Pink Buffalo[i] is a Psilocybe cubensis strain originally found in Thailand. According to legend, the man who named it and went on to popularize it internationally actually found the mushrooms in a field where a pink buffalo was grazing (that is possible, as an online search for “pink buffalo animal” will attest).
The strain is said to be on the more potent side, as implied by the deep blue color that develops when the stems are bruised or cut. The caps tend to be a bit dark. Pink buffalo is also considered quite easy to cultivate.
Trip Effects
The effects of taking pink buffalo are essentially those of taking any P. cubensis strain. In general, these mushrooms cause changes in mood, thought-patterns, and perception, plus certain physical symptoms. Ideally, that means euphoria, insight, and interesting visual hallucinations (at least with higher doses), but the thoughts and feelings the user takes into the trip influence its direction—fear, disturbing ideas, and disturbing visions are possible. And in either case, nausea, vomiting, poor coordination, and more serious side effects are also possible. And yet psilocybin mushrooms are a relatively safe way to alter the mind, provided one follows certain common-sense safety procedures.
Pink Buffalo is said to offer a gentler, kinder version of the typical Psilocybe high.
Potency
Pink Buffalo is one of the more potent P. cubensis strains, though the difference is not dramatic. P. cubensis in general is about middle-of-the-road for potency among psilocybin-containing mushroom species.
Dosage
Dosage depends on what the user is going for, as well as whether the mushroom is wet or dry.
Generally, there are about six recognized dosage levels for psilocybin. Beginners are advised to start with a dose that is low but still enough to cause hallucinations. More experienced users can then try medium or large doses. Above the large dose is the “heroic dose,” which is enough to be almost literally mind-blowing—temporary dissolution of the self is likely, a truly dangerous but potentially rewarding ordeal of mythic proportions. And smaller than the beginner’s dose is the microdose. It’s too small to cause hallucinations but can be used therapeutically to improve the mood and foster insight.
Doses of dried mushroom are always much smaller that the equivalent dose fresh.
However, it is difficult to recommend a dose size in the abstract because potency can vary from batch to batch and even mushroom to mushroom in the same batch. It’s best to err on the side of too little rather than too much, as the risk of unpleasant or even dangerous side effects increases with dose size. If getting exactly the right dose matters (as it does with a microdosing protocol, for example), the thing to do is to dry and powder a large number of mushrooms, and mix the powder thoroughly. Doses measured from that batch will then all be identical in potency.
Growing Pink Buffalo Mushroom
Like most P. cubensis strains, Pink Buffalo Mushroom is fairly easy to grow. Any method normally used for P. cubensis will work—this strain does not need special treatment. Colonization time is unusually short, but the fruiting phase often gets off to a slow start and may require cold-shocking or some other intervention to start pin formation. Once this strain does start fruiting, though, it produces well. Individual mushrooms can be quite large. A single grow can easily go through multiple flushes.
Buying VS. Growing Pink Buffalo Mushroom
The question with cultivated mushroom strains is always whether to buy or to grow your own. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages, depending on your situation.
Growing mushrooms is a fascinating hobby that many people enjoy. It’s not difficult to grow more than enough for one’s own personal use, and producing and extra tub or two to give away or sell is pretty easy, too. Although buying all the equipment and supplies necessary for a grow does cost some money, on a per-dose basis, growing mushrooms is substantially better. Plus, there is an absolute assurance of quality—you know exactly what you’re getting. Some folks really get into growing, creating large, complicated set-ups and trying many different teks and many different strains for the enjoyment of the hobby as much as for the mushrooms themselves.
Of course, in most jurisdictions, the hobby is illegal. Get caught, and you could be sent to prison more or less forever. So, another reason many people like growing their own is that it means they don’t need to tell anyone else that they are breaking the law; buying spores is fine, legally speaking, in most (not all) jurisdictions, because the spores themselves don’t contain any hallucinogenic substance, and many different strains, including pink buffalo, are available, ostensibly for research and educational purposes. Apparently, a surprising number of people enjoy looking at mushroom spores under a microscope. And since both hobby-level microscopy and buying plastic tubs, canning jars, vermiculite, brown rice flour, and other materials is all legally fine, if some of those spore should happen to germinate in a jar full of brown rice flour, then nobody has to know.
On the other hand, growing your own does mean having large amounts of illegal material on hand for months on end. That’s a risk. And while in a few areas possession of psychoactive mushrooms for personal use has been decriminalized, that typically doesn’t cover possession of a six-month supply.
Not everybody wants a large supply of a single strain, either. Some people want to take mushrooms just once and aren’t sure they’ll ever want to again. Others like to try a different strain every single time.
So people who want only a dose or two, those who want very small batches of many different kinds, or those who live in areas where small amounts are substantially better from a legal perspective, may be better off buying their mushrooms.
References:
[i] (n.d.). Pink Buffalo Mushrooms from Koh Samui in Thailand. Shroomok
