UNION, MO--(KMOX)--A major drug bust carried out by the Franklin County and St. Charles County Sheriff's Departments finds 200 pounds of magic mushrooms in a storage locker and a secret mushroom farm in an apartment.
The suspect, 29-year old Eric M. Hunter of St. Charles, is charged with delivery of a controlled substance, and has been released on $25,000 bond, authorities say.
Hunter could face more charges, pending the outcome of crime lab tests on the mushrooms.
The investigation began in May, when the Franklin County Drug Task Force pulled over a vehicle with "a large quantity" of illegal mushrooms.
That led to search warrants of the suspect's residence, a St. Charles County duplex and two storage units.
They reportedly found a mushroom growing lab with hundreds of pounds of dirt, heaters, dehydration units and white boards with notes on the growing cycles of the crop.
The 200 pounds of harvested mushrooms were found in a storage unit, the Franklin County Sheriff's Department says.
Franklin County Sheriff's Lt. John Biser says the bust is part of a trend.
"We have seen an increase in the amount of psychedelic drugs we've seized in the past 12-to-18 months, everything from DMT to LSD and mushrooms and MDMA," Biser said.
In the pie chart of Franklin County drug use, Biser says psychedelic drugs are a small percentage of the total, compared to marijuana , meth and heroin, but the psychedelics are the fastest growing sector.
"I would say we've seen a thousand-percent increase in the last 12-to-18 months in the amount of psychedelics ," Biser said
Biser is warning that psychedelic drugs can ruin your life in just one try.
"Permanent change in your brain chemistry, psychedelics can have a permanent effect on you for the rest of your life after one single usage," Biser said.
Biser says for criminals the case serves as a warning that law enforcement is going after drug dealers who criss-cross the region.
"There are no boundaries for us," Biser said, "Our drug task force can go anywhere and do anything that's necessary to complete an investigation. Having other professional agencies like the St. Charles County Drug Task Force assist us and working these types of cases, people need to know that law enforcement is united to solve and prevent these crimes."
Biser says it's believed that Hunter was an independent and not part of a larger operation.
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