Article: Woman dies after eating magic mushrooms (NZ)

[~lostgurl~]

Woman dies after eating magic mushrooms

25 May 2007
Stuff News

A 23-year-old Hamilton woman has died after eating magic mushrooms. Senior Sergeant Marcus Lynam, of Hamilton police, said the woman died at 10pm yesterday after consuming "a quantity" of magic mushrooms.

He warned the public of the dangers of the mushrooms, which contain an active ingredient classified as an illegal class A controlled drug. The compounds in the mushrooms were psychedelics and caused a loss of reality and possibly paranoia. They can induce a "bad trip" and can be fatal. "Under no circumstances should magic mushrooms be consumed," he said. Mr Lynam said there was also danger in consuming any unknown wild mushroom.

Investigations were continuing to determine the exact cause of the woman's death and the matter had been referred to the coroner. Police do not intend to release the woman's name.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/thepress/4072664a10.html


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Woman dies after eating magic mushrooms
25 May 2007
NZ Herald

A woman died last night after consuming a quantity of magic mushrooms.
Hamilton Police senior sergeant Marcus Lynam said investigations were continuing to determine the exact cause of death, although the matter had already been referred to the coroner.

He said: "She was with a group of people that went out and picked the mushrooms, Further investigations are continuing in to where they got the mushrooms from. They have come back home and consumed them."

The woman, a 23-year-old Hamilton student, had walked outside with friends and was on her way to another house when she collapsed. An ambulance was called, and CPR administered. She was taken to Waikato Hospital's Accident and Emergency department. However, her condition deteriorated rapidly, and she was dead by 10pm.

It is not known how many people were in the group that included the girl. They had congregated at a house in Hamilton East when the tragedy unfolded. Mr Lynam would not rule out the possibility that drug charges would be laid against the remaining people at the address. Nobody else in the group fell sick. The ambulance was called when it became evident the woman was in serious trouble, Mr Lynam said.

The girl's parents, who also live in Hamilton but at another address, are said to be devastated. Other next of kin are still in the process of being notified and police were not prepared to release the name of the dead woman at this stage.

The active ingredient in magic mushrooms is classified as an illegal class A controlled drug. It has hallucinogenic properties. "At this time of the year mushrooms sprout everywhere, including magic mushrooms, be they in people's yards or where ever else," Mr Lynam said. He warned of the dangers of all wild fungi, including toadstools, which children could easily consume unwittingly.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/...ectid=10441753

[augentier]

She went out and picked the shrooms? Looks like someone didn't know exactly what to look for..

[Swimster]

perhaps the mushroom had some ergot fungus on it or similar.

[Isochrist]

Picking wild mushrooms and hoping to identify them is a pretty dangerous hobby.

Not the brightest thing to do.

[Swimster]

^^indeed. swim would never trust his mushroom-picking judgement.

[enquirewithin]

The articles imply that the "Class A" drug in them killed her, but that is highly unlikely,

[_caesar_]

Originally Posted by enquirewithin

The articles imply that the "Class A" drug in them killed her, but that is highly unlikely,

One thing you can rely on, sensationalist media reporting of the scourge of drugs.

[darawk]

Absolutely not. She'd have to eat approximately 70 grams of reasonable potency psilocybe cubensis mushrooms to really overdose. There is *NO* way they picked that much.

[~lostgurl~]

Internet and autumn blamed for bad drug-trips

29 May 29 2007
NZ Herald
BySimon O'rourke

A Waikato Hospital doctor says the increased incidence of "bad trips" among young people is related to late autumn and can be partly blamed on the internet.

Dr Tonia Nicholson tried to revive 23-year-old Hamilton woman Te Awhina Hawera last Thursday night after the student had consumed magic mushrooms with friends. Ms Hawera's tangi was held in Tuakau at the weekend and she was buried yesterday. She had lived the past decade with a transplanted heart.

Dr Nicholson said consumption of the mushrooms could cause a mild increase in the body's heart rate, but usually it was not life-threatening. "I've never seen anybody die from them before."

The cooler, damper weather signalled a busier time for A&E medical staff dealing with drug-related problems, she said. "I know this is the time of year that mushrooms are growing because the patients are starting to come in," Dr Nicholson said. "We see them every year. Like LSD, sometimes people have a nice trip, sometimes they don't."

Working part-time, she had treated four patients in the past two weeks for the effects of magic mushrooms. One became so frightened of the images he was seeing that he had taken himself to the emergency department. "The first two patients I saw [a fortnight ago] came in agitated, aggressive and requiring a police escort. They came in very combative and confused, potentially a danger to themselves and other people." All four patients had been young: one was aged only 15.

Feedback indicated the youths were getting information about the drug from the internet, which made identification of the fungi easy. "Part of the trouble is that you can't measure the potency of what you are taking, it is not just down to the quantity," Dr Nicholson said. "Some might be much more toxic than others."

Patients were commonly given a sedative that could put them to sleep until the effects of the mushrooms wore off. The cause of Ms Hawera's death is yet to be established, but it appears her life was limited. The clinical director of Auckland City Hospital's cardiovascular service, Peter Ruygrok, said the average time a heart transplant patient could expect to live after surgery was 11 years. T

he cost of heart transplants was typically $120,000, although patients needed a lifetime supply of immuno-suppressant drugs, which added to the expense. However, when it came to transplants money was not an object, Dr Ruygrok said. "We're not limited in any way by money, we're limited completely by donors. If we had more donors we'd do more transplants." Dr Ruygrok said any organ recipient should closely follow his or her doctor's advice.

Telling people with illnesses not to take drugs was "like warning a heart transplant patient they shouldn't drink petrol", he said. "All people with medical illness should be careful about what they ingest, or what they take or do."

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/...ectid=10442373

[Nature Boy]

Is New Zealand home to any poisonous psilocybin-containing mushrooms? If not, then the information in these articles is highly inaccurate. The dead woman had a transplanted heart. That is the key factor here. I remember hearing of a young man who died playing basketball after drinking a can of the energy drink Red Bull. His heart condition was given as the cause of death. Open and shut, no sensationalism.