After watching the peculiar behaviour of a 20 something year old on the beach the other day, I thought I might just touch base on the use and availability of the hallucinogenic ~ magic mushrooms. She spent hours in the heat and sun building a small pile of sand and would repeatedly fill her water bottle in the ocean, return to the pile and gently sprinkle the water over the top. She repeated this over and over for a good part of the day. Each to their own I say, however for the naive tourist getting caught up in the promise of a high a slight word of caution. It is a hallucinogenic and will obscure your senses and view of the world for possibly 6 – 8 hours depending on how much you consume and your metabolism. It can cause nausea, diarrhea and vomiting and can create feelings of panic and anxiety. The feeling may become overwhelming if you are in a extremely crowded or loud environment, and you should definitely not be swimming or riding a scooter if you have consumed a special milkshake. I hear the ‘trip’ will also be intensified if you are very hot. I also hear that drinking cold milk and spending time in air conditioning can bring comfort if your not having fun. I’m a big fan of informed decisions and also harm minimisation. Take care of your mates, go immediately to hospital if you fear poisoning and don’t over consume if your feel it is not working apparently takes up to 1/2 hour to kick in. Parents beware if taking your older kids to Bali those special milk shakes down Poppies lane and all over the island are full of magic mushrooms.