Latest news with #magicmushrooms
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
Hikers high on mushrooms when they mistakenly reported pal had died on trail
Two hikers who called 911 to report one of their party had died on the trail - only for him to be found alive and oblivious - were high on magic mushrooms, it turns out. The trio had been trekking in upstate New York when they found themselves lost. Believing their friend was deceased, the distressed pair called for help and reported their location near Lake Placid. But after rescuers arrived at the trailhead they got a phone call from the 'dead' pal - very much alive, unharmed, and seemingly unaware of the unfolding chaos. The trio were celebrating Memorial Day Weekend with a hike through the Cascade Mountain in North Elba when the nightmare unfolded on May 24. At around 9am, Forest Ranger Praczkajlo received an emergency call from distressed hikers on Cascade Mountain, part of the Adirondack High Peaks range, according to the state's Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). During the call, the two hikers reported that their friend had died while on the trail. They also told authorities they had encountered a Cascade Summit Steward earlier and admitted they were lost. 'The steward determined the hikers were in an altered mental state,' the agency said in a press release. Ranger Praczkajlo eventually reached the trailhead, where an ambulance was already waiting, and escorted the two panicked hikers back to the vehicle. However, as they made their way back, a single phone call changed the entire situation - turning a straightforward rescue into something far more confusing. On the other line was the 'dead' friend - alive, unharmed and seemingly unaware of the chaos unfolding around him. According to the release, the group had allegedly eaten hallucinogenic mushrooms during their hike. The effects of the drug are highly unpredictable and heavily influenced by the user's mindset and the environment in which it's taken, as reported by Desert Hope Treatment Center. Given the unforeseeable nature of the drug, users may endure 'bad trips' - intense, distressing reactions that can be both frightening and disorienting. Intense hallucinations, anxiety, panic and fear are just a few of the possible effects during a 'bad trip', often triggered by unfamiliar or chaotic surroundings. Thankfully reunited, all three friends were escorted back to their campsite, where they could finally find safety and calm after their odd ordeal. Bad trips leading people to behave in wild or erratic ways are not an uncommon experience with mushrooms, though the intensity can vary greatly from person to person. For some, a 'bad trip' might mean intense anxiety and a pounding heart - unpleasant but bearable - while others unfortunately end up in dangerous or painful situations. Last year, a man on vacation in Austria who took these 'magic mushrooms' entered psychosis that led him to amputate his penis and store it in a snow-filled jar. Doctors labeled the heart-stopping incident as the first case of its kind - and a harrowing reminder of the dangers of psychedelic drugs. The 37-year-old man ate four or five mushrooms before blacking out and taking an axe to his penile shaft - ultimately chopping it into several pieces. As he came to, he staggered out of the home and dragged himself down a nearby street, bleeding profusely, searching for help. In the middle of the night, around 2am, a passerby picked him up and brought him to the nearest village, and then to the closest hospital. He was immediately carted to the operating room, where doctors got the bleeding under control and disinfected the myriad pieces of the man's penis in the snow and soil-filled jar. Some damaged parts had to be removed, but the head of the penis and shaft were intact. After cleaning the wound, doctors successfully reattached the penis, despite it having been without blood flow for about nine hours in total (five hours warm and four hours cold). After inserting a catheter, the surgeon reconnected the tissues of the penis using dissolvable stitches. The scrotal skin was then sewn back to the cleaned skin of the amputated part. Some of the skin on the tip of the man's newly reconstructed penis started to die about a week later - a condition called necrosis due to lack of oxygenated blood flow there - but doctors were able to treat it and reverse the damage. Despite all this, the man was still experiencing hallucinations, even trying to break out of the hospital at one point. Doctors found he had smuggled mushrooms into his hospital room, finding a handful of them in his nightstand in the urology ward.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Is Everyone Ditching Alcohol for Shrooms?
