SAVE OUR SHROOMS campaign + news : launched !

[saveourshrooms]

This week we have launched an international non-profit organization called "Save Our Shrooms" ( www.SaveOurShrooms.org ). It broadcasts the latest news on the Dutch shroom courtcases, and backgrounds. We hope for a worldwide army of mini-donators which can keep us active in the courts. We will then soon have MAGIC MUSHROOMS RELEGALIZED in the Netherlands, which were banned last december. Check the website to find out that many scientists support us in court and the government is in heavy defense, holding their last straws.

The organization is like a Santa's Little Helper of the Dutch Smartshop Organization ( www.VLOS.nl ), from whom we are members. The VLOS has over a decade of experience with government negotiations, and a strong legal network of lawyers. One of them personally defended the Ayahuasca Church in Holland, when they were busted for 'drug-use', some years ago. We will not rest until the VLOS wins the courtcase against the state, through higher appeals. That will happen sooner or later, as long as we can fund the costs. It started in the Dutch court and will not stop untill it reaches the European Court. We would highly respect your support, whether its financially, mentally or by volunteering with your specialism.

How do we reach our goal?
1) Broadcasting the latest news and backgrounds on Magic Mushrooms and the legal battle, fresh from the courts and the lawyers. Important documents (such as courtcases and news articles) have been translated from Dutch to English by professional agencies, and research that can be used as proof will be funded. This way we can present you with a deep insight of the battle, and we welcome your responses/tips via comments and forum posts. PS: find our miniblog onwww.TWITTER.com/saveourshrooms
2) Raising money to help the VLOS in their legal battle to fight the recent ban on shrooms. In fact, all donations will be send to the VLOS directly (no matter if you pay via Paypal, Bank and/or Cheque). It will not be stored on our own bankaccount, since we dont even have one. Also, there are no links to specific smartshops; only to the smartshop association VLOS in general. In contradiction to the VLOS, the government has unlimited funds. A lawyer is very expensive, but with the help of 'the rest of the world' we can keep hiring them!
3) Getting people involved through social networking and remixing ideas on the website, to broaden horizons and strengthening our power.

How can you help?
1) Make the network grow by forwarding the mission via email and social networks like Facebook. A wiget has already been programmed.
2) Volunteer; though brain- and/or muscle power. Discuss with eachother and us via the social networking groups on the site, and the comments below the articles.

We visited the Magic Mushroom appeal courtcase in Den Haag, yesterday morning! The state's atturney really had a hard time; even his body language spoke for itself. Most of his arguments were wiped away! He kept using examples of 'shroom incidents' that had been already countered by our scientific data; and the the judge knows so. We hope the judge will have the courage to block the ministery's illegal ban on shooms!
A detailed report will follow this week! It will be written have more details than the newspaper articles, and will be proofread by our lawyer. Newspaper journalists always know a bit too less of this case, so that it makes their articles a but too general, vague or even wrong. We cant blame them because you cant be a specialist in everything; but saveourshrooms will do its best to serve you (worldwide reader) better.

 

[GOD]

Well done . Finaly someone wakes up and starts doing something realistic instead of just wasteing time and money on stupid hippy ego shit fantasy solutions .

Have you looked here :-

http://www.psychonaut.com/index.php?opt ... 51&lang=en

And especialy here :-

http://www.psychonaut.com/index.php?opt ... 82&lang=en

 

[endlessness]

beautiful iniciative

its great to have down to earth people doing the 'real world' work at the forefront of the psychedelic community!

thank you

 

[Caduceus Mercurius]

Yes, done very well. The website already has six pages of translated news items. A great initiative!

LOL, that Through The Looking Glass comic is really good!!!

 

[mysticwarrior]

Great website!!! And indeed it's a realistic goal

I also like the design and especially the banner

 

[saveourshrooms]

thanx everyone for your support :wink:

@GOD: stichtingOPEN is probably the only existing 'serious & realistic' organization in NL at the moment which has the same goals as what i concluded you ment with those 2 links.
Their website is being redone at the moment and a well overthought technical infrastructure should make these wishes possible

 

[GOD]

I agree about stichtingOPEN , i`m a big fan of them . I ment more about the strategy . About getting the message to the broad public = getting round the government and makeing their control attempts bankrupt and impotent , and also about raising money . The informing the public bit and the raising money bit are both part of the same thing .

