Man Charged With 'Magic Mushroom' Possession In Wall

WALL, NJ — An Asbury Park man has been charged with psilocybin possession, police here reported.

Christopher Navarre-Henn, 34, of Asbury Park, was charged with possession of a controlled dangerous substance (psilocybin) after an arrest by Patrolman Orin McKay, police said.

Police said the officer "located a suspicious person" in Shark River Park, in the area of Schoolhouse Road.

Navarre-Henn was released on a summons, according to police.

According to the National Drug Intelligence Center of the federal Department of Justice, psilocybin - often called "magic mushroom" - is a "hallucinogenic substance obtained from certain types of mushrooms that are indigenous to tropical and subtropical regions of South America, Mexico, and the United States."

Psilocybin mushrooms are popular at raves, clubs and, increasingly, on college campuses and generally are abused by teenagers and young adults, the center says.

The most common names for psilocybin are magic mushroom, mushroom, and shrooms, the center says.

According to the National Library of Medicine of the National Institutes of Health, there has been a "resurgence" of clinical trials involving psilocybin . . . producing "promising results concerning the treatment of addiction, depression, and end-of-life mood disorders."

However, psilocybin is still a Schedule I substance under the Controlled Substances Act, as are heroin and LSD, the NIH said.