"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." I'd sunk into the leather couch after work for our usual 'wine' down with my girlfriends. It was the type of gathering where we'd typically share a bottle (or two) of our favorite red, but instead on her vintage coffee table next to a glowing Trudon candle, I saw a ziploc baggie filled with magic mushrooms (slender gray stems with rust-colored caps) and a rainbow Willy Wonka-like shroom chocolate bar. Under nutritional info the label read, 'INGREDIENTS: GOOD TIMES & LAUGHTER.' I offered to pass the bottle of wine, but my friends declined and skipped the nightcap for a mushroom cap, assuring me they were 'super mellow' if I wanted to try one. I wanted to be the cool girl who could 'shroom on a whim, but I'm a pragmatic researcher at heart (hence my job as a reporter). Amused by the chocolate bar packaging, I snapped a pic and shared it to my Instagram stories. Within minutes, my DMs lit up with hearts and messages. 'Ze best! I've been microdosing mushrooms for the last year. Life changing,' one message read. 'When I go out, I take them instead of drinking. I have more fun, I'm more giggly, there's no hangover and I wake up feeling happier and more energized—never anxious and the opposite of depressed. I've gotten probably 15 of my friends on it and they all agree, it's an easy way to cut down or cut out drinking altogether.' Had morel support become the new aperol spritz? Back in 2015, the Global Drug Survey found that 8.6 percent of respondents had used magic mushrooms. By 2021, this number had jumped to 16.1 percent. But most aren't going on full-on hallucinogenic trips, rather they are microdosing mushrooms to lift their mood and energy levels, and many see it as a healthier vice than booze. 'They just make you happy and you have a good time—it's not like alcohol where you're always needing more and chasing the buzz,' says a West coast hair stylist who started selling mushrooms about a year ago. 'Most of my customers are young, female, working professionals like me,' she adds. While the fungus may be trending now, our fascination with them is anything but new. Indigenous cultures around the world have been using magic mushrooms and other psychedelics for thousands of years for emotional, physical, and spiritual healing. Westerners began exploring their medical potential back in the 1950s, but were forced to abandon psychedelic research in the 60s—partly due to reckless use in young people and a backlash against the counterculture movement. Forty years later, research is finally making a comeback and the results are promising. The FDA officially designated psilocybin (the hallucinogenic compound in magic mushrooms) as a 'breakthrough therapy' for severe depression in 2018. Many scientists today see the drug as a new path forward in what's been a frustrating dead end for mental health. 'Treatment has been in a crisis for decades,' says Matthew Wayne Johnson, Ph.D. a professor in psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Johns Hopkins. 'Lifespan is decreasing and the two big reasons for that are suicide and addiction—and when you step back and ask what areas psychedelic therapy, like psilocybin, has promising effects for early on, it's things like depression, PTSD, alcohol, and tobacco.' Doses given in therapeutic settings (aka macrodoses) are much larger than a typical recreational dose, and are closely monitored to make the patient feel safe and reassure them if anxiety comes up—which does occur in about a third of cases, says Dr. Johnson. The lasting effects from these sessions are hard to ignore: Talk therapy paired with two macrodoses of psilocybin may reduce heavy drinking by 83 percent, according to new research out of New York University. Another study in the Journal of Psychopharmacology found two macrodoses of the drug relieved major depressive disorder symptoms in adults for up to an entire year. And a smoking cessation study with psilocybin out of John Hopkins found a 67 percent abstinence rate after 12 months. A theory as to why: Mushrooms stimulate neuroplasticity in the brain. 'Psilocybin seems to make the brain more flexible and what you experience—your consciousness or what you're thinking and feeling—more flexible,' says Dr. Johnson. 'Regions in the brain that normally talk a lot will communicate less on psilocybin in favor of communicating with their distant neighbors more.' Meaning the brain makes connections and associations it doesn't normally make. This causes a perspective shift that appears to reduce excessive rumination and self-focus, which may allow people to escape unhealthy thought patterns and behaviors. If these macrodoses have such potential, it seems reasonable to wonder whether microdoses could have perks too. The growing wellness trend involves ingesting very small amounts of psychedelics (roughly 0.1 to 0.5 g), like magic mushrooms or LSD which won't trigger hallucinations, but can give a burst of energy, creativity, and make the world feel like it's in 'high-def' in a way that benefits mood. That said, scientific research on the benefits of microdosing remains limited and results have been mixed. 'At this time, there is no strong empirical support for [microdosing's] effectiveness,' says Harriet De Wit, Ph.D. professor of psychiatry and behavioral neuroscience at the University of Chicago. 