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Psilocybe subaeruginosa mushrooms are illegally used both recreationally and to self-medicate because of their psychedelic properties. (iNaturalist: Jeremy Hegge<\/a>, Psilocybe subaeruginosa<\/a>, CC BY-NC 4.0<\/a>)<\/p>\n Little is known about what exactly happens to users’ bodies or causes the suspected drug-related syndrome, known as a toxidrome, which has often been associated with the consumption of the native Australian hallucinogenic fungi Psilocybe subaeruginosa.<\/p>\n Although presentations of the malady appear to be rare, Dr Beck suspected it could be deadly in some circumstances.<\/p>\n “It looked like something that could pose a range of risks … but also the possibility of respiratory depression [low breathing rate] if it was severe enough.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Dr Beck and other researchers are hoping to raise awareness around drug harm reduction for the public and medical professionals.<\/p>\n Especially as the use of magic mushrooms and other illegal psychedelic drugs, like LSD, continues to rise in Australia for recreational use and potentially self-medication purposes.<\/p>\n What we know about wood-lover paralysis<\/p>\n Wood-lover paralysis is named after a native “magic” mushroom species (P. subaeruginosa)\u00a0 that grows from woody material in New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania, \u00a0but also parts of South East Queensland and as an introduced species in Western Australia.<\/p>\n Correct identification of the species, commonly referred to as subs or gold tops, is difficult with several poisonous look-alike mushrooms often found growing in the same habitats.<\/p>\n As part of his research at the University of NSW, Dr Beck has been trying to understand the symptoms and potential causes of wood-lover paralysis.<\/p>\n Psilocybe subaeruginosa mushrooms are known to grow out of woody material. (iNaturalist: Jeremy Hegge<\/a>, Psilocybe subaeruginosa<\/a>, CC BY-NC 4.0<\/a>)<\/p>\n Dr Beck and colleagues surveyed 392 magic mushroom users and found that 42 per cent of them reported an experience of weakness <\/a>at least once after consuming fungi.<\/p>\n One hundred and fifty-eight of the 165 people who experienced weakness reported it happening after eating wood-growing mushrooms.<\/p>\n Only one person said they experienced weakness after taking the most popular magic mushroom species, Psilocybe cubensis, which grows out of dung.<\/p>\n Dr Beck said respondents described symptoms appearing most commonly within four hours of ingestion.<\/p>\n Negative effects <\/strong>like muscle weakness lasted anywhere from a few hours to up to three days.<\/p>\n Science quiz: How much do you know about fungi?<\/a><\/p>\n There’s more to mushrooms than toxins. Take our quiz to see how much you know.<\/p>\n Dr Beck said the survey was targeted at users who had experienced paralysis, and therefore was not an indication of the general prevalence of the syndrome.<\/p>\n Australian mycologist Alistair McTaggart, from the private company Psymbiotika Lab and who was not involved with the research, said there was still more to learn about the cause of the paralysis.<\/p>\n He hypothesised <\/strong>that the cause was an additional tryptamine, a hallucinogen, produced by mushrooms with duplicated genes.\u00a0<\/p>\n Dr McTaggart said this was because when a gene was duplicated, sometimes the copy would do something completely different to the original gene.<\/p>\n Could wood-lover paralysis kill?<\/p>\n Whether a case of wood-lover paralysis could lead to death is unclear.<\/p>\n A Victorian coroner’s inquest earlier this year was unable to rule out the wood-lover mushrooms as a factor in the death of 53-year-old Rachael Dixon in 2024<\/a>.<\/p>\n Dixon had drunk a brew containing magic mushrooms at an unregulated “wellness retreat” that left several other participants with symptoms consistent with wood-lover paralysis.<\/p>\n Dr Beck shared details with the inquest about two suspected, but unpublished, instances of severe wood-lover paralysis.<\/p>\n The first was in New Zealand, where a mushroom user had weakness and difficulty breathing, and was later found unresponsive and died.<\/p>\n The second was a person in Australia who needed CPR and a breathing tube, but recovered the next day.<\/p>\n Mushroom use by Australians increasing<\/p>\n Psychedelic drug use appears to be increasing in Australia.<\/p>\n The latest National Drug Strategy Household Survey from 2022\u201323 saw the percentage of Australians who used a psychedelic drug rise from 1.6 per cent in 2019 to 2.4 per cent three years later taking the number of people who use these drugs annually up to about 500,000 people.<\/p>\n Mushrooms and psilocybin were the most common hallucinogens used in 2022\u201323 with 1.8 per cent of Australians using them.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n