Amsterdam store owners fear ban on "magic" psychedelic mushrooms

[Flabbergasted]

Amsterdam store owners fear ban on "magic" psychedelic mushrooms
The Associated PressPublished: August 7, 2007


AMSTERDAM, Netherlands: In recent years, the famously liberal Netherlands has been swinging toward the right, cracking down on immigration, religious freedoms and the freewheeling red light district. The next possible target? Magic mushrooms.

The death in March of 17-year-old French girl Gaelle Caroff, who jumped from a building after eating psychedelic mushrooms while on a school visit, has ignited a campaign to ban the fungi — sold legally at so-called "smartshops" as long as they're fresh.

Regulation of mushrooms is even less stringent than Holland's famously loose laws on marijuana, which is illegal but tolerated in "coffee shops" that are a major tourist attraction.

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 beautiful, youthful face were splashed across newspapers around the country.

In May, Health Minister Ab Klink ordered the national health institute to perform a new study on the risks of mushrooms. A few weeks later he said he would either recommend an 18-year-old age limit or a total ban, depending on the study's conclusions, due next month.


http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/08/07/europe/EU-GEN-Netherlands-Magic-Mushrooms.php

[Mojorabbit]

1. I once saw in detail

how the universe was put together. Unfortunately I forgot soon after. Sigh.

[DS1]

11. Neat, isn't it?

:thumbsup:

[MonkeyFunk]

2. oh, I hope they don't ban 'em

It's really the only way to see the Van Gogh museum.

[verse18]

3. Apparently, this young woman had psychiatric problems before.

People usually experience their first psychotic break around this age anyway. To blame the magic shrooms is disingenuous.

[dipsydoodle]

5. disingenuous

I had one of those but wheels fell off.

I'd wondered if she might have had a previous problem.

[verse18]

10. According to the article, she did.

"...though the teenager had suffered from psychiatric problems in the past."

I work in adult mental health and I'm a recreational drug user as well. I see a lot of patient's who try to attribute their psychosis to supposedly smoking something or being slipped a Mickey. If this girl was already predisposed to having psychiatric problems, the drug use probably made it worse, but it's not the cause.

[dipsydoodle]

4. Sometimes you just gotta laugh

:rofl:

That however should not detract from the tragic loss of that girl's life.

[Webster Green]

6. What about all the folks who eat 'shrooms and don't jump off bldgs?

There was similar hysteria about LSD in the '60s, but the benefits of psychedelics far outweigh the risks. The world would no doubt be a better place today if wussies like the chimp weren't too scared to eat some acid. He may have turned out to be a real human being had he managed to get laid during the "Summer of Love".

Everyone should try magic mushrooms! They're great!

[Flabbergasted]

9. My personal opinion...

People should stay away from acid....and all natural growing drugs should be anyone choice to do in the comfort of their own home far away from bridges and cars.

[MidwestTransplant]

12. Hystria you say? Humph, I guess you never saw Reefer Madness.

Just imagine what LSD can do to you if pot can do what Reefer Madness says!

[Laughing Mirror]

13. Yes, the Diane Linkletter story in 1969

She jumped off her apartment building supposedly tripping on acid, when it was more than likely just a simple suicide.

And then the big panic drug in the 1970s was angel dust, PCP, that was turning all the kids into space cadets jumping off train trestles thinking they were flying.

You don't have to go far in recent memory for examples. One scare after another creating fear so that more and more hard-won rights can be taken away, more of nature's plants and life demonized.

[SteppingRazor]

7. I somewhat agree with the previous posters, but at the same time, I think you have to admit...

hallucinogens aren't for everybody. Holland's been really freewheeling with dolling out the boomers, and if you have previous psychiatric issues -- or even if your grip on reality is too light or too tight -- you have no business popping them, not only for your own safety, but for the safety of people around you. I realize there's probably no way to make sure you're not selling these things to people who are too tightly wound or, conversely, too spacey, to properly handle them. But an 18-and-over law might not be a bad place to start.

[unpossibles]

8. I wonder if they'll ban alcohol because of the people who fall off roofs drunk

oh wait, my bad. Of course they won't.