-- as taken from a recent argument with a psychedelics enthusiast. Take it as you will.
People also complain about mushrooms causing nausea which is partially caused by inert organic matter. Some people may want options for reducing that.
Also, while psychedelic mushrooms are reasonable to cultivate, something like peyote isn't. With the rarity of peyote, I think it's disrespectful for anyone that isn't indigenous to take it and synthetic mescaline or it's analogues provides a way to get a very similar experience without the disrespect.
I'm not saying there's anything wrong with just taking mushrooms. Just throwing out some thoughts on possible reasons why some people might want to go other routes.
(Napkin math for factory farming peyote)
Another good way of ingesting the psilocybin is to make tea from the mushroom. This reduces discomfort for those who get unwell from eating it. For some types, such as psilocybe cubensis, it's recommended to squirt a bit of lemon juice in the mix. This will supposedly help extract the psilocybin from the mushroom.
As for potency, it's recommended to use a mortar and pestle to pulverize the dried mushroom into a fine powder. Potency should me more predictable and consistent after this.