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54 °F Forecast | Road Cams Monday, April 5, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find a Rental Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Email Story to a Friend March 26, 2004 DEA tracks psilocybin transaction to Ashland By ANITA BURKE Mail Tribune Federal drug investigators tracked psilocybin mushrooms from a deal in Arizona to a source in Ashland this month. After buying 22 pounds of mushrooms and six pounds of marijuana at an Ashland hotel room, Drug Enforcement Administration agents arrested Daniel Stewart Gregg, 52, of Ashland, on suspicion of manufacturing and possessing both drugs with intent to distribute them. He remains in Jackson County Jail awaiting an appearance in U.S. District Court in Medford. Agents also arrested Barbara Kay Gregson, 40, of Sedona, Ariz., at the hotel. She was lodged in jail, then released. The large seizure of psychoactive mushrooms is unusual for the area, Jackson County Narcotics Enforcement Team commander Lt. Dewey Patten said. Deluged by methamphetamines, the local agency has limited resources to investigate other drugs that are less common on the streets, he said. The investigation kicked off in January in Arizona, according to a search warrant affidavit filed in U.S. District Court in Medford. An undercover Arizona Department of Public Safety detective bought 4.5 ounces of psilocybin mushrooms from Gregson. She said her source, known as "Danny," could provide 30 pounds of the mushrooms if the buyer went to Ashland, where Danny lived, to get them. Advertisement This month, Medford-based DEA agents teamed up with agents from Flagstaff, Ariz., to set up an undercover operation in Ashland. On March 9, Gregson met with an undercover agent and two informants at an undisclosed Ashland hotel to negotiate the deal, court records said. She left the hotel room and surveillance agents followed her to a home in the 200 block of Mobile Drive, Ashland. Agents then followed Gregg’s car from that home to Reiten Drive, where they lost sight of it. Several hours later, agents saw Gregson’s vehicle leave the area and return to the hotel with Gregg, records said. The two delivered two large suitcases that contained the mushrooms and marijuana, according to the court records. Agents then arrested Gregg and Gregson. After the arrests, agents went to the Mobile Drive home to interview Gregg’s girlfriend, court records said. She told investigators that Gregg said he was doing a "mushroom deal" that night. She consented to a search of the home she shared with Gregg and agents found materials used to grow psilocybin mushrooms, as well as suspected marijuana seeds and buds. In subsequent interviews, she told agents that Gregg and a friend on Reiten Drive have medical marijuana cards and grow marijuana for patients at the Reiten Drive property. On March 11, agents went to the Reiten Drive property, which is about 8 fenced acres. They talked to the owner, who acknowledged that he knew Gregg and they practiced the martial art Aikido together, something they had done two days earlier when Gregg visited, records said. Later that day, agents got a warrant to search the property for marijuana or psilocybin mushrooms, evidence of growing either, and paper or computer records of drug sales. Court records don’t indicate if any such evidence was found in the search and there’s no record of charges against the man. Reach reporter Anita Burke at 776-4459, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback 3 WEEKS FREE! ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S RESOURCES Oregon Road Conditions & Cams SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Food for Thought Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities Prime Times