Pubdate: Fri, 11 Jun 2004
Source: Times Record News (Wichita Falls, TX)
Copyright: 2004 The E.W. Scripps Co.
Contact:  http://TimesRecordNews.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/995
Author: Jessica Langdon,Times Record News
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topics/mushrooms
Related: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n857/a03.html?397

POLICE SAY 'SHROOMS,' POPULAR PARTY DRUG, HITTING CAMPUSES

Drug officers know them as psilocybin mushrooms.

That's a mouthful for the substance known on the street as "shrooms," 
"mushies" or "Mexican Magic Mushrooms."

They're the same ones that popped up all over the psychedelic '60s, police 
said, and they have a hallucinogenic effect - similar to LSD.

Mushrooms aren't as popular as many other drugs, the Drug Enforcement 
Agency reported, but they often appear on college campuses, clubs and raves.

Chris Taylor with the North Texas Regional Drug Task Force said mushroom 
users follow several recipes for taking the drug. Methods include:

- --Eating them;

- --Crushing them, then smoking them and

- --Putting them in gelatin capsules and swallowing them.

Broken down, the 25 pounds of mushrooms found in Tuesday's busts held more 
than a million dosage units. That's how the value of this particular drug 
is measured.

Department of Public Safety narcotics investigator Jim Blake said those 
doses would likely sell on the street for about $10 each, following a 
numerical formula DPS uses. He said the $11 million price tag sounds high, 
but it's what the department's computerized system rang up.

The Controlled Substances Act does not address mushrooms themselves, the 
DEA reported. But the mushrooms contain the chemicals psilocybin and 
psilocin - both Schedule I drugs, it says.

Psilocybin breaks down in the body and produces psilocin, which may create 
effects, including hallucinations and impaired ability to tell fantasy from 
reality. The DEA also describes "a crossing of the senses, such as 'seeing 
a sound' and 'hearing a color.' "

The drug affects senses, including touch, hearing and vision, the 
government report says.

In addition to those effects, the DEA said there are other unpleasant 
physical symptoms involved. Those can include:

- --Nausea and vomiting;

- --Weakness, drowsiness, yawning;

- --Restlessness;

- --Sweating;

- --Lack of coordination;

- --Enlarged pupils.

Investigators said the bust in Clay County cut into drug distribution 
across parts of Texas.

The Department of Justice's Web site said one of the most significant 
crackdowns in the country happened in Medford, Ore., in November 1999. 
Several federal agencies teamed up to seize 100 pounds of fresh mushrooms 
and 66 pounds of dry ones. The site said those drugs were being supplied to 
11 states.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jo-D