SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — When South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley announced indictments against five smoke shops this week, one of the examples he pointed to was a magic mushroom chocolate bar.
The packaging lists a “proprietary mushroom blend” without disclosing the exact ingredients and carried a disclaimer noting it was not approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
That warning isn’t new. In late 2024, the FDA issued an alert on Amanita muscaria mushrooms and its constituents, which have been marketed in edibles as legal psychedelics. The agency concluded the mushroom and its compounds “do not meet the safety standard for use in food and that their use as food ingredients may be harmful.” Consumers were urged to avoid products with those ingredients.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has also raised alarms. Last year, the CDC advised the public to stop consuming Diamond Shruumz brand mushroom edibles after reports of serious illnesses linked to products. By Oct. 31, 2024, health officials had tracked 180 illnesses across 34 states, including 73 hospitalizations and three deaths.
Despite those risks, interest in psychedelic edibles has surged. NPR reported that internet searches for microdosing have risen more than 1,200% since 2015, with psilocybin searches surpassing LSD in 2019. A RAND Corporation study estimates that about 8 million Americans—roughly 3% of adults—used psilocybin in the past year, making it the most widely used hallucinogen in 2023.
Law enforcement is noticing the trend too. Between 2017 and 2022, drug busts involving mushrooms climbed sharply nationwide, underscoring the growing clash between popularity and legality.
