Lacey Woman Admits Using Kid To Grow, Deal Shrooms

LACEY, NJ — A Lacey woman admitted to using her home where she lived with three minor children to grow and distribute psilocybin mushrooms, bringing one of the children into the operation, the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office said.

Margaret Whalen, 60, was the legal guardian of the children while she was growing and dealing the mushrooms, Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said.

She pleaded guilty to possession of psilocybin mushrooms with intent to distribute, employing a juvenile in a drug distribution scheme and endangering the welfare of a child.

Investigation began this past March when Lacey police were alerted by the Division of Child Protection and Permanency that Whalen was using her Elwood Street home as a mushroom growing facility, Billhimer said.

Several jars of suspected psilocybin mushrooms were seized as part of a court-authorized search warrant on the home on March 13, Billhimer said. They tested positive as psilocybin mushrooms on May 23.

She also employed one of the minors in the scheme to manufacture and distribute the mushrooms, Billhimer said.

Whalen faces four years in New Jersey State Prison for the possession charge, five years for employing the child and five years for child endangerment. These sentences are to run concurrently.