Netherlands - Holland bans Magic Mushrooms

[Alfa]

The Dutch ministers of Health and Justice have confirmed that they will place psilocybe mushrooms under control of the opium law. Thus magic mushrooms will soon be illegal in the Netherlands.

[Lunar Loops]

Looks like the so called "drug tourists" have spoilt things for everyone and look who is top of the pile. SWIS thinks we all know the type of tourists that have brought us to this stage of proceedings.

This from The Times (UK):
Mushrooms lose their magic

The sale of hallucinogenic magic mushrooms is about to be banned by the Dutch Government in the latest sign of a conservative backlash against Amsterdam’s relaxed attitude towards sex and drugs.
A series of high-profile deaths and injuries linked to magic mushroom trips has proved too much for ministers, who are expected to discuss prohibition proposals from Ab Klink, the Health Secretary, at a Cabinet meeting today.
The move follows growing official impatience with the unforeseen consequences of traditional Dutch tolerance, which instead of normal-ising drug taking and prostitution has drawn in people-traffickers, dealers and organised crime gangs from across Europe.
Mr Klink’s push for a ban on the mushrooms follows plans by the Mayor of Amsterdam for an upgrade of the city’s infamous red-light district, including the closure of many of its prostitute windows and coffee shops where cannabis is openly sold.
Job Cohen, the mayor, has also proposed a three-day “cooling-off” period between ordering mushrooms and buying them, to put off Amsterdam’s many weekend tourists, but that did not go far enough for Mr Klink.
Fresh mushrooms — as opposed to dried fungi which are already banned — are legally on sale at so-called smart shops, about 40 of which have sprung up in the capital selling all manner of herbal and chemical compounds.
The sale of hallucinogenic mushrooms is illegal in most other countries and the dramatic rethink in the Netherlands has followed a rise in medical emergencies in Amsterdam linked to mushroom use.
Ambulance call-outs rose from 70 in 2005 to 128 last year, with nine out of ten cases involving tourists. Britons were the largest group among them.
In July an 18-year-old from Iceland threw himself out of a hotel window, breaking both his legs.
But what really caught the public imagination was the death of a 17-year-old French girl who jumped from a bridge over one of Amsterdam’s canals to her death in March, apparently under the influence of magic mushrooms.
In May, Mr Klink ordered the national health institute to carry out a fresh study on the risks of mushrooms, following an earlier report that played down the health dangers and led to a continuation of the tolerant approach.
Magic mushrooms are not addictive, but can have severe psychological consequences. Over the past six years mushrooms in dried and fresh form have been banned in Britain, Denmark and Ireland. In Britain, freshly picked magic mushrooms have been classified as Class A drugs for two years. The Drugs Act 2005 brought the law on fresh mushrooms into line with dried specimens. Britain acted after a significant rise in the amount of imported magic mushrooms.
Defenders of the tolerant Dutch approach gave warning yesterday that a ban would leave magic mushroom trading to street dealers. A spokesman for the Amsterdam Drugs Advisory Bureau said: “This is not a mushroom problem, it is a tourist problem. But the ban would hit Dutch users.”
Peter van Dijk, a researcher at the Utrecht-based Trimbos Institute, which studies drug addiction, said: “A mushroom is not very dangerous. It is not as toxic as, for example, heroin or cocaine.” The real danger came from a blend of alcohol, cannabis and mushrooms that led people “to do things they normally would not”, he added.
Joep Oomen, of the European Coalition for Just and Effective Drug Policies, a pressure group calling for the legalisation of drugs, said that a ban would drive the drug culture back underground.
“Prohibition will not stop the sale of hallucinogenics. It will move towards an illegal market and users will be forced to start using things they do not really want with no indication of the dosage and the risks,” he said.

