Moms Who Microdose Mushrooms: An Interview with Tracey Tee

In an age where more and more of us seek connection, one group needs community more than most: moms. Mothers nationwide are reporting that microdosing mushrooms is a profound part of their well-being routines. Anecdotally, research suggests that mothers are seeking out plant medicine over antidepressants as personal solutions.

In fact, it was a personal experience that brought Tracey Tee to psychedelics in 2020 during the pandemic.

The co-founder and CEO of Band of Mothers Media launched Moms on Mushrooms after experimenting with microdosing after attending a webinar on microdosing and reading Michael Pollan’s book, How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence.

Her stress and anxiety were surprisingly alleviated, and she noticed more energy and ease in daily life, per her interview with PBS. The calm space that microdosing gave her was unlike anything she’d experienced. This headspace wasn’t the hallucinogenic psychedelic trip she’d heard about, it was something much more balancing. Seeking a community to share her experiences with, she noticed that while there were forums about microdosing out there, no one was speaking directly to mothers. Thus, Moms on Mushrooms was born.

Moms on Mushrooms is a Colorado-based support group that teaches moms about microdosing, the practice of taking a small dose of psilocybin mushrooms. Today, the group’s forum is an open and honest way for women to communicate their experiences, fears, and anxieties when it comes their relationship with psychedelic mushrooms. The Grow has over 400 members who represent more than 35 states and 7 countries.

I had the absolute pleasure of catching up with founder Tracey Tee during Psychedelic Science in Denver to learn more about Moms on Mushrooms and Tracey’s favorite functional mushroom.

Shannon Ratliff: Could you tell us about Moms on Mushrooms for people at home who don’t know?

Tracey Tee: Yes! Moms on Mushrooms is an online community aimed at bringing mothers together around the sacred use of plant medicine, specifically microdosing magic mushrooms. And I believe that psychedelics for moms is the wave of the future in terms of mental health for mothers, but also psychedelics just hit different when you’re a mom.

And so we come to microdosing and to magic mushrooms specifically with different concerns, with different fears. We heal in a different way. We don’t have the opportunity to go to the Amazon rainforest for three weeks and do rounds and rounds of ayahuasca or journeys. We heal in between car line and ballet practice and doctor’s appointments.

So Moms on Mushrooms is just a safe space to bring us together so that we can start talking because, as you guys know, the mushrooms want to be done in community. Moms are more disconnected than ever so I feel like we just need to bring them together and grow that web.

It’s not about a guru or an influencer or a psychedelic expert. I think we can figure it out ourselves if we just start talking so we have online classes, we have microdosing classes, and then we have a really beautiful community membership called The Grow. That’s $4.44 a month and it’s kind of like Facebook for moms on shrooms.

All mothers are welcome, whether you’ve never tried anything in your life, or you’re an experienced psychonaut that’s been working underground for decades. We want all moms to come together in a place to connect and learn and grow together.

SR: You know that’s beautiful. Have you had a chance to step out to any panels since you’ve been here?

TT: No, no. I am actually overwhelmed in the best way possible at this conference. My team, the moms here, they are working this with, we haven’t left the 10-foot radius. The passion, commitment, and compassion of the people that I have met have been equal to a panel. I’m speaking on a panel, and that’s the only panel I’m gonna go to.

SR: Absoluetly. As you’ve talked to people [at the booth], have you found that this is a new idea that people are learning about the first time, or are you talking to a wide mix of people who are having experience with psilocybin before?

TT: That’s a great question. I think all of the above. So many women have come and just are so grateful to know that there’s a space where they can just be themselves and stop apologizing.

I’ve met so many women that have bought tickets to the Psychedelic Science Conference just to learn, and are here to soak it all up, and are thrilled that there’s a community where they can keep learning. So much of our community is about education and resources and empowerment and it’s just amazing.

SR: Is there one takeaway that you’ve picked up or something new that you learned here?

TT: I think one of the biggest takeaways is, I’ve talked to men and women, parents and non-parents, and everyone is like, ‘Why, in this whole conference, are there not discussions about women’s health and psychedelics?’

And what I know to be true is that there’s actually a lot of research in the works, and I’m so excited about that. So I think that is probably one of the most exciting and validating things that are, whether you’re a mom or not, that you’re a woman, that our unique position in the psychedelic spaces is actually being recognized. We’re going to have science and research and all that good stuff to back up what we know to be true in our hearts.

SR: My last question is, do you have a favorite functional mushroom?

TT: Lion’s mane! And I tell every mom, like lion’s mane should be in your daily toolkit. I actually had a whole hysterectomy when I was 41, ‘cause I had stage four endometriosis my whole life, which put me into surgical menopause about ten years early.

And when you go into social menopause, I experienced all of menopause in, like, a summer. And my brain turned into foggy brain. It was horrible. Lion’s mane brought me back online. I will always be so grateful for it for that. That is my absolute favorite.

SR: Oh wow. Thank you so much for sharing your story, thank you for the work you’re doing. It’s so important.

TT: Thank you, it’s my honor.

Moms on Mushrooms is enrolling for their fall classes. Course 1 starts in September and is 3.5 months of connection, intention, and support as moms create their own unique microdosing practice in a small community with other mothers.

Learn more about Moms on Mushrooms on their website. You can follow their Instagram here. Tracey also appeared on this podcast episode of The Zen(ish) Mommy in their Top 10 of Season 4 and discussed, among other things, the difference between the effect of SSRIs and psilocybin.

While anecdotes from members show overwhelmingly positive results, it’s important to note that broader acceptance and research on psychedelic mushrooms remain limited due to federal restrictions and health care resources. Tee lives in Colorado, where psychedelics have been recently decriminalized. Local efforts are also underway to ensure racial equity concerns in plant medicine legalization to avoid a slippery slope like communities see with cannabis today.

Check out our list of state efforts toward psychedelic decriminalization and be sure to follow along as we cover new clinical trials, like this recent one about psilocybin and anorexia nervosa. As for lion’s mane, this tincture is a staple in my routine.