Sale of magic mushrooms outlawed
31/01/2006 - 15:19:45The sale of magic mushrooms in the state is set to be completely outlawed today following the closure of a legal loophole.
The hallucinogenic fungi have been linked to the death of a man in Dublin and have been the subject of a High Court action by a shop owner in Cork.
Tánaiste and Minister for Health Mary Harney is now set to introduce a regulation under the Misuse of Drugs Act to make it illegal to sell them in their raw state.
“She brought it to cabinet this morning to seek Government approval on it, and it’s a matter then of signing the regulation. It’ll be effective immediately,” said a spokesman.
Under the current legislation, it is illegal to sell magic mushrooms if they are processed but not if they are in their raw state.
Around 50 shops in Ireland currently sell magic mushrooms but they will now have to remove them from their shelves to comply with the law.
Last week, Helen Stone, who runs the Funky Skunk shop in Cork City, failed to get a High Court order stopping customs officers from seizing shipments of unprocessed magic mushrooms that she wanted to sell in her store.
But Ms Justice Mary Laffoy said there was a fair issue to be tried and said she would give an early date for a hearing of the case.
There was further controversy about magic mushrooms last year, when a man in his 30s from Dun Laoghaire died after allegedly taking them and jumping out of the balcony at his apartment.
His family believe the magic mushrooms were a factor in his death.
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