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Young children's psilocybin ingestions rose sharply, study finds

Unintentional psilocybin ingestions among U.S. children under 6 rose from 0.06 to 0.94 per 100,000 children between 2018 and 2024, a 1,466.7% increase, according to a national poison-center study published June 24, 2026 in BMC Public Health. Psychedelics made up 3.5% of the 41,612 recreational-drug ingestions in young children the authors counted from 2000 to 2024, and about 1 in 10 psychedelic cases led to a medical admission.

By the Magic Mushrooms San Diego desk.

What did the study find?

Researchers including Kristen Uskovich, Hannah L. Hays, Natalie I. Rine and Gary A. Smith analyzed National Poison Data System records from 2000 to 2024 and found 41,612 unintentional recreational-drug ingestions among children younger than 61. Smith directs the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children's Hospital, and Hays is medical director of the Central Ohio Poison Center2.

Cannabinoids made up 84.7% of those ingestions. Across the 25 years, the overall rate rose from 1.05 to 35.91 per 100,000 children, a 3,307% increase. Children under 3 accounted for 57.6% of cases. Of all ingestions, 32.2% led to a medical admission and 12.0% to critical care, and six children died, all under age 31.

Psychedelics were 3.5% of ingestions, and mushrooms and processed products containing psilocybin or psilocin were 2.7%. The psilocybin rate rose "from 0.06 in 2018 to 0.94 in 2024" per 100,000 children, a 1,466.7% increase. In 2023 and 2024, psychedelic ingestion rates topped those of every other recreational drug category except cannabinoids. Most psychedelic cases had no effect or minor effects, but 10.3% led to a medical admission1.

What are the caveats?

The 3.5% figure is the paper's. Nationwide Children's press release about the study, issued August 27, 2026, rounds psychedelics to "4%" of ingestions2; we use the number in the published paper.

The authors flag a coding problem too. Processed "mushroom" products are often coded as psilocybin in the poison-center database, and outside lab tests of mushroom gummies and chocolates have found other substances, including muscimol, kavalactones, acetylpsilocin and pregabalin. That means psilocybin exposures may be overestimated, and some effects blamed on psilocybin may come from something else. The data also lack lab confirmation of what each child swallowed1.

The study is national. It doesn't report figures for California or San Diego County.

Why does it matter in San Diego?

Candy-style "mushroom" products have been sold in California, and state health officials have warned about them with children in mind. In November 2024 the California Department of Public Health said PolkaDot Mushroom Magic Blend chocolate bars, investigated jointly with the San Diego County Sheriff's Department, "may be particularly dangerous to young children who could mistake them for regular chocolate bars"4. In December 2025 it warned that TRE House "Magic Mushroom" gummies, chocolate bars and syrup contained a psilocin analogue and could be especially dangerous to young children3.

The study's authors note that edibles can appeal to toddlers because they look like candy or food and often hold several servings1. Hays's advice in the release is plain: keep recreational drugs out of the home, and if they're there, store them out of sight and reach of children, preferably locked up2.

If a child may have eaten one, call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222. California's poison control service is free and answers 24 hours a day, every day of the year5. Call 911 in an emergency. Our parents' guide to mushroom edibles covers what's been found in products sold in California and what to do, and our help page lists local crisis lines.

What happens next

  1. Any time Poison Control, 1-800-222-1222, free and open 24 hours a day5.
  2. No date The study's data end in 2024, and we found no scheduled update to its figures.

Sources

  1. Unintentional ingestion of recreational drugs among young children, 2000 to 2024. Uskovich K, Hays HL, Rine NI, Smith GA et al., BMC Public Health 26:2461, June 24, 2026 (DOI 10.1186/s12889-026-28233-z).
  2. Study Shows Sharp Increase in Rate of Unintentional Ingestions of Recreational Drugs Among Young Children Since 2000. Nationwide Children's Hospital, August 27, 2026.
  3. CDPH Warns Consumers Not to Eat TRE House Brand Magic Mushroom Gummies, Chocolate Bars, and Syrup (NR25-024). California Department of Public Health, December 11, 2025.
  4. CDPH Urges Consumers Not to Eat PolkaDot Brand Mushroom Magic Blend Chocolate Bars (NR24-038). California Department of Public Health, November 22, 2024.
  5. California Poison Control System. California Poison Control System (accessed October 21, 2026).

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