KOZHIKODE: Mushrooms were not his favourite vegetables until his trip last year to Kodaikanal with friends. Someone introduced some dark coloured mushrooms to Ashish (name changed), and asked him to dip it in a plate of honey and eat it. What happened was beyond imagination.
The images in front of his eyes changed. The sky appeared as if in a 3D movie, the whole of Kodai turned all the more beautiful, for just a packet of mushrooms!
“I didn’t know I was using a drug. For it did not appear to be one. Looking like the dark mushrooms that sprout on the trees after rain, it was ugly. Someone had bought it as packet of 12, costing around Rs 1,500. There are some agents around Kodai, who sell them to college-going students, who visit there. Usually we get dried mushrooms, fondly called ‘magic mushrooms’,” said Ashish, a student.
It is known that the vendors collect them during the rainy season and dry them to be sold later. Excise officials say, ‘magic mushrooms’ are the latest villain among teenagers. Since they appear as edible mushrooms, nobody can differentiate them from the vegetables.
“We have authentic information regarding the smuggling of ‘magic mushrooms’ to the city and have confirmed that the users are mainly youngsters. There are no big catches recorded till date. The vendors target youngsters who visit Ooty and Kodaikanal and through them the drugs reach the city,” said Excise deputy Commissioner P.K. Suresh.
The users say, the drugs have the maximum effect, when used in scenic places like Kodai, as the images look smarter. “Out of interest, we bought the stuff to Kozhikode. It was of no use. It is better to be used among creative people like artists and painters, who would be able to recreate better. Hallucination is the main outcome,” said another user.
Pills and LSD in the form of stamps are the other common drugs being used by youngsters. The vendors do not directly say they are drugs, but lure children by saying that these products will help enhance beauty or develop muscles, said Suresh.
