Rise in use of illegal drugs in Ireland & UK after mushroom ban?

[Alfa]

Psilocybe mushrooms where banned in the UK in Juli 2005 and in Ireland in January 2006. Have you seen an increase of the use of LSD and other illegal drugs after magic mushrooms became unavailable.

In other words: did the ban on magic mushrooms lead to an increase of illegal drug use?

[matti_2003]

Swim has no statistics or hard facts about this but is from the UK and can only give input on what he saw in his area and with the people he knows. For a short time running up to the mushroom ban, there seemed to be quite a lot of people using them, Swim thinks this may be down to the publicity they were getting at the time and people wanted to give them a try before the ban.

Once the ban was implemented and mushrooms were hard to come by he did see an increase in the amount of LSD available and people taking it and this may have been because of the ban which may have increased the demand for hallucinogenic's to fill the gap in the market.

Since then he has seen a drop in the amount of LSD and other hallucinogenic's available. This, however is only applicable to Swim's local area and the people he knows and this might not be the case in the rest of the country.

[Jimmeh]

SWIM isn't in touch with illegal sources so doesn't know about LSD, but sees that Salvia is being sold in more head shops nowadays.

[Nature Boy]

SWIM's definitely noticed an increase in LSD use and demand. The instant mushrooms were taken off the shelves many people were scouring through their phones ringing all sorts of dealers looking for acid. The demand is still very high although the supply looks dry at the moment. It's only a matter of time before another batch comes along soon. The market is there. Had the mushrooms not been banned, SWIM has no doubt that this demand for LSD wouldn't be so high.

[Abrad]

LSD has certainly become more available. It was a rarity a few years ago but now is common.

[D.U.M.B]

Since the mushroom ban. SWIM has noticed that not only SWIM but SWIM's friends have been looking into getting other products. Salvia etc. SWIM has noticed that there's more weed going around in his area. People are defiantly trying to fill the void. At least until october

[podge]

Originally Posted by Nature Boy

SWIM's definitely noticed an increase in LSD use and demand. The instant mushrooms were taken off the shelves many people were scouring through their phones ringing all sorts of dealers looking for acid. The demand is still very high although the supply looks dry at the moment. It's only a matter of time before another batch comes along soon. The market is there. Had the mushrooms not been banned, SWIM has no doubt that this demand for LSD wouldn't be so high.

true amoung certain people the demand is high but most people here can get lsd rarely if at all,most people started taking mushrooms just because they were legal and for no other reason.perhaps a few people are more interested by tripping now that they have tried mushrooms but the majority still believe that if you take acid you will go crazy or some bullshit like that.swim could have gotten microdots for a short period of time so he called around to see if any of swims friends who are interested in tripping would want some...... NOBODY did.

[Alfa]

Any more opinions on this? I have just added a poll to this topic. Please vote.

[Abrad]

Originally Posted by podge

swim could have gotten microdots for a short period of time so he called around to see if any of swims friends who are interested in tripping would want some...... NOBODY did.

SWIM has encountered many drug users who would be no stranger to high doses of mushrooms (although the way they did this was basically abuse imho), who thinks SWIM is crazy to take acid. A lot of myths still circulate and are widely believed in this country about LSD.

[Nature Boy]

Originally Posted by podge

true amoung certain people the demand is high but most people here can get lsd rarely if at all,most people started taking mushrooms just because they were legal and for no other reason.perhaps a few people are more interested by tripping now that they have tried mushrooms but the majority still believe that if you take acid you will go crazy or some bullshit like that.swim could have gotten microdots for a short period of time so he called around to see if any of swims friends who are interested in tripping would want some...... NOBODY did.

Microdots are a different kettle of fish though. In this day and age, microdots could contain anything from a cocktail of RC's to a load of meth. No doubt that the mind-blowing microdots of 60's America are absolutely nothing like "microdots" they would sell in Ireland. Most people would sooner chance their arm with "XTC" pills than run the risk of trying an unknown psychedelic in pill form. SWIM wouldn't touch so-called microdots without testing them. At least with blotters (that could contain RC's as well by all means) the dose wouldn't be high enough to cause as many problems, one would imagine, because pills in general have a much larger capacity to contain shit that you don't wanna be taking.

True that many people still fear acid but with the introduction of mushrooms to the general population for that year or so, interest in psychedelics has risen, perhaps not on a large scale, but it's there all the same. I'm sure many people would delve into acid after having researched and used mushrooms, not the average idiot on the street who decided to gobble up shrooms "for the laugh" of course, but I'm sure knowledgable demand is out there. If anything the ban of mushrooms has increased the use of the X, Y and Z that the headshops sell. It's fair to say that practically no-one bought those ephedrine, piperazines, etc. bullshit pills while the mushies were around. Even salvia, Peruvian Torch etc. weren't being bought much. The ban probably adds to the demand for XTC as well because people are still looking for something more stimulating than just plain alcohol and pills are very easy to obtain. No doubt that when you take something as awe-inspiring as mushies away from people, the demand rises, and that demand can turn into a lot of people buying a lot of dodgy shit off dealers that can pass it off as anything.

[AceOvArts]

SWIM hasnt seen LSD for a couple of years now, however, maybe SWIM is out of touch

[Lunar Loops]

SWIS would say that there may have been an increase in larger towns or cities, but could not possibly comment on that. As far as rural Ireland goes (and SWIS is only talking about one little corner here), SWIS would say there has been little or no rise in the demand for LSD since the ban. However, it should be noted that there was little or no demand before the ban either and availability was next to nil. The nearest headshop to SWIS that would have been selling mushrooms is over fifty miles away.

