Mushrooms now banned in Ireland!

[Nature Boy]

This news is sketchy at the moment because as far as I know, the story
hasn't been released by the newspapers, but over the course of the bank
holiday weekend in Dublin, some idiot ate way too many mushrooms,
thought he could fly and jumped out an apartment window to his death.
Just the kind of idiocy that will get magic mushrooms banned again.



Expect an update with more information as I get it...

[Alfa]

Wow. This sucks. Does anyone have more info? This could not have come at a worse time as the Garda is clamping down on magic mushrooms. I am hearing about more arrests and letters from toexpress shipping companies like DHLthat mushrooms are illegal and sending them would make these shipping services liable to prosecution of importing and trafficking controlled substances.

[Micklemouse]

Let's just hope and pray that this is propaganda and nothing more than a Chinese Whisper gone wrong. There was a similar tale going round for a few months before the ban this side if the irish Sea, and doesn't it sound suspiciously familiar? Keep us posted Liam - I seriously suspect and hope that nothing more comes of this.

My apologies, esp to the family and friends of the man involved - I first heard about this when 'puter-less earlier in the year, and could find nothing to back up the story at the time; shoulda looked again before I opened me gob!

Following the story back does make interesting reading though - especially this earlier article from 28th April, which gives a bit of a fuller picture and highlights several other contributory factors - set & setting, vendors greed, alcohol...

Anyway, don't want to send this thread on too much of a tangent, so I'll shut up. Again, I sincerely hope nothing comes of this.

p.s. Couldn't help noticing in the article you linked to Alfa - 12 varieties growing native in Briton? News to me!

[Alfa]

I just read the article on the mushroom death in Ireland and it's ugly. The article was in the Irish Sun. The very bold front page title was something alike:


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HALLOWEEN HORROR: Mushroom man falls to his death. The heading was 95% of the size of the article. It continues further in the newspaper. In short; He had bought the mushrooms at a shop in Dublin. A witness said the 34 year old man was behaving strange during a party. Then later on ran to the balcony and dived straight off. The police suspect that he thought he could fly. The The heads of police have arranged a meeting with the heads of state to close the loophole and ban magic mushrooms. It is a deadly drug.


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This really sucks big time. I would really like to find out what happened. For those of you who see a patern in the UK death and the Irish one, please note that many millions of doses per year have been sold in the UK. If anyone can shed some light on this, please do. This may be the end of the legality of magic mushrooms in Ireland.

[Alfa]

[wednesday]

thank you a ton alfa
its so sad to hear things like this
it also puts things into perspective a bit
thanks again

[a-SalviaLover]

I don't believe that he had thought he could fly. He might have committed suicide, but I don't think it is right to blame the magic mushrooms for this. I have thought many times about this and I don't think that a psychedelised person would do something he thinks that is ideologicaly wrond. In other words he would commit suicide on shroomz if he thinks that this is not right. If he had done it under the influence of shroomz this means that he was susceptible to suicide and he might have done it without taking the shroomz. They just triggered this in him.

And as for the fly thing, excuse me, but this makes me laugh. And any one who has taken shroomz should be like me. The problem is that the ordinary people wouldn't think about it the same wa. And our beloved harmless shroomz will be more and more spit on.

[TLG05]

Oddly enough, that story wasn't followed up by any serious media outlet.


The Scum had an article the following day which had a Fine Gael TD (FG are a right-wing party here, for those unfamiliar with Irish politics) calling for them to be banned, but there has been no response from the Minister in question, Michael McDowell, who is not usually one to keep his mouth shut when there's an issue to be milked.


The news agenda here is pretty busy at the moment, with the Church sex abuse report and the government's transport plan, so this hasn't had any focus.


Incidentally, the story remains unconfirmed. The Scum modified it on the second day to say a man who 'apparantly took mushrooms'. We will have to wait for the inquest, and I suspect alcohol had more than a small hand in this death.


