The War On Nature

Holland is now considering banning mushrooms that grow in the ground, and Kansas is now moving to ban a plant, salvia divinorum, a hallucinogenic herb. Note the rigrous standard of evidence in both cases for restricting a basic human freedom to enjoy the natural products of God's green earth:

Tom Stanton, president of the Kansas County and District Attorneys Association, said he became interested after hearing about the Delaware suicide and seeing videos on the Internet of teenagers under the drug's influence.

Stanton said he didn't have any statistics to show how widespread the drug's use is, but he said the Internet videos were enough for him to determine its use needed to be controlled.

No studies, no data, no honest or open inquiry into how such plants and shrooms might actually expand our consciousness and provide insights or help deepen an individual's experience of life. Just one disturbed teenager, and the entire thing becomes illegal for everyone. Update: they're trying to ban it in Massachusetts too!