Psilocybe Mushroom Pickers in Britain

It's 20 years since possession of fresh mushrooms was made illegal

I was taught to identify and locate the Psilocybe semilanceata mushroom, or Liberty Cap, as a teenager around the turn of the millennium. In those days in Britain it was common knowledge passed down from older people and shared amongst groups of curious friends. Had I needed a guidebook though, they were certainly available, and I was only ever a few internet clicks away from accurate information. Moreover, if they remained fresh and unprocessed, it was perfectly legal for me to possess them.

Within a few years, it was equally possible for me, or anyone else throughout Britain, to enter a headshop in any season to procure some exotic varieties of Psilocybe cubensis without waiting for autumn to come around to pick native Liberty Caps. This, my friends and I did regularly. Walks in nature, free parties, garden gatherings, candlelit bedroom vigils—many occasions were enriched by them. In 2005, after decades of ambiguity, the legal sale and possession of fresh magic mushrooms was brought …