Media/News > Latest news > Magic Mushrooms - Glastonbury

UPDATE 25.06.05

The Home Office have announced that Clause 21 of the Drugs Act 2005 will be commenced on July the 18th 2005. From this date fresh magic mushrooms (containing the active ingredient psylocibin) will be a Class A drug punishable with 7 years in prison and an unlimited fine for possession and life in prison and an unlimited fine for supply. The only exemption to this will be for wild magic mushrooms that have not been cultivated and grow without the knowledge of the landowner. For more details see Guardian Article 25.06.09 (featuring a Transform quote)

Commencement of new law on magic mushrooms delayed until after Glastonbury Festival

Rumors have been circulating since the Drugs Bill was enacted as to the date on which fresh magic mushrooms would move from there current legal status to become a Class A drug, as specified under clause 21 of the new Act. It was thought that the new law would commence before Glastonbury Festival 2005 (24th-26th June) which last year witnessed the arrival of open sales of fresh magic mushrooms. It now appears that although an announcement of the commencement date can be expected in the week before the festival, the actual date for the change will be a week or two after this (but before the parliamentary recess) meaning that this years festival will again have legal sales on the site.

There are various possible reasons for this delay:

• The drafting of the statutory instruments (the detail of how the law will be enforced including how to deal with land owners on whose land magic mushrooms grow) has been quite challenging and is only now being finalised.
  
• It has been suggested that there was no appetite in the home office for harshly enforcing a ban at the festival when the law was only a few days old.
  
• There is an injunction being sought by lawyers for the entheogen defence fund to allow time for a full judicial review of the decision. This would potentially delay the change until the after the summer parliamentary recess, or if successful see the move abandoned

More information on the Drugs Act 2005

Transform magic mushroom briefing

Magic mushrooms at Glastonbury discussed in the House of Commons