PF spore bust

[ixtasis]

I recently heard that Psilosibe Fanaticus, long time internet spore seller and creaters of one of the most widely used myco-grow guides (PF tek) was busted by the DEA. Does anyone have any info on this? Thoughts about the implications?

-ixtasis

[Gyuri]

Doesn't look good for spore sellers making a lot of money. From king5.com article (http://www.king5.com/topstories/NW_021803INKmagicmushrooms.22cee6ad.html) :

Investigators: Magic mushrooms via the Web
02/19/2003

By CHRIS INGALLS / KING 5 Investigators

They're called "magic mushrooms" and they produce an illegal high. Tuesday, federal agents raided a local company that made tens of thousands of dollars a month selling them on the Internet.

The KING 5 Investigators have been looking into this company for weeks now.

The company is known as Fanaticus and they sell syringes, filled with a solution with countless spores.

With these and a little know-how, just about anyone can grow potent psychedelic mushrooms.

KING 5 was there when drug agents brought in one of two men suspected of putting a high-tech twist on the sale of an old-time drug by operating Fanaticus, the Web site that sells the magic mushrooms via the Internet.

Agents say the men operated out of a home near Lake Quinault in the remote rain-forest country of the Olympic Peninsula – the perfect climate for growing mushrooms.

Authorities say they first heard about Fanaticus in phone calls coming in from across the country.

The KING 5 Investigators obtained some syringes from Fanaticus. A close look shows the tiny black spores floating in a solution.

Prosecutors say the spores themselves are not illegal. They don't contain the hallucinogenic properties of a full-grown mushroom, but the Web site contains specific instructions on how to inject the spores into a jar and grow a potent magic mushroom.

"It's the equivalent of selling somebody the ingredients to make meth and telling them how to mix it up, and getting paid for it. You'd be guilty of conspiring to distribute methamphetamine," said Doug Whalley, federal prosecutor.



At $10 per syringe, it appears the suspects’ worldwide sales were making them rich.

At a court hearing Tuesday, suspected ringleader Robert McPherson admitted earning $30,000 per month and authorities say his only source of income comes from his thriving mail-order mushrooms.

DEA and the postal inspector’s office have been investigating Fanaticus for years. They actually planted some of these spores and grew mushrooms in a DEA lab to make sure the process works. And it did.

[Gyuri]

According to this (http://www.erowid.org/ask/ask.cgi?ID=3046) article on Erowid, it looks like the problem was that they were selling or giving instructions about how to grow the mushrooms. They also had mushrooms growing for the spores.

So has anyone noticed online stores stop selling spores because of this?

[Proteus]

You can probably find all the information in the world about the PF bust & commentary galore if you visit the Shroomery on the web.

Back in May, the Hawk's Eye announced that it would stop selling spores as of this past July in light of the fact that the DEA busted PF.
Ryche Hawk, the owner, speculated back then was that other large-scale dealers of spores would follow suit rather than risk HUGE legal problems and lengthy prison sentences.

An article published back in Feb., and probably now on Erowid, said that PF was hauling in something like $130K/month selling spores & grower's guides! No wonder they got the attention of da Man! Says quite a bit about the number of cellar shamans (or wannabes) out there.

And yet, somehow, consensus reality survived quite nicely during the 10+ years that PF was in business.