Latest news with #hallucinogens
The Independent
09-06-2025
- Health
- The Independent
American tourist dies after drinking hallucinogenic herbal tea in Amazon rainforest
An American tourist has reportedly died after drinking hallucinogenic herbal tea during an ayahuasca session in Peru. The 41-year-old man, said to be from Alabama, died in Santa María de Ojeal in the Loreto region of the Amazon Rainforest on 2 June, reported local outlet Canal N Peru. Narciso López, coordinator of the Forensic Medicine Department in Loreto, told Canal N that the American suffered multiple organ failure with complications including pleural effusion and acute pancreatitis shortly after consuming the psychoactive brew. Autopsy testing at the central morgue in Iquitos will determine the official cause of death, said Lopez. According to Canal N, the tourist had not reported taking antibiotics at the time of ingesting ayahuasca. It is thought that mixing ayahuasca with antibiotics can create an adverse reaction. The outlet added that the ayahuasca ceremony took place at a spiritual hostel in Santa María de Ojeal. Ayahuasca is a psychoactive brew prepared from the bark of the Banisteriopsis caapi vine and a plant containing dimethyltryptamine (DMT), traditionally used by indigenous communities in the Amazon. The psychoactive substance is illegal to consume in several countries, including the US. Many tourists try the drug in South America, often marketed to travellers as a 'ceremonial' or 'spiritual cleanser'. In January 2025, the US Embassy in Peru issued a health alert warning tourists not to 'ingest or use traditional hallucinogens, often referred to as ayahuasca or kambo'. It said: 'Ayahuasca can cause several negative health effects, including nausea, vomiting, increased heart rate, and even death. Some of the long-term effects include psychosis, difficulty sleeping, neurological diseases, and ongoing hallucinations. 'In 2024, several U.S. citizens died or experienced severe illness, including mental health episodes, following consumption of ayahuasca.'
Daily Mail
31-05-2025
- General
- Daily Mail
Two hikers call 911 and say their friend had died on trek... the truth was more bizarre
Hikers trekking through a New York mountain frantically called 911 to report that their friend had died during their adventure, only to be met with an unexpected twist upon rescue crews' arrival. While celebrating Memorial Day Weekend with a hike through the Cascade Mountain in North Elba, two friends found themselves in a nightmare scenario - they were lost, and their buddy was believed to be deceased, according to a press release. But when officers arrived, something truly bizarre occurred - against all odds, their friend, presumed dead, seemingly rose from the grave. As it turned out, the two pals weren't just high up on the mountains. They were also high on hallucinogenic mushrooms. On May 24, around 9am, Forest Ranger Praczkajlo received an emergency call from distressed hikers on Cascade Mountain, located near Lake Placid, according to the state's Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). The mountain, part of the Adirondack High Peaks, ranks as the 36th tallest in the range. During the call, the two hikers reported that their friend had died while on the trail. They also informed authorities that they had encountered a Cascade Summit Steward earlier and admitted they were lost. 'The steward determined the hikers were in an altered mental state,' the agency said in the press release. Ranger Praczkajlo eventually reached the trailhead, where an ambulance was already waiting, and escorted the two panicked hikers back to the vehicle. However, as they made their way back, a single phone call changed the entire situation - turning a straightforward rescue into something far more confusing. On the other line was the 'dead' friend - alive, unharmed and seemingly unaware of the chaos unfolding around him. According to the release, the group had allegedly eaten hallucinogenic mushrooms during their hike. The effects of the drug are highly unpredictable and heavily influenced by the user's mindset and the environment in which it's taken, as reported by Desert Hope Treatment Center. Given the unforeseeable nature of the drug, users may endure 'bad trips' - intense, distressing reactions that can be both frightening and disorienting. Intense hallucinations, anxiety, panic and fear are just a few of the possible effects during a 'bad trip', often triggered by unfamiliar or chaotic surroundings. Thankfully reunited, all three friends were escorted back to their campsite, where they could finally find safety and calm after their odd ordeal. Bad trips leading people to behave in wild or erratic ways are not an uncommon experience with mushrooms, though the intensity can vary greatly from person to person. For some, a 'bad trip' might mean intense anxiety and a pounding heart - unpleasant but bearable - while others unfortunately end up in dangerous or painful situations. Last year, a man on vacation in Austria who took these 'magic mushrooms' entered psychosis that led him to amputate his penis and store it in a snow-filled jar. Doctors labeled