Most mind altering substances are classified as either soft drugs of hard drugs. Consisting of herbs and natural ingredients, these legal drugs are said to either give you energy, relax you, or help with your sexual performance, depending on which one you take. Smart drug shops have sprung up around the world to satisfy this market. Start your quest for mind expansion at the Magic Mushroom Gallery, located at the Spuistraat. The space is bigger than its competitors which gives you more room to explore without being so close to the clerks at the counter.
Mushrooms are available fresh and dried for eating or boiling in tea.
You can also find herbal XTC and other herbs. The gallery part consists of a changing exhibit of artists who create while under the influence of mushrooms. Owner Rodney Yzer explains that Van Gogh himself drank absinth, the artists' drug of the day, created from herb Alsem. Van Gogh even painted a still life of a bottle of his favorite'relaxant'. The Minister of Health herself has said that mushrooms are not a threat'.