No more hallucinogenic mushrooms in the Netherlands
The Netherlands has banned the cultivation and sale of fresh hallucinogenic mushrooms from December – the Dutch Ministry of Health said. Minister of Health Ab Klink “prohibits the cultivation and sale of fresh hallucinogenic mushrooms. The ban takes effect 1 of December 2008 year” – stated in the message. It was recalled in it, that the sale of such dried mushrooms has long been prohibited. Suicide death in March 2007 year of a 17-year-old French woman, amateurs of hallucinogenic mushrooms, who threw herself off the bridge in Amsterdam, sparked a debate in the Netherlands about the risks associated with these mushrooms. Although no formal link has been established between eating the mushrooms and her death, most Dutch MPs demanded a ban on such mushrooms in all forms. According to a report by the Dutch sanitary services (GGD) from Amsterdam, published in May, 92 percentage of accidents in the capital of the Netherlands, associated with hallucinogenic mushrooms, is the share of foreign tourists. W 2005 Mushrooms were the cause of the year 70 accidents – according to the January report of the sanitary services 2007 year.
The ban on breeding and selling entails closure “smartshops”, in which the mushrooms were sold. Their owners have already announced, that they will protest.
