Psilocybin Spores Are Illegal Because LSD Can Make You Freak Out, And Other Things In Florida That Don’t Make Sense

The more things change, Florida retains its unique identity.  Florida’s demographics have changed, and the Internet has changed the illegal drug trade and almost every other aspect of life.  Despite this, even as an increasing array of invasive species make Florida’s scenery ever more interesting, Floridian teens are bored out of their minds, and the remedy they seek for their boredom is experimentation with drugs, just as it has been since at least the 1970s.  Last summer, two teenagers in Indian River County ate psilocybin edibles, to the surprise of no one.  The boys quickly began experiencing symptoms of psychosis and went to the emergency room, where they were admitted to the hospital.  When the forensics lab tested the remaining edibles, they tested positive for LSD, a synthetic hallucinogen that is stronger and less expensive than psilocybin, which can only come from psilocybin mushrooms.  Lawmakers responded by criminalizing anything that remotely resembles a psilocybin mushroom, since this is Florida.  If you are facing criminal charges for possession of hallucinogens, contact a Tampa drug crime lawyer.

What Are Spores, and Why Are They Illegal?

Another thing that remains consistent about Florida is that the lyric in that old song that goes, “Don’t know much biology” resonates more strongly in the Sunshine State than it does elsewhere.  Most people who graduated from high school in Florida have no idea what a spore is or how fungi reproduce.  As the bio majors at USF can tell you, though, fungus reproduction is a wonderfully complex thing.  A spore is a haploid cell, meaning that it has only half the genetic material of its parent.  Much as plants scatter their seeds when animals eat the fruits that contain the seeds, the spores of fungi give rise to new individuals when wind and water droplets carry the spores away from the parent organism.  When two spores touch each other, they bond together, and their genetic material combines, much like when a sperm fertilizes an egg in animal reproduction.

The spores of psilocybin mushrooms do not contain psilocybin, the chemical compound that gives the mushrooms their hallucinogenic effects; psilocybin is the magic in magic mushrooms.  The Florida House of Representatives has just approved a bill, HB 651, which criminalizes the possession of psilocybin spores.  This is like prohibiting your children from buying eggs at the supermarket simply because you don’t want chickens walking around in your house.  This new legislation marks a noticeable shift away from the trend that prevailed in Florida for several years, where it seemed like hallucinogen friendly was the new 420 friendly, when there were clinical trials for psilocybin and even for LSD.

Contact Tampa Criminal Defense Attorney Bryant Scriven

A criminal defense lawyer can help you if you are facing criminal charges for possession or distribution of psilocybin mushrooms or their spores.  Contact Scriven Law in Tampa, Florida to schedule a consultation.

Sources:

marijuanamoment.net/florida-lawmakers-approve-bills-to-outlaw-psychedelic-mushroom-spores/

cbs12.com/news/local/south-florida-teens-hospitalized-overdoses-on-lsd-laced-magic-mushrooms-on-the-rise