New trend in magic mushrooms reflects young Europeans’ appetite for intense experiences
(26.6.2006, LISBON) Many young Europeans are experimenting with hallucinogenic (‘magic’) mushrooms, according to a new study released today by the EU drugs agency (EMCDDA) to mark International day against drug abuse and illicit trafficking. The phenomenon may be driven by a broader consumer trend for young people to actively seek out intense experiences and ‘natural highs’ and by an increasing interest in organic products.
‘Smartshops’ in the Netherlands and market stalls in Ireland and the UK played a key role in kick-starting a new magic mushroom trend in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The Internet was another contributing factor, offering an array of websites selling them directly online. Today there are scores of magic mushroom websites in the EU providing a multilingual marketing channel and e-commerce sales outlets offering doorstep delivery.
‘Hallucinogenic mushrooms: an emerging trend case* *study’, is the first in a series of reports to be published under a new EMCDDA pilot project to help detect, track and understand emerging drug trends in Europe (‘European Perspectives On Drugs’/E-POD).
A news release is available in German, English, French and Portuguese at http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/?nnodeid=875
Today’s study is available on the EMCDDA website, see ‘Thematic papers’ under Publications at http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/?nnodeid=7079
Source: European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA)