Christian Rasmussen shares his journey from overcoming benzodiazepine withdrawal to building the largest vertically integrated ethnobotanical company in the U.S.
It’s no accident Christian Rasmussen decided to use the word “nice” when naming his ethnobotanical company, Minnesota Nice Ethnobotanicals. A Minnesota native and direct descendant of 19th century American lumber baron, Frederick Weyerhauser, Rasmussen has built his business on the premise that helping those around you succeed only makes you more successful.
It was a philosophy that worked phenomenally well for his great-great-great-grandfather and has already served Rasmussen well since the launch of Minnesota Nice Botanicals in May 2021.
A self-proclaimed nice guy who grew up with a love of nature, Rasmussen was fascinated by the plants and mushrooms growing in his parent’s backyard. Finding himself drawn to Amanita Muscaria from a young age, Rasmussen couldn’t help but shake the feeling that this mushroom would someday play a major role in his life.
Fast forward to 2019 while building his CBD business, Rasmussen was dealing with a grueling benzodiazepine withdrawal. He found himself back in his parent’s backyard taking in the beauty of the plants and mushrooms growing on their land, and in a moment that would bring his life full circle, he came across an Amanita Muscaria mushroom and decided to pluck it out of the ground. His life has never been the same.
After intensive research, he found Amanita Dreamer, an Amanita Muscaria educator and advocate who has guided Rasmussen on his entrepreneurial journey of becoming the largest vertically integrated ethnobotanical company in the US.
His love of Amanita Muscaria is evident in everything Minnesota Nice Ethnobotanicals produces, from dried flowers to muscle rub. Not one to rest on his laurels, Rasmussen has big plans for his burgeoning botanical empire. New product launches are on the horizon and Rasmussen has added a bevy of ethnobotanicals to his product lineup. Rasmussen is pioneering a new industry proving that nice guys finish far from last.
In our conversation with Christian Rasmussen, the visionary founder of Minnesota Nice Ethnobotanicals, we delve deeper into his journey from a childhood fascination with nature to becoming a trailblazer in the ethnobotanical industry. Rasmussen’s story is one of passion, perseverance, and a deep connection to the natural world. Join us as he shares insights into his company’s origins, the role of Amanita Muscaria in his life, and his ambitious plans for the future of Minnesota Nice Ethnobotanicals.
Ganjly: Amanita Muscaria is one of the most recognizable mushrooms in popular culture. Could you explain how its wellness benefits are being rediscovered in Western cultures today?
Christian Rasmussen: It absolutely is. In children’s books, movies, tv shows. It was fun seeing the new Mario – there were amanita everywhere! It was fun to see, and I certainly enjoyed the free advertisement!
It really all started a few years ago. A woman who goes by the pseudonym ‘Amanita Dreamer’ started posting videos on YouTube explaining how she used Amanita muscaria to get off of benzodiazepines, and outlined its potential efficacy for various mental and emotional issues such as anxiety, depression, and insomnia. We were the first to start selling in the States to scale, so it’s really been a process of discovery. We’re learning everything as we go.
Amanita seems to be incredibly efficacious for relieving social tension, lifting mood, providing focus, and relieving stress. It also seems to have quite a few potential uses for various physical issues such as pain, inflammation, and certain neurological issues.
Finally, one of the places Amanita really shines is its ability to help one heal various past traumas. It does this ever so gently and allows the user to uncover issues and heal wounds in a way that other plant medicines can’t offer.
Of course, there’s really no data out there as of now, so we’re going off of anecdotes, but from everything we’re seeing it seems to be one of, if not the most, effective and efficacious plant medicines. After everything we’ve seen it starts to make sense why it’s been known as the ‘King’ of the plant and fungal realm.
Ganjly: What inspired you to transition from the CBD business and real estate to focus on ethnobotanicals, specifically Amanita Muscaria?
Real Estate had gotten monotonous and boring to me. It wasn’t fulfilling anymore. I was actually getting off of benzodiazepines myself when I decided to open up the CBD business to give myself something to keep me occupied while I was going through this transition. In hindsight it was a little overambitious of me, considering how awful benzodiazepine withdrawal is, but I wouldn’t be where I’m at now without taking that initiative. Everything happens for a reason, I suppose!
I found some Amanita growing near my parent’s house a year to the day after getting off of benzos. I was still extremely sick and honestly was on my way out. I wasn’t sure if I could keep going. Benzo withdrawal is awful.
It’s a long story, but there was this strong magnetic allure to the mushrooms and a feeling that they could not only help me but play a large role in my life. That’s when I found Dreamer, who claimed she tp heal her brain after getting off of benzodiazepines. Within 2 weeks of microdosing it felt like I had healed 80% or so, which was miraculous to me.
