American Olympic skier Bode Miller pleaded not guilty to a pair of misdemeanor drug charges in Idaho. The news broke Tuesday that Miller had been arrested in eastern Idaho in early June on a charge that he was in possession of psilocybin mushrooms.
Idaho classifies psilocybin (psychedelic) mushrooms as a Schedule 1 controlled substance and operates a strict, no-tolerance policy. While possession of any amount of a Schedule 1 substance in the state is generally charged as a misdemeanor, a single offense can still come with as much as a year in jail and up to $1,000 in fines.
News of the arrest prompted Miller to share a public statement on social media Tuesday afternoon, which for reasons not entirely clear, didn’t address the psilocybin.
“I was pulled over for accelerating while passing another vehicle on a highway in Idaho,” he wrote. “My friend, who was traveling with me, had a small amount of cannabis and a cannabis pipe in his possession which I was unaware of. We fully cooperated with the officer. I am hopeful the misdemeanor charges will be dropped once the facts are reviewed.”
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TMZ Sports obtained a probable cause affidavit and report that the arresting officer claimed Miller had a white dispensary bag containing 4.1 grams of mushrooms. He was released from jail after posting a $5,000 bond.
Psilocybe mushrooms remain federally illegal as a Schedule 1 drug, but are treated with varying severity across different states. In Colorado and Oregon, for example, there are established frameworks for supervised therapeutic use. Athletes who have suffered repeated and severe head trauma are often prime candidates for these treatments. Earlier this year, President Donald Trump signed an executive order fast-tracking the FDA’s review process of psychedelic therapy treatments such as psilocybin.
It’s worth noting that Miller himself acknowledged throughout his career and as a broadcaster with NBC that his aggressive racing style took a toll on him physically, including repeated head trauma. Still, Idaho is one of the strictest states in the U.S. when it comes to possession of controlled substances.