[Alfa]

I have expanded the poll to see if there has been an increase in the use of illegal drugs, to see if mushroom users have turned to illegal drugs aside from magic mushrooms. So vote yes, if you have noticed an increase in LSD use or use of other illegal drugs after the magic mushroom ban.

[Fantasian]

SWIF had to resort to his own growing of mushrooms which meant at the time imbetween mushroom use he had to resort to other recreational substances which may have been part of the cause of his opiate addiction.

Luckily SWIF has managed to beat this addiction, at least for now.

[Alfa]

If this poll gets a substantial amount of votes, we will issue a press release. So please ask friends to vote.

[Insanoscopic]

I have noticed a bit of a decline in interest of illegal drugs recently among a few social groups. The advent of headshops selling mushrooms in Ireland wasn't taken full advantage of, in my opinion, to the fullest extent that these already psychedelically inclined groups could have.

i do, however, know of a few people who have progressed onto MDMA and other stimulants after having tried legal mushrooms as their first psychoactive experience. but these seem to be only a handful.

Interesting poll, looking forward to seeing more results.

[turkeyphant]

Originally Posted by D.U.M.B

Since the mushroom ban. SWIM has noticed that not only SWIM but SWIM's friends have been looking into getting other products. Salvia etc. SWIM has noticed that there's more weed going around in his area. People are defiantly trying to fill the void. At least until october

Salvia doesn't really count as an illegal drug but I'm certain illegal use has gone up. This is why:

1. "Seasoned" mushroom users who already took other illegal drugs replaced mushrooms with acid and illegally picked/grown mushrooms. SWIM has a friend who said "every time I think I'd like to munch some 'shrooms I just go and eat acid instead".

2. Kids who found that their local head shop now supplied magic mushrooms are either turned on to psychedelics and seek out illegal alternatives (acid, RCs, mushrooms) or realise that other stuff in headshops may be interesting. They take other legal drugs (khat, kratom, salvia, BZP, GBL). This leads to them having their interest piqued and realise there's much better shit out there before seeking out other (illegal) drugs.

[turkeyphant]

Originally Posted by podge

true amoung certain people the demand is high but most people here can get lsd rarely if at all,most people started taking mushrooms just because they were legal and for no other reason.perhaps a few people are more interested by tripping now that they have tried mushrooms but the majority still believe that if you take acid you will go crazy or some bullshit like that.swim could have gotten microdots for a short period of time so he called around to see if any of swims friends who are interested in tripping would want some...... NOBODY did.

SWIM finds "acid" as easy or easier to find than other illegal drugs in the UK. It's certainly in no short supply. As mentioned above, SWIM also finds that people who weren't interested in drugs before have tried mushrooms when they were legal and now replace them with LSD or other illegal alternatives.

[Down-the-k-hole]

SWIM has noticed that no-one seems to be able to get their hands on mushrooms anymore unless going out to pick ourselves - however SWIM can aquire from his local 'head shop' presuming the girl he knows is in!

SWIM has also observed a huge increase in friends taking LSD over mushrooms but not really anything else (SWIM couldn't name 1 person that has taken 'legal drugs'!).

As far as SWIM himself is concerned he only took mushrooms on a few choice occasions, the same goes for LSD, and personally he prefers Ketamine!

[podge]

Originally Posted by turkeyphant

SWIM finds "acid" as easy or easier to find than other illegal drugs in the UK. It's certainly in no short supply. As mentioned above, SWIM also finds that people who weren't interested in drugs before have tried mushrooms when they were legal and now replace them with LSD or other illegal alternatives.

swiy in the uk.....swim is in ireland....we have a much different market.swim can only speak for what he see's in his own area.swim has seen NO increase in the use of illegal drugs since mushrooms were banned,and the supply of lsd is as non existant as ever.and obviously the microdots swim may have been able to obtain were nowhere near what could have been purchased in the 60s.....welcome to the year 2006,who knows what may or may not have been in them because noone wanted them.the majority of people in ireland are as afraid of lsd as they always were.

[LXRY]

Interesting thread, I myself found an increace in the availability of blotters, microdots; before the ban on mushies. now i find it has increaced again. I found out about salvia, kratom, san pedro after the ban...

[kiemp4]

Very interesting indeed. SWIM told me that acid/trips/blotters etc. are none existent and havent been available in the nw. u.k. for some while now. What are available are rip off fakes soaked in what is apparently a ketamine derivative and not an experience long remembered- unlike a good sesh on mushies or genuine acid.
This person in desperation took to trying legal alternatives includingnatural products such as the following
PANTHERINA
FLY AGARIC
OURINHOS
CHACRUNA
SAN PEDRO
PEYOTE
AND SYNTHETIC PRODUCTS SUCH AS
HERBALIFE OHMS, FANTAZIA AND X-TRA
LONDON UNDERGROUNDS BLUE BOLTS,FLYING ANGELS
AND THE LIST GOES ON.......
It

[Alfa]

More votes please!!

[Bajeda]

Originally Posted by Alfa

More votes please!!

Would it help if I inquired in a drug thread on another forum (non-drug related) that has many people from the UK and sent you the number of Yes/No responses?


BajEdit: Ok nevermind then.

[Alfa]

Nope, they have to vote here.