Mushroom products purchased from smoke shops across San Diego await testing at Infinite Chemical Analysis Labs on the city’s north side. By Keri Blakinger
and Connor Sheets
Aug. 9, 2024 3 AM PT
Beneath the psychedelic colors and cartoon mushrooms, the labels are often vague: Some claim to be “vegan space capsules” while others warn they are only “novelty collectibles.” A few obliquely say that they contain a “proprietary mushroom blend” or that they are “infused with magic.”
But many of the mushroom chocolates and gummies sold in Southern California head shops, it seems, are not as advertised. This year, the Food and Drug Administration began issuing warnings about one brand’s products after dozens of people who ate them fell ill or died. Federal regulators said tests found synthetic hallucinogens and other psychoactive compounds not listed on the labels. The company, Santa Ana-based Prophet Premium Blends, ultimately recalled all its candies. Kevin Eastin, a lab assistant at Infinite Chemical Analysis Labs in San Diego, breaks up a mushroom chocolate bar purchased from a smoke shop in the city. Advertisement
An investigation by The Times found that the problem of questionable mushroom products may be far more widespread. Testing done on 33 samples purchased at smoke shops in Los Angeles and San Diego counties found 40% contained no psilocybin — one of the main chemicals that make mushrooms magical.
Several instead contained widely varying levels of lab-made psychedelic compounds, including those found in the now-recalled Diamond Shruumz items. Some had no hallucinogens at all, a few featured compounds from a different psychoactive fungus with unpleasant side effects, and one contained only bath salts.
Drug experts say that lack of quality control can expose unsuspecting buyers to potentially harmful or illegal compounds and make it difficult to know how strong the products actually are, leading to unexpectedly intense trips and other negative experiences.
Advertisement“If you tell somebody a thing is a thing, then it should be that thing,” said Reggie Harris, co-founder of the Oakland Hyphae and Hyphae Labs, a mushroom testing company. “It boils down to consent. People should have permission at all times to determine […]
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