Mother Nature acknowledges no federal prohibitions on hallucinogenic substances, and, in spite of the law, soils across the city are coming alive with mushrooms of the intoxicating genus Psilocybe.

"They're everywhere," says Dr. Dennis Desjardin, a professor of mycology at San Francisco State University. "It's mostly Psilocybe cyanescens. They come up all over the State campus here — in the parks, in yards, San Jose, in Marin. They grow almost anywhere that people have spread wood chips."

According to Desjardin, Psilocybe cyanescens will grow independently on most available soils, especially those that have been disturbed by gardening activity. As the mushrooms sprout, they draw up wholesome minerals and nutrients, then reconstruct them into the unlawful psychedelic alkaloids that have been sending free spirits on lofty trips for decades.