Overview

• Rachael Dixon consumed two servings of psilocybin-infused tea at a private Soul Barn retreat in Clunes in April 2024 and died hours later.
• Post-mortem analysis detected about 6 ng/mL of psilocybin in Dixon’s system, but the coroner could not establish a clear medical cause of death.
• The report noted Dixon’s symptoms were consistent with wood-lover paralysis, a rare mushroom toxidrome whose contribution to her death remains unconfirmed.
• Retreat organizer Deanne Mathews pleaded guilty to trafficking psilocybin in March 2025, was fined $3,000 without conviction and faces no charges over Dixon’s death.
• The inquiry uncovered 20 psilocybin-related deaths in Victoria since 2014, prompting the coroner to press for improved user education on mushroom therapies.