One of the biggest obstacles to sobriety is the belief of many addicts that they will be leaving behind their “friends” and a lifestyle that gives them a sense of meaning by making them part of a community. In this story not only does drug use play a role in a teen’s death, but the online reaction of his fellow Mushroom users shines a stark light on the reality of who is involved in the drug culture.

From KFVS:

KEVIL, KY (KFVS) – A man was shot and killed in McCracken County after police say he tried to break into a family’s home around 2:00 a.m.

The family woke to the sound of the alarm system, indicating the door to the attached garage had been opened.  The homeowner went outside to investigate, when he heard his wife inside screaming.

He ran back into the home where his wife told him the intruder, later identified as 18-year-old Andrew Caleb Barnett, was inside their attached garage attempting to get into the home through a wooden door with a window, according to police. The homeowner reportedly yelled several times that he had a gun, telling Barnett not to come inside. However, Barnett continued to make advances toward the man. Police say the homeowner fired one shot at Barnett, hitting him in the arm, and going into his chest area. Barnett apparently fell to the floor but got back up fighting the homeowner, at one point, biting him in the arm.

The fight continued through the home and eventually back into the garage. When police arrived they arrested Barnett and transported him to Western Baptist Hospital for the gunshot, but he ultimately died.

The McCracken County Police Department reports the 18-year-old was under the influence of Psilocybin Mushrooms, or “Magic Mushrooms” as they’re called on the street, and thought he was inside his own home. At one point, he even called the homeowner “Dad”.

The police have since arrested four other teens who gave Barnett the mushrooms, which prompted a flurry of these sorts of comments on the news story:

Here’s one left by “Spacecapt”

Well there is a lesson to be learned here… When I was a youngster I would head to the mountain woods and camp far, far away from everyone except my fellow mushroom heads.

Indeed. Here’s one from “MindMyHaveStilli”

Those must have been some fantastic mushrooms, especially if the kid kept going after he was shot. I wonder what else he might’ve taken. Magic mushrooms are best enjoyed in nature though, not in suburbia.

Here’s some wisdom from “James”

naturaly occurring plants dont kill people, people kill people. remove the guns from the equation an the boy would have just been arrested and left to “come down” in a hospital. He didnt wanna rob or kill anyone in the home, he just wanted a safe place to be.
Remember, Drugs dont kill (unless its heroine,crack,meth, cocain) guns kill, so take away all guns an well all be safer from right wing gun toting redneck christian psychos.

“James” went on to drop this nugget:

He didnt threaten anyone, he thought it was his home. Dad dad! he yelled, that christian gun toting fruit cake heard him an shot him anyways. Get your facts straight and get rid of your guns, its you people who are a threat to our world, not innocent kids who didnt know what to expect from a very powerful and needed plant. Teach our youths the truth about ALL drugs and what they do, and they wont have to experiment with them and find out the hard way. But of course, you right wing crazies never touch any useful plants like mushrooms, so all you can tell your kids is ” DRUGS KILL! GO BUY A GUN QUICK!”. Do some research, or just experiment yourself and find out the truth. And occurrences like this will never happen again.
The boy just wanted a safe place, not a gun in the face.

That’s the drug culture in nutshell. Those that weren’t amused by the death or defending Mushroom use were, like “James” above, literally arguing for us to adopt the belief that should some person who is stoned out of his mind break into your house at 2:00am you should simply let him do what ever he wants for the 5-15 minutes it will take for police to respond and take control of the situation. Plenty of time for some drug addled youth to stab/choke/beat someone to death or rape one of the children. If the stoned person takes a hostage we just let him “come down’ and expect he’ll do the right thing when he’s sober.

To say that this kind of thought is childish is an insult to children. Drug users want you to prop them up so they can continue to use. That’s what James and his ilk are really asking for, you and me to be responsible for their safety when they can’t be bothered to take care of themselves.

The father in this story is a hero, even though the shooting was a tragedy. Fortunately the police will not file charges against this man, who was only protecting his children. But I guess he’s just another non-victim of Barnett’s drug use.