Mushroom gummies marketed as cognitive enhancement aids have been found to contain psilocybin and other illicit substances, and their consumption has already resulted in five hospitalisations, UVA Health warns.
The organisation began to investigate such supplements, which are commonly sold in petrol stations and smoke shops around the US, following a string of hospitalisations between September and June.
The dangers of unregulated supplements
UVA Health’s poison experts found the presence of psilocybin and psilocin — two illegal ingredients classified as Schedule I drugs by the FDA — in five brands of mushroom gummies.
The presence of these illicit substances was also undisclosed on the ingredients list, raising a plethora of questions on the safety of these products for a general consumer base, and whether these supplement types could become a threat to public health.
The products that underwent testing were found to have Amanita muscaria, a legal mushroom commonly used in supplements, but also caffeine and ephedrine; these ingredients were undisclosed.
Many supplements also contained kratom, a herb with addictive properties that can cause opioid-like effects.
“People tend to equate ‘legal’ with ‘safe,’ which is not necessarily the case. These products are not regulated and can contain any number of unlabeled substances which, when consumed, can cause undesired symptoms,” said Avery Michienzi, DO, the poison centre’s Assistant Medical Director. “Some packages will have QR codes showing that the products were tested in a lab and contain only what they are labelled to contain. These have been found to be inaccurate.”