AMSTERDAM, Netherlands, Oct. 12, 2007
Dutch Ban Sale Of Hallucinogenic Mushrooms
Netherlands Rolls Back Part Of Permissive Drug Policy
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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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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:
“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.
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See all 25 CommentsI 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...
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.
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?
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Posted by cantshutup at 09:07 PM : Oct 12, 2007
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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.
But it still was used to ban products that do more good than harm.
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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
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Posted by SharnCedar at 05:03 PM : Oct 12, 2007
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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...
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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!!
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.
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