CBS News: Psychedelic Study Shows Positive Results

July 2, 2008 - Yesterday MSNBC and CBS News published an article reporting on the lasting effects of psilobybin on self-confidence and optimism. It describes the results from a research project in 2002 at the John Hopkins University. The experiment was funded in part by the National...
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Smoking allowed, with a bong or vaporizer

July 1, 2008 - That was the headline on the frontpage of a major Dutch newspaper. "Smoking tobacco in coffeeshops is now forbidden, but smoking pure weed or hashish is not." The smoking ban in public places, which goes into effect on the first of July, forces coffeeshop owners to create a separate space where people can smoke tobacco so the rest of the shop will be smokefree. But some coffeeshops are...
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No COD to Germany

June 25, 2008 - From June 25, 2008 it is no longer possible to order with COD (Cash On Delivery) from Germany. We are very sorry about this. The reason is that our Dutch shipping company no longer provides this service. Of course we can still ship all your regular orders to Germany and instead of with COD you can pay your order by bank. If you have any questions about this new shipping policy you can...
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Article about the Internet and psychedelics

June 25, 2008 - "How the Internet fuels the global psychedelic community", an article in English written by one of our friends, is now published by several online (and possibly offline) media. We decided to publish it here as well, and integrated it in our encyclopedia.

How the Internet fuels the global psychedelic community

Do shrooms make you smarter?

June 23, 2008 - Researchers Juan Sanchez-Ramos and Briony Catlow at the University of South Florida have just started an exciting new study to see if psilocybin (the active component in magic mushrooms) can help promote the birth and development of new brain cells (neurogenesis) in the 1 Comments »

Mandatory shroom diploma for Dutch mushroom vendors

June 11, 2008 - Shroom vendors in Amsterdam must pass for a mandatory exam which will test their knowledge of shrooms as well as their social skills. Only shopkeepers with a shroom diploma will be allowed to sell the tripfungus. This is proposed by the Dutch smartshop organization, called the VLOS, which wants to develop this exam. The shroom exam is one of the proposals aimed at regulating the sale of...
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Worldwide shipping: only 5 Euro!

May 30, 2008 - We have lowered shipping costs with 10 to 50%. Your order will be shipped worldwide for only 5 Euro now. All packages will be shipped with priority mail. Shipping within the Netherlands is still free...
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Millions of 'illegal' mushroom spores spread in Holland

May 26, 2008 - Last week Legalize!, in cooperation with TV host Filemon and author Hans Plomp, protested against a proposed ban on 168 types of psychoactive mushrooms. They planted mushrooms in the gardens of Dutch celebrities Henk Westbroek (musician, radio host) and Theo Maassen (comedian, see image), handed out mushrooms to politicians at The Binnenhof...
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6 ways mushrooms can save the world

May 20, 2008 - Paul Stamets, whom we know from The Mushroom Cultivator, Growing Gourmet and Medicinal Mushrooms and Psilocybin Mushrooms of the World, appeared on a TV program called Ideas Worth...
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Boom Festival launches 'Boom Book'

May 7, 2008 - The Boom festival in Portugal is a unique biannual event, presenting a culture that shows elements of Burning Man's counterculture and the best of Europe's psytrance culture. It's an independent cultural event, for it does not accept commercial sponsorships. Recently the organizers of Boom published a book on the multicultural, multidisciplinary, transgenerational and ecological aspects of...
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Albert Hofmann dead at 102

May 2, 2008 - Albert Hofmann, who discovered the hallucinogenic properties of LSD, has died last Tuesday. He was 102. Hofmann reportedly died of a heart failure at his hometown Basel, Switzerland. Hofmann worked his whole life for the recognition of LSD as a medicine. He welcomed a decision by Swiss authorities last December to allow LSD to be used in a psychotherapy research project. The Swiss...
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More holidays

April 28, 2008 - Azarius will be closed on 30 April and 1 May due to some national holidays. First we celebrate Queensday, stylefully dressed in orange. The next day is (supposed) to remind us of the Ascension of Christ. This could cause a delay in shipping and answering of emails. Sorry for this inconvenience!
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Ban on mushrooms irreversible

April 26, 2008 - As a result of the recent one-sided, negative media-coverage and populist politics the mushroom has been banned in the Netherlands. The sale of dry and fresh mushrooms is now illegal. In recent months we did in fact stop selling fresh mushrooms. For now we limit ourselves to the sale of grow kits and mushroom cultivation accessories. The long term consequences for the sale of these...
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Mail possibly delayed Friday

April 25, 2008 - Today we received a letter from TNT Mail. Because they are organizing a strike in Amsterdam they will not collect or distribute our mail this Friday, April 25. Since the strike only concerns mail, it's expected that it will not influence the distribution of packages. Still it's possible that some orders which would be shipped on Friday will be delayed. We thank you for your understanding.
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"Legalize the cultivation of cannabis."

April 24, 2008 - AMSTERDAM - Hans van Duijn, retiring chairman of the Dutch police union, said in a recent interview that the cultivation of cannabis should be legalized and long time addicts should be given harddrugs under supervision. Only under those circumstances can the police effectively fight drug criminals. The futile war on drugs takes up a great deal of the police's time and energy and other crime...
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Tripping in nature more risky due to climate change?

