The is the new and updated version of the 100,000-copy-selling 2015 book. The original book is a best-selling full-color contemporary book about growing magic mushrooms with over 40 step-by-step photo essays that illustrate the various processes of growing and extracting from psilocybin-containing mushrooms. A 1997 study by the U.S. government determined that over 10 million Americans have tried psilocybin mushrooms, largely because they are felt to be the safest psychedelic drug to consume. As of 2022, two US states - Oregon and Colorado - have voted to decriminalize the possession and use of psilocybin. Areas in other states, including Michigan and California, have decriminalized or deprioritized the policing of psilocybin, with further states such as Washington proposing decriminalization bills in the near future. This, along with popular media such as Michael Pollan's work on the recreational and therapeutic uses of psychedelic drugs and Fantastic Fungi documentary exploring has facilitated a boom in the interest in indoor mushroom cultivation and use.
The largest book ever published on the subject, with updated and more comprehensive information than the older books - now in an expanded and revised edition. A new edition of what was the first new book on growing magic mushrooms since 2006, featuring all new techniques that simplified the processes, and debunked all the out-of-date information contained in older books. Previous books on the subject, such as Psilocybin Mushroom Handbook from Quick American (2006), fail to adequately instruct readers in the complicated process of cultivating mushrooms because they do not have photos to show the process. This book uses photographs to detail every step in the processes so that readers can understand how to produce their own magic mushrooms properly. Similarly, the Magic Mushroom Grower's Guide Simple Steps to Bulk Cultivation Psychonautical Society (2015) focuses largely on commercial production and is in black and white, and only explains one method of growing, making it less useful for new growers looking to produce magic mushrooms for small-scale personal consumption. More recent mushroom guidebooks by Paul Stamets do not deal directly with step-by-step instructions on growing magic mushrooms, and instead are ethnobotanical explorations about mushrooms in general.