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The U.S. first became aware of muscimol-laced gummies when dozens of people were hospitalized and one died. Muscimol — otherwise known as pantherine — is a potent psychoactive found in the Amanita muscaria mushroom and the Diamond Shruumz brand of jelly beans and chocolates have been using it as an additional ingredient.
In August, Germany reported that it had detected the substance for the first time in sweets coming out of the Czech Republic. In early September, at least one person in Germany was admitted to hospital after consuming the gummies. In early October, Spain’s Madrid region found a batch of jelly beans containing muscimol in a store selling cannabis-related items, according the Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition (AESAN).
“We are facing a worrying scenario,” says Emilio Salgado, a specialist at the Toxicology Unit at Barcelona’s Hospital Clínic. “Over the past year, we have seen several cases of people hospitalized due to the consumption of gummies with semi-synthetic cannabis derivatives that exploit legal loopholes. It is difficult to control these products, which are often bought online. Muscimol is an even more potent psychoactive and candy containing it increases the risks.”
In the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has registered 175 cases of intoxication, 70 hospitalizations, and three deaths related to the consumption of Diamond Shruumz products. Investigations have also come upon other psychoactive substances, including psilocin, an alkaloid found in other types of mushrooms, and kavalactones, derived from the kava plant and known for their psychotropic qualities.
Experts have been warning about the risks of consuming gummies, cookies, and similar sweets containing hallucinogenic substances. “These are products that seem harmless. But, in fact, they pose a significant risk as it is practically impossible to calculate the actual amount of the hallucinogenic consumed and because, in the worst case, they can end up in the hands of children,” says Salgado.
A spokesperson for the Health Department of the Madrid region explains that gummies containing muscimol were discovered during regular inspections of the stores selling cannabis-related items: “In accordance with the Strategy for Surveillance and Control of Establishments of products with CBD [cannabidiol] and other cannabinoid derivatives, gummies containing muscimol were identified during the inspection of an establishment,” they said. “These were confiscated and the AESAN was informed so that the European Union’s alert network could be informed.” According to the spokesperson, these types of interventions made jointly with the National Police also found dried hallucinogenic mushrooms in the Madrid region.
Ten days after Spain first detected the muscimol gummies, a Czech Republic website was found selling these together with cannabis-derived items. Germany also issued two further alerts after identifying similar sweets coming into the country from the Czech Republic and the Netherlands. Since August, Spain and Germany have activated the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) on six occasions for the sale of food containing muscimol.
“The second alert concerned a control of online sales, without having detected direct sales by any establishment. It was communicated to the authorities in the Czech Republic so that they could act against the seller and investigate the origin of the products,” a spokesperson for the AESAN explains to EL PAÍS.
The AESAN states that, so far, “no case of intoxication related to the consumption of products with muscimol has been reported in Spain, although there have been cases of intoxication related to gummies and cookies with cannabis derivatives.” In total, there have been three episodes of intoxication this year concerning half a dozen people in Madrid and Barcelona.
According to AESAN, October was the first time that products with muscimol had been discovered in Spain: “Taking into account that there have been several alerts related to products with cannabinoids in recent months and that the places of sale are similar to those that may sell products with muscimol, it is not unusual that in an inspection both types of substances may appear.” However, AESAN points out that the muscimol products found in Spain were not the same brand as those found in the U.S.
Together with its precursor ibotenic acid, muscimol is responsible for the psychoactive effects of the mushroom Amanita muscaria, known for its intense red color and white dots. “Its use as a hallucinogen is ancestral among several communities in the Siberian region, although it is also a toxic mushroom,” says Salgado. “These cultures even learned to preserve the urine of those who consumed it, because it produced the same psychoactive effects without the toxicity. The problem when it comes to treating people affected by muscimol is that we actually have very little clinical experience.”
