Are mushroom gummies part of the ‘healthy high’ industry and how is it regulated? | Health (2024)

Why did people get sick?

Oliver Jones, a professor of chemistry at RMIT University, said the ingredients listed on the packaging – including cordyceps and lion’s mane – were not linked to the reported symptoms, leading experts to say there must have been another psychoactive substance on the packaging that wasn’t listed.

The packaging said the gummies contained hemp, which is the same plant as marijuana but is said to not contain marijuana’s psychoactive ingredients.

But Dr Jack Wilson, a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Sydney’s Matilda Centre for Mental Health and Substance Use Research, said: “We are seeing a number of cases where cannabis products contain parts of the plant that are not listed on the label.”

Some products are labeled as free of cannabis psychoactive ingredients, but when tested, they have significant levels of the ingredients, Wilson said. Until batches are tested, it’s difficult to say for sure what psychoactive ingredients were in Uncle Frog’s Mushroom Gummies, he said.

Is this a global phenomenon?

A similar caveat The warning was issued earlier this month by U.S. authorities who are investigating reports of severe, acute illnesses possibly linked to consumption of Diamond Shrooms brand chocolate bars, cones and gummies.

After 10 patients were hospitalized in the United States, with several requiring intubation and the use of ventilators, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned about the increasing availability of products containing psychoactive compounds such as cannabis and mushroom extracts, often sold as gummy candy, chocolates and other snack foods.

“They may contain undisclosed ingredients, including illegal substances not approved for use in food, other impurities, or potentially harmful contaminants,” the warning states.

“Products containing mushrooms have been marketed to promote health or achieve non-specific physical or psychoactive effects. Examples of health claims include improved focus and increased energy. Advertisem*nts for these products suggest that consumption produces euphoric, hallucinatory, or psychedelic effects.”

What is the “healthy high” industry?

Dr Ian Musgrave, a lecturer in pharmacology at the University of Adelaide, said there were many natural substances that could produce a “high”, including herbs and fungi, but the “healthy high” industry was “a misnomer based on the false perception that ‘natural is good'”.

“Many of these ‘herbal benefits’ are well known in indigenous communities and are used as sacred substances in traditional ceremonies or as medicines in various cultures. Nevertheless, Serious Side Effects “These symptoms may occur after consuming these ‘herbal highs,'” Musgrave said.

Wilson said that while there is now a better understanding of the health benefits of some psychotropic drugs, they may only be effective for some people with certain conditions when used in conjunction with a range of other treatments, including psychotherapy.

” [healthy high] “Industry has taken advantage of this by offering unregulated products that promise a range of health benefits. Unfortunately, there is little evidence of these benefits; unlike TGA-approved medicines, their effects have not been scrutinized by high-quality research,” Mr Wilson said.

Wardle said much of the industry’s attention has been focused on nootropics, which are said to increase mental alertness and focus and are becoming available in everything from drinks to gummies. The mushrooms listed in Uncle Frogs gummies are used as nootropics and are often used with psychoactive drugs such as cannabis and hallucinogens to enhance the effects of those drugs, he said.

“The increased awareness and availability of the ‘natural’ nature of some psychoactive substances and hallucinogens, in addition to what are called ‘legal drugs’, means this area is becoming a little more blurred than it was before, as we are increasingly seeing these products used in combination,” Wardle said.

Jones said the legal drug industry tries to replicate the effects of illegal drugs using compounds that, while not technically illegal, provide similar effects.

How is the market regulated?

“Unfortunately, the market is not regulated like the drugs you buy at a pharmacy or the food you buy at a grocery store, so they’re not produced to the same standards,” Wilson said.

“Supplements sold on the internet, particularly from overseas, may not have been tested to the level we would expect. We may not know where they come from, what ingredients they contain, or even whether they have the effects advertised,” Jones said.

Mr Musgrave said many products, such as Uncle Frog’s Mushroom Gummies, are manufactured overseas and therefore outside the jurisdiction of Australian regulators. While most herbal products do not require strong evidence of efficacy to be on the Australian Therapeutic Goods Register, “what is required is a good manufacturing process to ensure that what’s in the bottle is what’s on the label”.

Wardle said many substances that “get you legally high” are in a legal grey area and are available unless actively banned. “Even when regulations exist, companies sometimes let their guard down. For example, many edible products, like this one, don’t require pre-approval of the product before it can go to market.”

“Companies may advertise a product (such as a food product) but downplay or use euphemisms to hide the ingredients,” Wardle said.

Lydia Buftman, communications director at health promotion charity Food Safety Information Council, said the two fungi in Uncle Frog’s Mushroom Gummies were unapproved novel foods and could not legally be sold as food.

What is the market size for these products?

The healthy high industry appears to be growing, Wilson said. “It’s hard to estimate its size because it’s largely conflated with the health and wellness industry, which is worth trillions of dollars worldwide.”

Jones said: Global Wellness InstituteAustralia boasts the 10th largest wellness market in the world, with total spend of US$84 billion (A$125.9 billion).

Wardle also noted that while there hasn’t been much in-depth research into the health-related cannabis industry, as a point of reference, the medical cannabis industry is worth about $100 million a year, while recreational cannabis is worth about $8 billion a year.