The mum of a former Edinburgh student who died after taking magic mushrooms is calling for a change in the law to ban the sale of spores needed to grow them.
Antoine Vesterinen-Maury was tragically found in Duddingston loch weeks after disappearing in 2016. He vanished after drinking mushroom tea with a friend and suffered a 'bad trip'.
Antoine's mother, Laura, was horrified after an investigation by our sister title the Mirror found no action could be taken against companies who supply the microscopic cells from which the Class A drug grows.
READ MORE: Midlothian dad surprises family by opening cafe after keeping it completely secret
As they are cultivated they do not contain any banned substance. Psilocin, the ingredient in mushrooms that produces hallucinogenic effects is, however, a Class A drug and can mean up to seven years imprisonment for supplying or producing them.
However, psilocin is not present in the reproductive spores from which the mushrooms grow. Antoine, who was studying at Edinburgh College at the time of his disappearance, was found dead in Duddingston loch five weeks later and a post-mortem found psilocin in his body.
His friend Scott Mckerral, who gave him the concoction, pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of a fungus containing psilocin and given an 18-month supervision order and 210 hours of community work.
From her home in France, Laura told the Mirror: "I want to prevent another family going through what I've gone through - I want people to know how dangerous these drugs are. I can't believe it's legal.
"I know what can happen. People can become vulnerable when they take them and can lose control. That is the way my son died. The sellers of these spores are putting people in danger.
"To them it's just a business. The government needs to change the law."
Harry Sumnall, professor in substance use at Liverpool John Moores University, explained: "Spore kits don't contain any fungus with these chemicals. This means that sale or possession of spore kits is not against the law.
"However, once people start to use the kit and grow magic mushrooms they are committing drug production and possession offences."
The owner of one of many websites selling the spores defended the trade, telling our investigator: "We neither sell nor grow, nor would we advocate our customers to sell or grow, magic mushrooms."
Daniel Quick, 41, who runs Cornwall based Orangutan Trading Co - which was not involved in Antoine's death - markets spores with names such as Penis Envy, Aztec, and Jedi Mind F***.
He added: "Just to be clear, Orangutan Trading Co sells mushroom spores imported to the UK for mycological [scientific] use. This is perfectly legal.
"Whilst it is true that on our website I describe the law on magic mushroom spores as a 'grey area' and that the law is 'dumb', we abide by the law and respect the law in everything we do and we would always advocate our customers to do the same."
The firm 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 step-by-step guide on how to cultivate your own mushrooms.
The Home Office said: "This Government's approach is to prevent drug misuse and support people through treatment and recovery."
READ NEXT:
Edinburgh hotel bosses hit back as guests left 'climbing over each other'
Edinburgh heatwave continues with another week of sun and high temperatures
Luxury Edinburgh townhouse for sale with bbq balcony overlooking new tramline
The moment reckless Edinburgh driver does 'stunts' in quiet supermarket car park
Video shows moment hundreds of Edinburgh locals line streets for supercar rally
