Police said that although there have not been any reported incidents of children ingesting the chocolate, parents should talk to their kids about eating food they don’t know the origin of and to read labels carefully.
Winter Haven police are warning parents to keep an eye on what their kids are eating after chocolate bars reportedly laced with psilocybin “magic” mushrooms were found in the city.
The Winter Haven Police Department said they were conducting a search warrant when they found the chocolate bars, which feature a colorful wrapper labeled “one up”, a reference to the mushroom-shaped power-up in the Super Mario games. The label also said the bar contains psilocybin mushrooms, which are psychoactive and hallucinogenic if taken in high enough quantities.
“This type of substance is a schedule 1 drug and is not legal in the state of Florida,” Winter Haven Chief of Police David Brannan said. “Parents are encouraged to speak with their children about consuming anything that could possibly contain a dangerous substance.”
Studies have found that psilocybin can have therapeutic benefits at low doses under medical supervision, but the label provided by Winter Haven police advertises 3.5 grams of mushrooms per black-market bar. A high dose could lead to unwanted side effects like increased blood pressure and heart rate, nausea, vomiting, hallucinations and other psychiatric effects, according to police.
Winter Haven police said the bars obtained through the search warrant were sent to a lab for testing.
