Campers high on mushrooms falsely report hiker's death
Details of the backcountry saga were reported on Wednesday in a weekly bulletin by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.It describes how a forest ranger responded to the 911 call of a "reportedly deceased hiker", after the pair called "to report the third member of their hiking party had died" and that they were lost.Before the ranger arrived to find the group, they met a "summit steward" whose job is to stand at the top of the mountain to ensure the conservation of the sensitive alpine habitat.The two hikers told the steward they were lost, the report chronicles. A ranger then arrived and "escorted the two hikers, who had ingested hallucinogenic mushrooms, to a waiting ambulance and New York State Police unit".The third hiker was taken back to their campsite, officials said. None of the hikers were named in the reports, and it is unclear whether they are in any legal trouble following the bad trip. Psychedelic mushrooms are illegal for recreational use in New York, however there have been several bills introduced in the state legislature to legalise it.Its use has been legalised in at least one US state, but it remains illegal across most of the US and is outlawed on the federal level.
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