YOU'RE ON YOUR OWN NOW, GIRLS AND BOYS

The green parakeets were swinging in the tree. You see, I told my guests, even in the winter the exotic parakeets don't leave the icy park and stay on the naked branches, bright green Brazilians in the snow. Oh, my guests said disappointedly, and we thought the mushrooms had finally kicked in.

Later they did kick in. We got a trifle lost in the neighbouring park, in a rose bush section sized no larger than my modest living room. More because we were scared to go too far and venture on too big a challenge. Our joys turned small and little was enough to make us happy. Once we felt more confident, we walked the familiar way home, only now that our brain cells were functioning much faster, it seemed like time was made of chewing gum, ennnddddleesssly stretching… until we finally reached our building. I was a child again, bouncing around, except for my hyperactive alertness and cautious effort to take every step in the safest possible way. Not on my own. Not drinking alcohol. Not doing anything stupid.

Just lying down under the Christmas tree. In my home. In love. Everything back to normal several hours later.

This was New Year's 2006 in Amsterdam, after a strictly portioned box of awfully tasting mushrooms had been purchased at a local clean store for no less than 40 euros. That was the last time I tried the mushrooms. I was not going to any more either, as it is only truly exciting to try once or twice, when you're young. It was more the idea that one could do that once again whenever one wanted that I liked about the Dutch respect for reasonable personal choices.

Yes, I have had bad trips, too. Dangerous ones. When I was much younger, years ago. Only those bad trips never involved mushrooms and also never in Holland , but in other countries, where no soft drugs are legal.

And the green parakeets still populate Vondelpark, that's no hallucination.

Facts

Sale of fresh hallucinogenic mushrooms will become illegal in Holland within a few months, most probably from January 1, 2008. (Dry mushrooms have already been illegal for several years). The decision to ban magic mushrooms was supported by a majority in the parliament and the two Christian parties in the coalition. The third party in the coalition, the PVDA, spoke strongly against it. ‘The ban on psilocybin mushrooms makes it impossible to provide the users with safety information and control the quality of the mushrooms consumed', PVDA member Mayor of Amsterdam Job Cohen said.

By October 22, 30,000 people have taken part in the on-line protest at Reddepaddo.nl. On 27 October a protest will be held on the capital's main square De Dam.

Experts from Holland's most respected clinic for addiction treatment Jellinek-Mentrum classify the risks connected with taking mushrooms as low, based upon the CAM (RIVM) assessment and monitoring report, and the ban as a disproportionate measure. The number of incidents (possibly) connected with mushrooms has not really grown since last year, unless one considers a rise from 53 to 58 an alarming outbreak. Mushrooms taste repulsively bad and are difficult to store, so now that they will join LSD and MDMA in the hard-drug category, young people are more likely to do the latter synthetic substances that are microscopic in size and leave no headache as the natural toxins in mushrooms do. This means that innocent adventure-seekers that would have stopped by a smartshop before the ban would now come in contact with experienced underworld dealers, where no quality guarantee is available and yet harder drugs are often suggested to the ignorant. As Lea Bouwmeester (PVDA, Member of Parliament) has rightly put it, ‘The ban will not stop young people from trying drugs. They will continue to do so, just like the generations before. The ban will only push the youngsters into the illegal circuit, where no one will check their age any more, no one will give professional advice on the side effects'. Another MP Boris van der Ham (D66) agrees, saying that control of the health risks will be impeded now. Fewer users will confess they have used or ask for help. Because what the government has done now is deny its own responsibility for the wellbeing and safety of many young residents. It did not want to accept a more complicated plan suggested by Mayor of Amsterdam Job Cohen, it did not want to introduce stricter control of smartshops, licences, testing, courses, leaflets, tourist information. All it did was say: 'It's your own problem now, boys and girls, and we want nothing to do with it. And don't come to us for help unless you want to be arrested.'