Amsterdam Outlaws Magic Mushrooms

Oct. 15, 2007 — -- For many years the Netherlands glowed as a beacon in the eyes of travelers eager to indulge in the various vices sanctioned in the city's famed red-light district.

The tolerated sale of marijuana, the legal procurement of prostitutes in red-light districts, and the convenient location of "smartshops" selling fresh hallucinogenic mushrooms all helped lure tourists to Europe's northwestern edge.

But as of next year, those seeking the not-so-holy trinity -- grass, girls and magic mushrooms -- had better look abroad. Under the direction of the country's conservative governing coalition, the nation last week decided to ban the sale of psychedelic mushrooms.

A campaign to outlaw the naturally appearing fungi was spawned earlier in the year following the gruesome death of a French teenager who hurled herself off a bridge while under the effects of mushrooms. The emergence of many other equally horrifying tales since the story's publication in March have helped cultivate support for the ban.

The nation's health minister, Ab Klink, spearheaded the political movement to pursue the ban. Along with Justice Minister Hirsch Ballin, Klink finally secured success Friday. Speaking after the decision, the two ministers emphasized the unpredictable effects resulting from the use of hallucinogenic mushrooms.

They also justified the law by referring to a rise in the number of reported incidents related to the use of magic mushrooms. The past three years saw a marked increase in medical cases resulting from mushroom use, with 128 cases in 2006, up from just 55 cases in 2005. And there were already 100 cases reported by October of this year, De Volkskrant reported.

Despite the horror stories and statistics, many in the Netherlands reacted unfavorably to the ban.

"This is a short-sighted decision," said Lea Bouwmeester, a member of the Dutch parliament and representative of the left-leaning Labor Party, told the Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant.

"A ban will not solve the problems posed by mushrooms," she said.