00:00 Here's your Forbes Daily Briefing for Wednesday, May 8th.
00:04 Today on Forbes, your psychedelic gummy is here.
00:09 Have a nice trip.
00:11 In an apartment in Oakland, California, sometime in 2020, Asanka Wikwar-Maricchi and his two
00:17 brothers were playing around with a recipe for psychoactive mushroom-infused edibles.
00:22 While psilocybin, the active ingredient in so-called "magic mushrooms," is federally
00:27 illegal, the brothers were experimenting with mucimol, a compound extracted from Amanita
00:32 muscaria, the toadstool with a red cap and white polka dots made famous by a certain
00:37 mustachioed plumber named Mario.
00:41 There are two reasons the Wikwar-Maricchis chose Amanita muscaria.
00:45 First, it is psychoactive.
00:48 And most important, it is not banned by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, like
00:53 other psychedelic drugs.
00:55 Only Louisiana has banned Amanita muscaria.
00:59 By 2023, the brothers, along with a few other friends, launched a brand that produces Amanita
01:05 muscaria products, aptly named Polkadot.
01:09 The Wikwar-Maricchis Nootropics Company, which is headquartered in Hollywood, sells mucimol-infused
01:15 chocolates and gummies across the United States through their online store and wholesale distributors.
01:21 Polkadot's psychedelic products can be found in more than 5,000 gas stations and smoke
01:26 shops throughout the U.S., and it also ships its treats to countries like Mexico and Thailand.
01:33 The 37-year-old Asanka Wikwar-Maricchi, who is the company's CEO and also runs two cannabis
01:38 dispensaries in California, says, "This is completely legal, more legal than weed.
01:45 There's a smoke shop on every corner in the U.S., and people can walk in and have a mushroom
01:48 experience."
01:51 Polkadot, which sells several million dollars' worth of products a month, is one of many
01:56 companies selling Amanita edibles.
01:58 Thanks in part to the Cali Sober movement, which advocates abstaining from hard drugs
02:02 and alcohol, but weed and hallucinogens are allowed, this cottage industry has bloomed
02:07 into a robust gray market of mind-bending, so-called "legal high" products.
02:13 The companies have trippy, hippie names like Galaxy Treats, FunGuy, and Xhale.
02:18 But just because the DEA has not banned Amanita muscaria doesn't mean these products are 100%
02:24 legal or 100% safe.
02:27 Josh Kappel, a founding partner of law firm Vincente LLP, who specializes in cannabis
02:32 and psychedelics, says the thriving Amanita muscaria gray market benefits from existing
02:37 in a legal no-man's land.
02:40 He says, "There is this whole category of substances that are not illegal from a criminal
02:45 possession standpoint, but are not legal to provide for human consumption by the U.S.
02:50 Food and Drug Administration, which includes Amanita muscaria.
02:54 They are neither legal nor illegal."
02:58 The FDA puts a finer point on it.
03:00 An FDA spokesperson tells Forbes, "Amanita muscaria and its chemical constituents, musamol,
03:07 ibotenic acid, and muscarine, are not FDA-approved food additives.
03:12 We have safety concerns about these substances being used as a food ingredient as there are
03:16 documented toxicity concerns and serious side effects including delirium with sleepiness
03:21 and coma, among other psychotropic effects."
03:26 And it's not just lawyers and government employees wagging their fingers.
03:29 Paul Stamets, the world-famous mycologist and advocate for the responsible medicinal
03:34 use of psychedelic fungi, preaches caution when ingesting this mushroom.
03:39 Stamets says he doesn't see anything wrong with low doses of Amanita muscaria, but it's
03:44 not a fungus that should be eaten in the kinds of amounts typically found in packages of
03:47 gummies.
03:49 Stamets explains that Amanita poisoning can include uncontrollable convulsions and impulsive
03:54 behavior.
03:55 He says, "Larger doses cause a unique form of delirium, intense intoxication, and a peculiar
04:02 repetitive motion syndrome.
04:04 For those who decide to 'party' with these species, the experience could be devastating
04:08 to not only the people imbibing, but to the people nearby concerned about their behavior.
04:12 I think it is dangerous to sell these to the unsuspecting public without deeply educating
04:17 them about the potentially dangerous side effects of high doses."
04:20 Ironically, psilocybin, which has stronger psychedelic effects than musimol and is banned
04:27 at the federal level, is not toxic like Amanita muscaria and has a greater safety profile.
04:34 Despite the concern around people selling products that have unknown safety profiles
04:38 to the masses, Wickramarachchi, who has dual degrees in business and engineering from the
04:43 University of California, Irvine, has no worries about polkadot products.
04:48 He insists, "The risk is zero.
04:51 We are comfortable with our legal position because we follow federal laws and regulations
04:55 related to dietary supplements."
04:57 A big issue for polkadot is counterfeiting.
05:01 Wickramarachchi says fake polkadot products containing psilocybin and a related chemical
05:06 have been found in New York City bodegas, shops in California, and have even reportedly
05:11 poisoned children in Florida.
05:14 For full coverage, check out Will Yakowitz's piece on Forbes.com.
05:19 This is Kieran Meadows from Forbes.
05:22 Thanks for tuning in.
05:23 [music]
05:33 (upbeat music)
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