Doc sounds ‘magic mushroom’ warning

As authorities are on the lookout for party drugs like Molly during the summer party season, there is also a warning about the use of mushroom-based products which are being marketed on social media.

Consultant Psychiatrist Dr Geoffrey Walcott noted that the 'magic mushroom' in particular has psilocybin, a psychedelic agent that has been studied for use in patients with depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse and some anxiety disorders.

He said that persons who ingest high doses of these mushroom-based products, which are being marketed by some dealers as a cool answer to social anxiety, could suffer detrimental effects.

"You hallucinate and you can actually not be aware of your surroundings. Imagine persons who are hallucinating and walk out in the road to hug a cloud and it's an oncoming truck," Walcott said.

One mushroom-based product being advertised in Jamaica is said to help the user to get a vibe or 'fi mek yuh feel irie', according to a social media post. One gram costs between $1,500 to $2,500. The social media site even showed a dosage scale, giving persons suggestions as to how to take the product. It suggested that if a person smokes or drinks regularly, then they should take two capsules on a semi-empty stomach.

Jane*, who said she used the product, described her experience as "fun". She took one capsule, which is the equivalent of one gram. She said that she took the capsule on an empty stomach, but after two hours, nothing happened.

"I messaged back the CEO and he was saying that I should probably eat some bread because if you take it on an empty stomach, it might not work, but you're definitely not supposed to take it on a full stomach because it nah go work," she said. Jane had some bread, and about 30-45 minutes later, it kicked in.

"[I felt] calm, happy, social ... nice. I wanted to go out and have fun," she said. "It's cool. Just don't take too little or else you won't really feel a difference. But don't take too much."

Daniel Brown, substance abuse officer at the National Council on Drug Abuse, warned that "Anything advertised as it pertains to mushrooms in Jamaica has not been authorised by the Government".

Currently there are no laws that governs the use of the mushroom-based products. Brown said that while these products may be useful in treating mental health problems, they can pose a danger to users. He compared mushrooms to ganja.

"Ganja is like a regular car, mushrooms is like a car with turbo. It's much different from smoking ganja. Someone can smoke ganja and they are functional, under certain amount of mushrooms, you will not be able to function," Brown said.

He expressed concerns that while the recreational effects of mushrooms are being marketed, social media doesn't outline the negative effects.

"It's like Hollywood and the real world. We see everything on TV and think it's glamorous and looks good, but in reality it's not. So you're gonna have all of these parties about the place and some are gonna offer Molly or mushrooms. But the real danger with using mushrooms in parties is that you are not totally in control, anything can happen," he said.