BACOLOD City – An estimated 3.610 kilograms of “magic mushrooms” valued at P361,000 were recovered in Barangay Cabug.
Suspects Diane Tolmo, 35; Franz Jovi Tolmo, 26; and Fierre Santillan were apprehended by the Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) Station 5 around 10:35 p.m. on Monday, July 17.
Also recovered were 13 grams of suspected shabu worth P88,400.
F. Tolmo was allegedly selling “magic mushrooms” online, sourced from the hinterlands of Don Salvador Benedicto town, Negros Occidental.
“Magic mushrooms” contain psilocybin, a hallucinogenic substance, becoming a common alternative to illegal drugs.
According to Medical News Today, the effects of psilocybin are generally similar to those of LSD. They include altered perceptions of time and space and intense changes in mood and feeling. It added that in medical settings, doctors have tested psilocybin for treating cluster headaches, depression, end-stage cancer anxiety, and other forms of anxiety.
Police Station 5 commander Major Joery Puerto said this is the first time the BCPO has recovered “magic mushrooms.”
“Based on the interview with F. Tolmo, it can be mixed with food and chocolates and can also be brewed into tea. It is like marijuana. They sell these online,” he added.
Puerto said the magic mushrooms, which are sold by the suspects for P1,000 per 10 grams, are illegal because their use is not registered with the Food and Drug Administration.
Psychedelic mushrooms fall under Schedule I of the United Nations Convention on Psychotropic Substances in 1971, which the Philippines ratified in 1974.
The suspects were in the custody of the police station and will face charges for violation of Republic Act 9165, or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.(With a report from PNA)/PN
