AMSTERDAM, Netherlands, Oct. 12, 2007

Dutch Ban Sale Of Hallucinogenic Mushrooms

Netherlands Rolls Back Part Of Permissive Drug Policy

  • Tourists on rental bikes look through the window of a smart-shop in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, Friday, Oct. 12, 2007. The Dutch government will ban the sale of hallucinogenic mushrooms, rolling back one element of the country's permissive drug policy after a series of well-publicized negative incidents.

    Tourists on rental bikes look through the window of a smart-shop in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, Friday, Oct. 12, 2007. The Dutch government will ban the sale of hallucinogenic mushrooms, rolling back one element of the country's permissive drug policy after a series of well-publicized negative incidents.  (AP Photo/Evert Elzinga)

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(AP)  The Netherlands will ban the sale of hallucinogenic mushrooms, the government announced Friday, rolling back one element of the country's permissive drug policy after a teenager on a school visit jumped to her death after taking the fungus.

The decision will go into effect within several months, said Wim van der Weegen, a Justice Ministry spokesman.

“The problem with mushrooms is that their effect is unpredictable,” he said, and shops caught selling them will be closed.

Marijuana and hashish are technically illegal in the Netherlands, but police do not bother to prosecute people for possession of small amounts, and it is sold openly in designated cafes.

Possession of “hard” drugs like cocaine, LSD and Ecstasy is illegal. Mushrooms will fall somewhere in the middle.

“We're not talking about a non-prosecution policy, but we'll be targeting sellers” Van der Weegen said.

Psilocybin, the main active chemical in the mushrooms, has been illegal under international law since 1971. However, fresh, unprocessed mushrooms continued to be sold legally in the Netherlands along with herbal medicines in so-called “smart-shops,” on the theory that it was impossible to determine how much of the naturally occurring substance any given mushroom contains.

Van der Weegen said that was also the reason the system proved unworkable: “It's impossible to estimate what amount will have what effect.”

Calls for a re-evaluation arose after Gaelle Caroff, a 17-year-old visiting from France, from a building in Amsterdam in March after eating psychedelic mushrooms.

Caroff's parents blamed their daughter's death on hallucinations brought on by the mushrooms, though the teenager had suffered from psychiatric problems in the past. Photographs of her youthful face were splashed across newspapers around the country.

Since Caroff's death other dramatic stories involving mushrooms have been reported in the Dutch press:

  • A British tourist, 22, ran amok in a hotel, breaking his window and slicing his hand badly.

  • An Icelandic tourist, 19, thought he was being chased and jumped from a balcony, breaking both his legs.

  • A Danish tourist, 29, drove his car wildly through a campground, narrowly missing people sleeping in their tents.

    “It's a shame, the media really blew this up into a big issue,” said Chloe Collette, owner of the FullMoon smart-shop in Amsterdam.

    She said all the incidents had involved the use of multiple drugs - against the advice of sellers - but it was the mushrooms that were blamed.

    “Used in the right way, there's no problem with mushrooms: The biggest problem is with alcohol, in my opinion.”

    Most mushrooms sold in Amsterdam are sold to tourists, and the city's liberal drug policies and legalized prostitution are major tourist attractions.

    In May, the country's health minister, Ab Klink, undertook a study of the problems and called for suggestions from the industry and Amsterdam's city government.

    Murat Kucuksen, whose farm Procare supplies about half the psychedelic mushrooms on the Dutch market, said he stood to lose several million euros invested in setting up his legal growing facilities.

    He predicted the trade will move underground, prices will rise, and dealers will sell dried mushrooms or LSD as a substitute, with no guidance for tourists.

    “So you'll have a rise in incidents but they won't be recorded as mushroom-related, and the politicians can declare victory,” he said.

    © MMVII The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
    Add a Comment See all 25 Comments
    by sjw1253 October 14, 2007 10:52 PM EDT

    I have seen my sister become terribly nasty when she has smoked Pot. I also see her not being able to concentrate and acting out ridiculously.

    Additionally, she tends to fee that she needs it before eating (and she does not need to gain weight - could use some loss - and she does not have any disease that requires it).

    I have had personal experience with Marinol myself (legally prescribed for a chronic illness/no - not HIV - and that I have a tendency to malnourishment).

    I do know that I would not want to be driving while under its influence as my mind clearly has a tendency to wander ...