What about , eventualy , expanding your effeorts to include all "illegal" "drugs" ?

 

[saveourshrooms]

in the official goals of stichting OPEN it is written something like "to take away the stigma society has about psychedelics".
They want to fund psychedelic research and want to make a database of all research existing.
They have a fundraising commission.

Saveourshrooms will not expand efforts to other types of psychedelics. It will only mention them once in a while, on the side.

There is room for another psychedelic stichting with another sound than stichting OPEN, though. Stichting OPEN is ran by mostly philosophers and anthropologists. There are other angles to interpret psychedelics, but this is not the right thread to discuss them; especially not while speaking officially from Saveourshrooms.org

 

[GOD]

I was talking about your organisation raising public awareness and money for your cause . I was also thinking that if the www.VLOS.nl helps people like the ayahuasca churches they might also be interested in the ideas as well .

Not wanting to be rude but is your organisation only interested in providing ways for smart shops to make money or is it interested in changeing the law for the people who have no financial interest ?

 

[saveourshrooms]

VLOS means: Vereniging Landelijk Overleg Smartshops.
Some smartshop owners are purely there for business, some smartshop owners are there for principle issues.
We are there for everyone.

 

[GOD]

Well i`m glad to hear that . You have my suport .

Have you thought about the reasons why mushrooms were made illegal = some greedy people selling mushrooms to people that they shouldnt have sold them to ? I think that in the courts you have a very good chance of winning but to keep mushrooms legal after that there will have to be some sort of controls , responsible rules and qualifications . Do you have any plans for that ?

 

[saveourshrooms]

(I believe the VLOS never helped the Ayahuasca Church. It was lawyer Ms van der Plas who was probably contacted by the Saite Daime Church since she was the only (or at least one of the only) lawyer in NL specialized in psychedelics + criminal law)

Yes we and the VLOS have. The problem is that the VLOS has no control over the smartshops. Only 50 are in the alliance, while another +/- 200 are not. If a shop doesnt like something the VLOS demands, they can simply ignore it. This makes VLOS (so all smartshops) weaker in the policital debates it had over the years with the Ministry of Health. But as long as it is voluntarily the VLOS has no power. For instance the Chambre of Commerce has more power over its clients, since 'everyone' is obliged to be its member by law.

Saveourshrooms pleaded for smaller portions per bag. For instance 30 grams of Mexicans is too strong for people who just wanna have a good time. It often takes people to hights they dont want to go, and therefor +/- 150 people a year call an ambulance in the whole country (panic attacks). [still , more than 2000 people, only in Amsterdam, need an ambulance for alcohol]
Most shops turned our proposal down with the argument: "it will lower the threshhold for people to buy shrooms, because now [back then] the price is 15 euro, and then the price will be 7.50".
The problem lies in that 30 gram is called "one portion". That is fundamentally wrong, we think. 15 gram is one portion. Even 7.5 grams can make someone laugh. 30 grams is only good for purely spiritual/psychological trips. I would say 80% of the population does not want that and freaks out. Thats what the newspapers are looking for

 

[GOD]

I agree , well said . There will have to be an agreement with the government when you win in court . or they will just find a way to ban mushrooms again . So any legal wins will have to be acompanyed with agreements on controls . It would be good if a paper was made with sugestions for self control before a win in court to prepare the ground in advance as its no good winning a battle and then loosing the war because no one thought in advance about how the government would react .

 

[McAllister]

Ahead of my annual Spring pilgrimmage to Amsterdam I'm glad to see the truffles are still legal and Klink has no reason to change this.

Fingers crossed the Hawaiians and the Columbians will be back by next Spring. Keep up the good work!

 

[saveourshrooms]

@god:
if we win the courtcase we will do our best to make sure the shops wont cause any more incidents, and we will advise the VLOS about what they could do/organize. In the meantime we will not get ahead of things, though

@McAllister:
In Hawaii and Columbia there will be fireworx soon!

 

[zezt]

I am SO happy to hear about this. I was GREATLy shocked by the prohibition of sacred mushrooms, and am delighted that more and more people will fight this irrational war on sacred plants!!!

RIGHT ON