OHIO HIGHWAY PATROL CONTINUES ITS MAGICAL RUN

Illegal Mushrooms Are Latest Seizure

The drug officers with the Findlay post of the Ohio Highway Patrol are on a
serious roll when it comes to snagging major shipments of drugs on
Thursdays on the Ohio Turnpike near Maumee.

This week it was 23 pounds of "magic mushrooms," the largest amount of the
hallucinogen ever confiscated in Ohio.

On Dec. 27 they pulled over a vehicle hauling a couple hundred pounds of
marijuana wrapped in cellophane. And on Dec. 20, the troopers found 79
pounds of marijuana and a handgun in a vehicle driven by two Seattle men.

All of the seizures were made on a small section of eastbound I-80.

"We are seizing drugs weekly and daily on Ohio roads and that's not an
exaggeration," Lt. John Born, of the Columbus patrol office, said yesterday.

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Psilocybin at a glance Street Names: Mesc, cactus, magic mushrooms. Usage:
Swallowed, chewed, or mixed with food. Effects: It can cause visual and
auditory hallucinations and altered perceptions. Duration: The high can
start several minutes after ingestion and last for hours.

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"This is unusual because of the size and the timing," he said.

This Thursday, at 11:13 a.m., a trooper stopped a man for driving 75 mph in
a 65 mph zone in a rented Chevy Lumina near mile marker 53.

The trooper became suspicious that the occupants were involved in criminal
behavior, Lieutenant Born said. "It's called looking beyond the traffic
stop," he said.

A dog trained to search for drugs was called, and authorities found a black
duffel bag in the trunk with two large plastic bags of mushrooms, known as
psilocybin.

The mushrooms have a street value of $73,600.

The previous record for seizing hallucinogenic mushrooms in the state was
11 pounds by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency.

Andrew Florey, 27, of Montana and Robin Johnson, 27, of Vermont were being
held in the Lucas County Jail in lieu of $35,000 and $25,000 bonds
respectively for aggravated trafficking in drugs after an arraignment
yesterday in Maumee Municipal Court.

The two were charged with felony possession and are scheduled to return to
court Tuesday.

The men face a mandatory 10-year prison sentence and a $20,000 fine for
each of the first-degree felonies.

The mushroom seizure follows the Dec. 27 discovery, during a turnpike
traffic stop, of 234 pounds of marijuana wrapped in bundles and cellophane
and hidden among laundry detergent. The drugs were valued at $530,000.

Two men and a woman are charged in that case. The motor home also was
traveling eastbound near mile marker 53.

On Dec. 20, two Seattle men were stopped near mile marker 56 in a rented
2001 Chevy Blazer for speeding. An eventual search found two large black
duffel bags with 79 pounds of marijuana and a Glock 9 mm handgun.

The drugs were valued at nearly $180,000.

"There are certain areas where people tend to speed," on the turnpike,
Lieutenant Born said. "We know we are not getting a lot of the drugs coming
through."

Asked what the patrol had planned for next Thursday, the lieutenant said
"stay tuned."

In 2000, the patrol seized 3,112 pounds of marijuana and 207 pounds of
cocaine. In 2000, the patrol had 5,780 drug cases, he said.

The numbers from 2001 will not be available until next month.