SOME 'SHROOM FACTS WERE NOT REPORTED

Editor:

As the author of the North Florida Shroom Guide Web site (http://jug-or-not.com/shroom), Iwas concerned about the article in the July 9 Press Journal, "Psychedelic mushrooms a Treasure Coast attraction."

The article pointed out that "the largest harm comes from misidentification and eating the wrong mushroom, which could be toxic," then also pointed out that to actually convict someone of possession, the prosecution must prove that the
subject knew the mushrooms were hallucinogenic (due to a Florida Supreme Court ruling).

If the person who picks psilocybes know they are the right mushrooms, (the one that will draw prosecution), where is the danger? If the person doesn't know what he is picking, then he can wind up dead, but the state can't prosecute them. Sounds like a thought-crime scenario.

The Web site goes into explicit detail on how to correctly identify psilocybe mushrooms. Not only does it suggest possible locations but also ensures that someone with ordinary intelligence would not eat the wrong kind. Psilocybe cubensis mushrooms are of low toxicity, making it impossible to ingest a fatal quantity, and they also cause no lasting effects or flashbacks. A quick perusal of the Drug Enforcement Administration's information will tell you this.

Psilocybes have been used for thousands of years in religious ceremonies and in recent times as a mental-illness and addiction treatment. There are only two reported deaths in thousands of years of use. The mushrooms occur in grassy areas frequented by multi-chamber-stomached mammals. They are not dangeros "street" drugs and are not produced in a laboratory.

Scott Bledsoe

Orange Park