Products containing mushroom extracts have appeared in shops and e-commerce platforms across several states, ranging from Florida to Minnesota and Nebraska to Pennsylvania. Companies promote a gentler psychoactive effect in comparison to psilocybin, a Schedule 1 hallucinogen that is still prohibited on a federal level, targeting individuals seeking relief from anxiety, depression, or joint discomfort.

Federal officials and experts in mycology have advised caution, leading Florida regulators to restrict sales in at least five counties. Certain applications of the mushroom and its compounds have resulted in severe side effects, such as delirium, drowsiness, and coma, as reported by Courtney Rhodes, a spokesperson from the Food and Drug Administration.

Heather Hallen-Adams, a University of Nebraska-Lincoln faculty member who researches fungi in food, stated that the safety and effectiveness of the products have not been assessed in any human clinical trials. In December, Chillum, a hemp dispensary in Tampa’s Ybor City neighborhood, ceased the sale of edibles after the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services deemed A. muscaria a hazardous ingredient. The dispensary returned $30,000 worth of products to Psilo Mart; a supplier based in the Las Vegas area that claims to import the mushroom from Lithuania. Following this, the Agriculture Department, responsible for regulating shops that retail items like hemp vapes, lifted its restrictions on the dispensary.

Drew Gennuso, the president of Psilo Mart, mentioned that he is unaware of any significant issues with the edibles. Carlos Hermida, the owner of Chillum, expressed his confidence in the safety of the products. Hermida described the effects of the fungus as mild and not overpowering.

Recently, Hermida resumed selling the products within the price range of $20 to $55. To prevent another state mandate, Chillum has included labels cautioning that the products are intended for educational or spiritual purposes only, not for human consumption.

The fungus and its components have not received approval from federal authorities for sale as food additives or for the treatment of medical conditions. The Tampa incident highlights the regulatory gaps in this emerging national market, despite concerns raised by federal officials. John Michelotti, the leader of the medicinal mushrooms committee at the North American Mycological Association and the founder of Catskill Fungi, a New York-based business specializing in mushroom extracts, noted that companies are progressing faster than the available research.

The crackdown in Chillum started in October when the state Agriculture Department gathered product samples for laboratory analysis. Upon revisiting in December, the department reported findings of increased levels of harmful heavy metals in a Psilo Mart hemp joint containing A. muscaria powder, as indicated by department records.

Hermida disposed of his mushroom joint inventory and was instructed by regulators to cease the sale of other fungus products. The regulators cited a state law that defines food as “adulterated” if it “contains any poisonous or harmful substance that could cause harm to health.”

According to Hermida, the gummies infused with extracts induce a sensation of feeling “high and drunk,” while the capsules create a “tingly body feeling” and distort depth perception. While the mushroom is poisonous, it is likely not lethal and can be detoxified by boiling it in water. Hermida emphasized that consuming the raw fungus differs from using small amounts of its chemicals.

In recovery it is a dangerous line to walk when trying to find a legal high, but in most cases, you’re replacing one addiction for another. Its especially dangerous when we are taking a known poison and ingesting it without the knowledge of clinical trials.