Availability of Websites Offering to Sell Psilocybin Spores and Psilocybin

Summary

Over half of online search results, 58% of 800 links examined, offered to sell psilocybin spores, a key for cultivating this powerful hallucinogen. This widespread online advertising of psilocybin, central to Psychedelics and Drug Studies, highlights how technology facilitates access. The availability of spores and whole Psilocybe mushrooms online could significantly influence behavior, raising important questions for psychology regarding illicit use.

Abstract

This study assesses the availability of websites offering to sell psilocybin spores and psilocybin, a powerful hallucinogen contained in Psilocybe mushrooms. Over a 25-month period beginning in March 2003, eight searches were conducted in Google using the term "psilocybin spores." In each search the first 100 nonsponsored links obtained were scored by two independent raters according to standardized criteria to determine whether they offered to sell psilocybin or psilocybin spores. No attempts were made to procure the products offered for sale in order to ascertain whether the marketed psilocybin was in fact "genuine" or "counterfeit." Of the 800 links examined, 58% led to websites offering to sell psilocybin spores. Additionally, evidence that whole Psilocybe mushrooms are offered for sale online was obtained. Psilocybin and psilocybin spores were found to be widely available for sale over the Internet. Online purchase of psilocybin may facilitate illicit use of this potent psychoactive substance. Additional studies are needed to assess whether websites offering to sell psilocybin and psilocybin spores actually deliver their products as advertised.

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