Andre Yoskowitz
28 Jul 2010 18:32
Paul Ceglia, the business man suing Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg over the rights to own 84 percent of the giant social networking site was once convicted for possession of shrooms, Psilocybin-containing mushrooms that cause hallucinations.
Forbes says Ceglia was arrested and plead guilty in 1997 to "felony possession" of over 400 grams of the shrooms. Average recreational users will use about 3 grams.
Ceglia paid a $25,000 fine in Texas, and received a 10-year suspended sentence. He then moved to NY, where he started his business relationship with Zuckerberg.
Terry Connors, Ceglia's lawyer, declined comment "because I do not have any knowledge about it at this time."
While it is unclear if Ceglia was a regular user, or a seller, if he was a user the drugs could have a lasting effect on his brain, says Dr. Mario Ciani, chair of Mercy College's Natural Science Department.
"What happens is if people are using mushrooms on a regular basis, sometimes they have a reduced ability to differentiate between reality and fantasy," said Ciani. "Their experience on the mushrooms sort of overlaps into their daily activities. Particularly if they use them on a regular basis."