Bad trip or psilocybin emergency in Miami: who to call

Call 911 now if you see any of these signs

• Chest pain or chest pressure.
• A seizure.
• Trouble breathing.
• Overheating: hot, red, dry or damp skin, confusion, slurred speech, a body temperature above 103°F, or fainting. The National Weather Service calls heat stroke "a severe medical emergency."²
• Unresponsive: the person collapses or can't be woken.
• Any risk of self-harm, or of hurting someone else, including any talk of suicide. Fireside Project tells anyone in that situation to "immediately call 911."⁸
• An injury: a fall, a blow to the head, a crash, heavy bleeding or a near-drowning.

Call right away, even if you aren't sure and even if drugs were involved. Poison Control's own rule is to call 911 if a person "collapses, has a seizure, has trouble breathing or can't be awakened."¹ Tell the dispatcher exactly where you are and anything you know was taken.

If you can't talk safely, you can text 911 anywhere in Miami-Dade. The service launched on June 1, 2025, at all seven of the county's 911 centers, and Miami Beach asks people to keep calling 911 "whenever practical." Text 911 alone (no group texts), give your exact location and the emergency, and skip abbreviations, slang, emojis, photos and videos.³ Coral Gables confirmed on June 4, 2025, that texting works across all of the county's 911 call centers; each message is limited to 160 characters.⁴

Poison Control: who answers in Miami

For a suspected poisoning, such as a wild mushroom someone ate or a gummy with unknown contents, call Poison Help at 1-800-222-1222 (call 911 first if any warning sign above appears). Poison Control says the phone line and its online tool, webPOISONCONTROL, are both "free, expert, and confidential."¹

In Miami-Dade, the Florida Poison Information Center in Miami answers. Based in the University of Miami's Department of Pediatrics at UM/Jackson Medical Center, it "processes calls to the national 1-800-222-1222 Poison Help line from Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Monroe, Lee and Collier Counties," 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Its specialists are "licensed doctors, nurses and pharmacists" who assess "whether exposures require treatment in a healthcare facility or if they can be safely handled over the phone."⁵ Poison Help is "available 24/7 in over 100 languages."⁶

988, Fireside Project and 211 Miami

These lines help with fear, distress or a hard experience. None of them replaces 911 when a warning sign appears.

988 is free and confidential and covers "mental health struggles, emotional distress, alcohol or drug use concerns." Text and chat are available in Spanish.⁷

Fireside Project offers "free, confidential peer support by phone or text, every day from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Pacific," for people tripping now or making sense of a past trip. In its own words: "Fireside Project is not a suicide hotline. If you are considering suicide, please call 988 to connect with the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline." And: "If you're having an emergency, call 911."⁸

211 Miami, a program of Jewish Community Services of South Florida, offers emotional support and crisis counseling "available 24/7 in English, Spanish, and Creole."⁹

How to help someone having a hard time

The moment any warning sign above appears, call 911. This section is for someone who is frightened, anxious or upset but shows none of those signs. Confusion on a hot day can be heat stroke, which the Weather Service says needs a 911 call.² NIDA describes a "bad trip" as "extreme fear, anxiety, panic, or paranoia," and says agitation and confusion "may be severe and require medical attention."¹⁰

• Stay with them. Never leave them alone. If you need a break, hand over to another sober adult first.
• Move somewhere calm and safe: quiet, cool and shaded, away from traffic, balconies, crowds and water. NIDA warns of people "driving dangerously or walking in traffic" after taking mushrooms unsupervised.¹⁰
• Keep your voice low and steady. Tell them where they are, who you are and that you're staying.
• No driving. Don't let them drive, and don't ride with anyone who has taken something. Florida's DUI law covers impairment by "any substance controlled under chapter 893," which includes psilocybin.¹¹
• No water. Keep them out of the ocean, pools, bathtubs and boats.
• Nothing else to take. Don't give them alcohol or other drugs to calm them down.
• Get support on the phone. Call or text Fireside Project during its hours, or 988 at any time.

If they get worse, won't stay somewhere safe, or you're unsure, call 911.

Will calling 911 get someone arrested in Florida?

Florida's 911 Good Samaritan law, Fla. Stat. 893.21, gives limited protection. A person "acting in good faith who seeks medical assistance for an individual experiencing, or believed to be experiencing, an alcohol-related or a drug-related overdose may not be arrested, charged, prosecuted, or penalized" for the offenses it lists, "if the evidence for such offense was obtained as a result of the person's seeking medical assistance." The person who needs help gets the same protection.¹²

What it covers

• Possession of a controlled substance under 893.13(6), the offense that covers psilocybin possession. The law carves out paragraph (6)(c): possessing more than 10 grams of a substance listed in 893.03(1)(a), (1)(b) or (2)(b), a first-degree felony that 893.21 doesn't cover.¹³ Psilocybin and psilocyn are listed in 893.03(1)(c), so that carve-out doesn't reach them.¹⁶
• Use, or possession with intent to use, of drug paraphernalia under 893.147(1).
• Section 893.132, dangerous fentanyl exposure of a first responder resulting in overdose or serious bodily injury.
• A violation of pretrial release, probation or parole, when the evidence came from seeking help.¹²

What it doesn't cover

The law lists only those offenses, so others, such as selling or delivering a drug, aren't protected. The protection also "may not be grounds for suppression of evidence in other criminal prosecutions," and the statute doesn't define "overdose."¹² Our penalties guide explains what a charge can mean.

None of this should slow down a call. When a warning sign appears, call 911 first.

Miami heat and water raise the stakes

The National Weather Service in Miami issues a heat advisory for Miami-Dade at a heat index of 105°F or higher for at least 2 hours, lower than the 108°F it uses outside Miami-Dade and Broward. That's under pilot criteria in place since 2023, according to the office's most recent posted notice (2024).¹⁴ Psilocybin "typically raises blood pressure and heart rate," NIDA says.¹⁰ On hot days, keep anyone who has taken something in shade or air conditioning, and treat the overheating signs above as a 911 call.

The Weather Service says to "only swim at a beach with lifeguards" and warns that "rip currents often form on calm, sunny days."¹⁵ Someone who is impaired shouldn't swim or board a boat. If someone is struggling in the water, alert a lifeguard and call 911. Our safety guide covers boating and festivals.