Rachael Dixon’s life changed after attending a wellness retreat in regional Victoria. Tragically, she passed after taking magic mushrooms, raising questions about whether these practices are safe. This is what happened on the evening of April 14th, 2024 during a private gathering of people in the region hosted by Deanne Matthews at the Soul Barn. Dixon, who had struggled with mental health issues, had been a regular attendee of Matthews’ retreats for nearly eight years, paying $500 for an experience titled “Deep Self 28 Day Microdosing Experience.”
The coroner’s report included a shocking fact. In the 18 months leading up to her death, Dixon came to the Clunes retreats about six times. Her fellow participants observed she looked like she was “on a high” even before her healing session started that night. Only a few hours later, her condition worsened after drinking two doses of mushroom tea.
Background of Rachael Dixon
For Rachael, her battle with mental health erosion was deeply apparent her whole life. Her main intention, as reflected in her journal, was to stop binge drinking alcohol and eating junk food. This goal was very much in keeping with her visits to wellness retreats, where she practiced healing and self-discovery.
For those eight years, Dixon had developed an instinctive practice rooted in his friendship with Deanne Matthews, grounded on mutual support and healing. Retreats Matthews led were in high demand, bringing in people seeking a different approach to solve their mental health issues. This relationship inspired Dixon to keep coming back to the retreats year after year. She started using cannabis to relax, relieve stress and anxiety, and sleep better.
The Day of the Incident
On the evening of April 14, participants and practitioners came together for an integration circle, and this is where Dixon drank the mushroom tea. By all accounts from our peers in the room, she had been living in a state of euphoria leading up to the event. About five hours after Dixon took the first dose, Matthews found her crying. It became clear to him almost instantly that this lady needed a breath of fresh air.
Dixon followed them into the kitchen and reclined on a dog bed. At the same time, Matthews pulled open the back door to allow cool, fresh air into the bus. Tragically, just a few minutes after that, paramedics would pronounce her dead on arrival.
Coroner’s Findings
A post-mortem toxicological analysis found Rachael Dixon to have about 6 ng/mL of psilocybin in her system. This shone through upon her passing. The coroner’s report established a “temporal relationship” between the consumption of the mushroom tea and Dixon’s subsequent death. It did not conclude a definitive cause of death.
Coroner Audrey Jamieson stated, “I ultimately determined on the balance of probabilities that I am unable to find wood-lover paralysis caused or contributed to Rachel’s death.”
Dixon’s case has contributed to growing alarm about the dangers of employing psychedelic substances in wellness practices. Though some consumers could be looking for healing, this incident shows the danger of unsupervised consumption.
