Change of mind on magic mushrooms

Change of mind on magic mushrooms


David Charter, London | October 13, 2007
THE sale of hallucinogenic magic mushrooms is set to be banned by the Dutch Government in the latest sign of a conservative backlash against Amsterdam's relaxed attitude to sex and drugs.
A series of high-profile deaths and injuries linked to magic mushroom "trips" proved too much for ministers, who were expected to discuss prohibition proposals from Health Secretary Ab Klink at a cabinet meeting last night.
The move follows growing official impatience with the unforeseen consequences of traditional Dutch tolerance, which instead of normalising drug-taking and prostitution has drawn in people-traffickers, dealers and organised crime gangs from across Europe.
Mr Klink's push for a mushroom ban follows plans by the Mayor of Amsterdam for an "upgrade" of the city's infamous red light district, including closing many of its prostitute windows and coffee shops where cannabis is openly sold.
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 herbal and chemical compounds.
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 10 cases involving tourists.
In July, an 18-year-old from Iceland threw himself out of a hotel window, breaking both hislegs.
But what really caught the public imagination was the 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.
Magic mushrooms are not addictive but can have severe psychological consequences.
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, which led people "to do things they normally would not, like jumping out of windows".