A syringe, treats and nod to law

REPORTER Matthew Dresch bought a £13 spore kit from Orangutan Trading Co using crypto-currency.

He says of his purchase: “Inside a brown cardboard package I found a syringe filled with ‘Aztec’ magic mushroom spores, an alcohol wipe and a hypodermic needle.

“It also contained two red-topped magic mushroom toys, a couple of Maoam sweets, an

Orangutan

Trading Co sticker, and a letter with a handwritten signature.”

Matthew admits he is far from being won over by the extras. He explains:

“In online reviews, Orangutan Trading Co customers often share their gratitude for the free treats.

“But there is nothing sweet about the letter inside the package.

“It warns customers, ‘Oh yeah – these spores are for microscopy [scientific study] only – any other use is naughty’.”

sells syringes of spores for £13. They can be bought by bank transfer or using crypto-currency, with no age checks.

On his website, Mr Quick states: “Magic mushroom spores (like the ones I sell) currently occupy a nice little grey area, much like cannabis seeds, where they’re totally legal to own and legal to do whatever you like with as long as you don’t grow the f***ers.”

He says he never advocates that his customers should cultivate his spores into magic mushrooms – which also grow naturally in the UK in woods and meadows. His website carries a disclaimer saying the spores should be used only for scientific study.

But a blog on the site offers a stepby-step guide on how to cultivate your own mushrooms. And customers have posted on social media site Reddit about magic mushrooms they have grown using their spores.

One wrote: “They turned out great. Ended up with about 70g of dried very potent shrooms.” Another said: “I grew some of em from orangutan.

“Be careful as they’re strong AF [very strong].” On his site, Mr Quick says making the mushrooms illegal is “a dumb law, made by some old-fashioned dudes, and it flies in the face of all available research”.

He adds: “Personally I think growing magic mushrooms is cool and good, but I won’t sell anyone spores to break the law with or I’d be part of your evil nature crimes.”

The Home Office said: “This Government’s approach is to prevent drug misuse and support people through treatment and recovery.”