Natural high
— The Liberty Cap and the Fly Agaric are the most common "magic mushrooms" in Britain
— Among the Koryak people of Siberia the ceremonial use of Fly Agaric involved the shaman ingesting the mushroom, after which others would drink his urine to partake of its effects
— Reindeer in northern Europe are also attracted to the Fly Agaric and Siberian people would slaughter them and get high by eating the meat
— Recently Sienna Miller, while publicising her film Factory Girl, in which she plays Andy Warhol's drug-addicted muse Edie Sedgwick, admitted being very fond of magic mushrooms - causing outcry among anti-drugs campaigners

Sources: lycaeum.org, Thames Valley Police, treesforlife.org.uk, tv.com

[Nature Boy]

Dealers won't be selling mushrooms on the streets of Amsterdam once this ban settles in. But what will happen is that many tourists will now be drawn to using illegally-acquired ecstasy and cocaine as a substitute, hardly making things safer for everyone. In Ireland, the ban was introduced because of idiots. In Holland, because of idiot tourists. That must be a pretty bitter pill for any Dutch citizen who enjoys their psychedelic pursuits to swallow.

[Nagognog2]

Time for some Yippie action! Organize a nude march on the ministry. Hands of Mother Nature - or no clothes. Forever. Start ringing doorbells with petitions.

[Alicia]

Originally Posted by Nagognog2

Time for some Yippie action! Organize a nude march on the ministry. Hands of Mother Nature - or no clothes. Forever. Start ringing doorbells with petitions.

swia dont miind taking part in that....lol its a shame does anyone know if this applies to spore prints or syringes etc as well. where its kinda legal to by them for study but turn u into a criminal the minute u inject jars??

[Pondlife]

Just seen this on the UK BBC website: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7041961.stm

Netherlands bans magic mushrooms

The Dutch government is banning the sale of all magic mushrooms after a series of high-profile incidents involving tourists who had taken them.

The decision will go into effect within several months, said a spokesman for the Dutch Justice Ministry.

A major Dutch producer of the psychedelic mushrooms said he stood to lose millions of euros as a result.

The Netherlands is famed for its liberal drugs policy, with marijuana openly sold in licensed cafes.

Magic mushrooms, more properly known as psilocybe, contain the psychedelic chemicals psilocybin and psilocin.

"We intend to forbid the sale of magic mushrooms," said Justice Ministry spokesman Wim van der Weegen.

"That means shops caught doing so will be closed," he said.

Currently in the Netherlands the sale of dried magic mushrooms - in which the psychoactive chemicals psilocybin and psilocin are stronger - is banned but fresh mushrooms are allowed.

This is because it is more difficult to ascertain how much of the chemicals fresh mushrooms contain. But Mr Van der Weegen said this was exactly the issue.

Full Moon store owner Chloe Collette poses with some of magic mushrooms she has for sale in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Thursday Aug. 2, 2007.

"The problem with mushrooms is that their effect is unpredictable. It's impossible to estimate what amount will have what effect."

Calls for a re-evaluation of the drug grew after a 17-year-old French girl jumped from a building after eating magic mushrooms during a school trip to Amsterdam in March.

Other incidents involving the drug have included an Icelandic tourist jumping from a balcony and breaking both legs and a Danish tourist driving his car wildly through a camping ground, narrowly missing sleeping campers.

"It's a shame, the media really blew this up into a big issue," said Chloe Collette, owner of the FullMoon shop, which sells magic mushrooms in Amsterdam.

She said all the incidents had involved magic mushrooms in conjunction with other drugs.

Murat Kucuksen, whose farm supplies about half the magic mushrooms on sale in the Netherlands, said he stood to lose several million euros as a result of the ban.

Users of fresh mushrooms experience effects ranging from giggling fits and intensification of colours, lights and sounds to, more rarely, hallucinations. Negative effects can include vomiting, and anxiety.

[Barney]

Originally Posted by Alicia

swia dont miind taking part in that....lol its a shame does anyone know if this applies to spore prints or syringes etc as well. where its kinda legal to by them for study but turn u into a criminal the minute u inject jars??

