TRIPPIN' IN THE WOODS

The sunset's bright colors contorted and melted into the ocean. The
yellows, pinks and reds created a brilliant kaleidoscope. The show of
patterns captivated Western sophomore Jenna, who requested her last name
not be used for legal reasons, for six hours at Larrabee State Park this
past spring.

"It was just so amazing," Jenna said. "I can't really describe it."

Eating mushrooms that contain the psycoactive substance psilocybin is
appealing because it can create beautiful hallucinations, but the
experience can be risky and sometimes deadly, Jenna said.

"You have to be really careful when you pick them by hand," she said.

Before Jenna moved to Bellingham, she said she heard the area, with its
ideally, moist growing conditions for psilocybins, was famous for mushroom
picking. "From what I've seen, I know a lot of people who do them and go
out and pick them (rather than buy them)," she said.

Psilocybin mushrooms cannot kill people, said Fred Rhoades, a lichenologist
and part-time Western biology professor. They can, however, minimally
damage the liver.

Misidentifying psilocybins and eating a similar-looking mushroom called
Galerina can be a deadly mistake, Rhoades said. When someone eats a
Galerina, the toxins do not affect the body until 12 to 24 hours later.

Then their livers and kidneys shut down. The only way to recover is to
undergo an organ transplant, Rhoades said.

"You have to know (the mushrooms picked) aren't going to kill you and trust
the person that told you (what they are)," Rhoades said.

Psilocybins can induce a hallucinogenic high that affects how nerve
impulses travel through the body.

Nerves are not connected to one another, so for nerve impulses to move,
molecules have to transport the impulses across the gaps, Rhoades said.

"They're little molecule shuttles that takes the message from one nerve to
another," Rhoades said.

Psilocybin short-circuits the gaps and shortens the distance for the
messages to cross, Rhoades said. The psilocybin fills the spaces between
nerves so messages travel faster throughout the nervous system.

"This results in the intensification of feelings and senses," Rhoades said.

Sounds become sharper. Colors become brighter. Smells become more intense.

"Everything is beautiful, and music can be out of this world," Jenna said.

Jenna, who eats psilocybins three or four times a year, said the mushrooms
caused her to see coconut trees twisting and zigzagging when she was in Hawaii.

Psilocybins are similar to other mind-altering drugs, and they sometimes
cause people to perform dangerous actions, such as jumping off bridges and
driving cars the wrong way on roads, Bill Robertson, medical director at
the Washington Poison Center said.

"If you take too much of them, you can lose your common sense and do crazy
things," Robertson said.

Bellingham resident John, 20, said he used to eat mushrooms two or three
times a month but slowed down after a while.

"Its just kind of hard on your brain to do it all the time," he said.

Psilocybins can invoke positive feelings when eaten but also can cause
negative reactions, Jenna said. She said she does not eat mushrooms when
she is stressed because she will only feel more stressed and think about
the negative feelings too much.

"It's really important that you take care of yoursef, and you surround
yourself with good people," she said.

For example, a person could hear the sound of a worker's drill, which could
be intensified by the psilocybin, and the person could be reminded of an
unpleasant experience with a bee, Rhoades said.

"It will be different for different people," Rhoades said.

Psilocybins can make some people sick. Jenna said she has seen people throw
up after eating the mushrooms, but she only suffered from a slight stomachache.

Psilocybins grow in moist climates and can grow on leaves and straw on
forest floors. The mushrooms also grow in cow pastures.

The Revised Code of Washington labels psilocybins as hallucinagens.
Psilocybin-picking incidents are not as common as other drug-related
incidents, said Rosemary Kaholokula, Whatcom County deputy prosecuting
attorney.

Picking was more popular in the '60s and '70s, and people are rarely
arrested for picking psilocybins now, Lynden Police Lt. Ernie Niemela said.

Law enforcement officers often arrest people who pick psilocybins for
trespassing because picking mushrooms is not illegal, Niemela said. People
can pick psilocybins, but whether officers arrest them depends on a number
of variables, including if they intend to sell the mushrooms or if they
have a past picking history involving the hallucinogen.

"It's not really a narcotic, but it's regulated by the state and federal
government," Rhoades said.

People arrested for picking psilocybins are charged with a class C felony
with a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
Washington, however, has standard sentencing guidelines that state a person
can be sentenced from no time in jail to six months, Kaholokula said.

Jenna said an average dose of psilocybins is one-eighth of an ounce, which
may cost approximately $20. The high could last two to 10 hours and would
depend on the person who ate them. Those hours can make the risks worth it,
Jenna said.

"It's not something you should abuse but something everyone should do
once," Jenna said.