On the whole, though, I suspect Alfa is correct that we are in the final months of legal shrooms in Ireland. A tragic and ridiculous state of affairs given that Ireland was one of the oldest mushroom using civilisations.

[Micklemouse]

Indeed, I've been searching high and low for more news on this, and the only thing I can find is a reference from someone claiming to be the dead man's brother to an article in Ireland on Sunday last week (Alfa - I'll pm u about this...). Now, from what I can gather Ireland on Sunday is owned by AP who own our dear own Daily Mail & Mail on Sunday - both papers not renowned for their measured, unbiased reportage, and along with The Sun (which I'm guessing by the page posted above that The Sun and The Irish Sun are basically one and the same, at least as far as ownership (i.e Murdoch), agenda and quality reporting of the facts) are only too ready to jump on any bandwagon or rumour that will damage the counter-culture.

As TLG said, we'll have to wait for the inquest, and keep fingers crossed ...Edited by: Micklemouse

[mynameisshaun]

I don't think any serious media outlet around the UK would benefit from
publishing the story, because that would just feed the fire thats
already been set on the banning of mushrooms.

[TLG05]

Originally Posted by Micklemouse

Now, from what I can gather Ireland on Sunday is owned by AP who own our dear own Daily Mail & Mail on Sunday - both papers not renowned for their measured, unbiased reportage, and along with The Sun (which I'm guessing by the page posted above that The Sun and The Irish Sun are basically one and the same, at least as far as ownership (i.e Murdoch), agenda and quality reporting of the facts) are only too ready to jump on any bandwagon or rumour that will damage the counter-culture.

Yep, the Ireland on Sunday and the Irish Scum are both Murdoch vehicles, and the 'Irish' Sun is one and the same with the scummy British tabloid of the same name.


With such biased outlets involved, I don't give the story any credibility. That's not to say it's not true, but that the last place I would ever expect to find truth would be in a Murdoch organ.

[Alfa]

If there is any truth to this story, more info would be very helpful. If you can, please see if you can find out.

Several people claim the man had been drinking heavely and acted strange that evening. His strange behaviour started just minutes after intake of the mushrooms. There is no way the mushrooms could have worked then. But please mind that this is all hearsay. Another account is from someone who claims to be the brother of the man. This brother posted a comment on an Irish forum, without logging in again to respond to the replies he got. I doubt he is, but anyway, here it is:


"My 33 year old brother Colm Hodkinson died on the 30th October (9 days ago) after consuming magic mushrooms which he bought from a shop on Capel street. He threw himself off the roof of his apartment block in Dun Laoghaire. Please help me get these banned from shops and perhaps save another family from this horrible grief! "

"He had taken less than the recommended dosage that was printed on the packet. Previous to taking them he and his girlfriend and other friends had been playing a game of trivial pursuit and having a few beers."

[kaniz]

You know, as fucked up as I've been on mushrooms and LSD - I have never thought I could fly.



I've had the sensation of flying while on a rollercoaster however



But, I recall one time, I underestimated how strong mushrooms could be,
and ate a fuckload at a roof-top patio/rave party, I spent most of the
night sitting next to a wall as I was freaked out that I'd do
'something stupid like jump off the building'.



dunno, I tend to call BS on the "I think I can fly!" death stories, and think there is more going on then that.

[thegod1]

Exactly whatI was thinking , Kaniz. He either had a "bad trip" and killed himself(which i doubt), was pushed off or just fell off...


From what I've read, there is NOevidence of him actually saying anything to do with him flying before he fell off. If this is true, they have no right to just assume that because he had taken a drug he thought he could fly,then put all the blame on mushrooms.

IMO even he did think he could fly, it's still his fault. Nobody stuffed the shrooms down his throat or made him eat them, he did that himself, (more than likely) knowing it was a psychedelic drug.

