Pubdate: Sat, 13 Oct 2007
Source: Winnipeg Free Press (CN MB)
Copyright: 2007 Winnipeg Free Press
Contact: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/info/letters/index.html
Website: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/502
Author: Toby Sterling, Associated Press
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Marijuana)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mdma.htm (Ecstasy)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/hallucinogens.htm (Hallucinogens)

DUTCH BAN MAGIC MUSHROOMS

Decision Follows Teen's Fatal Leap

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands -- The Netherlands will ban the sale of
hallucinogenic mushrooms, the government announced Friday, rolling
back an element of the country's permissive drug policy after a
teenager on a school visit jumped to her death in an incident blamed
on the fungus.

The decision will take effect within several months, said Wim van der
Weegen, a Justice Ministry spokesman.

"The problem with mushrooms is that their effect is unpredictable," he
said, and shops caught selling them will be closed.

Marijuana and hashish are technically illegal in the Netherlands, but
police do not bother to prosecute people for possession of small
amounts, and it is sold openly in designated cafes.

Possession of "hard" drugs like cocaine, LSD and ecstasy is illegal.
So-called "magic" mushrooms" will fall somewhere in the middle.

"We're not talking about a non-prosecution policy, but we'll be
targeting sellers" Van der Weegen said.

Psilocybin, the main active chemical in the mushrooms, has been
illegal under international law since 1971. However, fresh,
unprocessed mushrooms continued to be sold legally in the Netherlands
along with herbal medicines in so-called "smart-shops," on the theory
that it was impossible to determine how much of the naturally
occurring substance any given mushroom contains.

Van der Weegen said that was also the reason the system proved
unworkable: "It's impossible to estimate what amount will have what
effect."

Calls for a re-evaluation arose after Gaelle Caroff, a 17-year-old
visiting from France, leaped from a building in Amsterdam in March
after eating psychedelic mushrooms.

Caroff's parents blamed their daughter's death on hallucinations
brought on by the mushrooms, though the teenager had psychiatric
problems in the past. Photographs of her youthful face were splashed
across newspapers around the country.

Most mushrooms sold in Amsterdam are sold to tourists, and the city's
liberal drug policies and legalized prostitution are major tourist
attractions. 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake