Dutch put 200 mushrooms on black list

[Puffin13]

Dutch put 200 mushrooms on black list
25 November 2008
By Barbara Rijlaarsdam and Sander Zurhake

As from next week, almost 200 species of mushroom will be defined as hard drugs. Even those that grow in nature reserves.
But the owners of the so-called smart shops where hallucinogenic mushrooms are sold are not taking the measure lying down.


The quintessential red mushroom with white spots, the fly agaric, can be found all over the Dutch countryside. But as from December 1, this mushroom will have to go. Dutch health minister Ab Klink (Christian Democrat) has declared the fly agaric out of bounds, along with another 186 species which grow in the wild.

The reaction of forestry worker Henk Ruseler, who works in De Hoge Veluwe national park in the province of Gelderland, is one of surprise: “We are definitely not going to remove any mushrooms,” he says. “Some species are protected. Our task is to see that visitors to the park don’t damage or pick them, besides which it would be impossible to police an area of 5,500 hectares.”

Dried hallucinogenic or “magic” mushrooms have been on the list of illegal drugs in the Netherlands for years but at present fresh mushrooms can be bought at so-called smart shops. The active ingredients in mushrooms - psilocin and psilocybin - induce hallucinations. Magic mushrooms have become controversial since the death last year of a 17-year old French girl who jumped off an Amsterdam bridge, presumably after having taken the drug.

Prosecution risk

As from next month, even home-owners, those who own or rent allotments and nature organisations risk prosecution if any of the forbidden species are found on their land, according to lawyer Adèle van der Plas who has investigated the matter on behalf of smart shop owner Ananda Schouten. Schouten and her fellow smart shop owners were in court on Tuesday morning to fight the new regulations.

Hypothetically, even if the owner of a piece of land is not aware that a banned mushroom has sprung up on his land, he will be liable to a maximum prison sentence of one month. If he knows about its presence but takes no action to remove the offending mushroom, he could be jailed for up to two years. People who grow large quantities of mushrooms could face a prison sentence of six years and fines of up to 740,000 euros.

A spokesman for the Dutch forestry commission claims that wild mushrooms should not be included in the new drug legislation because they are not grown for to supply smart shops. A health ministry spokesman agrees. So what will happen if a nature reserve wants to grow forbidden mushrooms for the good of the landscape? “We will wait for the judge’s decision on Friday,” the spokesman says.

Damage not proved

According to Wouter Koelewijn, the lawyer representing the association of smart shop owners, the health minister has not shown conclusively that magic mushrooms are a threat to society and damage people’s health. To prohibit the mushrooms is “far too severe a measure,” he says.

Member of parliament Fred Teeven (right-wing liberal VVD), who supports the proposed ban wholeheartedly, is laconic about possible problems with the new legislation. “If there are mushrooms on the list that do not exist or do not have any hallucinatory effect they should be removed. Our concern is to put a stop to the sale of this stuff. Mushrooms are unpredictable. Tourists take them and think they can fly.”

Fellow parliamentarian Lea Bouwmeester (Labour), however, thinks the new law will only make matters worse. The problem lies mainly with the tourists that come to Amsterdam, she says. “And they don't only eat these mushrooms, but also smoke joints and drink beer.”

Krista van Velzen, a member of parliament for the Socialist Party, fears tourists might end up taking LSD or buying inferior quality mushrooms as a result of the ban.

Few incidents

Smart shop owner Ananda Schouten fears that the ban could even put lives at risk. “People may go off into the woods and pick poisonous mushrooms with all the consequences this could have,” she says.

Official government research into the use of magic mushrooms in the Netherlands shows that the health risks are minimal. Mushrooms are not addictive and do not lead to brain damage.

Because the consumption of magic mushrooms is not widespread and the number of incidents connected to them are few and far between, the inclusion of mushrooms on the illegal drugs list is a step too far, conclude the researchers.

Smart shop owner Schouten does not understand why the health minister has decided to ignore the conclusions of the researchers: “It seems that he believes his own opinion is more important than that of the specialists.”

Source

[courtjester]

You've got to be kidding.

You know, if there's a landowner out there you don't like very much, just plant a few mushrooms somewhere he can't find them, then call the authorities.

Absurd.

[sh@dy]

You've got to be kidding.

You know, if there's a landowner out there you don't like very much, just plant a few mushrooms somewhere he can't find them, then call the authorities.

Absurd.

The word you were searching for was not absurd, it is "politics"