DANIEL McCONNELL
LATE last October, 33-year-old successful businessman Colm Hodkinson went into an alternative lifestyle shop in Dublin and bought a box of magic mushrooms over the counter for ?25. He bought them to take at a party with friends on the night before Hallowe'en. However, less than an hour after taking them, he was dead.

A first-time user, Colm even had to use the internet to get information about how to take magic mushrooms.

Since the day after Colm's packed funeral, the Hodkinson family campaigned to have the sale of magic mushrooms banned in any form. Last Tuesday, weeks after an emotional meeting between the family and Tanaiste Mary Harney in December, the Government announced that the sale of magic mushrooms, a class A drug, in any state, processed or unprocessed was now illegal.

Speaking exclusively to the Sunday Independent, the Hodkinson family and Colm's girlfriend Rachel said that Colm was "an exceptional son, brother and friend".

"Colm ran the family dry-cleaning business along with his dad (Eoin). He loved sport, but his greatest passion was golf," says Colm's younger brother Paul.

"He had a single-figure handicap and he said to me before he died that his favourite place to be was on the golf course. He also loved playing cards and snooker."

His sisters Oonagh and Joan speak of a truly "amazing, inspiring and a fabulous person".

Colm's family maintained a media silence until Tuesday's announcement. Describing the lead-up to his death, Colm's brother Sean said: "He had bought the mushrooms in a shop in town and was keeping them for a party with some friends. They had heard that magic mushrooms were meant to be a bit of fun, and that no real harm could come from them.

"They had never taken them before, and out of eight of them getting together on that night, four of them were taking them. They were having a few drinks as well but the mushrooms came out at about eight o'clock. They ate them raw from the packet. After a little while, maybe 20-30 minutes, Colm started feeling very sick and he vomited a couple of times.

"His friends started to get a bit worried about him. He became very agitated, not himself. The magic mushrooms obviously had some very bad effects on Colm. He wasn't himself, he became very scared, he didn't know what was going on. He basically ran out the apartment door, up to the roof of the apartment block and went off the edge. He only consumed three mushrooms. I don't know how much alcohol he had taken because I wasn't there but it wasn't a huge amount."

The family's campaign to get magic mushrooms banned began in the days after Colm's death when they contacted politicians from all parties to garner support.Local Fianna Fail TD Barry Andrews secured a meeting with Mary Harney to discuss making the sale of the mushrooms illegal in December.

According to the Hodkinson family, towards the end of the meeting the Tanaiste had tears in her eyes. "I think she saw us as just a normal family 'Magic mushrooms are a highly unpredictable substance. They can take over your mind. It's like playing a game of Russian roulette'

and that this was just a terrible thing to have happened. It was when she was saying goodbye to mum that she seemed to be a little emotional," said Paul.

The Hodkinsons say that since Colm's death they have been just trying to "get through the days" and put the pieces back together. Christmas was very tough but they say the campaign gave them all something to focus on.

"It was a bit of an anti-climax when we heard the news on Tuesday. We were surprised that it happened so quickly. Mary Harney said it would happen within three weeks and it did. But, there was no elation, just a kind of emptiness," said Sean.

Colm's girlfriend Rachel, devastated since his death on October 30 last year, described him as "my loving partner, so kind and caring to all, he will be always in my heart". The hardest part for the Hodkinson family is trying to move on with their lives without Colm. Paul said: "Myself and my brothers were due to play in the annual three-brothers golf classic this summer. That trip is no longer going to happen because my oldest brother Colm is dead. He was a joy to be around; he brightened up our hearts and our lives."

Colm was the second oldest of five children. His parents Eoin and Mary, sisters Oonagh and Joan and his two brothers Sean and Paul have been trying to highlight how unpredictable magic mushrooms are.

