A Kaohsiung man was on Friday indicted on drug charges for allegedly growing 6.4kg of “magic mushrooms” in his home.
Investigators said the man, surnamed Chen (陳), 33, has a wealthy family and did not have a job, which made it easier for him to tend his alleged crop of hallucinogenic mushrooms.
Police said Chen initially denied cultivating illegal mushrooms, and his mother thought he was growing ordinary edible mushrooms.
Photo provided by the Kaohsiung Police Department via CNA
After further questioning, prosecutors said Chen eventually admitted learning online last year how to grow and dry magic mushrooms, and tried them out before allegedly selling them online at NT$400 to NT$800 per gram, depending on the size of the purchase.
Taichung District Prosecutor Hong Kuo-chao (洪國朝) coordinated the investigation after a cannabis bust in Taichung last year, where pouches containing 34g of magic mushrooms were found, and a months-long investigation eventually led to Chen.
As mushrooms containing the psychoactive compound psilocybin are classified by law as a category 2 drug, Chen faces more than seven years in prison if found guilty of selling illegal drugs, Hong said.
Police warned the public to refrain from consuming “magic mushrooms,” which can induce visual and auditory hallucinations, as well as a distorted sense of space, time and reality, and could have long-lasting effects.
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