Wood-Lover Paralysis: first formal scientific publication on a reported reaction after consuming wood-growing psilocybin mushrooms

Wood-Lover Paralysis (WLP) is a temporary weakness or muscle paralysis reported after eating wood-growing psilocybin mushrooms, sometimes including trouble walking, swallowing, or breathing. A new peer-reviewed paper in Toxicon provides the first formal scientific description, based on an online survey run in 2020 by Simon Beck and Caine Barlow with 392 participants. The report says 42.1% of respondents experienced WLP, with onset typically within four hours of ingestion, and symptom duration extending into the next day for nearly half of cases. The survey also notes that many people reported accidents or falls (about 22%) and that WLP appeared regardless of preparation method or picking location. The cause is not yet known, but the authors highlight theories and suggest an unidentified compound produced by the mushrooms as a leading idea, emphasizing the need for further research and improved harm reduction for foragers and users.