Students Take Mushroom Trip

Drug-crazy students have been illegally picking magic mushrooms from the fields of Bristol.

Every autumn the fields at Ashton Court Estate abound with the psilocybin mushroom, a fungus legendary for its psycho-active effects.

Last weekend, Bristol students were found in all corners of the estate, combing the long grass for these tiny mushrooms whilst surrounded by dog walkers and families.

It has been illegal to knowingly pick these mushrooms in the wild since they were made a Class A drug in 2005. Picking from the wild is also dangerous due to the great number of similar looking yet poisonous mushrooms.

The produce of one magic afternoon for a group of Bristol students.
Photo: A, W & E

One avid shroom-picker, who asked to be called Mr Gurns, explained, ‘normally getting drugs is such an ordeal, the large wads of cash and the endless phonecalls are so stressful’.

‘But this combines my two greatest loves; frolicking in nature and getting high’.

The mushrooms can be found deep in the grass, all over the fields stretching from the entrance to the mansion and the deer parks.

However, students are having to work hard to procure these free drugs, as a single dose required to ‘trip’ is approximately 50 mushrooms.

It can take days to find this many mushrooms. A dose would cost approximately £5-10 from a dealer, although they are notoriously difficult to come by on the street.

Former Northwell House resident, Matt Clarke, comments ‘Whilst I’ve always loved a Shitake, those funky fungi have never found their way into my diet’.

‘No offence but meadows are for walking dogs and tonguing the missus up against a tree, not drug-hungry students’.

A fun guy with his fungi.

The effects of the mushrooms can range from an intensification of colours, lights and sounds to fits of laughter and, less often, vivid hallucinations.

Negative effects can include vomiting and anxiety.

They can also be incredibly tricky to identify, with many very similar species growing alongside them in the fields.

Considering that some species are poisonous, it’s safe to say there isn’t mushroom for error.