Farmer faces mushroom woes

Tue, Aug 10, 2004

Trespassing teenagers on hunt for drugs damaging property, peace

By CHRIS BRENNAMAN

The Brunswick News

Sonny Livingston and his family like their privacy.

Nestled in rural southern Glynn County, off U.S. Highway 82, the Livingstons raise cattle on land that has been in the family since the late 1800s.

In recent years, however, they have found their solitude broken by thrill-seeking incursions.

"We get kids on a regular basis out here, looking for mushrooms," he said.

"They come out here at all hours of the night, looking for them."

The mushrooms Livingston is talking about are not the type in supermarket produce sections.

They are the kind that, when consumed, can induce an LSD-like high.

Common in cow pastures, psilocybe mushrooms are typically boiled to make a tea.

Drinking the tea can produce effects like mild hallucinations or a generally relaxed feeling.

This year, Livingston said he has caught five or six groups of teenagers trespassing to find the mushrooms."I've held a few of them," Livingston said. "I'll block their cars and wait for them to wander out of the woods."

Each time he has caught a group, he has called the Glynn County Police Department and called the parents of the trespassing teens.

"They admit what they're doing," Livingston said.

"But a lot of times, their parents don't want to believe that their kids are doing what they're doing.

POSTED: 6:20 am EDT September 27, 2006

UPDATED: 6:26 am EDT September 27, 2006

ACWORTH -- A teenager has been arrested in connection with one of the largest mushroom busts ever in the city of Acworth.

Police say they found a stash of psychedelic mushrooms, or shrooms, when they pulled over 18-year-old Kyle Skinner of Kingston Monday night.

Investigators say the mushrooms have an estimated street value of about $150,000.

“This hallucinogenic drug is like an acid effect, it would be dangerous for anyone operating any kind of vehicle or any type of equipment,” said Acworth police officer Wayne Dennard.

Police say they don't know if Skinner raised the mushrooms on his own.