At least 30 Connecticut retailers sold the mushroom-infused products being investigated in connection with more than 100 illnesses and two deaths nationwide.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced Thursday that Diamond Shruumz-brand products have been linked to a total of 113 illnesses across 28 states, including 42 hospitalizations and two potentially associated deaths.
The announcement came six weeks after dozens of reported illnesses led Diamond Shruumz’s California-based parent company, Prophet Premium Brands, to issue a nationwide recall for the brand’s mushroom-infused chocolate bars, cones and gummies.
According to the FDA, the mushroom-infused products were linked to symptoms ranging from abnormal heart rates and vomiting to seizures and loss of consciousness.
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Prophet Premium Brands initially attributed the illnesses to toxic levels of muscimol, a chemical found in certain kinds of mushrooms that “could be a potential cause of symptoms consistent with those observed in persons who became ill after eating Diamond Shruumz products.”
However, the FDA said Thursday that muscimol was present in less than a third of the Diamond Shruumz-brand chocolate bars it tested and “cannot explain all the symptoms reported by ill patients.”
But the FDA analysis also identified other substances in some of the bars, including the prescription drug pregabalin and the Schedule I-controlled substance psilocin.
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“Although these compounds individually have known effects when ingested, there is less research on the interactions between these compounds when ingested together,” the agency said. “FDA and CDC medical officers are interpreting these test results to understand the health risks of ingesting these chemical substances and to determine the appropriate next steps.”
The FDA’s most recent list of known Diamond Shruumz retailers indicates that the recalled products were available online and on store shelves in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
The agency’s 67-page list of more than 2,100 known store locations nationwide included the following Connecticut smoke shops.
- Bogey's Smoke Shop locations in Enfield and Ellington
- Cobra Vapor Smoke Shop in Danbury
- Danbury Smoke Shop in Danbury
- Earth Grown Wellness in New London
- Emberz Smoke Shop in East Hartford
- LVL UP Smoke Shop in Meriden
- Mighty Vape and Smoke Shop in Plainville
- Moe Smoke Shop in Vernon
- Northern Lights in Groton
- Norwalk Vape & Smoke Shop in Norwalk
- PuffCity Smoke Shop locations in Bridgeport, East Haven, Hamden, North Haven, Shelton, Southington and West Haven
- Resistance Vapor & Smoke Shop in Danbury
- Sams Food Store in Old Saybrook
- Smoke Zone Smoke Shop in Manchester
- Smoking Ape Co. Smoke Shop in Waterbury
- Stoked Smoke Shop in Bridgeport
- Uniq Smoke & Vape locations in Torrington
- Vape & Smoke in New Britain
- Vape Point Smoke Shop in Danbury
- Voltage Vape and Smoke Shop CT in Enfield
- West Haven Vapors CBD & Delta in West Haven
- Zeus Distro/EZ Mart in Bethel
The full list of known retailers is available here, though the FDA cautioned that “there may be additional retailers not included on this list that are continuing to sell the recalled product.”
