Growing uncontrolled markets put customers at danger since they never know what they’re going to receive.
In the United States, the popularity of edible mushrooms is surging. They are touted as providing a range of mental experiences, from moderate ones (such an increase in attention from a “microdose”) to hallucinogenic ones.
However, the Schedule I substance psilocybin, which is present in so-called magic mushrooms, is not always the cause of the symptoms.
Amanita muscaria is the name of the fungus that is often used, at least on product labels. If the label mentions a particular mushroom or ingredient at all, that is. Occasionally, it may just state that a “proprietary” or “magic” mix is present.)
The mushroom is red with white dots, and it looks like the iconic power-up boost from the Super Mario games. Among the many substances it contains, muscimol—a hallucinogenic substance that may change mood, perception, and behavior—is the most well-known.
In actuality, it’s still unclear what exactly is included in many of these goods.
According to Dr. Avery Michienzi, an associate professor of emergency medicine at the University of Virginia School of Medicine, “they’re unregulated, and no one knows what they’re putting in them.” According to her, people may be taking a dosage that differs from what is specified on the label or may believe they are taking one medication while in fact they are taking another.
In fact, as edible mushroom products have become more and more popular, there have also been an increasing number of worrying reports of individuals being ill from them.
Prophet Premium Blends recalled their Diamond Shruumz edible mushroom products at the end of June due to many user reports of illness. 38 hospitalizations and two potential fatalities were among the 74 illnesses in 28 states that the Food and Drug Administration has tied to the edibles as of Tuesday. A warning to medical professionals last month to be on the alert for individuals who have ingested the substance came from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
After consuming the Diamond Shruumz edibles, some people experienced a range of serious symptoms, such as seizures, unconsciousness, disorientation, and irregular heartbeats.
The business claimed that the illnesses were caused by “higher than normal” quantities of muscimol in the goods.
The FDA’s inquiry is still continuing, and more chemicals were discovered during testing, including psilacetin, a psilocybin-related molecule with potential mind-altering effects.
According to Christopher Pauli, CEO of Tryptomics, a laboratory that studies fungi and plants, edible mushroom products are often including psilacetin. According to him, the body transforms both psilacetin and psilocybin into psilocin, which is ultimately in charge of producing the hallucinogenic effects.
A profusion of goods
The number of mushroom products has increased dramatically over the last year, especially in vape shops, according to Eric Leas, assistant professor at the University of California, San Diego’s Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health.
Runs a nationwide program that keeps an eye on items sold in vape shops, Leas said, “We really started seeing a bunch of them popping into shops last fall.”
Business is soaring at the Los Angeles mushroom dispensary ShroomLand LA in the Venice district.
Since it opened a year ago, the business has seen an influx of patrons, according to manager Rod Mendez.
Mendez estimated that the company sells around 400 edible mushrooms every week. “We see a lot of people with muscular pains, people that have sleeping problems or even eating disorders,” Mendez added. He went on, “The new vapes are mushroom edibles.”
Mendez said that the business was unaffected by the new FDA notice on Diamond Shruumz. “In the six months that I have worked at the store, I have not witnessed anyone experiencing any issues with the products in terms of their effects, quality, or anything negative at all,” he said. He claimed that every product in the shop has undergone laboratory testing and certification, and that clients may request test results.
Leas and colleagues, claiming a 114% rise in Google searches for Amanita muscaria products, wrote a letter in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine last month advocating for tighter regulation of the items.
In late 2023, poison control centers added codes to better track cases related to the products, highlighting how recently mushroom edibles have hit the market, according to Kaitlyn Brown, the clinical managing director of America’s Poison Centers, the organization collaborating with the FDA and CDC on the Diamond Shruumz investigation.
The director of the Blue Ridge Poison Center in Charlottesville, Virginia, Dr. Christopher Holstege, said, “We’re seeing them emerge where we hadn’t seen it before.” “The poison centers are just the tip of the iceberg, always.”
Since September, the Blue Ridge Poison Center has handled five instances of individuals who became ill after consuming edible mushrooms, all of which were identified as possessing Amanita muscaria. The CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly summary, which was released on Thursday, included a full summary on the cases.
In four of the instances, the patients were adults receiving ER care for symptoms such as disorientation, fast heartbeat, and chest discomfort.
The authors also reported that the poison control center got a complaint last month about a 3-year-old who was sent to the hospital after consuming two Amanita muscaria candies. After a day, the youngster was released from the hospital without needing any more care despite experiencing symptoms such as nausea and tiredness.
Although the writers were unable to locate the same brands that the subjects claimed to be eating, they did purchase and evaluate six comparable items from convenience stores and smoke shops. None of the six items had any of the substances present in Amanita muscaria mushrooms, although four did contain psilocybin or psilocin. It was also discovered that they included substances including kratom, ephedrine, and caffeine.
Michienzi, the report’s principal author, said, “I think that is a dangerous ground when you’re starting to take things when you don’t actually know what they are.”
According to Holstege, it may be difficult to determine the full extent of the health concerns associated with these drugs since some chemicals, like muscimol, need for specific lab testing that isn’t usually accessible to physicians.
“It’s difficult to determine the precise amount that is out there right now, and I think that’s a big problem,” he said. “Basically, what you’re going to have is a patient who experienced complications like seizures and recovered, but we’re not exactly sure what went wrong.”
Are edible mushrooms safe?
Edible Amanita muscaria does carry some danger. Seizures are one of the largest, according to Holstege.
While he wouldn’t advise drinking such goods, Dr. Mason Marks, senior fellow at the Harvard Law School’s Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology, and Bioethics, said he doesn’t believe that simply banning them will solve the issue either.
He compared it to a game of “whack-a-mole,” where something else may appear if psilacetin is banned. “Educating people about this can be quite helpful, but prohibition is not the solution.”
He compared it to delta-8 THC products, which are unregulated cannabis products that became more popular as a way to get marijuana in places where it is prohibited.
According to Marks, the bare minimum of legal requirements should be established to guarantee that customers are receiving the product that is intended for them. In addition, he recommended that buyers review the lab studies that list the ingredients in the items as an additional safety precaution. Although such are usually supplied by the firms, he admitted that sometimes they could not always be dependable.
