Once again I see sensationalistic reporting over caused by irresponsible journalism.

As the author of nine books, one medical poster and more than two dozen published papers on the subject of hallucinogenic mushrooms, I must inform you that I deplore the unprofessional journalism involved in writing this news item.

First off.
Mushrooms were first re-discovered in the early 1950s by ethnomycologist and Wall Street financier R. Gordon Wasson who wrote of their use in Pre-Colombian societies by the Aztecs and their contemporary ancestors The Mazatecs and several other tribal groups residing in Mesoamerica.

Dr. Wasson announced these discoveries to the world in a well written and extensive pictorial presented to the public in the May 13, 1957 issue of Life Magazine titled, "Mushrooms that cause Strange Visions."

According to a recent article published in an issue of the United Nations Publication, "Bulletin on Narcotics," Mushrooms are the drug of choice in America for young adults.

There are 24 species of Psilocybin in the Pacific Northwest United States (spelled in your article as psilocyvin in http://www.msnbc.com/local/kfor/m46963.asp/>) and a total of 28 species throughout the USA.

Psilocybine containing mushrooms are not similar to heroin. Heroin is a narcotic, and mushrooms are tryptamines. In fact the chemicals in the mushrooms are closely related to the brains own neurotransmitter serotonine 5-hydroxytrptamine. And that is the only similarity to LSD. Obviously you are unaware that psilocybine containing mushrooms work on the same part of the brain as LSD. They are not similar to LSD.

And no one gives mushrooms to children so the police have no comprehension of what they are talking about.
And again, psilocybine containing mushrooms grow in most states in the United States and there are more than 28 varieties found in the US. 18 in Seattle alone and some may grow naturally in Oklahoma (Psilocybe cubensis, the cultivation one mentioned in the drug raid.) grow from Southern Oklahoma to Texas east to Florida and North to Georgia. The mushrooms confiscated in the raid are apparently Psilocybe cubensis, known in Mexico as San Ysidro (named for the Patron Saint of Agriculture). They are used ceremoniously in rituals still performed by Indians living in the Sierra Mazateca range in Oaxaca, Mexico.
A single 10 gallon aquarium produces approximately 1 dried ounce of mushrooms which would be a total of five doses (the reported clinical dosage for that particular species is from 3 to 5 grams dried bringing a total of approximately five doses per dried ounce, a yield for a ten gallon aquarium. Not an out of proportional amount as suggested by the police in your report. Not worth cultivating and not much of a drug bust. And on another note. One can pick more mushrooms from their natural habitats than they could grow in their home.