Authorities have issued a warning after “magic mushrooms” were found growing at a popular pasture in Yangmingshan National Park (陽明山), saying the fungi are classified as a “Category 2” illegal drug.
Taipei’s Seventh Special Police Corps (保七總隊), in charge of public safety at Yangmingshan park, said they were alarmed at the discovery of “magic mushrooms” and have beefed up patrols in the park, which is frequented daily by city residents, hikers and tourists.
“We are paying close attention to this case and a team was dispatched this morning to collect the mushrooms. They will be sent for lab analysis,” said Wang Chi-cheng (王志成), head of the criminal investigation unit at the Seventh Special Police Corps.
Photo provided by the Criminal Investigation Bureau
“Before making a proper identification, we have reinforced patrols throughout all areas of Yangmingshan,” Wang told reporters.
The beefed-up patrols are needed because authorities have become aware of reports of the mushrooms creating a buzz both online and off the Web, mostly due to unfamiliarity and curiosity about this particular wild fungus with hallucinatory and psychedelic properties, Wang said.
According to a Chinese-language Apple Daily report on Monday, a man from Taipei surnamed Huang (黃) last month went to park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗), a scenic mountain pasture still used by local farmers to graze cattle.
Huang said he found wild mushrooms, mostly white in color, growing on the cow dung. Thinking they were edible, the 24-year-old picked a bunch and took them home. He made a vegetable stir-fry with the mushrooms and consumed the dish.
Huang recalled that he began to experience something unusual.
“I felt light, like my body was floating in midair. I saw strange things and space seemed distorted. I also had this uncontrollable drooling,” he said, according to the newspaper report.
After coming down from the hallucinatory trip, which lasted about two hours, Huang was frightened and told a friend about the experience, who was certain Huang had eaten “magic mushrooms.”
According to experts, Huang had eaten psilocybin mushrooms, which contain the active ingredients psilocybin and psilocin.
Chen Chi-chen (陳啟禎), a biology professor at Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology, said some indigenous people of central America used psilocybin mushrooms to induce psychedelic experiences during traditional ceremonies and religious rituals.
“In this case, the mushroom spores were eaten by cattle and expelled in their feces. When suitable temperature and humidity conditions were met, they sprouted on the dung and grew into mature mushrooms,” Chen said.
“They can also grow on other cool and wet mountain slopes around Taiwan, not just on Yangmingshan,” he added.
On Tuesday, the Food and Drug Administration issued a statement warning the public not to pick any wild mushrooms found in mountainous areas and not to eat them.
“Psilocybin mushrooms affect the central nervous system, lead to muscle weakness, and may cause convulsions and lead to death in serious cases,” the administration said.
The statement stressed that psilocybin mushrooms are illegal in Taiwan, as they are considered a “Category 2” drug, alongside marijuana and amphetamine.
MONITORED BY JETS: Chinese aircraft included Y-20 aerial refueling aircraft, suggesting that China refueled its short-range jets during flight The air force scrambled again yesterday to warn away 27 Chinese aircraft that entered its air defense identification zone (ADIZ), the Ministry of National Defense said, the latest increase in tensions across the sensitive Taiwan Strait. Taiwan has complained for a year or more of repeated missions by China’s air force near the nation, often in the southwestern part of its ADIZ, close to the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島). Over a four-day period beginning on Oct. 1, when China marked its national day, Taiwan said that nearly 150 Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) military aircraft entered its ADIZ, not territorial
The boyfriend of Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Kao Chia-yu (高嘉瑜) was yesterday questioned by prosecutors after Kao on Tuesday reported that he had abused her. Raphael Lin (林秉樞) was taken in for questioning at the Grand Forward Hotel in New Taipei City’s Banciao District (板橋) yesterday morning, and police confiscated his mobile phone, iPad and a data storage device, prosecutors said, adding that they have applied to place Lin in judicial detention. Lin, who does not reside at his registered address, might attempt to flee or tamper with evidence, they said, adding that he has allegedly threatened victims in earlier abuse cases
PAST CATCHING UP: Raphael Lin was last year convicted of intimidating his girlfriend at the time, and in 2015 allegedly confined his parents and assaulted his mother Doctoral student and media commentator Raphael Lin (林秉樞) is in detention and has had his communication rights limited after he was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly subjecting Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Kao Chia-yu (高嘉瑜) to two days of violence in a hotel room, the New Taipei District Court said yesterday. The New Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office had filed a request to detain Lin — who was Kao’s boyfriend at the time of the incident — with the court approving the request early yesterday. The prosecutors’ office said that it is likely to charge Lin with seven offenses: assault causing bodily harm, violating
Italian Representative to Taiwan Davide Giglio has praised the nation as a “silent giant” of the global supply chain, saying he is looking forward to establishing closer cooperation with Taiwan’s world-leading semiconductor sector. “Taiwan’s role in global production chains has largely gone unnoticed until recently. This may have to do with the fact that Taiwanese companies do not always enjoy strong brand power,” Giglio said in an interview with the Central News Agency. However, a global chip shortage has brought to light Taiwan’s strength in such a strategically important sector, he said. Italy, a leader in the automotive sector, was quick to realize
RSS