Magic Mushroom Shop
May 24th, 2006 by JJ
In Amsterdam, they have these shops that are sort of like convenience stores. But instead of selling lottery tickets, cigarettes and beer - they sell mushrooms. Yep, those kind of mushrooms.
We stopped in at one of these special places just a half a block from our hotel. The shop was on a major street corner in the heart of the city, with people rushing past, heading to and from work. From the outside, it seemed relatively non-descript. I can’t even remember what made us want to walk inside to check it out. But as soon as we stepped into the place, we immediately knew what we were looking at.
The place was well lit with fluorescent lights and there were tall glass-door coolers on all sides. The refrigerator shelves were lined with hundreds of packages of dried mushrooms in clear, professionally labeled Ziploc bags. An attractive young lady with a kind face stood behind the cash register smiling at us as we browsed through the products.
Lady: “Good afternoon.”
JJ: “Hi.”
Lady: “Can I help you choose?”
Momo: “Ummm… We’re just looking around.”
Frankie: “Actually, I have a question.”
Lady: “Sure, how can I help?”
Frankie: “Well, we don’t really know what we should buy. Can you recommend something?”
Lady: “A lot of people love the Afghani ones. It’s a very visual high. I recommend them if you’re experienced.”
JJ: “Actually we’re sorta new to this. We don’t want to be too… messed up.”
Frankie: “We don’t?”
Lady: “Well the Mexican and the Thai variety are not as strong. The high is very relaxed.”
Momo: “That sounds cool.”
The thing that struck me about this conversation was how normal it sounded. And the lady’s voice was so completely soothing. She was helpful and nice, like a pre-school teacher. But we weren’t talking about milk and cookies. We were talking to a drug dealer. A drug dealer who sells hallucinogens out in the open, in public, protected by law.
It was fucking fantastic. It’s such a luxury to feel so free. Lighting up a spliff in a “coffee shop” is one thing. Buying a bag of imported psilocybin mushrooms at a corner store is entirely different.
RSS
Well??? What did you buy? How was it? Don’t leave us hangin.
There’s a lot more to the story. I’ll get around to part 2 eventually.
Must. Go. To. Amsterdam.
Did you sign up for the frequent flyer rewards card?
I knew you liked mushrooms on your pizza.
So when are you moving?
Amsterdam is a place that no other…maybe with the exception from Christiania in Denmark. If it still exists that is. A long time ago since I was there now…
Were they “Mexico Gold” mushrooms…with a big hat?
did you get knocked up?
yep thats holland…….hehehehe
few weeks ago we did some shrooms from Hawaï.
realy good tripping , seeing alot of shit , very good.
next time guy’s you should stay at the canabis hotel.
think thats realy something for you.
peace
god, how cool would it be to be able to use drugs without having to sneak and hide…
from my kids.
(I jest…really).
haha… i have to say that while out of all the places i’ve been in europe, i probably enjoyed amsterdam the least (they seemed a lot like the french in their outward disdain for americans), my fondest memories of amsterdam definitely involve one of those great shops and a wandering trippy ass walking tour of the city by some random guy from san diego who i met at a cafe.
I did shrooms so much in high school that it actually became a bit of a nickname. Now? I’d be terrified. Being a grown up sucks sometimes.
fucking eh thats allright!
Joe:
Definitely. You’d fit right in!
Jimbo:
I wish I went there enough times to call it frequent. But I was only there once - in 2001.
Marc:
Honestly - I could really see myself living there. The culture, the people, the relaxed attitudes. The whole city was awesome.
Christa
I had never heard of Christiania before, so I googled it. It almost sounds like the town from the movie The Village, except much cooler.
TC:
If I remember correctly, the logo was relatively normal looking, like the logo on a package of organic carrots or something.
Chim:
I love the name Chim Richalds. It makes me sweaty in my asscrack.
Big Al:
Next time, I’ll email you and maybe we can hang out.
Trouble:
Of course you’re kidding. There’s no need to hide. You just have to do like Marc suggested and put the shrooms on pizza.
Strange:
Odd. I had teh opposite reaction. I remember the locals being very friendly and outgoing. Paris on the other hand was rough.
Randi:
Never grow up. Adulthood is for losers.
Mulk:
You know it.
Thats a cool story dude! im only 16 now, but i will be going there for my 18th birthay! my mate is going to drive there from the UK! hahaha its going to be sweet!
Chris:
You’ll love it there. Enjoy yourself, but stay safe.