What we know about illnesses caused by microdosing candy as death investigations continue

One person may have died from eating Diamond Shruumz microdosing candies, which were recalled last week amid a series of serious illnesses involving seizures, intubation and intensive care stays.

According to an update from the Food and Drug Administration this week, cases continue to rise across the country. So far, 48 people in 24 states have become ill after eating the candy, which includes candy bars, gummy bears and sugar cones sold online and in retail stores such as tobacco and vape shops. Of the 48 people who became ill, 46 were sick enough to require medical attention and 27 were hospitalized.

The death mentioned in the FDA’s latest update is currently only “possibly” related to the candy and is still under investigation. No further information is available.

But in an interview with Ars, medical toxicologist Michael Moss said he was not surprised that the candy may have been fatal. Moss, the medical director of the Utah Poison Control Center, cared for one of the first people to fall ill in the cluster.

An early case

The person became ill in Nevada and was taken to a hospital in Utah, where Moss was a member of his care team. After the person was released from the intensive care unit, Moss sat down with him and tried to figure out what had happened. According to Moss, the person had purchased a birthday cake-flavored candy bar at a local store. The bars are sold as “microdosing” candies, suggesting they contain psychedelic compounds, but the exact ingredients and dosages are not listed.

Although the person told Moss that he had previous experience with psychedelics, these were only real mushrooms. This was the first time he had eaten such a bar. And the packaging of the bar had only vague instructions on how much to eat at once to achieve certain effects. For example, eating nine or more pieces of the bar was described with an image of an eye in many rainbow colors.

“What does that dose mean? And how many milligrams of what is that? Nobody knows,” Moss said. “So he decided, ‘It’s a candy bar.’ So why not just eat the candy bar? Pretty reasonable.”

However, within minutes of eating the bar, the person began to feel nauseous, very dizzy, and tired. She lay down and doesn’t remember much afterward. Fortunately, a family member came home soon after and found her. The family member saw that she had vomited and was possibly aspirating or choking. When paramedics arrived, she was having a seizure. In the emergency room, she suffered another one. Doctors gave her anti-epileptic medication and a breathing tube and put her on a ventilator before taking her to a hospital in Utah.