The Mushroom Sold in Candy Wrappers

Writing in Aeon, Eric Leas describes coming across the mushroom Amanita muscaria being sold in candy wrappers, and following the thread to legal loopholes and dangerous dosages. The wrapper is the detail that sticks: candy packaging promises something familiar, portioned and unremarkable, and it makes that promise whether or not anyone has checked what is inside. Leas's account sets two questions side by side — whether a sale like this is legal, and what a dose does to the person who takes it. The first is a question about paperwork. The second is the one that should come first.