Magic mushrooms sprout outside NSW parliament, metres from police

After it was revealed ‘magic’ mushrooms had been found growing near the main entrance of parliament, Premier Chris Minns has joked about its source.

Premier Chris Minns has joked about where the magic mushrooms found growing near Parliament House may have come from.

A crop of psychedelic mushrooms growing under the nose of state politicians may have been the work of an “enterprising drug dealer” to hide their goods “in plain sight”, Premier Chris Minns has joked.

The Daily Telegraph revealed on Wednesday that a magic stash of special ‘shrooms had cropped up in a public garden on NSW Parliament grounds.

Speaking on Nova FM, Mr Minns joked that the funny fungi may have been planted by someone looking to hide illegal drugs in “the last place anyone will search”.

“Maybe there’s a cannabis plant in the basement of parliament,” he joked.

The Daily Telegraph revealed psychedelic “magic” mushrooms started growing outside the main entrance to Australia’s oldest parliament after a period of heavy rain, right under the noses of state politicians, bureaucrats and law enforcement.

Alerted to the discovery, Speaker Greg Piper has asked the Department of Parliamentary Services to develop a management plan for any “psychoactive fungi” growing in the gardens.

The Telegraph was first alerted to the mushrooms by Legalise Cannabis MP Jeremy Buckingham, who spotted the fungi growing in a public area of parliament’s forecourt.

Concerned that parliamentarians could be inadvertently affected if hallucinogenic mushrooms were growing immediately outside their workplace, the Telegraph collected samples and analysed the mushrooms with a kit obtained online.

Speaker Greg Piper has asked the Department of Parliamentary Services to step in to develop a plan to remove the “magic” mushrooms. Picture: NewsWire / John Appleyard

The samples tested positive for psilocin – a prohibited psychoactive substance.

Australian mushroom expert Alistair McTaggart immediately identified the mushrooms in question as Psilocybe subaeruginosa, a “native magic mushroom in Australia”.

Psilocybe subaeruginosa contains psychoactive compounds of psilocybin and psilocin, both of which are illegal to possess, cultivate, or supply.

Mr McTaggart is the co-founder and chief scientist of Psymbiotika Lab, a company dedicated to magic mushroom research.

He said some of the effects of the mushrooms include “kaleidoscopic hallucinations, mystical experiences, (and) profound or life-changing experiences”.

“During the experience, a person may have impaired capacity for 1-2 hours,” he said.

Following consultations with authorities, the Telegraph handed the samples over to NSW Police for appropriate disposal.

Legalise Cannabis Party NSW MP Jeremy Buckingham spotted the mushrooms growing near parliament’s forecourt. Picture: Facebook

Mr Buckingham said that while some of the active chemicals contained in “magic mushrooms” are now able to be legally prescribed by doctors for treatment-resistant depression, he cautioned members of the public against trying to forage their own psychedelics.

Magic mushrooms attract heavy penalties for anyone who harvests them.

In NSW, anyone caught with mushrooms containing psilocybin or psilocin faces up to two years in jail, a $2,200 fine, or both.

A person who takes part in supply of the drug could face life in prison or a $550,000 fine – if the offence involves more than 100 grams of the substance.

Mr Piper told the Telegraph that he asked Department of Parliamentary Service boss Mark Webb to raise the issue with the building’s gardeners.

“We wouldn’t want to be responsible for any use that could put people at risk,” he said.

Mr Piper suggested gardeners could be tasked with “daily observation and removal” of any offending fungi.

Mr McTaggart said NSW parliament could not be punished simply for having Psilocybe subaeruginosa on parliamentary grounds.

“Tens of thousands of landowners would be penalised if its natural occurrence on private land was illegal … to some degree, it is ubiquitous in soil,” he said.

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