I'm wondering this too - even if spores aren't covered by the new Dutch law, you can't keep producing them without producing fresh shrooms. Presumably the companies selling spores legally in the UK get them from Dutch shroom growers?

Having said that, cannabis seed companies never seem to have had any trouble...

[MatthijsV]

If you disagree with the amazingly stupid ban on mushrooms, sign the petition on this site.
http://www.petitiononline.com/paddovb/petition.html

For the English speaking people; Its a petition that is going to be send to the ministers responsible for the decision. There are also addresses and such for personal letters and reactions to the government.

[English_T]

Originally Posted by Alfa

Last week a 17 year old girl jumped from a viaduct/bridge while under the influence of magic mushrooms. Her parents want to sue the Dutch state because magic mushrooms are legal in Holland. Now a majority of the Dutch government wants to ban magic mushrooms.

Magic mushrooms have been legally for sale in the Netherlands since 1994. During this time millions of doses have been consumed. This is the second person dying in the Netherlands during those 13 years. The other person was a tourist which fell out of a window.

Maybe I should sue the Dutch government for selling me cigarettes....how many persons are maimed and die each year as a direct result of cigarettes??? 1 person kills herself on shrooms (who was probably suicidal anyway) and that is suitable grounds to make a substance illegal....if I drink a brewski before jumping off a bridge will the alcohol industry grind to a halt????

This seems to be the 'politically correct' kneejerk nonsense that has existed for the past 20 years and gets stronger year in year out - a small minority do something wrong and then its banned for everyone else. Its all about politicians and getting their little soundbites in to get a few votes so they can feel satisfied with themselves for being such stand-up righteous fellows! wankers the fucking lot of them - I mean, shit, take a look at the people who represent you - not a cool righteous person amongst them, let alone someone who actually truly believes in what they are doing with heart and soul - just a stepping stone to their own personal masturbation.

[Pondlife]

Originally Posted by English_T

1 person kills herself on shrooms ... and that is suitable grounds to make a substance illegal?

No, it's an excuse.

It's easy to find evidence to support something you want, and easy to discount any amount of evidence that shows the opposite.

[moshah]

Now that those liberal types have banned MM, what does the future hold for the home grower? Will spores be next?

[Alfa]

The Dutch minister of health has announced that even spores will be banned.

[crushingstep7]

Is there any chance that this could change?
There has to be a considerable amount of Dutch Citizens that are upset with this... right??

[radiometer]

Another story:

Dutch ban hallucinogenic mushrooms

By TOBY STERLING
Associated Press Writer

Latest News
Dutch ban hallucinogenic mushrooms
Threatened author back in Netherlands

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) -- The Netherlands will ban the sale of hallucinogenic mushrooms, the government announced Friday, tightening the country's famed liberal drug policies after the suicide of an intoxicated teenage girl.

The ban - in response to the death and other highly publicized adverse reactions involving the fungus - is the latest backlash against the freewheeling policies of the past.

Mushrooms "will be outlawed the same way as other drugs," Justice Minister Ernst Hirsch Ballin told reporters in The Hague. "The way we will enforce the ban is through targeting sellers."

Psilocybin, the main active chemical in the mushrooms, has been illegal under international law since 1971. However, fresh 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 psilocybin any given mushroom contains.

That meant mushrooms were less regulated than marijuana, which is technically illegal but sold openly in small amounts in "coffee shops." Possession of "hard" drugs like cocaine, LSD and Ecstasy is illegal.

The government has cracked down on hard drugs and tightened controls on marijuana. It was expected to do the same with mushrooms after the death of 17-year-old Gaelle Caroff, who had suffered from psychological problems before her death in March. She jumped from a building after eating psychedelic mushrooms while on a school visit.

But the outright ban came as a surprise: The government had solicited advice from vendors, advocacy groups and the city of Amsterdam, which benefits greatly from drug-related tourism, on how to improve the situation.