'It is quite possible that the drug(s) have therapeutic potential, but currently most of our information comes from uncontrolled user reports.' Studies of microdosers that have shown improvements in mood, attention, and creativity are all self-reported—which means they can't eliminate the placebo effect (i.e. the bias or expectation the person had that microdosing would make them feel better). Julie Holland, MD a psychopharmacologist and author of Good Chemistry, says when compared to alcohol, the benefits are clear: mushrooms are anti-inflammatory, promote neuroplasticity, are non-toxic to the liver and brain (aka no hangovers), not particularly addictive, and because they don't cause the munchies, there's no added calories. But of course, she also notes that mushrooms are still illegal in 49 of 50 states, experiences can be heavily influenced by the setting or one's mood, and it could be harder to stay safe in an altered state when you are 'distracted by beautiful traffic lights.' Although adverse effects do appear to be rare, reports indicate there is evidence that microdosing can damage the heart over time. According to the 2021 Global Drug Survey, more than 77 percent of respondents who had microdosed mushrooms in the last year reported no unwanted effects. The survey also found that people taking magic mushrooms needed less emergency medical treatment than those using other recreational drugs, including alcohol and cannabis. As of January 1st, Oregon became the first state in the U.S. to legalize the adult use of psilocybin; a similar law goes into effect in Colorado in 2024. That said, don't expect to see 'shroom dispensaries any time soon. These new laws don't allow for retail sales of magic mushrooms, only onsite consumption (for those over 21) in a supervised setting with 'certified mushroom facilitators.' (Those interested in other states do have the option of signing up for psilocybin clinical trials at In the meantime, the mushroom black market is happy to fill in the voids. In addition to gummies and chocolates, you can find 'shrooms freeze-dried, as teas, truffles, and capsules. Even venture capital firms have taken notice and are funneling money into startups developing psychedelic treatments—that aren't even legal yet—for everything from PTSD and smoking cessation to headaches, traumatic brain injury, eating disorders and Alzheimer's disease. 'I often take it before the gym because it gives me energy,' says a micro-dosing business owner and mother of two in San Diego. She says before shrooms, alcohol was 'the biggest crutch,' her go-to after a hard day. 'Now with mushrooms my mind doesn't even go there. Okay, I've a hard day? I'm gonna go home and take a bath and like go to bed early so I can wake up and go to the gym.' And there are other perks, she says with a laugh: 'I swear, if my kids ask 'do you wanna craft?' I'm like 'no.' But then I'll eat some mushrooms and suddenly I'm Martha fucking Stewart.' A version of this story appears in the April 2023 issue of ELLE. Shop Now You Might Also Like The 15 Best Organic And Clean Shampoos For Any And All Hair Types 100 Gifts That Are $50 Or Under (And Look Way More Expensive Than They Actually Are)
Daily Mail
19-05-2025
- Daily Mail
West End sweet shop caught selling magic mushrooms as police raid store after tourist charged £899 for two bags of sweets
A sweet shop located in the heart of London 's West End has been caught selling magic mushroom cookies after police were alerted to a tourist charged £899 for two bags of sweets. The 'Londenero' shop - formerly known as Gummylicious - and located on 39BB Oxford Street, was raided by the Metropolitan Police following a complaint by a disgruntled customer who was charged nearly a grand for two packets of sweets. Investigators from Westminster Council uncovered that the candy shop had been selling magic mushroom cookies, with four labelled 'Magic Dragon', while three other cookies were named 'Game Over'. Meanwhile, unlicensed 'Hashish' and 'White Widow' CBD products were also seized from the neighbouring ' Harry Potter ' shop next door, a court has heard. Ran by the company '5IVESTAR Limited', the popular shop was found to be selling food products without English translations on the label. It comes following the large-scale US style raid that took place on the sweet shop on the weekend of April 25 that revealed a hidden section leading to an underground tunnel that two staff members used to flee from police. Police officers were shocked to discover a hidden part of the store, tucked away behind a camouflaged wall adorned with bags in the basement. Bodycam footage shows a covert part of the store rammed with thousands of alleged thousands of alleged counterfeit items, totaling to a 'street value' of around £80,000. Whilst extensively patrolling the scene, the officer discovered a secret tunnel from which two shop assistants fled, avoiding capture, according to the Evening Standard. The raid was understood to be the largest impounded haul of suspected fake and unsafe goods on Oxford Street so far, with more than 3,000 products seized from both shops - including seven magic mushroom cookies and 'around 10' unlicensed CBD products. The thousands of items included American food, cigarettes, single use vapes, nicotine pouches, heated tobacco and travel adaptors as well as power banks. Now, the director of the 399B store, Ahmad Yar Jan, has appeared in court alongside an unnamed individual