The
situation:
Relevant Government documents
- The Government's Drugs Bill , Clause 21: prohibition of fresh
magic mushrooms (MMs)
- Explanatory Notes: more brief details, cost-benefit,
human rights
- Parliamentary Research Paper: background
- The Government's Regulatory Impact Assessment
(RIA): assesses
the impact of the change in regulations on
businesses and voluntary organisations. It weighs
up the costs and benefits of 3 options: no change
(unregulated); prohibition; licensed regulation.
- Parliamentary Joint Human Rights Committee
statement: failure
of Government to follow guidelines on assessing
human rights impact.
There's 4
campaign approaches:
- There's the
Magic Mushroom Consumer Group: they intend to fight for
equal consumer rights with other legal drug
consumers (e.g. alcohol). Government accepts that
magic mushrooms "are not themselves
controlled drugs" in the Drugs Bill's
Regulatory Impact Assessment. Government has
provided no evidence that MMs cause harm to
consumers or society more severe than alcohol -
in fact they have produced no evidence that MMs
cause any harm at all. Despite the lack of
evidence the intention is to imprison those who
possess, supply or produce MMs.
MMCG website: http://www.magicmushroomconsumers.org
Campaign discussion: http://www.magicmushroomforum.co.uk
- There's a
dutch exporter of mushrooms to the UK, Ananda De
Sjamaan: he's
been through all this before in his country. He
has documented the Dutch government's risk
assessment ("the risk for the public health
is therefore estimated as very low"), UN
letters saying MMs are not controlled under UN
drug Conventions, and a recent scientific study
suggesting little harm from MMs (see below) http://www.erowid.org/plants/mushrooms/mushrooms_health1.pdf .
- There's
PALAD's approach outlined on this website: we are getting evidence
that the Home Office have not followed Government
guidelines on Regulatory Impact Assessments, the
use of scientific evidence, risk assessments,
regulatory/policy options assessment and better
regulation. We're comparing the mushroom RIA with
the recent alcohol RIA, then comparing both to
the Government's RIA guidance (and other
guidance) to see which complies.
We sent this letter outlining our concerns
to the members of the parliamentary committee
scrutinising the Drugs Bill.
The Home Office Drugs Bill Team have failed to
answer questions asked on January 6th concerning the
Regulatory Impact Assessment for magic mushrooms.
We requested details about the evidence for
actual harm and the assessment of risks to public
health, both lacking from the RIA, contrary to
Government guidance. Their reply, on February 14, failed to address these
questions. We sent a further letter of February 15 outlining concerns about
bias in assessing the regulatory options of
licensing and prohibition. The reply simply repeated past comments.
We've also contacted the Home Office's
Minister for better regulation outlining concerns that
guidelines had not been followed. The reply, from the Drug Legislation
and Enforcement Unit, did not address these concerns
so we wrote again asking for
details
of individuals who assessed Clause 21. The reply simply repeated past comments.
- There's
Transform's mushroom briefing: this explores ideas for
regulation as an alternative to prohibition or no
regulation http://www.tdpf.org.uk/Policy_General_Mushrooms.htm.
De Sjamaan's
document quotes - Dutch Government risk
assessment of mushrooms, UN letter & scientific
evidence: from http://www.erowid.org/plants/mushrooms/mushrooms_health1.pdf Includes....
The Coordination
point Assessment and Monitoring of new Drugs's (CAM)
risk assessment for the Dutch government: "the
risk for the public health is therefore estimated as
very low".
United Nations'
INCB: "as a matter of law, no plants (natural
material) containing psilocine and psilocybine are at
present controlled under the Convention on
Psychotropic Substances of 1971".
Heffter Research
Center & Psychiatric University Hospital Zurich
(2004): "Our study provided no cause for concern
that PY is hazardous with respect to somatic
health".
Transform:
A recent report from the Keuringsdienst van Waren
('Inspection Agency for Goods', the Dutch equivalent
of the UK Food Standards Agency) states: “In
a survey of the risks which these paddo's [hallucinogenic
mushrooms] cause to the public health, the
Minister of Public Health installed the commission
Cordination Point Assessment and Monitoring new Drugs
(CAM). The CAM concluded that the risks of psilocybin
mushrooms are low. Acute reactions are no more severe
than having a scary experience. No chronic toxicity
was found. And no signs of physical or mental
addiction was found.” [http://www.tdpf.org.uk/Policy_General_Mushrooms.htm ]
Example
letter to newspapers/MPs etc:
The Government's
Drugs Bill reinforces the institutionalised
discrimination against minorities who consume or
trade non-traditional drugs. While suppliers of
alcohol to young people now face an on-the-spot
fine of £80, suppliers of fresh magic mushrooms
to consenting adults will soon face life
imprisonment.
It is a fact that ninety percent of adults
regularly take stimulant and intoxicant drugs to
alter mood for non-medical reasons: caffeine and
alcohol. By law our children are correctly taught
that alcohol, tobacco and caffeine are drugs.
Little wonder so many young people dismiss the
Government's message that 'drugs are harmful and
no one should take them' as hypocritical and
discriminatory.
The Government continues to deny non-traditional
drug consumers and traders equal rights and
opportunities on the basis that these drugs are
harmful. They never suggest these drugs are any
more harmful than the traditional drugs accepted
by society. Indeed evidence suggests that magic
mushrooms are considerably safer than alcohol. An
EU government risk assessment of magic mushrooms
states "the risk for the public health is
therefore estimated as very low" while the
World Health Organisation points out that 55,000
young people are killed by alcohol every year in
Europe.
Policy based on tradition rather than evidence
underlies all institutionalised discrimination.
We no longer accept sexism and racism so why do
we continue to accept drug discrimination?