ICMag with help from Landrace Warden and The Vault is running a NEW contest in November! You can check it here.
Prizes are seeds & forum premium access. Come join in!
Dutch Ban Famed Hallucinatory Mushrooms
By TOBY STERLING, Associated Press Writer
Friday, October 12, 2007
(10-12) 03:21 PDT AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) --
The Dutch government said Friday that it will ban the sale of hallucinatory mushrooms, rolling back one element of the country's permissive drug policy after a series of high-profile negative incidents.
The decision will go into effect within several months and doesn't need parliamentary approval, Justice Ministry spokesman Wim van der Weegen said.
"We intend to forbid the sale of 'magic' mushrooms," he said. "That means shops caught doing so will be closed."
Under the country's famed tolerance policy, marijuana and hashish are technically illegal but police don't bother to prosecute people for possession of small amounts, and they are sold openly in designated cafes.
Possession of "hard" drugs like cocaine and Ecstasy is illegal.
Psilocybin, the main active chemical in the mushrooms, has been illegal under international law since 1971. However, mushrooms that are fresh and unprocessed in any way have continued to be sold legally in the Netherlands, on the theory that it was impossible to determine how much of the naturally occurring substance any given mushroom contains.
Mushrooms will fall somewhere in the middle of the Dutch legality scale.
"We're not talking about a non-prosecution policy, but we'll be targeting sellers," Van der Weegen said.
Van der Weegen said that, in the end, that was also the reason the policy 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 a French 17-year-old, Gaelle Caroff, jumped from a building after eating psychedelic mushrooms while on a school visit to Amsterdam.
Caroff's parents blamed her death on hallucinations brought on by the mushrooms, though the teenager had suffered from psychiatric problems in the past. Her photographs was splashed across newspapers around the country.
Since Caroff's death, other dramatic stories involving mushrooms have been reported in the Dutch press, though mushroom vendors complained that each of the cases involved tourists who were using other drugs and alcohol at the same time — against their usage instructions for mushrooms.
The users include:
_ A British tourist, 22, who ran amok in a hotel, breaking his window and slicing his hand badly.
_ An Icelandic tourist, 19, who thought he was being chased and jumped from a balcony, breaking both his legs.
_ A Danish tourist, 29, who drove his car wildly through a campground, narrowly missing people sleeping in their tents.
Amsterdam mayor Job Cohen had suggested a 3-day "cooling off" period between ordering them and using them. Most mushrooms sold in Amsterdam are sold to tourists, and the city's reputation for liberal drug policies and legalized prostitution are major tourist attractions.
wow... whatta concept, a smokeless cannabis cup. My addled brain dreams up a scenario where we meet in more reasonable weather, and hold the festivities outdoors...
We had better live it up for this 20th celebration...!
Oh well, he coulda been a contendah. Too bad, he is the funnier one.... Those guys together - recreating the Donkeysmell era, would be beyond classic. They could have recreated the Q and A session in AMS from one of their movies...
I guess CHEECH identifies with Hollyweird more than Amsterdam. It's all good, CHEECH certainly did his part in our "Canna-Culture." He will always be one of the classic figures..
How classic was the Big Bambu Album with the giant size rolling paper in the sleeve....?
One month away.... Give or take a few cycles of da Sun.
when i was there in 2005 the shops gave us mad gift bags all kinds of stuff in there and ALOT of the shops gave out thier weed and hash entries everyday i went to greenhouse and barneys they looked out big time go to all the night parties at the clubs you get some free drinks and no cover plus you gotta love the dutch girls very friendly
A whole OZ, that is as Classic as anything, I am sure Tommy did it too....!
Yup, Spaced C, a regular Ring O' Fire....... Let it burn.....or not. Would the Volcano have a stop on the dial to keep it from being set any higher than 6....? lol
Hate to be a bummer, cause I lurve you folks, but keep this in mind...
LAST YEAR SEVERAL PEOPLE SPENT A FEW INCONVENIENT HOURS IN one POLICE STATION or another FOR SMOKING pot ON THE STREETS. Several people, in different situations. No arrests and fines, as I heard it. One was pulled out of line at the Expo across from the Melkweg, two Cups ago. (There is a Copshop there, on the corner)...
Back to funstuff.... Bugger 'em. It's almost Convention time.........!
There might be a few more people there if the 3 tour companies would answer their phones....I know myself I have been trying to contact them and they are not returning calls!!!!
Yup, fer' sure, this looks to be a lot better than last year....! And last year was great.---=>!
You don't need the tour co.s, Mav....! They get busy, and are not even courteous enuf to return calls.... I worked in travel, this indicates non-accountability.
They could take your info, look it up, calling you back with prices, options, etc.. Payment info, etc. That is what a Travel Professional is supposed to do.
However, although there are several options, basically all one needs is an air ticket (orbitz.com), accommodations(bookings.nl), and of course the judges' pass. All easily done.
Don;t wait for a callback from these companies, The Cup is sorta popular, and you may lose a seat, or a better fare.