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Court says magic mushrooms must be fresh
By Stephanie van den Berg
THE HAGUE - When it comes to hallucinogenic mushrooms, a Dutch high court has ruled that fresh is fine but dried is not in a decision that again upholds the country's reputation for tolerance towards drug use.
The ruling affects produce on sale in the Netherland's notorious but commonplace "smart shops" -- dozens of boutiques around the country that sell so-called magic mushrooms for customers looking for a legal high.
The decision upheld an earlier court decision that ruled fresh hallucinogenic mushrooms -- paddos as they are known locally -- are acceptable but once dried and processed become illegal drugs and thus banned for sale.
The decision surprised many drug experts who contend that the dried mushrooms are no more potent than the fresh variety.
"The fresh mushrooms are 90 percent water so you need to eat more in grams but the price and effect of an average dose are the same," Hans van der Hurk, a smart shop owner named in the court case, told the French news agency AFP.
He opposed the verdict but forecast it will do little to change the day-to-day business in his Amsterdam store, Conscious Dreams.
"We might expand our cooling system and drop some varieties of mushrooms because not all last properly in cold storage," he said, joking that the adjustments will make him an "upmarket greengrocer".
Van der Hurk started his store in the capital nine years ago, the first shop of its kind in the Netherlands. He calls it a "psychodelicatessen", selling hallucinogenic mushrooms, herbal mixtures made to resemble the effects of synthetic drugs like "ecstasy", and aphrodisiacs.
The smart shops started up in the Netherlands in the 1990s, alongside the rise in rave parties, offering an upfront, legal range of so-called recreational drugs, herbs and vitamins.
The smart shops are not to be confused with the country's euphemistically named coffee shops that sell cannabis.
Though the sale of cannabis is technically still illegal, it has been decriminalised under Dutch law as long as it is sold in small quantities in one of the 800 or so special coffee shops.
Every major town in the Netherlands now has a smart shop, said Harold Wychgel of the Trimbos drugs research institute, who estimates that there are about 150 across the country.
Kosmic Kitchen in the eastern town of Enschede, for example, sells Ecuadorian mushrooms for 12 euros for two grams that promise "a mysterious trip with visual effects and giggling fits".
Another offering is the "psycho truffle" or psilocybe tampanensis, that makes you feel "like you are walking on clouds".
The Dutch health ministry said it will review the high court ruling to see if further action should be taken.
Spokesman Bas Kuik said that a study carried out by the ministry four years ago showed that the mushrooms were not a threat to public health -- but might not give the high you had hoped for.
"The risks are minimal, the paddos cannot kill you and they are hardly addictive but you could have psychological effects from a bad trip," drugs expert Wychgel said.
Lawyers for Van der Hurk and other smart shops owners vowed to fight the high court ruling.
"The United Nations has ruled that animals and plants, even slightly processed, cannot be classified as psychotropic drugs," said solicitor Ellen van der Plas.
"The Netherlands is trying to act holier than Thou with this ruling", she said.
Despite the high court decision, the public prosecutor's office did not expect the sale of paddos to end overnight as local municipalities, in principle, must now endorse the ruling.
"Smart shops could possibly be prosecuted if they sell dried mushrooms, but in practice this decision will have to be taken on a municipal level," said spokesman Leendert de Lange.
Sapa-AFP
By Stephanie van den Berg
THE HAGUE - When it comes to hallucinogenic mushrooms, a Dutch high court has ruled that fresh is fine but dried is not in a decision that again upholds the country's reputation for tolerance towards drug use.
The ruling affects produce on sale in the Netherland's notorious but commonplace "smart shops" -- dozens of boutiques around the country that sell so-called magic mushrooms for customers looking for a legal high.
The decision upheld an earlier court decision that ruled fresh hallucinogenic mushrooms -- paddos as they are known locally -- are acceptable but once dried and processed become illegal drugs and thus banned for sale.
The decision surprised many drug experts who contend that the dried mushrooms are no more potent than the fresh variety.
"The fresh mushrooms are 90 percent water so you need to eat more in grams but the price and effect of an average dose are the same," Hans van der Hurk, a smart shop owner named in the court case, told the French news agency AFP.
He opposed the verdict but forecast it will do little to change the day-to-day business in his Amsterdam store, Conscious Dreams.
"We might expand our cooling system and drop some varieties of mushrooms because not all last properly in cold storage," he said, joking that the adjustments will make him an "upmarket greengrocer".
Van der Hurk started his store in the capital nine years ago, the first shop of its kind in the Netherlands. He calls it a "psychodelicatessen", selling hallucinogenic mushrooms, herbal mixtures made to resemble the effects of synthetic drugs like "ecstasy", and aphrodisiacs.
The smart shops started up in the Netherlands in the 1990s, alongside the rise in rave parties, offering an upfront, legal range of so-called recreational drugs, herbs and vitamins.
The smart shops are not to be confused with the country's euphemistically named coffee shops that sell cannabis.
Though the sale of cannabis is technically still illegal, it has been decriminalised under Dutch law as long as it is sold in small quantities in one of the 800 or so special coffee shops.
Every major town in the Netherlands now has a smart shop, said Harold Wychgel of the Trimbos drugs research institute, who estimates that there are about 150 across the country.
Kosmic Kitchen in the eastern town of Enschede, for example, sells Ecuadorian mushrooms for 12 euros for two grams that promise "a mysterious trip with visual effects and giggling fits".
Another offering is the "psycho truffle" or psilocybe tampanensis, that makes you feel "like you are walking on clouds".
The Dutch health ministry said it will review the high court ruling to see if further action should be taken.
Spokesman Bas Kuik said that a study carried out by the ministry four years ago showed that the mushrooms were not a threat to public health -- but might not give the high you had hoped for.
"The risks are minimal, the paddos cannot kill you and they are hardly addictive but you could have psychological effects from a bad trip," drugs expert Wychgel said.
Lawyers for Van der Hurk and other smart shops owners vowed to fight the high court ruling.
"The United Nations has ruled that animals and plants, even slightly processed, cannot be classified as psychotropic drugs," said solicitor Ellen van der Plas.
"The Netherlands is trying to act holier than Thou with this ruling", she said.
Despite the high court decision, the public prosecutor's office did not expect the sale of paddos to end overnight as local municipalities, in principle, must now endorse the ruling.
"Smart shops could possibly be prosecuted if they sell dried mushrooms, but in practice this decision will have to be taken on a municipal level," said spokesman Leendert de Lange.
Sapa-AFP
