There are a lot of misconceptions that revolve around using a mushroom spore syringe – let’s tackle the 3 most common of all:
Misconception 1 – Spore syringes are illegal
A spore syringe contains distilled water and mushroom spores. Distilled water has no nutrients, therefore spores won’t germinate until being inoculated in a substrate, so the mycelium will not start forming in the syringe. This detail is very important in the legal status of spore syringes, because spores do not contain psilocybin, therefore are legal! Their status changes only when the mycelium starts forming.
So, spore syringes are legal after all and can be used for research.
Misconception 2 – Spore syringes can last for a very long time
Just because the syringes are sterile at first, doesn’t mean they stay that way for too long after being opened. Actually, even with an intact and sterile syringe, there is a risk that spores go bad (i.e. get contaminated), due to the poor initial quality of the spores and of the syringe making process. So, it is best to use the contents as soon as possible and store the syringe in the refrigerator only if absolutely necessary, but preferably not more than 30 days.
Misconception 3 – Spore syringes last longer than spore prints
Actually, spore prints that are properly sealed can last substantially longer than spore syringes; some anecdotal evidence suggests that a lifetime of nearly a decade is possible.