    It seems to me that there are no statistics regarding accidents - fatal or otherwise and Pot. That does not mean that it does not happen. I remember being in a nasty accident several years ago and despite the guy who caused it having many empty beer cans and acting drunk - the police said there was not enough evidence to test him for etoh...

    I can imagine that Pot is even more difficult to warrant testing...
    Reply to this comment
    by toolmangler-2009 October 14, 2007 1:39 AM EDT
    Give me an hour with somebody that is under the influence of any thing that affects the mind and I can play him/her like a piano.
    Reply to this comment
    by toolmangler-2009 October 14, 2007 1:34 AM EDT
    If it messes with your mind, it puts you under the control of someone else. Man, how stupid can you get
    Reply to this comment
    by jankebenz October 14, 2007 12:00 AM EDT
    I see that some fools here are advocating to legalize drugs,obviously brain burnt drugies who want easier access to the garbage.On average ,drugs are some 20 times more addicting than alcohol, and about 40 times as harmfull as alcohol with some as much as 300 X. The cost and damage of drug use by millions of Americans is the biggest loss to the economy by far when all the factors are added up,not to mention the thousands of lost lives.
    Reply to this comment
    by klingon69 October 13, 2007 6:53 PM EDT
    again, you are not fixing the problem..legalizing is just ignoring it because the NEGATIVE effects of drugs will not go away
    Posted by xzavierbrown at 06:44 PM : Oct 12, 2007

    If marijuana was made legal, sold in authorized store like liqour is today; would that not cut into the profits of organized crime? Would that not cause a decrease in the violent crime that associates with an illegal substance?
    During prohibition, organized crime flourished. Speak-easys, rum-running and shady ladies came out. Now prostitution has existed since the beginning of time, and will continue, like drugs it is a business of supply and demand, as long as there is a dfemand, someone will supply.
    Reply to this comment
    by klingon69 October 13, 2007 6:47 PM EDT
    maybe this war on durgs is interfering with your drug use..you just want to smoke your weed without fear of being arrested..YOU DONT GIVE A SH*T ABOUT ANYTHING ELSE..
    Posted by xzavierbrown at 03:38 PM : Oct 12, 2007
    So, since I don''t tend to drink too much, I enjoy a J when I get off work. Other than the fact that big money from the alcohol industry, and organized crime keeping it illegal, how am I hurting anyone?
    Reply to this comment
    by fibonacci_ October 13, 2007 3:20 PM EDT
    There is clearly a big double standard in practically the whole world with alcohol being legal and drugs like marijuana not. How many people die of marijuana every year?
    Reply to this comment
    by incog-nito October 13, 2007 4:33 AM EDT
    Total ban after one death? Stupid. What about all the alcohics and drunk drivers out there killing themselves and others by the thousands? When are they going to ban alcohol?
    Reply to this comment
    by kansas1946 October 13, 2007 2:47 AM EDT
    i wish my ex-husband had maybe had a problem with pot or mushrooms...instead he''''s a staggering, ignorant, brain-damaged alcoholic...thanks Anheiser Busch for your wonderful and legal product that has not only destroyed my family but countless others
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Posted by cantshutup at 09:07 PM : Oct 12, 2007

    *************************
    Yes, I lost a brother, figuratively speaking, to booze. If he had just stayed with the pot, we would still be family, but the booze is death to any relationships.
    The reason he switched was because he enjoyed the relaxation from marijuana, but since it was illegal, he was always worried, and it was hard to find a dealer sometimes. He would many times just drink instead, but booze is highly addictive, and pretty soon he couldn''t hold a job, couldn''t drive, and turned into a monster that couldn''t be tolerated.
    I''ll take the pot or mushrooms any day of the week, but I don''t want alchohol illegal. Illegal just doesn''t work.
    Reply to this comment
    by andor3 October 13, 2007 1:15 AM EDT
    This reminds me of the fabricated story that blamed Art Linkletter''s kid''s death on drugs, later completely discredited.