Mushroom vendors suggested stricter ID controls to prevent underage buyers, and strong warnings against mixing mushrooms with other drugs.

Amsterdam Mayor Job Cohen had suggested a three-day "cooling off" period between ordering them and using them.

The Justice Ministry decided those measures did not go far enough.

The problem with mushrooms is that "it's impossible to estimate what amount will have what effect," spokesman Wim Van der Weegen said.

Around 500,000 "doses" of packaged mushrooms are sold here annually. According to a study published in January by Amsterdam's health services said the city's emergency services were summoned 148 times to deal with a bad reaction to mushrooms in 2004-2006. Of those 134 were foreigners, with Britons forming the largest group.

Denmark outlawed mushrooms in 2001, Japan in 2002, Britain in 2005 and Ireland in 2006. Selling psilocybin-containing mushrooms is illegal in the U.S., but the status varies from state to state for spores, homegrown and wild species.

Marjan Heuving, a spokeswoman for the country's Trimbos Institute, a drug policy think-tank, said mushrooms are not toxic and themselves pose no physical risk to users.

But she agreed that people's reaction to them is unpredictable, depending on factors such as weight; how much food they have eaten recently; their past drug experience; psychological health; and the setting in which they are taken.

"The main danger to the user is that he will somehow hurt himself," she said. "I should add that that's extremely rare."

Since Caroff's death, a number of other dramatic stories involving mushrooms have been reported in the Dutch press, including a 22-year-old British tourist who ran amok in a hotel, breaking his window and slicing his hand badly.

"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 each case also involved the use of alcohol - against the advice of sellers - but it was the mushrooms that were blamed.

She said that many herbal medicines have quietly been outlawed as well.

"Every two months they're banning something. Ephedra, yohimbe, herbal 'Ecstasy,' and now this," she said. "I don't know if we can survive in the future."

Since 2001, the government has gradually pared back the number of marijuana-selling coffee shops by refusing to renew licenses to stores in undesirable locations, such as near schools.

Coffee shops in the southern city of Maastricht have begun demanding fingerprints from customers to ensure they aren't buying too much in one day.

Growers, including household growers, have been more aggressively targeted for prosecution.

The Netherlands remains a major Ecstasy producer, but has won praise from Washington for the crackdown. Seizures of a ton or more of cocaine from ships docking in the Port of Rotterdam - Europe's largest - have become routine.

Murat Kucuksen, whose farm Procare supplies about half the psychedelic mushrooms on the Dutch market, predicted the trade will move underground as a result of the ban. Prices will rise, and dealers will sell dried mushrooms, or LSD as a substitute, to tourists with no guidance.

"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.

LINK

[Nacumen]

Originally Posted by article

Since Caroff's death, a number of other dramatic stories involving mushrooms have been reported in the Dutch press, including a 22-year-old British tourist who ran amok in a hotel, breaking his window and slicing his hand badly.

O RLY?

Doesn't sound too dramatic to me, then again, I don't normally keep my head stuck up my ass, so I tend to see the real world. The real world, incidentally, has drunk people, and such behavior is far from foreign when one is plastered.

[radiometer]

Originally Posted by Nacumen

O RLY?

Doesn't sound too dramatic to me...

I would dig it if you would edit your post so that it doesn't appear that I was the author of that quote.

[Lunar Loops]

