Magic Mushroom Nasal Spray On The Way

When you hear "nasal spray," it probably conjures images of congested middle-aged, middle-class folks in states of mild discomfort as they go about their affairs. They sneeze into a rag and then cringe for the camera — until Flonase descends from the heavens to clear the way like Moses.

Now, there's more of a "burning bush" approach to relief via nasal spray, and it's way more likely to make you see god. That's because instead of decongestants and antihistamines, a company is now making a psilocybin nasal spray. Psilocybin is the psychoactive ingredient in magic mushrooms. How did we get here?

According to Filter Mag: "On December 4, Oregon-based startup company Silo Wellness announced that it has developed a "patent-pending nasal spray for microdosing psilocybin." The aerosol spray would deliver into each nostril a precise dose of vaporized psilocybin that the company calls "sub-psychedelic."

Wait a minute. What's the point if it's "sub-psychedelic?"

Per Newsweek, the drug is gaining mainstream recognition for its use as a safe treatment for depression and PTSD. Heck, even the FDA has called it a "breakthrough therapy," according to LiveScience, affording it a special status to fast track clinical research in what is typically a drawn out, years-long process.

Granted, there's also the problem of legality.

Currently, there is no city or state in the US that allows legal sales of psilocybin products, but cities like Denver, Colorado and Oakland, California each decriminalized personal use, possession and cultivation of psilocybin mushrooms in 2019. Filter Mag states that "about 100 other cities across the country are, with varying success, trying to replicate these reforms."

That's why Silo Wellness is developing the drug in Jamaica, despite being headquartered in Oregon. Psilocybin mushrooms are legal on the Caribbean island, and figuring out the production process will position the company to take advantage of being first to market, if or when psilocybin see legalization in the states. That could happen as early as midterms.

So while mushrooms may make you turn your nose up, medical research indicates they're nothing to sniff at — except when in a nasal spray.