    But it still was used to ban products that do more good than harm.
    Reply to this comment
    by my2centss October 13, 2007 12:54 AM EDT
    Ask a police officer how many times they have had to scrape a minivan full of children off of the road of an accident that a stoner was involved in. Ask how many domestic abuse situations that they have been to at a stoners house. Now ask the same about alcohol. The news article only lists 4 incidences with mushrooms. How many could they list with booze?
    Reply to this comment
    by cantshutup October 13, 2007 12:07 AM EDT
    i wish my ex-husband had maybe had a problem with pot or mushrooms...instead he''s a staggering, ignorant, brain-damaged alcoholic...thanks Anheiser Busch for your wonderful and legal product that has not only destroyed my family but countless others
    Reply to this comment
    by tnt1954 October 12, 2007 11:37 PM EDT
    headlines to come: all reporters now work for
    national enquierer which corners the news markets.
    pill of knowledge developed by zimbabwean corporation
    rocks the world. no one has to read, write or
    do anything hard to learn things anymore. schools,
    colleges, universities all close down. educational
    establishment is suddenly totally unemployed.
    with the pill of knowledge, you just take the pill
    and suddenly are ''omnisicient'', know everything,
    become a total know it all, walking encyclopedia.
    lol.
    Reply to this comment
    by xzavierbrown October 12, 2007 9:44 PM EDT
    Posted by duhrer at 05:35 PM : Oct 12, 2007
    + report abuse
    *************

    you know after carefully reading your post..I realize that you are either trying to avoid the real issues that INFEST AND POISON SOCIETY and fill it with wishy washy scenarios.
    If any addict would buy, then use this drug in the confines of a box AND STAYS IN THAT BOX then its fine..but ALL OF THESE drug users interact with society..which in turn has to suffer because of their addiction. may it be thier families or some stranger who just happens to get killed.

    again, you are not fixing the problem..legalizing is just ignoring it because the NEGATIVE effects of drugs will not go away
    Reply to this comment
    by xzavierbrown October 12, 2007 9:38 PM EDT
    There is a great fear that people will think differently, that they will wake up one day and see .....


    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Posted by SharnCedar at 05:03 PM : Oct 12, 2007
    + report abuse

    *****

    oh yeah that is what britney spears said..whitney houston..robert downey jr...nick nolte..john sizemore said...

    and after that they all became better human beings..enlightened if you may...
    Reply to this comment
    by xzavierbrown October 12, 2007 9:35 PM EDT
    Posted by duhrer at 05:35 PM : Oct 12, 2007
    + report abuse
    *****

    and who is your god?? pablo escobar??

    lets get rid of the crime by making it legal..hey murder is a crime..you know how i can get rid of murder??? legalize it!!!

    THANKS!!
    Reply to this comment
    by duhrer October 12, 2007 8:35 PM EDT
    Make these overprocessed drugs legal; create drug stores where people can safely and legally obtain their intoxicants and turn the profits into help-centers to help people with problems kick their habits. Let''s decriminalize ''growable'' drugs, such as maraijuana and mushrooms. Citations for drug posession/use generate proceeds, useful for creating educational programs to reduce irresponsible use of them; after all, you can grow these yourself anywhere in the world (how does law-enforcment think they can stop that?) Illegalizing bad behavior just expands a police state and does not solve any problems... wake up people. The war on drugs is a money-maker for law-enforcement. Redirect the drug-enforcment resources to work on real crimes like murder, theft, etc.


    And all you folks who think you''re so pure... I''ll bet I can find something you''re intoxicated by... perhaps even by the "word of God" which can be even more dangerous than drugs as we have seen in past human history.
    Reply to this comment
    by duhrer October 12, 2007 8:34 PM EDT
    Forget the dangers of the personal use of drugs to individuals. Intoxicants are inelastic in humanity''s market, meaning people want a product, regardless of the cost. Criminalizing use of intoxicants does not prevent use, it merely drives them underground, where the black market prevails. Criminals capitalize on black markets, charging anything they want and actively working in the absence of all ethics or oversight to increase profit margin by any means. Thus, gangs, mobsters cartels and nations afford better equipment, distribution and security for their product than any law enforcement angency can keep up with. Meanwhile, we alienate and criminalize individuals with genuine psychological "problems" increasing our truly "criminal" population.
    Reply to this comment
    by sharncedar October 12, 2007 8:03 PM EDT
    There is a great fear that people will think differently, that they will wake up one day and see the whole War On Terror as a sham. The only drugs that will be allowed are the media and their chief mind-control additive, alcohol.
    Reply to this comment
    by tyjohn47 October 12, 2007 7:39 PM EDT
    How is anybody supposed to have "Happy Pizza" over in Holland now?! Bad deal, dudes!
    Reply to this comment
    See all 25 Comments
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