Australia: Woman dies after consuming drink at a wellness retreat

16 April 2024, 07:29 | Updated: 16 April 2024, 11:45

A woman has died after consuming a drink at a wellness retreat in Australia.

Two other people were taken to hospital for observation and later discharged.

Detectives are investigating whether the drink contained mushrooms.

Paramedics were called at about 11.50pm on Saturday night, but the 53-year-old woman died at the scene.

Police said in a statement: "Moorabool Crime Investigation Unit detectives are investigating the circumstances following the death of a woman in Clunes, Saturday, 14 April.

"It is believed a woman was at a retreat on Fraser Street when she became ill after ingesting a drink about 12am."

The wellness centre - in the Victorian town of Clunes - describes itself as an alternative and holistic health facility.

Australia's ABC News reported that it is believed the woman was at Soul Barn. She is yet to be named, but is reportedly from Ringwood North, a suburb of Melbourne.

Some of the services listed on the centre's website include sound healing and tarot reading.

In July last year, Australia became the first country to allow psychiatrists to prescribe psychedelics to patients with depression or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Qualified and registered physicians can prescribe doses of MDMA, also known as ecstasy, for PTSD, and psilocybin, the psychoactive ingredient in "magic" mushrooms, can also be given to people who have hard-to-treat depression.

Police have appealed for anyone with information about the death to get in touch.

Read more on Sky News:
Why UK parents are 'microdosing' class A drug
Hallucinogen found in magic mushrooms can reduce depression - study

(c) Sky News 2024: Australia: Woman dies after consuming drink at a wellness retreat