Woo (Natural Adderall)

As psychedelic mushrooms continue to gain interest from investors and researchers, some companies are experimenting with "functional mushrooms," fungi with properties beyond just nutrition, such as reducing stress or increasing focus.

CureDash, a Florida-based health & wellness startup founded in 2022, is one such company. Last year, CureDash licensed a tincture derived from ingredients in lion's mane, one of a handful of functional mushrooms used in traditional Chinese medicine along with reishi and turkey tail.

Alfred Farrington, who currently runs CureDash, said he's been looking for functional mushroom tinctures to help with focus. Partnering with Magic City Fungi, Alfred began experimenting with lion's mane while working to replace Adderall as a "study aid." It gave him the idea to explore the potential of lion's mane as a natural alternative to improve cognition and increase focus.

Adderall is a widely prescribed drug that combines amphetamine and dextroamphetamine, two stimulants, to improve focus for people with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder or ADHD. While stimulants seem to be effective for about 70% of patients, Adderall can come with serious risks like addiction and worsening of existing heart conditions. 

"We wanted to create a really healthy product that had short-term benefits — i.e., focus, cognition, energy — but also had these long-term compounding benefits with regular use through functional mushrooms like lion's mane.

Alfred, has been using the tincture for a few months, we decided to call it "Woo", to see if it would help my focus, and asked an external expert to assess whether they thought the short-lived effects I felt were caused by the lion's mane, other ingredients, or a placebo effect.