linked to the adjacent wizard-themed shop ran by 5IVESTAR Limited. Solicitor Kirsty Panton, for Westminster City Council, said the case concerned unauthorised novelty foods and products bearing non-English food labels. She made clear a food condemnation order for the distribution of unlicensed novelty goods related only to Londenero. Pictured: seized CBD products. Appearing in court, Matthew Nelson, Senior Environmental Health Officer at Westminster City Council, said that in the Harry Potter shop he identified a 'cell' of CBD products not on the approved novelty registry for the Food Safety Act Matthew Nelson, Senior Environmental Health Officer at Westminster City Council, said he 'found numerous products (in both shops) that were on sale with no English translation. '(This) poses a health risk to any customer with potential allergies, or any customer wishing to read the nutritional declarations for certain health issues, such as Diabetes.' Mr Nelson said that in the Harry Potter shop he identified a 'cell' of CBD products not on the approved novelty registry for the Food Safety Act. Meanwhile, in the popular US sweet shop, 'magic mushroom cookies' were discovered. He added: 'There is no transparency, we don't know where these products came from - there is no country or origin, no registered address for the manufacturer - which is legally required.' The company name attached to the suspected 'Hyper Products', was also alleged by Mr Nelson to come up 'completely blank' when google searched, with 'no information at all' available. Mr Nelson said he gave the companies 'three weeks to provide English-translated labels for the items' but received no response. Pictured: alleged counterfeit cigarettes on a shelf discovered during the raid on the sweet shop. The owner of the sweet store, Ahmad Yar Jan, was ordered to pay £2,760 to cover the council's costs while 5IVESTAR LTD must pay £2664 in costs However, Mr Jan told the court he had not been in the shop over the past few months because of a 'family matter' and that he 'didn't know' how the magic mushroom cookies came to be in the store. District Judge Patricia Evans asked the businessman if he was happy for the council to destroy the items seized from his store. Mr Jan replied: "Yeah, no problem." He was ordered to pay £2,760 to cover the council's costs while 5IVESTAR LTD must pay £2664 in costs. Regarding the significant raid of the once much-loved sweet shop, Councillor Adam Hug, leader of Westminster City Council, said: 'We have known for a long time that US candy stores rip off customers, but charging £900 for two packets of sweets is a new low, even for the unscrupulous people who run these rackets. 'Our job is to protect people who visit the West End from being exploited and continuing raids and court appearances will ensure life is sour for the rogue US sweet shop trade. 'Hopefully, the fall in the number of US candy and souvenir shops means the tide is going out on this tatty trade.' It comes as the number of mixed candy and souvenir stores on Oxford Street has declined from 40 to 18 since the pandemic, as of March 2025. Trading standards officers have seized more than £1 million in fake and unsafe goods over the past two years. Westminster City Council has since led a series of successful court actions against candy and souvenir stores to recover unpaid business rates.
CBC
16-05-2025
- CBC
Police investigate 7 shootings at magic mushroom stores across Toronto
Toronto police are investigating seven shootings at magic mushroom stores across the city. They are connected to shootings that occurred at two stores in Kensington Market this week, they say.
CBC
16-05-2025
- CBC
Police investigating 7 shootings at magic mushroom stores across city
Toronto Police Service say they're investigating seven shootings at magic mushroom stores around the city. Officers were called to the various stores between Wednesday evening and Friday morning, where they found evidence of gunfire, police say. A vehicle drove through a storefront in one incident, but police say they haven't located the driver. No injuries have been reported. The incidents are connected to the shootings that occurred at two stores in Kensington Market on Wednesday and Thursday evening, police say. Officers were called to the Kensington Avenue and Baldwin Street area on Wednesday around 12:20 a.m. about sounds of gunshots. Police say a business that was empty at the time was shot at several times, damaging the storefront. The next night, just after 1 a.m., police were called after gunshots were heard in Spadina Avenue and Baldwin Street area. Officers later found evidence of gunshots outside of a business, police said in a post on X. Ping Chu, who owns a store in the market and has been living in the area for over 30 years, said the Wednesday shooting happened right across the street from her house. "I heard about 10 to 12 'bang, bang, bang,' and I was thinking it was early Victoria Day fireworks," she told CBC on Thursday. She said she looked from her window to see what was happening, but was not able to see anything. Some storefronts sustained damages in the shootings, including shattered windows and bullet holes, police say. The shootings are part of eight total reported incidents at magic mushroom dispensaries, police say. There is no suspect description at this time. Police are asking anyone with information to contact them.
