This is something I’ll never understand. How can a governemt reservere the right to forbid the consumption or growing of certain plants or mushrooms! They come from our nature!! Isn’t nature more worth than every governement?
For example…I’m not allowed to eat certain shrooms which are growing in our woods…it does not matter if they’re naturally grown or not…they are forbidden…or hamp…it’s aplant…or salvia d…it’s just SAGE for f*** sake!!
It’s because the government doesn’t think that you’re an intelligent agent. Why else would something want to tell you what to do with your own body? However, don’t just blame a thing that’s over there in Washington or London or Geneva or wherever. Remember that unless you live in Africa somewhere where there’s tons of civil war, it’s your government. The officials are only in office because you allow them to be. Write some letters and get yourself heard if you can’t do it at the polls. Voting is important, but writing letters is just as important to a healthy democracy. Corporations can’t do one thing that real people can, after all; corporations can’t register to vote.
I agree with you Ginkgothian. I don’t believe elected representatives should be able to tell me what plants I can or cannot legally consume. Yes, maybe they should advise on what plants are toxic etc, but anything else and they are overstepping the mark I think. Anyway, shrooms and the like are a lot less harmful than tobacco and other toxic drugs such as those that pharmaceutical companies are licenced to manufacture and sell. The government will bend over backwards to protect the rights of the big corporations to continue to sell their s**t whilst trying to stop Joe public from picking a few shrooms!
I have a funny story regarding shrooms. Here in Ireland it is legal (supposedly!) to pick shrooms, however it is illegal to prepare them in any way, like dry or boil them. Several years ago the police stopped my friend and searched him, and he was in possession of a bag of freshly picked shrooms. The police confiscated them. Well, my friend was mad, and went to the local police station. At reception he demanded his property back, as he rightfully claimed that his shrooms were not illegal as they had just been picked. He shouted into the cop shop “Give me back my shrooms!” but they wouldn’t give them back, and threw them into a bin in front of him. Eventually he gave up and left, but I have to admire him for standing up for his rights! Lol…we all had a good laugh at that one… Most people would have just accepted what had happened as bad luck and forgotten about it, but not him!
WORD ginkgothian. and as for voting in US velex. is choosing between evil and darkness , and believe me their is no difference they both wont let u smoke ya weed or eat ya mushys.
btw im so glad i live in holland 
To me, the true tragedy is that people end up associating with drug dealers to get these things. Drug dealers in the US are NASTY (for the most part) & it really breeds a bad situation.
Also, it fills our prisons with weedaholics instead of committing pedifiles. Now thats the part that REALLY pisses me off.
Good reminder, Velex, to write, call, vote. Lately, I’ve been e-mailing my local representatives a lot for an action network I belong to. The other day one of our environmental issues was actually influenced by our group - so it does make a difference. 
Here in Canada, I dont think it’s illigal to pick or eat mushrooms, but unless I’m misunderstanding all of you, it sounds like the government is looking out for your health. Why do you think it would be illigal to pick or eat them? A lot are poisonous, and people dont know it.
The one thing I really dont agree with is the need of a permit to grow hemp. Its a harmless plant. It has so little THC, that you’d need to stand over an entire burning feild of it to get high! Its used to make shirts and ropes, and this has been done for thousands o years, and besides, the only place its illigal is here in the west (I think). In China and India it is grown and harvested.
Because plants are something the government can’t regulate and make money off of. They’re depriving cancer patients of medical marijuana because they can charge so much more money for prescription drugs (which are more dangerous) Believe me they won’t make millions from something that grows in the ground all over the place. It’s sick, but it’s all about the money.
here the goverment makes alot of money at cannabis, becuz the coffeeshops that sell weed has to pay alot of taxes to the goverment.
Medicinal marijuana is legal here, but I dont think its actually taxed. I’m not even sure if ya get it from a dealer or not 
Also, instead of being illigal, its been de-criminalized. I guess thats just a nicer kind of illigal or something.
Think about this. Heroin(SP?) is the most powerfull pain killer in the world. Its not given to dying patients because tis addictive. Now, do you think that akes sense? If they are dying, why not make it a little easier on them. Instead of dulling the pain, get rid of it. Who cares if its addictive, they wont be around afterwards to go shoot up with it, if thats what the government is afraid of.
I dont know if that has anything to do with plants, but there ya go anyway.
stupid double post thingy
everyone ignore this
Actually, there is a synthetic heroin. … I think its heroin… called OxyContin (not sure about the spelling there.) This is prescribed for terminal patients all the time (and some that aren’t terminal.) When my girlfriends father was dying of cancer the hospital told him not to worry about the pain and I think thats what they prescribed him. Problem is that people sell their prescriptions because you can get like upwards of 80 bucks a pill. But it is effectively prescribed heroin.
Marajuana and opium have been illegalized because of money but it was more of a racial thing at first. When the Chinese were brought into the country to work on the railroads, they used opium to help relieve themselves from harsh working conditions. It allowed them to keep working harder and longer. They got a reputation for being cheap and efficient labor so they were in demand. So it became illegal to prevent the Chinese from being able to take over jobs in America. Thats what I heard anyway. Same is true of Marajuana. It was being brought over by Mexican workers. Forget where I read this. One of those online drug pages like erowid.org or something.
Personally, I don’t care what people are doing as long as they don’t bother anyone else. If someone wants to become addicted to heroin and hang out at home or a den all day getting whacked out of their gourd then thats fine. I just don’t want to have to deal with it. As long as I’m not having to see it or pay taxes because of it… go for it. They should just legalize everything behind closed doors… like no public drunkeness. You can buy what you want at certain purveyors and then take it home. Similar to the way you can buy pot at cafes in the Netherlands.
What makes me mad is that the government will NEVER make pot, or any other substance, legal unless they can tax the crap out of it and clean up which I find very irritating and immoral. Laws are to protect society and should reflect the morality of that society. Here in the US our governing bodies think that its there job to protect individuals with detailed laws which I’m not sure I agree with. Unfortunately, people back that idea up. They want to have as little responsibility for there own actions and lives as possible I guess. Anyway, for the government to dictate the morality of something based on whether they can make momey off of it is horrible.
The strange thing is that they really could tax the hell out of it. Its not that they can’t, they won’t.
Keep in mind that a lot of the core ideals of this society were bred from the Puritan mindset. Many people are afraid of Mary Jane because they don’t understand her. Very similar to the hesitations perceived by some regarding Lucid Dreaming.
No, if the government wants to tax Jane like in Holland - I’d be happy. So long as people like normal-everyday people my hubby don’t have to sneak around to creepy drug dealers just to get a joint.