This from The Guardian(UK):
Ban on magic mushroom sales curbs Dutch drug policy

Toby Sterling in Amsterdam
Saturday October 13, 2007

The Dutch government will ban the sale of hallucinogenic mushrooms, the justice ministry said yesterday, rolling back part of the country's permissive drug policy after a number of incidents, including the death of a teenager who had eaten them.
The ban will go into effect within months and does not need parliamentary approval, Wim van der Weegen, a ministry spokesman, said. Shops that continued to sell magic mushrooms would be closed.
Under the country's tolerance policy cannabis is technically illegal but police do not prosecute people for possession of small amounts, and it is sold openly in designated cafes. Possession of hard drugs such as 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," Mr 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 on the basis that it was impossible to determine how much of the naturally occurring substance any mushroom contained.
Mr Van der Weegen said that was also why the system proved unworkable. "The problem with mushrooms is that their effect is unpredictable. It's impossible to estimate what amount will have what effect."
Calls for a re-evaluation arose after Gaelle Caroff, 17, from France, was killed by jumping from a building after eating psychedelic mushrooms while on a school visit to Amsterdam in March. Her parents blamed her death on hallucinations brought on by the mushrooms, though she had had psychiatric problems.
Since Ms Caroff's death other cases have been reported in the Dutch press. A British tourist, 22, ran amok in a hotel, breaking a window and slicing his hand badly; an Icelandic tourist, 19, thought he was being chased and jumped from a balcony, breaking both legs; and a Danish tourist, 29, drove his car wildly through a campsite, narrowly missing people sleeping in tents. Most mushrooms sold in Amsterdam are sold to tourists.
After the health ministry launched a study, mushroom vendors suggested stricter ID controls for buyers, and strong warnings against mixing mushrooms with other drugs. But this week the health minister, Ab Klink, said that merely tightening controls did not go far enough. Murat Kucuksen, whose farm Procare supplies about half the 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 would move underground, prices would rise, and dealers would 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.

[Nature Boy]

Cannabis will be next. Mark my words.

[rocksmokinmachine]

I totally agree, that would be a step in the wrong direction.

But the industry will still be there, and many many more underground coffeeshops will open without the strict government control.

[doonie]

Originally Posted by Nature Boy

Cannabis will be next. Mark my words.

apologies for the double post, i forgot to mention this...
from reading an article in the summer whilst i was in amsterdam i recall a Christian movement were putting plans into action to try and get marijuana banned from the centre of amsterdam (something to do with a certain mile radius from the schools).

if this ever happens (and i hope to God it doesn't), we will see that rather than marijuana being sold from licenced coffee shops it will be sold by some shady person on a scooter outside the school gates. i can pretty much say that as a fact.

[wann]

Originally Posted by doonie

from reading an article in the summer whilst i was in amsterdam i recall a Christian movement were putting plans into action to try and get marijuana banned from the centre of amsterdam (something to do with a certain mile radius from the schools).

I don't know anything about this, but I do know that recently something related was done in Rotterdam. I don't know if the law has been put in effect yet (I think there may be a lawsuit by the coffeeshop owners, I'm not sure though) but it would mean closure for quite a number of coffeeshops there.

[Alicia]

Then they will find that will not fix anything, and it will just make people move on to other things or continue to brake the law.

[English_T]

There's normally a lot more to a story than is shown in the press - it all depends what angle the press wants to take - if its an anti-shroom angle they will make it sound as bad as they can and miss out any facts that would make a reader think otherwise. I think I heard of one story of a guy escaping through a window etc which later turned out that he had had a big bust up with his father or something and his dad wouldn't let him out of the room...something like that - I'll try and find the write-up about it as it would be nice to have all the details.

Imagine if the papers reported all of the alcohol related incidents after a Saturday night, shit, just the reports from a small town would be a page full!

There will always be a minority that will fuck things up, that's the way of things...

[capo420]

I've just signed the petition, and I encourage you to send all your contacts an e-mail regarding this with a link to the petition. The power of the Internet is ours to use, and who knows - some of your contacts may be more liberal than you thought. Encourage them to forward your message to their own friends and contacts. 4200 signatures so far

[Alfa]

The Dutch government has made a new risk assessment on the risks of magic mushrooms. This was done on request of the minister of health, as he needed a reason to ban magic mushrooms. The expert committee concluded that magic mushrooms carry low to no risk and they should not be banned.

None the less, the minister is going to ban magic mushrooms. Unless parliament votes against it, magic mushrooms will be illegal within 2 months. A slight majority of Parliament previously was in favour of a ban.