Seizures of psilocybin mushrooms by U.S. law enforcement rose sharply between 2017 and 2022, suggesting increasing availability. The number of seizures grew from 402 in 2017 to 1,396 in 2022, a 368.9% increase, with the Midwest accounting for the most seizures (36.0%) and the West next (33.5%). The total weight seized rose from 226.0 kg to 844.0 kg, a 2,749.7% increase; the West had the greatest total weight (1,864.2 kg, 42.6%) followed by the South (1,831.9 kg, 41.8%). Significant increases occurred in all four U.S. regions. The authors call for more prevention and harm reduction education.
Among nightclub and festival attendees at electronic dance music events in New York City, summer is associated with higher odds of using LSD and psilocybin (shrooms), independent of long-term increases in psilocybin use. Across 15 seasons from summer 2017 through fall 2022, surveys of 3,935 adults found that summer raised the odds of LSD use more than 2.5 times and psilocybin use more than 1.6 times compared to the average across all seasons. Cocaine and ecstasy use decreased over the study period without seasonal variation. The findings suggest summer as a key time for disseminating harm-reduction information for psychedelic users.