Amsterdam to ban the sale of 'Magic Mushrooms'  | |  http://www.nytimes.com/re... a few quick facts from the link above;
The cabinet believes that because mushrooms can have an hallucinogenic effect they can lead to life threatening behaviour.
The majority of mushroom related incidents involve young foreigners, not used to using drugs, mixing mushrooms, alcohol and cannabis.
The growth in sale of mushrooms is greater than the growth in 'dangerous' incidents.
So, what are your feelings on this? Is it just Amsterdam kowtowing to pressure from the rest of Europe (and America)? Are mushrooms dangerous (55 incidents in 2004, 128 in 2006)? Should the Dutch try to rid themselves of their "anything goes" reputation?
Oh, for anyone interested, this is a wonderful site for news on drugs, alcohol and tobacco;
http://historyofalcoholanddrugs.typepad.com/alcohol_and_drugs_history/
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| | | | | | | | 1.  irdsm1 (235) | 2 years ago |  That is horrible.
"Magic Mushrooms" or psilocybin mushrooms are one of the safest drugs on the market, and the biggest danger is that the user is not prepared to consume them or consumes them in an inappropriate place. The government should not try to ban the sale of magic shrooms, they should educate the consumer. Mixing drugs is a bad idea. Mixing uneducated people with strong drugs is a bad idea also. How many grams (dry worth) did the jumping chick take, with what other drugs, I wonder? Psilocylibin mushrooms should not be taken by the inexperienced user in public in the first place, and only in small doses.
Some facts on the use of magic mushrooms:
1. You cannot become physically addicted to magic mushrooms. The body builds up a resistance to it almost immediately, which breaks down very soon. It can become mentally addictive, although this is relatively rare.
2.The biggest danger of magic mushrooms is that the user may have a bad trip. This assumes the magic mushrooms are taken responsibly (Normal doses in a safe area with no other drugs)
3. Magic mushrooms have been studied and have psychological benefits. In one study several middle aged (average age 46) college educated people who were never drug users and had spiritual interests took psilocybin mushrooms. 1/3 reported that it was the single most spiritually significant experience they have ever had and the majority of the others said it was in the top 5 most spiritually significant experiences they had in their lifetime.
5. Magic mushrooms may help people with cluster headaches and have been known to put people who are OCD or have OCD related mental depression into recession for months at a time.
I don't encourage people to use these drugs, but please keep an open mind and remember that drugs can be used safely and responsibly and people using them can have extremely rewarding experiences. Not all drugs are addictive or cause a downward spiral of the users.
Dan
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| | | | | | 2. matt_smith86 (43) | 7 months ago |  I have been to Amsterdam and it can be an intense experience. I feel that a few foreigners that don't know how to control themselves have now ruined it for those that can. I went to Amsterdam 5 years ago and then went back a few months ago and its quite a different place. I think they are being pressured to clean up there act. There were way less coffeeshops. Its sad that such a different place has to be harassed by other countries that don't understand that these things happen and if you make them legal then they can be monitored and even used to boost the economy.
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