Oregon researchers say several “magic mushroom” products sold on store shelves don’t actually contain any psilocybin.
Researchers bought 12 so-called “magic mushroom” edibles from convenience stores and smoke shops in Portland, including gummies and chocolates, and then tested their contents.
The study was a collaboration between Richard van Breemen and Daniel Simchuk from Oregon State University, Björn Fritzsche and Daniel Huson from Rose City Laboratories in Portland, and Jonathan Ferguson and Scott Kuzdzal from Shimadzu Scientific Instruments in Columbia, Maryland.
Van Breemen, the study's coordinator, said several of the products purchased had misleading packaging, with psychedelic imagery and images of mushrooms—and some even directly claimed to include the drug.
“The consumer should expect that they would contain psilocybin,” said van Breemen.
But when researchers analyzed the edibles, they found no trace of psilocybin. Instead, they detected substances like caffeine, cannabinoids, kava root extract, and candy.
Van Breemen said they did find synthetic compounds derived from a root of psilocybin in some products, but he said they aren’t medically synonymous with the real thing.
“With no human experience testing, no research behind it to show it's effective as a medicine, whether it's hallucinogenic or not, or whether it's safe," said van Breemen. "And of course, the quantities of these compounds were not available to consumers, and nobody knows what their safe levels might be.”
Last year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that edibles containing the mushroom muscaria were linked to 73 hospitalizations and 3 deaths nationwide.
Van Breemen argued the public should only buy medicinal products or supplements from reputable sources.
“We are concerned about the public safety aspect of this and wish our paper to alert researchers, clinicians who might see patients in the emergency room or people who work at poison control centers to be aware of the problem,” said van Breemen, “and for consumers to be aware that they should buy products which are safe.”
It’s illegal to actually sell psilocybin to the public in Oregon. It is permitted for therapeutic use, but only on-site with a licensed facilitator.
