It is often broken into small pieces, or sometimes ground into a grey powder. Magic mushrooms have a distinctive smell and taste, which most people find unpleasant. Occasionally it is available as fresh or semi-wilted whole mushrooms. It is possible to extract the active ingredients to make powder, capsules or pills, though this is not common. The minimum dose to feel any effect seems to be around a gram of dried mushroom.
Usual doses are one and a half grams or more.
A level teaspoon is about two grams. More than six grams can cause temporary loss of contact with reality so take care with large doses. As with any organic substance, the potency will vary with the variety of mushroom, the way it was grown, how it was prepared, how it was stored, age etc. Fresh mushrooms are usually stronger than dried mushrooms and have a slightly different feel to them due to differing ratios of the active ingredients. Mushrooms are swallowed, sometimes with food or a liquid.