Dreamer and I became friends, and she actually asked me to start selling Amanita in the States since no one was doing it to scale, and that’s where it all started. It’s really been something that was dropped into my lap. I never sought any of this out.
Ganjly: Amanita Muscaria is often associated with its psychoactive properties. Can you clarify how its key alkaloids—muscimol, ibotenic acid, and muscarine—affect mood, cognition, and overall wellness?
Absolutely. Muscimol is a selective orthosteric agonist for the GABAA receptor. The gaba system is our inhibitory system. Stimulating gaba generally causes a decrease in anxiety, an increase in sociability, and relaxation. Other compounds that affect Gaba are alcohol, barbituates, and typical anti-anxiety or sleep medications such as benzodiazepines. Muscimol seems to be a potent mood enhancer and a slight sedative.
Substances that affect gaba are highly addicting and can have the worst withdrawal symptoms of any other substance out there. Muscimol is unique in the fact that it doesn’t seem to produce tolerance, dependence, or withdrawal. Potentially making it a much safer alternative to various anti-anxiety or sleep medications.
Ibotenic acid is a non-selective glutamate receptor agonist. Our glutamate system is directly tied to our gaba system, as the brain utilizes glutamate to synthesize gaba. It just so happens that benzodiazepines damage the glutamate and gaba system, which could help explain why Amanita seems so effective at healing a brain damaged by benzodiazepines.
Ibotenic acid also converts, or decarboxylates, to muscimol in the body. So, it seems to have a one-two effect. Ibotenic acid seems to lift one’s mood and have a mild dissociative effect. In low doses, this seems to help one think and perceive things from a wider, more empathetic viewpoint. It also seems to increase focus and lift the mood. We speculate that ibotenic acid increases neuroplasticity in the brain, although I haven’t seen any studies that have looked into this.
Muscarine mimics the effect of acetylcholine in the muscarinic acetylcholine system. There’s not much data on muscarine, but in low doses it seems to be a potent nootropic, enhancing memory and verbal fluency.
It’s a really fascinating mushroom. The entourage effect really seems to be prevalent. We’re finding a lot of athletes, musicians, and artists are beginning to use Amanita because of its ability to put one in the flow state.
In low doses, Amanita really seems to enhance life. Among other things, Amanita really seems to boost creativity, decrease pain, increase sociability, increase cognitive functioning, decrease anxiety, help with insomnia, and boost mood.
Ganjly: How does Minnesota Nice Ethnobotanicals ensure the safety and quality of its Amanita Muscaria products given the mushroom’s complex effects?
We are very meticulous about our sourcing. First, it could be dangerous to sell the raw mushrooms prior to drying them out. In its fresh, natural state, Amanita has a much higher concentration of ibotenic acid, which can make users nauseous and uncomfortable. All our mushrooms are fully dried, which converts a good amount of ibotenic acid into muscimol. Most of the products that we sell, aside from the raw, dried, amanita caps or powder, are infused with an extract that converts, or decarboxylates, even more of the ibotenic acid into muscimol, really negating the risk of any potential nausea.
There is also an inherent concern about heavy metals in any amanita product. Similarly to the infamous Morel mushroom, Amanita is mycorrhizal, which means it grows in symbiosis with tree roots. Because of this, Amanita can’t be farmed or grown in controlled environments. All the amanita on the market are wild foraged.
Mushrooms tend to absorb heavy metals from the soil, so it’s very important that mushrooms are foraged far away from industry and civilization to ensure there aren’t any spikes in heavy metals. We work very closely with quite a bit of foragers around the world to ensure that we’re getting the cleanest, and most potent Amanita nature has to offer. We also send batches out to be tested for heavy metals before selling.
Finally, Amanita is a large genus of over 600 species of mushrooms. The deadliest mushrooms on the planet are part of the Amanita genus, and only a handful of Amanita are psychoactive. Amanita muscaria is really easy to identify, but it gets a bit trickier when foraying into the other species of psychoactive Amanita. We work only with the most qualified foragers to ensure that we’re getting the correct species of Amanita.
Ganjly: What are some common misconceptions about Amanita Muscaria, and how is your company addressing them through education and product development?
I think the biggest misconception is that it’s a deadly mushroom. A recent statement by the North American Mycological Association stated that there have been no reliably documented cases of death from toxins in Amanita Muscaria in the past 100 years.
Another misconception is that the experience isn’t enjoyable at all. Most reports of people using Amanita prior to 4-5 years ago were people taking extremely large doses without the proper preparation and getting sick or having really difficult experiences.
When taking microdoses or low doses, amanita seems to be incredibly well tolerated and most everyone really enjoys the experience and the benefits.
