PETALING JAYA: A vape liquid dubbed “Magic Mushroom” is causing such dangerous side effects that even hardened drug addicts are steering clear, warning others that one dose could trigger panic, blackouts and total loss of control.
Marketed as a “natural hallucinogen”, the liquid is in fact laced with potent synthetic drugs.
Users say the effects are potentially catastrophic.
Speaking to theSun in a northern state, several drug users issued the same warning: “This is not something to play with.”
Even veteran addicts accustomed to methamphetamine and opioid-based drugs are sounding the alarm.
Wadi, 42, who has lived with a history of substance abuse, described the effects of a single dose.
“First-time users usually feel a tightness in their chest, followed by paranoia. I have tried it, the panic was unbearable. I felt like I was dying.”
According to Wadi, the high from the substance is not just powerful, it is destabilising. Users often lose control of their behaviour, experiencing temporary blackouts and erratic outbursts.
“Even for people like us who are used to drugs, we do not want to take this ‘Magic Mushroom’. The high is intense, it makes your head buzz and sometimes, you cannot remember what you did.”
Wadi said teenagers and school students are vulnerable due to the discreet nature of the drug. Mixed into flavoured vape liquids, it can be inhaled in public spaces, including shopping malls, without raising suspicion.
A check by theSun revealed that several online vendors are selling the liquid, pricing it as low as RM1 per drop, making it accessible to youths and first-time users.
Dabok, 48, a palm fruit harvester and recovering heroin addict, also admitted he could not handle the effects.
“Once you inhale it, your body shuts down. You are not in control. You do not know who you are, where you are or what you are doing. The high might only last 30 minutes, but those 30 minutes could destroy everything.
“Do not even think about driving after using it.”
Despite its name, there is no link between the vape liquid and psychedelic mushrooms. According to the National Poison Centre at Universiti Sains Malaysia, which issued a public alert last August, the drug is a synthetic chemical cocktail, not a natural product.
The centre warned that users could suffer from confusion, psychosis and erratic behaviour, with the potential for lasting psychological damage.
In January, National Anti-Drug Agency director-general Datuk Ruslin Jusoh confirmed that “Magic Mushroom” is a form of synthetic cannabis, processed for consumption through vaping.