No more hallucinations with your
Friday night hooker.
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands: The Dutch government will ban the sale of hallucinogenic mushrooms, a spokesman for the Justice Ministry said Friday, rolling back one element of the country's permissive drug policy after a series of well-publicized negative incidents.
Not to be a nay-saying neocon here, but
"negative incidents" appears to be code for bodies flying off the top of tall buildings.
Under the country's famed tolerance policy, marijuana and hashish are technically illegal 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. Mushrooms will fall somewhere in the middle.
In a display of that famous Dutch tolerance for public pharmaceutical recreation, the government apparently consulted with the folks who sell this stuff.
In May, the country's health minister, Ab Klink, undertook a study of the problems and called for suggestions from the industry and Amsterdam's city government.
Mushroom vendors suggested stricter ID controls for buyers, and strong warnings against mixing mushrooms with other drugs.
Amsterdam Mayor Job Cohen had suggested a three-day "cooling off" period between ordering them and using them.
Yeah Job, that'll work.
