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Why do we not hear of any mushroom fatalities?

the_ketaman

the_ketaman

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Oct 18, 2005
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Not that I want to hear that kind of thing, quite the opposite but I have a friend who lived in northern NSW for a few years and she said all the teenagers/young adults pick and use shrooms often and she said EVERYONE does it up there, theres no need to sell them because they are so plentyful so theyre worth nothing(wish it was like that down this way :( ).

Now from the research ive done ive come to the conclusion that none of these kids would be taking all the necessary precautions when picking and identifying them, I have done a ton of reading but am still too scared to take mushies ive picked because I know your screwed if you take the wrong one. So why arent more accidental poisonings happening? Are poisonous mushrooms really that common or do we just not hear about the poisonings? I would have thought people would be extremely cautious and for mushy use to be a rarity if people died from deathcaps, but as my friend says everyone and theyre dog is fucked up on shrooms up there.

What the hell is going on?
 
Maybe the risk is just overblown? Or there aren't as many poisonous alternatives in our corner of the world.
 
also, it's not that hard to inform yourself of the 'right' kind of mushy in this day and age.
(and the folks at shroomery.org are there to help you...)
i reckon once you've seen a psilocybe mushroom, you know what to look for. with the obvious australian species, anyway.
there are a bunch of ways to identify the right mushrooms, from appearance, the colour they bruise through to taking a spore print (which is much easier than it sounds).

i'm sure that like any drug related death, if toadstool fatalities were that common the ultra-conservative australian mainstream media would be all over it with their stay-at-home-and-be-scared-but-make-sure-you-keep-buying-stuff bullshit :)
 
i'm sure that like any drug related death, if toadstool fatalities were that common the ultra-conservative australian mainstream media would be all over it with their stay-at-home-and-be-scared-but-make-sure-you-keep-buying-stuff bullshit
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I think the fact that there isn't more 'think of the children!' type moral panic, when mushrooms are a prime candidate being so easily available, stands as good evidence for their relative safety.
 
Ha this reminds me of Balingup many many years ago. In relation to the OP, even if you did eat a 'poisonous' mushroom it would not kill you or seriously harm you. It would just make you a little nauseous. I would like to know when someone has actually died from eating a mushroom. Unlike when someone died from MDMA, there have been many over the years ie Anna Woods (RIP Anna) When your out in the field, its quite obvious which ones should be cooked up with spaghetti and the ones you should steer clear of.

And please don't buy in to the Anna Woods thing.
 
There was a guy who made the news last year. He was a European tourist and was actually looking for edibles for dinner rather than a trip. It is common enough in the ER to not be news worthy though. Just like falling off your bike without a helmet it is common sense until a pretty blonde girl with plans to study marine biology dies.
 
Big B said:
Ha this reminds me of Balingup many many years ago. In relation to the OP, even if you did eat a 'poisonous' mushroom it would not kill you or seriously harm you. It would just make you a little nauseous. I would like to know when someone has actually died from eating a mushroom. Unlike when someone died from MDMA, there have been many over the years ie Anna Woods (RIP Anna) When your out in the field, its quite obvious which ones should be cooked up with spaghetti and the ones you should steer clear of.

And please don't buy in to the Anna Woods thing.
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Sure most aren't lethal, but for a HR site should probably point out that some are. Wiki has a decent summary
 
marley said:
They probably pick Cubensis - Easy to identify and no poisonous lookalikes.
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there are look alike copelandia cyanescens though. They grow in N. NSW and Qld, grow in the same paddocks as the real thing and grow in cow shit. They look identical to the real thing except they can grow bigger than the real thing... but still one that isnt full sized can look pretty much identical [well to me anyway] .

Only 2 ways I can tell the difference. The fake stalk snaps much more easily, it's more likely to snap than pull out of the ground, and it doesn't stain blue. I"m pretty sure I would have consumed some of those in the past due to my haste and low light levels , but i've never got sick. It is a form of mushroom rather than being a toadstool so prob just inactive rather than poisonous.
 
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marley said:
They probably pick Cubensis - Easy to identify and no poisonous lookalikes.
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Pretty much, I pick near New South Wales I won't say where but it's fairly south and as far as I'm aware there's no hallucinogenic mushrooms that look anything like death caps or the common poisonous mushroom.
White stems, gold caps and they turn blue when you pick them, easily distinguishable at least in my area.
 
While taking friends out for their first hunt for subaeruginosa, I've had them come up to me clasping a few Galerina marginata in an excited fashion asking, "are these them, are these them?!?!" - even after I had shown them some photos of P.subs. I think it's more an issue when it comes to wood-lover species, as I've seen Galerinas growing close to subaeruginosa, and even picked a few by accident (while picking quickly) and only noticed them after getting home and doing the obligatory second check after laying them out to dry.

They're easily distinguishable when you know the difference, but the caps can look (almost) identical sometimes, especially in colour - and I've picked subaruginosa for around 8 years.

Dying a slow death from amatoxins is not something to take lightly. I'm not too sure about look-alikes in dung-loving varieties though.
 
I think if they're picking them as frequently as you say (which doesn't really suprise me, S.E Melb is known for them growing everywhere)
For the most part they're easily distinguishable, and most people have someone experienced show them the first time, and if they pick lots people tend to double check them once you get them home, and if you have one that you're not sure about you chuck it out. No need to risk it after a good pick.

They sell for nothing down here aswell, unless people have gone to the trouble of putting them into caps, and they still go very cheap in the drug trade and ultimately not worth the trouble for 99% of users.

And if anyone is wondering if people would be overdosing with such large amounts growing, in the documentary fungamentary (it's in the drug doco thread) you need to consume about 3 casserole dishes worth of shrooms inorder to have a lethal amount.

My biggest concern is when people keep eating whilst picking and tripping. It's not something I have done, but I imagine unless I was super experienced at picking I would definitely not be game to do so, I don't see how people do such a thing when things are changing shape/size and colour. And I am continuosly suprised as I hear of more people doing it.
 
thestudent14 said:
My biggest concern is when people keep eating whilst picking and tripping. It's not something I have done, but I imagine unless I was super experienced at picking I would definitely not be game to do so, I don't see how people do such a thing when things are changing shape/size and colour. And I am continuosly suprised as I hear of more people doing it.
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I think this is one of the crazier things some people do. This is an interesting thread, but some of the posts here (that suggest there is no risk) are a little worrying. There is a very real risk of at least bad gastric symptoms (nausea/vomiting/diarrhoea) and at worst a slow death - a death that will give the victim more than enough time to ruminate over how stupid they've been while their liver fails.
 
^^
A mate had syringes imported, but I still wouldn't suggest it. They are searched for, aswell as the spores.
 
Its pretty easy to distinguish types really, I mean some galerina do look similar to subaeruginosa but if you take the time to learn what you are doing and take the proper precautions to identify them you should not have too many hassles. I definately remember hearing of a fatality in New Zealand a few years ago but it does not seem to be too common. I think the risk of poisoning yourself if you are careful are probably overstated but there is certainly a very real risk and the consequences are severe enough it is not something you want to leave to chance.

Also lets try not to steer the topic towards mushroom cultivation, cheers.
 
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The reason you don't hear of fatalities up around northern nsw is that yes, golden tops especially are SO common that once you've picked a few out of some dung, you've picked em all.

It's such a lovely practise waking up after the rain to walk the fields on a hunt for free. Can't wait to head back up there and go again. =D<3
 
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