Magic Mushrooms Face Ban in Netherlands

Magic mushrooms are seen at the Procare farm in Hazerswoude, central Netherlands, Friday Aug. 3, 2007. Procare is the Netherlands' largest grower of hallucinatory mushrooms, supplying more than half the market, a legal business in The Netherlands as long as they are sold fresh. It's high season for tourists, but for many the emphasis is on the word high. Thousands come specifically to smoke marijuana without fear of getting into trouble with the police. A relatively small number are interested in taking a 'trip' within a trip, using psychedelic mushrooms. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong) (Peter Dejong - AP)

_ A 19-year-old Icelandic tourist thought he was being chased and jumped from a balcony, breaking both his legs.

_ A 29-year-old Danish tourist drove his car wildly through a campground, narrowly missing people sleeping in their tents.

A majority of parties in parliament ranging from centrist to far right have demanded the hallucinogenic mushrooms be outlawed.

If the government does ban mushrooms, it will be in keeping with conservative trends that have been sweeping the country in recent years. Since 2001, Muslim immigrants have been under pressure to learn Dutch and integrate, and there have been calls by some to ban Islamic schools and radical mosques.

Last month, authorities announced a major crackdown on organized crime in Amsterdam's Red Light District. And the country's marijuana policies have also been under pressure, with authorities launching more aggressive prosecution of growers.

Brothers Murat and Ali Kucuksen, whose farm "Procare" supplies about half the psychedelic mushrooms on the Dutch market, say they are afraid their business will now be forced to close.

Their state-of-the-art system to grow and package fresh mushrooms is already operating at half capacity, in part because of the British ban and in part because of the recent bad press.

"The reputation of the product is down the drain," Ali Kucuksen said.

For many, however, it is still business as usual at Amsterdam's smartshops.

Chloe Collette, the owner of the Full Moon shop in Amsterdam, showed a group of British backpackers the various types of psychedelic mushrooms on sale Thursday.

"We have seven kinds on the menu, most of them are the softer kind," she told the group.

She said she doesn't sell to people under 18 and tries to screen out customers who appear unstable. But she acknowledged there is no way to be sure. She said she recommends people find a park or someplace outside where they can sit and talk with friends when they take them.

"People need to feel comfortable when they take it," she said. "It's something natural that makes you connected to yourself."