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Magic mushrooms,
today they have been officially banned.
Smartshops cannot sell them anymore
and using them is also no longer permitted.
Ivar Verploegh, webmaster www.ditiseentrip.nl:
It's remarkable that what I'm doing here, in front of a camera,
in many other countries would be strictly prohibited
But next week in the Netherlands as well...
True, that's what 'certain' politicians want,
and perhaps they'll achieve their aims, but
it would be the loss of a precious aspect of Dutch culture.
Frans Koopmans, employee of evangelical addiction center 'The Hope':
I think shrooms are too dangerous to be sold openly in shops.
August de Loor, spokesperson www.adviesburodrugs.nl:
Shrooms aren't dangerous, the center of Amsterdam is dangerous.
The illegality outside the Netherlands,
which makes these tourists want to push the limits of what's allowed here
that's what makes the mushroom dangerous.
But our Minister of Health turns it around
and puts the blame on the mushroom.
Shrooms...
For thousands of years they have been used
in Meso- and South-America for example to contact the afterworld,
but also in Europe there is a very long tradition
In some religions they are used in rituals and ceremonies
In Holland the use of the hallucinogenic mushroom has become widespread too.
Ivar Verploegh is familiar with the effects of these mushrooms,
and he will show what happens during a trip.
He takes us to a smartshop,
where he can sit down and relax.
May I have one serving of Hawaiians?
Hm, these are quite tasty.
So, the box is now empty.
Indeed, it's empty.
So what will happen now?
Now it's a matter of patiently waiting for the effects.
And how long does it take before the trip starts?
In this case I have an empty stomach,
because I didn't eat for at least four hours.
So my guess is that the trip will start in 20 to 30 minutes.
The visible part of the problem, namely bad experiences of tourists in Amsterdam,
whose stories gave rise to the current situation,
that will disappear.
So our Minister will say: 'See, I told you, there are now less ambulance rides,
because incidents with mushrooms do not occur anymore.'
But that the underlying problem will continue to manifest itself in other ways,
that relationship will not be recognized by him.
So the incidents will continue, but they will involve other substances than shrooms?
Yes.
Where substances are available in abundance, you will see that it attracts a certain demand.
And where you restrict their availability,
less people will get into contact with them.
But then people say: if you ban shrooms, you push them into the black market,
which makes it even more difficult to regulate quality and safety.
Well, to a certain extent that will certainly happen.
There are other things that are also illegal,
which we as a society think should remain illegal.
And as far as I'm concerned, mushrooms fall in that category as well.
It's not just the users who suffer from the ban,
the smartshops are in difficulty as well.
Businesses that heavily rely on the sale of shrooms
are now in trouble, because their turnover goes down rapidly.
I think by 40%
All statistics regarding alcohol and other drugs,
mushrooms are always way down in the list
as far as being a threat to public health.
You mean there are other substances that cause way more incidents?
You bet ya.
Alcohol for example.
That has created a much bigger problem.
It's much better to sell them in a shop.
So that quality is controlled and regulated,
In the past 15 year we've seen that this goes well
and doesn't create problems.
And that now because of some vague incidents they want to make them illegal,
that's just crisis management, politics based on incidents.
Meanwhile it's been 20 minutes since Ivar ate the mushrooms,
and his trip has started
which will last for at least three hours.
Symptoms like dilated pupils and a tendency to giggle are visible
Yes, I'm tripping.
Did the mushrooms kick in?
Perhaps the effects will increase in strength a bit more, but yes
What do you experience? What do you feel?
I feel a certain heaviness in my body
my voice sounds a bit different
it seems like a filter of rainbow colors
has been laid over my ordinary vision
so that everything that's normally white has become iridescent.
And if I now close my eyes, the visions are very lively, and very...
not exactly chaotic, but very beautiful, very symmetrical.
The dangers pointed out by the proponants of the ban,
are avoidable, says Ivar Verploegh.
According to him
one must carefully plan the trip beforehand
because a complete mushroom trip lasts 6 hours
and use it in a place where one feels comfortable
Yes, or that you have such a place nearby
For example, if you insist on using mushrooms at a party,
it's possible, as long as you can easily go home if you wanted to
but to trip in a place that's completely unknown to you, is not recommended
Is it also important that there is someone with you?
Yes. Preferably someone with experience,
who knows what may be going on inside your head
and who knows what to say and do to help you
relax and surrender to the experience.
Another opponent of the ban is the mayor of Amsterdam Job Cohen.
Incidents with mushrooms occur mainly in his city.
He suggested we institute a 'three day waiting period'
After visiting a smartshop the tourist has to wait three days,
to consider it carefully.
If they then still decide to have the experience, the shrooms can be bought.
This way tourists, involved in 9 out of 10 mushroom incidents,
are prevented from buying them.
And that has such a deep psychological message, that it would be effective.
Now, that in conjunction with the limitation of the number of vendors,
a system of permits for smartshops,
sale only to those who are 18 years old and older,
the three day waiting period idea,
just apply all of these throughout the Netherlands,
and you've got a well regulated thing going.
And then there will also be less incidents?
As far as the tourists are concerned for sure.
But much more important than that
is that you don't push the Dutch users into the illegal market.
There was no ban before, so this is a way to create an obstacle to obtaining shrooms.
Every obstacle that prevents people from easily obtaining drugs
is good.
Now the government has decided to make them illegal
and so we can only say: very good,
Now everything is clear, unambiguous.
Now everyone knows what are the consequences.
All current users will continue to use these mushrooms
You will continue using them too?
Yes, absolutely
It's my mind
It's my body
And this is my religion.
So no, nothing will keep me from using them.
correctie URL Adviesburo Drugs: www.adviesburodrugs.nl