphery, but nothing worth writing about. No surprises here, but the main reason for doing this is to make sure you aren’t sensitive to the product. I felt fine, so the next day I took a full dose.

Second Dose: 2 mL of Tincture

This dose was much stronger than the first dose — producing noticeable, albeit mild, effects. I would definitely describe the feeling as “calming.” My body felt loose and relaxed, and I was very quick to fall asleep.

Normally, I experience wild dreams after taking Amanita, but this particular night, I don’t remember having any dreams.

Followup Note: After experimenting with this tincture more, I can report this 2 mL dose can certainly increase dream vividness. It’s not super reliable — I’d say after about 10 doses, dreams are enhanced about 50% of the time. At 3 mL I’ve noticed oneirogenic effects about 75% of the time.

Third Dose: 4 mL of Tincture

About one week after the first dose, I took a large, 4 mL dose (4 dropperfulls). This dose definitely ventured into the psychoactive range.

I experienced clear visuals (although I have to iterate again that these visuals are distinct from psilocybin visuals.)

I didn’t see any moving or pulsating patterns like I would with psilocybin, but everything appeared “different” in a way that’s hard to explain. Looking around at my room, everything felt unfamiliar and somewhat surreal.

The distance and size of objects also became hard to comprehend. This is one of the strangest phenomena of this mushroom reported by many (but not all) users. It’s not something I don’t think I could even explain — but basically, your ability to distinguish whether something is close up, or far away becomes skewed.

In terms of headspace, I felt almost completely normal. I could maintain any conversation and continue with my normal activities despite a fog of lucidity over my vision. It felt like I was in a waking dream, but my mind could still process my thoughts perfectly. This is unlike magic mushrooms that can launch you into trains of thought far outside normal consciousness. Engaging in normal daily activities becomes all but impossible.

I felt the grip of sleep taking over my mind within about 2 hours of taking the mushroom, and slept like a baby.

Felt slightly groggy in the morning, but a strong coffee swiftly cleared that up.

Overall, I really enjoy this tincture for what it is. At 2-3 mL this is an excellent sleep tonic and oneirogen, and at 4 or 5 mL it’s a decent psychoactive. I would only recommend using this tincture in the evenings as one of its main effects is to make you feel very sleepy.

I recommend taking it about 2 or 3 hours before you would normally go to bed to have a nice little trip before passing out, or immediately before bed to maximize the dream-enhancing effect.

This tincture also pairs very well with marijuana to further enhance the “trippy” effects.

Company: Psyched Wellness

Psyched Wellness is a public company based out of Toronto, Canada — founded in 1981 by entrepreneur Jeffrey Stevens.

This company is wholly focused on the production of Amanita muscaria extracts using their patented AME-1 extract. Currently, they only offer one product, the CALM Tincture, but plans for expanding their product line are in the pipeline. 

Psyched Wellness is a public company listed as PYSC on the Canadian Stock Exchange.

Studies on AME-1

In April 2023, a study out of Edmonton, Alberta, found the AME-1 extract “may prime microglial cells toward a protective innate immune response…” This suggests AME-1 may offer neuroprotective effects. More studies are currently underway to explore this potential in more detail. 

Final Thoughts: Psyched Wellness CALM Tincture

Overall, I really like this stuff. It wasn’t what I was expecting in terms of the psychedelic experience (which is very mild), but it exceeded my expectations as a sleep support supplement. This is something I’ve been struggling to find an effective solution for years now, and I was pleasantly surprised by how soundly I slept after taking this tincture a couple of times.

The recommended dose says 2 dropperfuls, but I found, for me personally, that 3 or 4 dropperfuls work best. I’m usually asleep within about 2 hours of taking this stuff.

I would highly recommend this tincture for people interested in lucid dreaming, those who have trouble sleeping and haven’t found anything else to be effective, or those who simply want to get a feel for what the Amanita muscaria has to offer.

There are a TON of very low-quality Amanita muscaria vendors out there currently. This is the only product the Tripsitter team has discovered, short of the raw, wildcrafted mushrooms themselves, to be authentic. Most contain a cocktail of other (unknown or illegal) tryptamine extracts to simulate psychedelic effects. 

This extract is made by a public company with clear manufacturing standards and public ethics statements. It’s also one of the only companies in this space that publicizes the team behind it. Most “Amanita” products are sold by faceless companies selling sketchy concoctions of unknown, potentially unsafe ingredients.