Concern over magic mushroom use among Sweden's youth
Police in Gällivare in northern Sweden have been informed that the liberty cap mushroom is being picked and used as a drug by the area’s young people.
The mushroom (Psilocybe semilanceata) is classified as a narcotic and contains the hallucinogenic compound psilocybin.
“Those whose duty it is to monitor and combat drug use in our police district have been informed,” said Gällivare police spokesperson Eva Sjöström to the Norrbottens-Kuriren newspaper.
The liberty cap mushroom is most often found in manure filled fields and meadows throughout Sweden, from the southernmost tip to the mountainous regions in the north.
The possession and transportation of the drug-classified mushroom is a crime which can result in penalties ranging from fines to up to ten years in prison.
“The use of so-called magic mushrooms has occurred to a limited extent in the last ten years. What’s most serious is that it is more widespread today and that users are getting younger,” said Dick Lannerblad, a youth counselor with IOGT-NTO/UNF, an organization which promotes temperance and sobriety in Sweden.
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The mushroom (Psilocybe semilanceata) is classified as a narcotic and contains the hallucinogenic compound psilocybin.
“Those whose duty it is to monitor and combat drug use in our police district have been informed,” said Gällivare police spokesperson Eva Sjöström to the Norrbottens-Kuriren newspaper.
The liberty cap mushroom is most often found in manure filled fields and meadows throughout Sweden, from the southernmost tip to the mountainous regions in the north.
The possession and transportation of the drug-classified mushroom is a crime which can result in penalties ranging from fines to up to ten years in prison.
“The use of so-called magic mushrooms has occurred to a limited extent in the last ten years. What’s most serious is that it is more widespread today and that users are getting younger,” said Dick Lannerblad, a youth counselor with IOGT-NTO/UNF, an organization which promotes temperance and sobriety in Sweden.
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