April 14, 2008 - Because of climate change, the number of ticks is growing and thus the risk of being bitten by a Lyme-infected tick increases as well. This warning comes from a group of Dutch researchers, who also point out that due to the warmer winters and rising temperatures a certain mosquito from China and sandfly from southern Europe may start inhabiting the Netherlands. These insects are known to spread...
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It's almost 4/20!

April 8, 2008 - Browsing through cannabis related websites you may have come across the number 420, 4:20 or 4/20, wondering what it refers to. In Europe the term is not commonly used yet, but in North America it's a popular and discreet way of referring to the use of cannabis, or to identify oneself, a website or business with cannabis culture. The date 4/20, or April 20th, has become an unofficial holiday...
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Psychedelic Research: Past, Present, and Future

April 1, 2008 - Psychiatrist Stan Grof, M.D., has more than fifty years experience researching the effects of non-ordinary states of consciousness on human health and wellbeing, and has written several books sharing...
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Sasha Shulgin in the Scientific American

March 31, 2008 - Alexander "Sasha" Shulgin is the world's foremost "psychonaut" and author of PIHKAL and TIHKAL. The 82-year-old chemist has not only created more of the 300 known consciousness-altering (or psychoactive) compounds than anyone living or dead, he has, by his own...
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Cannabis improves fertility in tobacco smokers

March 26, 2008 - A new study has found that AM-1346, a synthetic version of a cannabinoid found in the human body and the cannabis plant, may improve the fertility of tobacco smokers. Two-thirds of male tobacco smokers will exhibit a small or a significant decrease in fertility, some with serious loss, characterized by low sperm count and low percentage sperm motility. Researchers looked at the potential...
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How psychedelics forged Alex Grey's Spiritual, Artistic and Love Lives

March 25, 2008 - This Monday the San Fransisco Chronicle featured an interview with visionary artist Alex Grey. Alex, who was one of the speakers at the World Psychedelic Forum in Basel this weekend, giving three presentations ("Contemporary Visionary...
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Police cracking down on Goa criminals

March 18, 2008 - The ancient Hindu city of Goa, which in the 1960s became a popular destination on the hippie trail, is where much of today's electronic dance music and Psytrance originated. In the late 80's and early 90's Goa Trance started to enjoy commercial success with musicians like Paul Oakenfold, Infected Mushroom, Hallucinogen and Juno Reactor. Goa parties have...
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The World Psychedelic Forum in Switzerland

March 11, 2008 - March 21 2008 scientists and therapists from all over the world will gather in Basel for a four day seminar on the subject of empathogenic, entactogenic and entheogenic substances. Among the speakers will be the discover of LSD Albert Hofmann, visionary artist 4 Comments »

Did Moses use psychedelics?

March 10, 2008 - High on Mount Sinai, Moses was on psychedelic drugs, Israeli researcher Benny Shanon, claimed in a study published this week. Such mind-altering substances formed an integral part of the religious rites of Israelites in biblical times, he wrote in the Time and Mind journal of philosophy. "The Bible says people see sounds, and that is a classic phenomenon," he said citing the example of...
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Tea cleanses the veins of women

February 20, 2008 -

Women who drink a lot of tea have a smaller chance of ending up with clogged arteries. Tea seems to lower their risk of getting a heart disease or circulatory problems.

A large scale study conducted in France has revealed that drinking three cups of tea daily keeps the arteries clean. Women's arteries, that is. The positive effects did not occur for men; the researchers have not yet...
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Peyote becoming scarce in its natural habitat

February 20, 2008 -

"I used to collect as much in a week as I now do in a month," he says. "I don't know what's going to happen to the medicine."

The 65-year-old Mauro Morales almost never utters the word "peyote." For him, the small green-gray cactus is a sacrament with miraculous healing powers, hence his word for it: medicine.

What makes peyote...
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Shrooms in high demand

February 5, 2008 - The association of 'smart shops' (VLOS) - shops selling natural psychoactives - claims that as a result of all the media attention the turnover from sales of hallucinogenic mushrooms, or paddo's as they are called in the Netherlands, increased by 20 percent last year. VLOS executive committee member Guy Boels attributes the growth in turnover to the commotion that arose last year. He points...
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Ban on Magic Mushroom too easy

February 4, 2008 -

The Hague - In his decision to ban shrooms Minister of Health Ab Klink has too easily brushed aside the recommendations of his own research committee. He had 'no solid arguments' says the parliament's own Bureau of Research and Government Expenditure (BOR).

The Coordinationpoint Assessment and Monitoring new drugs (CAM), the most important advisory organ for the Minister of Health,...
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International Drug Policy Reform Conference

January 23, 2008 - December 6, 7 and 8 the International Drug Policy Reform Conference took place in New Orleans. Speakers from different fields of expertise gathered to discuss the various aspects of current drug use and policy, and all of these talks can now be read, heard or watched on the website of the Drug Policy Alliance. Some of the...
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Is the party over?

January 15, 2008 - The LA Times recently ran an article on the impending loss of several unique features of the Netherlands, pointing out the several influences which have led to this situation. "It may be last call for drugs, sex and live-and-let-live in the Netherlands, one of the most famously broad-minded countries in the world. Prostitution, abortion, euthanasia, same-sex marriage and magic mushrooms...
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