[TLG05]

Another rumour floating about that site Alfa mentioned is that the man might have had four bottles of wine prior to consuming the mushrooms.


However, we still don't really know anything for sure.

[fugazi32]

He could of just a easily drunk some alcohol & thought he could fly & jumped to his death! Why are these d*cks blaming 'shrooms??!!

[Abrad]

Originally Posted by Alfa

"My 33 year old brother Colm Hodkinson died on the 30th October (9 days ago) after consuming magic mushrooms which he bought from a shop on Capel street. He threw himself off the roof of his apartment block in Dun Laoghaire. Please help me get these banned from shops and perhaps save another family from this horrible grief! "


"He had taken less than the recommended dosage that was printed on the packet. Previous to taking them he and his girlfriend and other friends had been playing a game of trivial pursuit and having a few beers."

The shop on Capel St. does NOT have a "recommended dosage" printed on the package, in fact it has explicit instructions that they are "not for consumption".

[IHrtHalucingens]

Such bullshit! they always blame the drugs for anything stupid a stupid person does. i hate it.

[a-SalviaLover]

And this really isn't right. Drugs are just chemical molecules. They don't do anything. But people do. And People are responsible for their actions, not drugs.If someone gets drunk, drives, and kills a person while driving, the fact that he was drunk wouldn't make him innocent. The same has to go with drugs. It's just unjustly.

[Demonslayer]

Originally Posted by Alfa

The police suspect that he thought he could fly. The The heads of police have arranged a meeting with the heads of state to close the loophole and ban magic mushrooms. It is a deadly drug.

What about all those people who dive out of windows after drinking alcohol? Did they think they could fly?
Some people kill themselves and some do it while intoxicated. Lets not blame this suicide on whatever he had eaten. By the way, how do the police know what he thougt he could do?

The police think that mushrooms make you think you can fly. The man killed himself while tripping on mushrooms. He threw himself out of a window.
Conclusion: He thought he could fly.
This is not what I call logic.

[IHrtHalucingens]

personally in my experience drugs make me a more law abiding functioning member of society, when i drive high i always drive 2mph over the speed limit stop for 2 secs at every stop sign...cuz i know i am under the influence and have drugs in the car so im more careful, and in the case of hallucinogens, no matter how hard im trippin i wouldnt jump out a window or nething, and usually i do it in the woods so i can go on my adventure as everyone does, but there r no people around to know ur high and miles and miles of the trippiest environment ther is-NATURE

[Abrad]

Just heard the minister Noel Ahern on the radio saying the law is in the process of being ammended to make fresh mushrooms illegal. I've never heard so much misinformation and utter bullshit in my life. He was saying they are poisonous and many deaths have been caused by them. They seemed very preoccupied with the old "thinking you can fly" thing. I'll try to find a link. What bullshit.

[Alfa]

What I heard is that the Irish government is going to try to do this as silently as possible through secondary legislation. Secondary legislation can be rewritten quite fast. Primary legislation will take years to change. It is of major importance to get Irish experts to produce their view on the risks of psilocybe mushrooms. This will make it very hard for the government to stick with their statement of harmfullness of Psilocybe mushrooms. If anyone out there has connections that may be of help, please act. It will have weight.

[Nature Boy]

The Minister didn't seem to have a clue what the hell he was talking about. I wonder if the fat fucker will answer questions like those that were sent onto the show via text message. I doubt it.

[Nagognog2]

There is also the potential for a cultural conflict at play here. As pointed out by R. Gordon Wasson, some cultures have an innate fear of mushrooms - ALL mushrooms. Not just the ones that change the wallpaper. People from these cultures he called mycophobes, or mushroom-haters, and he noted this predisposition was especially strong in the Anglo-Saxon peoples - which, of course, covers the Brits and Irish.

The flip side of this genealogical coin being mycophiles, or mushroom-lovers. Notable here are peoples of Eastern Europe and Russia. Amanita Muscaria, comrade?