"Magic mushrooms are a highly unpredictable substance. There is no way of knowing what effect they can have on a person's mind. These substances can take over your mind and leave you with no control over what actions you may take. It's like playing a game of Russian roulette. We strongly urge people not to use them, but if they do, to use the smallest amount possible," said the family.

Following Colm's death and after last Tuesday's announcement, the family has received many letters and wishes of support from friends, customers, politicians and strangers.

One card they received last week read: "Thank you for my 10 grandchildren who are now protected by your actions."

But, what are magic mushrooms and what do they do? So-called magic mushrooms contain hallucinogenic ingredients, similar to LSD, and can be digested in many forms. Takers experience trips and are warned that they should never take them at crowded parties, where they may suffer information overload.

The most common strand of magic mushroom found in Ireland is the Psilocybe Semilanceata. It is not as potent as other strands of mushroom available, hence many of the stores that, before last Tuesday, stocked them imported more powerful produce from Holland and elsewhere.

The selling of magic mushrooms really began in Ireland on a large scale about two years ago, when a loophole in the legislation meant that unprocessed or untreated samples could be sold legally over the counter.

In November 2005, officials from the Department of Health and the Department of Justice met with the gardai and the Forensic Science Laboratory to discuss the legal position of magic mushrooms. There were concerns about increased imports and the sale of fresh mushrooms.

As a result of those meetings and the Hodkinson's meeting with the Tanaiste in December, last Tuesday's announcement of an amendment to the 1977 Misuse of Drugs Act closed the loophole. It is now illegal to sell these mushrooms in any form.

In a statement, Mary Harney said: "In December I met with the family of a young man who died after having consumed psychoactive mushrooms. At that time it had become clear that the sale of magic mushrooms was increasingly commonplace, and I directed that legislation be prepared to clarify the law to ensure that the trade in these drugs could not continue."

However, it has emerged that if caught in procession of the drugs, little or nothing can be done.

Speaking about the legislation change on Today FM's The Last Word, Minister Noel Ahern said: "The change in the law is to deal with the selling of these mushrooms. There is no change about those found in procession of the drug, unless it emerges that the quantities involved show a clear intent to sell, that's a different matter."

Despite the tragic nature of Colm's death, owners of the stores selling magic mushrooms have branded the move as a "tabloid, knee-jerk reaction" to one family's tragedy. The Sunday Independent can reveal that a number of the store owners met on Wednesday to discuss the implications of the law change and are "considering all options", including legal challenges.

Darcy Petticrew, owner of the Himalayan Crafts store in Drogheda, has blasted the move saying he and other retailers were given no warning or no chance to debate this issue before the announcement. He said owners like him and Helen Stone, of the Funky Skunk store in Cork, had sought an injunction against the Customs and Excise Service who seized several shipments bound for her store.

"We have been shafted, pure and simple. Helen Stone's case was ongoing when the law was changed. Is that acceptable? The man's death was a tragedy, but I don't believe it was caused by magic mushrooms. Studies have shown that they take a lot longer to take effect than the time between when he took them and his death.

"He also threw up several times which means the mushrooms were ejected from his body. The legislation is wrong and we, as a group, are looking at what we can do in termsof seeking a redress or atleast compensation," saidPetticrew.

Grainne Kenny, International President of Europe against Drugs, said that while she welcomed the move, she was critical of the fact that it took Colm's life to make the change when, for three years, she was repeatedly told nothing could be done.

"I have been campaigning on this issue for years and was getting nowhere. It's sad that it took the life of Colm Hodkinson to bring this Government to act. But the war must continue against these shops which stock all this drug paraphernalia, who project an image that drugs are OK when they are not."

Liam Twomey, Fine Gael's Health spokesman said his party fully supports the Minister on this issue. He said he had been in contact with the family after Colm's death and they had his whole-hearted support in their campaign to get the law changed.

The Hodkinson family now awaits the inquest hearing into Colm's death. The law may have changed, but their campaign to warn others of the dangers of magic mushrooms will go on.