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A man from the United States was hospitalized with organ failure after he injected himself with a “tea” he had made from boiling a psychedelic mushroom or so-called magic mushroom. The fungus later began growing in his blood.

The dangerous case was included in a case report published in the Journal of the Academy of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry. 

Medical doctors first became aware of the man’s situation when he was rushed into the emergency room by his family members. 

The patient’s family reported that the man had stopped taking his medicines for his bipolar disorder type I condition. After his lapse, the man reportedly started to swing between depressive and manic states of mind.

It was during this time that the man, who was referred to as “Mr. X” for anonymity purposes in the case study, started looking into the therapeutic effects of micro-dosing LSD (Lysergic acid diethylamide) and psilocybin, a naturally occurring psychedelic produced by over 200 species of mushrooms.

A study released by Johns Hopkins University in November found that psilocybin, commonly known as magic mushroom, could treat depression, neuropathic pain, and many illnesses with unmet medical needs.

However, Mr. X made a dangerous action of brewing a tea from magic mushroom and injected the concoction into his veins. 

Doctors kept Mr. X in the hospital for about three weeks, with 8 days spent in the intensive care unit (ICU). They gave him two antibiotics and one antifungal treatment.

Mr. X survived and was released from the hospital. However. doctors advised him to continue taking the antibiotics and antifungal treatment for the long term.

Authors of the case study asserted that the incident shows that more public education is needed around the drug.

While psilocybin remains among the most restricted drugs in the region, recent amendments in regulations have paved the way for more clinical research and trials of the substance.

Psilocybin, the active ingredient in magic mushroom, is part of the list of Schedule I substances by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency. These substances are classified as having no medical use and a high potential for abuse.

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