A federal courtroom in San Diego just pulled back the curtain on one of the most disturbing drug operations in recent Southern California history. Randal Vance, a 43-year-old man from Fallbrook, pleaded guilty to running a massive psilocybin mushroom grow operation. But the sheer volume of drugs isn't what makes this case horrifying. Vance admitted to using his own young children to cultivate the narcotics and systematically feeding them hallucinogenic capsules every single day.
This case exposes a dangerous underbelly of the modern psychedelic movement. As public interest in microdosing grows, some individuals use therapeutic claims to mask blatant child abuse and multi-state drug trafficking.
Inside the Psilly Rabbit Drug Operation
Vance didn't just run a quiet basement setup. He operated a highly organized, commercial-scale drug enterprise across two distinct properties in North San Diego County—a business location on Ash Street in Fallbrook and a residence on Lilac Road in Bonsall.
To move his product, Vance ran a tech-savvy operation. He used two dedicated websites, psillyrabbit.com and psillyrabbitmushrooms.com, alongside an Instagram account under the handle psillyrabbitca. Through these portals, he marketed an array of illicit items, including raw dried fungi, freeze-dried mushrooms, infused chocolates, and capsules containing pure psilocybin.
When federal agents and San Diego County sheriff's deputies finally raided the properties, the sheer scale of the operation stunned investigators. Law enforcement recovered:
- 204 pounds of fresh, raw psilocybin mushrooms
- 78 pounds of completely dried mushrooms ready for sale
- 35 pounds of psilocybin-infused chocolate bars
- Five pounds of pure psilocybin capsules
- An arsenal of unsecured firearms, including a Glock 34, a Walther P22, and a Browning 30-06 rifle, with loaded ammunition clips sitting out in the open near the children.
Exploiting Children for Profit
The most chilling aspect of the federal plea agreement details how Vance integrated his young sons, who were just 9 and 11 years old when the operation began, into the daily labor of a drug ring.
Vance openly bragged to clients and associates about using his children as farmhands. In October 2023, Vance sent a text message containing a photograph of his 11-year-old holding a massive mushroom in front of his face, explicitly writing that the child helps him grow them. His co-conspirator, 34-year-old Keir Ceballos-Rivera, sent a similar photo of one of the minors holding the drugs with the caption "No face, no case."
Worse, Vance weaponized his oldest son, who turned 12 during the operation, by giving him psilocybin capsules to sell directly to his middle school classmates. When the boy reported selling a capsule to a friend for $3, Vance texted back: "Nice! Make sure your friend's parents don't find out or you and I are in big big trouble."
The Toxic Myth of Kids Brain Microdosing
Vance attempted to wrap his criminal behavior in the trendy language of the modern wellness movement. In text chains intercepted by federal investigators, Vance claimed that giving hallucinogens to young kids was totally fine, stating "It's good for kids' brains."
He admitted to dosing both of his young sons with psilocybin capsules every other day starting in October 2023. By March 2024, he escalated the schedule, forcing the 9- and 11-year-old boys to ingest the hallucinogens every single day.
Vance's defense attorney, Peter Blair, has tried to downplay the severity of the drugging. Blair claims that Vance merely "micro-dosed" the kids with tiny 0.05-to-0.2-gram supplements to ease family anxieties and replace traditional pharmaceutical prescriptions. The defense argues the doses were negligible and that the kids, who are now living with their grandmother in West Virginia, are getting straight A's and showing no long-term mental harm.
But federal prosecutors paint a far darker picture of forced, daily administration of Schedule 1 narcotics to developing minds. Medical consensus from institutions like the American Academy of Pediatrics completely rejects the notion of microdosing children. The developing brain is highly vulnerable to psychoactive compounds, and altering a child's neurochemistry daily carries unknown, potentially severe risks to cognitive and emotional development.
A Legal Safe Haven That Never Arrived
Vance's entire business model was built on a massive financial gamble. According to his defense team, he spun up the massive cultivation sites believing that California was on the verge of fully legalizing the psychedelic mushroom industry, mirroring the green rush of the cannabis market.
That gamble completely collapsed when California Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed a high-profile bill that would have decriminalized certain hallucinogenic compounds. Instead of transition into a legitimate business owner, Vance remained the ringleader of an illegal multi-state drug conspiracy.
Following the initial raid, Vance, his wife Rebecca, and Ceballos-Rivera scrambled to cover their tracks. They orchestrated a conspiracy to destroy evidence, deleting text histories and wiping their e-commerce sites from the web. The cover-up failed, adding federal obstruction of justice charges to their indictments.
What Happens Next
The legal reckoning for the operation is already underway in federal court. All three adult defendants have pleaded guilty to severe federal drug charges.
Rebecca Vance is scheduled for sentencing on July 17, 2026. Keir Ceballos-Rivera faces his sentencing hearing on August 28, 2026. The ringleader himself, Randal Vance, is set to be sentenced on September 18, 2026, by U.S. District Judge Robert Huie. Given the charges of involving minors in a drug conspiracy and distributing controlled substances to children, Vance faces a mandatory minimum of one year and a maximum of up to 40 years in federal prison.
The Drug Enforcement Administration has issued a public notice for parents in the North San Diego County area. If you believe your child attended school with Vance's children or may have been exposed to capsules or mushroom chocolates distributed by this ring, report the information immediately by submitting an anonymous tip through the official DEA online portal at dea.gov/submit-tip.