I make it a point to get out in the public as much as I can and educate. I’ve done a good amount of podcasts, which are listed on the website. I’ve gone to conferences all around the country and spoken and lectured. I’ve spoken to various news stations, most recently on NPR. And of course, I’m doing this interview with you.
We’re actually working on an educational video series which I’m really looking forward to completing. The videos will be posted on the website as well for people to learn about Amanita and the other ethnobotanical products we offer.
Ganjly: Your product range includes various botanicals like Blue Lotus and Kava. How do these herbs complement the benefits of Amanita Muscaria in your wellness offerings?
We offer a handful of botanical products that have wonderful effects and have played a role in my personal journey of healing and self-discovery. Each botanical contains its own unique alkaloid profile and profile of effects. It would take up too much time to list each of them out and their effects, but there is plenty of information on our website at www.mn-nice-ethnobotanicals.com
Ganjly: For readers new to ethnobotanicals, what would you recommend as a beginner-friendly product or practice to explore the potential of Amanita Muscaria?
Generally starting out with a microdosing regimen is the easiest way to get familiar with the mushroom. A premade product like the Amanita muscaria gummies or capsules is a great place to start. Most people will start with 1 gummy or capsule, 3x per day, for 2-8 weeks.
If one wants a bit more of an experience, getting dried caps or powder and brewing the tea is a good choice. 3-5 grams is still technically a ‘low’ dose but will start giving more of the noticeable, acute effects. To brew the tea, mix the desired amount in a pot of water with a tablespoon of lemon juice, boil for 20-30 minutes, strain, and drink. The boiling with lemon juice helps decarboxylate, or convert, more of the ibotenic acid into muscimol and generally negates the risk of nausea.
Ganjly: You mentioned that your spiritual practice and life experiences led you to this path. How does spirituality influence your approach to product development and business growth?
Honestly, my business is a direct offshoot of my spirituality. It’s all completely intertwined, so everything we do is a reflection of my spiritual practice and understanding. That’s a pretty intense and in-depth conversation in and of itself.
Ganjly: Minnesota Nice is the largest vertically integrated ethnobotanical company in the country. What challenges have you faced in scaling the business while maintaining product integrity?
There have been quite a few challenges. We’ve been burned a few times by various people. I’ve always been a trusting person and have had to learn quickly to not let people take advantage of me and the business.
I’ve also never done anything like this before, so there have been a lot of lessons to learn as we’ve grown and expanded. It’s been a process of learning to scale the business while maintaining our standards and our integrity. In any expansion phase, there are always opportunities to cut corners, which a lot of business owners succumb to. Doing that would be out of line with me as a person and my own spiritual practices.
Looking back at it all, all I’ve really had to do was follow my ethics, ethos, and spirituality to do things properly. All the healing that I’ve had to do as an individual has been directly reflected in my business. I mentioned I’ve been a very trusting person, and that was coupled with also being a people pleaser – a deadly combination! The issues that I experienced in my day-to-day life were reflected in the business, and that led to being taken advantage of a couple of times.
As I’ve healed, the energy of the business has been able to be directed more concisely. I think any business is going to be a reflection of the individual, and anyone involved in business owes it to themselves, their customers, and the world at large to always work to heal and become the best version of themselves so that their business can be the highest representation of themselves as possible.
Ganjly: What role do you see ethnobotanicals playing in the future of wellness and mental health, and how is Minnesota Nice contributing to that vision?
I’ve had a vision of this since before it began. I think the world is going through a shift of sorts. This is starting to become more and more apparent to the average person. A large aspect of this shift is our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health. These types of products, and Amanita specifically, really have a massive role to play in this. Mother Earth has provided us with all we need to be healthy, and I feel an obligation to get information and education out so that people are aware of other options outside of the current paradigm.
When I initially got into this business, my main interest was helping people get off of benzodiazepines. And although that’s still a massive interest of mine, as we’ve continued to grow the business, and gathered more and more anecdotes, I’ve really begun to see the true scope and potential of these ethnobotanical products, and particularly Amanita.
From a spiritual perspective, I think Amanita has a large role to play in the elevation of human consciousness, and this shift as a whole. The amount of healing we hear about from our customers on a day-to-day basis is truly remarkable. Just as this business is a reflection of me, the state of the world is a reflection of us collectively, and the more individual healing that occurs, the more the world as a whole will heal and shift.
Amanita muscaria is known as the ‘Christ mushroom’. How fitting for a mushroom that could potentially help heal the world and elevate the consciousness of humanity!
Thank you, Christian, for taking the time to do the interview. To know more about Christian and Minnesota Nice, head on over to MM-Nice-Ethnobotanicals.com.
