LEE COUNTY, Fla. – Harvesting “magic mushrooms” in Florida could land you in prison. They contain psilocybin and cause a psychedelic effect which makes them illegal in Florida.
More than 10 grams of the mushrooms could get you 30 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. A new bill introduced would make the “magic mushrooms” legal and study their health benefits.
Will Soto of Fort Myers prefers to use them to make tea.
“I’ve actually used them medicinally for anxiety and processing trauma and grief, and I’ve had great results,” Soto said.
The National Alliance of Mental Health Illness called Florida’s mental health crisis an epidemic. They report 660,000 adults and 181,000 children live with severe mental illness in Florida.
“If there is something there that can provide a benefit physically, mentally, or otherwise for individuals we should pursue it,” said Steven Shea, who supports medical use.
The mushrooms contain psilocybin or a psychedelic that can treat addiction, depression, and anxiety
Dr. Martha Rosenthal, a Physiology and Neuroscience professor at Florida Gulf Coast University, explained the drug shuts off parts of the brain that give negative self-image and negative ideas about others.
New bills being introduced would decriminalize the mushrooms and study their health benefits.
Dr. Rosenthal suggested past negative associations dating back from the 1960s, many of which have been proven false, could lead to hesitancy to study the medical effects of the mushrooms.
Dr. Heather Auld of Fort Myers specializes in integrative medicine, and she believes mushrooms are going to be the next frontier. She noted portabella mushrooms are now being studied for breast cancer, and she would consider prescribing magic mushrooms if they were made legal.
“I also feel that we need more data on exactly how much because they’re hallucinogenic, and you don’t want to send somebody on a bad trip when you’re trying to cure their depression,” Dr. Auld said.
Oregon is the only state so far that has made “magic mushrooms” legal.
Texas and Connecticut have legalized medical research. Nationally, the FDA is fast-tracking the research labeling some of it “breakthrough therapy.” Currently, there are eight clinical trials in the U.S., and one of them is in Lauderhill, Florida.
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