Pubdate: Tue, 09 Mar 2004
Source: Western Front, The (WA Edu)
Copyright: 2004, The Western Front
Contact:  http://westernfront.wwu.edu/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/994
Author: Kelseyanne Johnson

TRIPPIN' IN THE WOODS

The sunset's bright colors contorted and melted into the ocean. The 
yellows, pinks and reds created a brilliant kaleidoscope. The show of 
patterns captivated Western sophomore Jenna, who requested her last name 
not be used for legal reasons, for six hours at Larrabee State Park this 
past spring.

"It was just so amazing," Jenna said. "I can't really describe it."

Eating mushrooms that contain the psycoactive substance psilocybin is 
appealing because it can create beautiful hallucinations, but the 
experience can be risky and sometimes deadly, Jenna said.

"You have to be really careful when you pick them by hand," she said.

Before Jenna moved to Bellingham, she said she heard the area, with its 
ideally, moist growing conditions for psilocybins, was famous for mushroom 
picking. "From what I've seen, I know a lot of people who do them and go 
out and pick them (rather than buy them)," she said.

Psilocybin mushrooms cannot kill people, said Fred Rhoades, a lichenologist 
and part-time Western biology professor. They can, however, minimally 
damage the liver.

Misidentifying psilocybins and eating a similar-looking mushroom called 
Galerina can be a deadly mistake, Rhoades said. When someone eats a 
Galerina, the toxins do not affect the body until 12 to 24 hours later.

Then their livers and kidneys shut down. The only way to recover is to 
undergo an organ transplant, Rhoades said.

"You have to know (the mushrooms picked) aren't going to kill you and trust 
the person that told you (what they are)," Rhoades said.

Psilocybins can induce a hallucinogenic high that affects how nerve 
impulses travel through the body.

Nerves are not connected to one another, so for nerve impulses to move, 
molecules have to transport the impulses across the gaps, Rhoades said.

"They're little molecule shuttles that takes the message from one nerve to 
another," Rhoades said.

Psilocybin short-circuits the gaps and shortens the distance for the 
messages to cross, Rhoades said. The psilocybin fills the spaces between 
nerves so messages travel faster throughout the nervous system.

"This results in the intensification of feelings and senses," Rhoades said.

Sounds become sharper. Colors become brighter. Smells become more intense.

"Everything is beautiful, and music can be out of this world," Jenna said.

Jenna, who eats psilocybins three or four times a year, said the mushrooms 
caused her to see coconut trees twisting and zigzagging when she was in Hawaii.

Psilocybins are similar to other mind-altering drugs, and they sometimes 
cause people to perform dangerous actions, such as jumping off bridges and 
driving cars the wrong way on roads, Bill Robertson, medical director at 
the Washington Poison Center said.

"If you take too much of them, you can lose your common sense and do crazy 
things," Robertson said.

Bellingham resident John, 20, said he used to eat mushrooms two or three 
times a month but slowed down after a while.

"Its just kind of hard on your brain to do it all the time," he said.

Psilocybins can invoke positive feelings when eaten but also can cause 
negative reactions, Jenna said. She said she does not eat mushrooms when 
she is stressed because she will only feel more stressed and think about 
the negative feelings too much.

"It's really important that you take care of yoursef, and you surround 
yourself with good people," she said.

For example, a person could hear the sound of a worker's drill, which could 
be intensified by the psilocybin, and the person could be reminded of an 
unpleasant experience with a bee, Rhoades said.

"It will be different for different people," Rhoades said.

Psilocybins can make some people sick. Jenna said she has seen people throw 
up after eating the mushrooms, but she only suffered from a slight stomachache.

Psilocybins grow in moist climates and can grow on leaves and straw on 
forest floors. The mushrooms also grow in cow pastures.

The Revised Code of Washington labels psilocybins as hallucinagens. 
Psilocybin-picking incidents are not as common as other drug-related 
incidents, said Rosemary Kaholokula, Whatcom County deputy prosecuting 
attorney.

Picking was more popular in the '60s and '70s, and people are rarely 
arrested for picking psilocybins now, Lynden Police Lt. Ernie Niemela said.

Law enforcement officers often arrest people who pick psilocybins for 
trespassing because picking mushrooms is not illegal, Niemela said. People 
can pick psilocybins, but whether officers arrest them depends on a number 
of variables, including if they intend to sell the mushrooms or if they 
have a past picking history involving the hallucinogen.

"It's not really a narcotic, but it's regulated by the state and federal 
government," Rhoades said.

People arrested for picking psilocybins are charged with a class C felony 
with a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. 
Washington, however, has standard sentencing guidelines that state a person 
can be sentenced from no time in jail to six months, Kaholokula said.

Jenna said an average dose of psilocybins is one-eighth of an ounce, which 
may cost approximately $20. The high could last two to 10 hours and would 
depend on the person who ate them. Those hours can make the risks worth it, 
Jenna said.

"It's not something you should abuse but something everyone should do 
once," Jenna said.
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MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart