The ban on the cultivation and sale of hallucinogenic mushrooms introduced last December is not against the law, the appeal court in The Hague said on Tuesday.

The owners of shops which sold the mushrooms had gone to court in an effort to get the ban overturned. They argue there is no scientific proof that mushrooms are dangerous and had demanded compensation for loss of income
But the judges said there were no legal reasons to overturn the ban, which was brought in following several serious incidents involving tourists. Today’s ruling upholds a lower court verdict from November 2008.