the heart-stopping incident as the first case of its kind - and a harrowing reminder of the dangers of psychedelic drugs. The 37-year-old man ate four or five mushrooms before blacking out and taking an axe to his penile shaft - ultimately chopping it into several pieces. As he came to, he staggered out of the home and dragged himself down a nearby street, bleeding profusely, searching for help. In the middle of the night, around 2am, a passerby picked him up and brought him to the nearest village, and then to the closest hospital. He was immediately carted to the operating room, where doctors got the bleeding under control and disinfected the myriad pieces of the man's penis in the snow and soil-filled jar. Some damaged parts had to be removed, but the head of the penis and shaft were intact. After cleaning the wound, doctors successfully reattached the penis, despite it having been without blood flow for about 9 hours total (5 hours warm and 4 hours cold). After inserting a catheter, the surgeon reconnected the tissues of the penis using dissolvable stitches. The scrotal skin was then sewn back to the cleaned skin of the amputated part. Some of the skin on the tip of the man's newly reconstructed penis started to die about a week later - a condition called necrosis due to lack of oxygenated blood flow there - but doctors were able to treat it and reverse the damage. Despite all this, the man was still experiencing hallucinations, even trying to break out of the hospital at one point. Doctors found that he had smuggled mushrooms into his hospital room, finding a handful of them in his nightstand in the urology ward.
BBC News
29-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
Campers high on mushrooms falsely report hiker's death
A pair of hikers in New York called emergency services to report that a third member of their group had died, but when a park ranger responded to rescue them it turned out they were just high on hallucinogenic mushrooms, officials third hiker was uninjured - and not dead - and the hikers were "in an altered mental state", according to a report issued by parks incident took place on 24 May on Cascade Mountain in the Adirondacks High Peaks of upstate New third person also called 911 during the hike, "and was not injured," the report states. They were allowed to continue their camping trip, while the pair were taken to police. Details of the backcountry saga were reported on Wednesday in a weekly bulletin by the New York State Department of Environmental 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 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 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 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.
CBS News
29-05-2025
- General
- CBS News
Hikers' report of companion's death turns out to be greatly exaggerated
North Elba, N.Y. — Mark Twain is widely thought to have said that reports of his death had been greatly exaggerated, though the quote itself may have been greatly exaggerated. The same can certainly be said about the fate of a hiker in upstate New York. Two hikers in New York's Adirondack Mountains called 911 to report a third member of their party had died, but it turned out they had taken hallucinogenic mushrooms and were mistaken, officials said Wednesday. A state forest ranger responded to a call Saturday about a hiker who had reportedly died on Cascade Mountain, a popular summit in the Adirondack High Peaks, the Department of Environmental Conservation said in a news release. The two hikers who called 911 also told a steward on the mountain's summit that they were lost. The steward "determined the hikers were in an altered mental state," according to the agency. The supposedly dead person called and was not injured. The ranger escorted the two hikers down to an ambulance, which took them to a hospital, and brought the third to the group's campsite, where they all later met up, officials said.
CBS News
29-05-2025
- General
- CBS News
Hikers' report of companion's death turn out to be greatly exaggerated
North Elba, N.Y. — Mark Twain is widely thought to have said that reports of his death had been greatly exaggerated, though the quote itself may have been greatly exaggerated. The same can certainly be said about the fate of a hiker in upstate New York. Two hikers in New York's Adirondack Mountains called 911 to report a third member of their party had died, but it turned out they had taken hallucinogenic mushrooms and were mistaken, officials said Wednesday. A state forest ranger responded to a call Saturday about a hiker who had reportedly died on Cascade Mountain, a popular summit in the Adirondack High Peaks, the Department of Environmental Conservation said in a news release. The two hikers who called 911 also told a steward on the mountain's summit that they were lost. The steward "determined the hikers were in an altered mental state," according to the agency. The supposedly dead person called and was not injured. The ranger escorted the two hikers down to an ambulance, which took them to a hospital, and brought the third to the group's campsite, where they all later met up, officials said.
