Psilocybin, the chemical that gives the mushrooms their hallucinogenic properties, is specifically outlawed under drug laws, as is mescaline from peyote cactus. But unlike hemp, the fungi and cacti themselves get off scot-free. If you know it's a magic mushroom and eat it, that's illegal. He said that about 20 people a day, from junior-high students to pensioners, buy mushrooms imported from Europe and Hawaii at his basement bazaar in Tokyo's Shinjuku district. The shop also stocks pipes, T-shirts and books on alternative culture.
Dealers know they walk a fine legal line.
But putting him in handcuffs took some wrangling. The man was arrested not for hawking hallucinogens, but for flouting a law requiring people who sell pharmaceutical products to have a licence, a police spokesman said. Republished with permission. All Rights Reserved. No part of this article may be reproduced or republished or redistributed without the prior written consent of the copyright holder.